Running at full speed, Zack and Jake turned another corner, leaving the dart-filled hallway behind them. The new obstacles in front of them were easier and wouldn't slow them down. This part of the maze was full of small robots, similar to the machine they had defeated earlier, but there was more than one this time around—ten of them. And they weren't nearly as large as the previous one; they stood nearly as tall as the two applicants.
Zack reached for the sword he had on his back as they approached the small group of robots. Once they were close enough, the robots zeroed in on the two of them, preparing for battle.
"Jake!" Zack shouted. "No time to waste, no time to stop! Slug 'em before they have time to level up!"
Jake had to physically shake his head. He wasn't trying to go against Zack, no; he was trying to center himself, to stop thinking about the female voice he had heard only moments ago and focus on the situation at hand. When he felt his mind was clear, he shouted back a response. "Aye aye, Captain!"
Zack smirked as he swung his sword and sliced the nearest little robot in half. The robots seemed to jump out of shock; they were processing the info, but Zack didn't give them time to respond. After slicing his first robotic victim in half, he then did a forward horizontal slash that cut the next robot closest to him's head off. "Two down," he thought. But as he was in mid-swing, a robot lunged forward, readying its swing with its pipe. But it never got the chance to attack because Jake backed his maze partner up; the little robot came out of nowhere, and Jake struck it across the head, still using his own weapon as a blunt instrument because he didn't even attempt to unsheathe it again. The blow stunned the little robot and sent it hurtling to the ground, and before it could recover, Zack plunged his blade into its chest, taking it out. "Three down," he thought as he and Jake continued rushing forward.
The two of them heard a synchronized "Switching to level two" from the remaining robots. Zack's eyes went big from excitement. The machines rushed towards the pair; it was now two versus seven. Not the best odds, but as I keep saying, Zack Truesdale was no amateur. As the robot pounced towards them like hungry cats, Zack, in turn, began dragging his blade on the ground. His sword cut deeper and deeper into the ground the more he ran. When the mob of robots seemed too close for comfort, Zack mustered all of his strength, and with both hands, he swung his sword upwards. This act sent chunks of the ground towards the machines, but these chunks would be minuscule to a human, let alone a machine. But it wasn't debris Zack wanted; it was the dust. His action of dragging his blade on the ground then swinging at the crowd created a thick cloud of dust that obstructed their view. Zack kept moving; he never stopped and leaped into the small dust cloud. But Jake hesitated; he pulled back. He could hear clashing and cutting—a fight was happening in front of him, but he couldn't see a thing.
As the dust started to disperse, Jake saw the fruits of Zack's labor. He was able to cut down four more robots within the dust cloud, and he was still moving forward. "Three more to go," he thought as the remaining machines jumped backwards, trying to put some distance between them and the young soldier in front of them. And they were right to be cautious because it was happening Zack was almost in the zone. And one thing to know about Mr. Truesdale: once he was in the zone, no one could stop him. The robots, again at the same time, spoke, "Skipping to level 5." The spiky-haired young man was a threat to them, and they had to adjust.
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Jake remained where he was, marveling at Zack's skills, but he felt as if he was jolted by lightning when he heard that voice again. "You lazy fool," Jake thought, his knees might give out by how loud and angry the voice sounded. But he had no time to focus on it because he heard another familiar voice snapping him back to attention. "Jake, move your ass!" It was Zack's voice he was hearing, commanding him to keep moving forward. He felt compelled to listen, so he took off running as fast as he could.
One of the last remaining robots swung their pipe at Zack. He blocked it with ease, but while it had his attention, the other two came in for the kill, aiming to expose his weakness. Jake was lagging too far behind to back Zack up. He saw the two machines getting ready to strike the defenseless Zack as he ran as fast as he could. "Shit, shit, why did I just stand there?" Jake thought as he ran. "Zack told me to keep moving, but I didn't. I stopped. Why?" Each step he took, he could hear the female voice again. "You fool, you fool. I was wrong. You're not like him. You're nothing like him," it said, as Jake tried running even harder.
So many thoughts ran through his head. Where is that voice coming from? Who is speaking to me? "I'm not like who?" So many thoughts clouded Jake's mind. He had so many questions, but not right now. Right now, wasn't the time.
Jake was catching up to Zack, but he wouldn't make it before the two little machines struck him. And while he was guarding against the robot holding his attention, Zack knew that Jake wasn't going to make it in time to back him up. Nearly being in the zone, Zack's body moved almost without him having to give it any thought. Zack leaned back, or more like he let himself fall back to the ground, and as he fell backward, the robot holding his attention fell forwards. When Zack's back was touching the ground, he lifted his legs up to his chest, then, using both his legs, he kicked the robot in front of him as hard as he could. He sent the little machine flying backwards, and he sent it flying into one of the two machines closing in on him. Zack's quick-thinking action made two of his opponents tumble to the ground; now he only had to deal with one at the moment.
Zack rolled back to his feet, then parried the machine's next blow, then he pierced the machine right in its chest. "Two more," Zack ran full speed at the two remaining robots that were still on the ground. Zack's movements were so quick and precise that they didn't have time to get to their feet. To be more accurate, they didn't have time for anything— not getting to their feet, defending, or attacking. Zack moved so fast they didn't have enough time to process the data they had and increase to a higher level. No, all they had time to do was die because the moment Zack was finished impaling the last robot, he made his way over to the two last remaining robots and destroyed them in one single slash. The force of his attack was so great that not only did it slice through the machines like butter, but it also made a small crater when it hit the ground. As Zack stood straight, swinging the sword back onto his back, Jake finally caught up to him.
"Zack, I'm sorry I—" But Jake didn't get time to finish his apologies because Zack immediately took off again. As he was running full speed, he laughed, "That's another one you owe me, you slowpoke!"
Zack chuckled as he continued deeper into the maze. Jake had stopped for a moment, originally to speak with Zack and to catch his breath, but knowing there was no time for idle chit-chat, he ran after him. As he did, he heard the phantom voice once more.
"Fool, foolish boy. You're nothing like him. I was mistaken to think you were the same as him… and you're nothing like that boy either. You're weak in mind, body, and spirit."
Jake said nothing. He continued to run after Zack, the voice echoing in his mind, as questions swirled within. But amidst the confusion, the urgency of their mission prevailed, urging him to keep moving forward, leaving the mysterious voice behind in the twisting corridors of the maze