Matt screamed his surprise. They all did. But the ceiling held its place.

“I think we need to go back,” Fallyn said and started moving with her light.

She slammed a fist into stone, the entrance solid before her. Blocks were sliding near the ceiling to complete the top of the stack. She pushed against the newly formed wall. Matt tried too. He shoved with his shield. He Blood Slashed, Shield Slammed.

Shit. It wouldn’t move.

Kurtis’ shoulders slumped forward. He hugged himself and still held his tail. He’d been doing so much better after all of those caves. But this was a nightmare—even for Matt without claustrophobia.

Matt paced to keep the panic at bay, dragging a hand against the cool stone. His palm jumped over the seams between large blocks. He rounded the corner, transferring fingertips to the next wall. The edges were just rough enough that they stung a little. Then something shifted at the edge of his vision.

“Woah,” Val said.

The wall now bore three square openings. It had been solid under his fingers a moment before. They were lined with metal and located at waist height. They looked just large enough to crawl through.

The clicking sounded again. The ceiling lowered another inch. Matt shrunk into his body. Once it stilled, Fallyn leaned her staff closer and they inspected the options. All three looked the same: smooth metal straight ahead, then blackness.

“Kurtis, we need you,” Matt said gently.

The cat-man didn’t seem to hear Matt’s voice. He just stared at the wall where the door had been.

“Kurtis.” Matt gently touched his shoulder. “Kurtis we have a way out.”

Kurtis snapped to attention, searching Matt’s face. For the first time, the look in those eyes seemed inhuman.

“Turn this way.” Matt guided Kurtis to face the openings. “We need you to see if you can hear anything.”

Kurtis swallowed. He nodded slowly and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he walked to the leftmost opening. The ceiling shuddered and dropped again, kicking up dust and small particles of stone. Kurtis wordlessly moved to the middle opening. With the slump of his body, he looked frail. Kurtis shuffled to the last option. After a moment in front of it, he returned to the middle, then back to the right.

The ceiling groaned. It dropped two inches this time. Matt could feel it kiss his head.

“What are you saying, Kurtis?” Matt asked.

Kurtis returned to the middle opening, then grimaced. “What if I get it wrong?”

“Then it’s still a better guess than I would’ve had,” Matt said.

“This one,” Kurtis said, pointing to the one on the right.

“Thank you,” Fallyn said warmly. Then she climbed up into the square.

Matt helped Val lift Wiggles; she got in next. Then he waited for Kurtis. He doubted he’d be able to turn around in there, so he wanted to bring up the rear. Matt stowed his weapons. There was no way his shield would fit.

Kurtis stared into the metal passageway, breathing quickly. Dull clunks sounded from inside, then stopped. They must be waiting.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Matt encouraged. “You’re in the middle. Super safe. And we’ll go quick—or slow—whatever you need.”

The ceiling dropped another two inches with a groan. Matt had to bend forward. The ceiling was almost at the top of the opening.

“We need to go, buddy.”

Kurtis shook his head.

“Staying here isn’t an option.”

Kurtis shook his head again.

The ceiling dropped with a rumble. Matt deepened his bend.

“I know you can do this.”

The room started shaking.

“Yeah, we don’t know what’s in there, but we do know what happens if we stay here.”

Kurtis closed his eyes.

Holy shit man, come on!

Kurtis leaned into the opening. He got one knee up and then the other.

The ceiling dropped again. It had reached the top of the opening.

“Okay, man, I need you to move up so I can get in.”

Dust and tiny pieces of stone fell along the wall to the right.

“Kurtis?” Matt worked hard to meter the panic in his voice. “Come on man. I need to get in there too.”

The stone ceiling dropped below the upper edge of the metal passageway. Matt’s core started to ache from holding his body in a bend.

“Kurtis?”

One black and white Chuck inched forward. And then the other.

“You got this.”

“You got this!” Val cheered from somewhere in the tunnel.

Matt eyed the ceiling and the lack of space behind Kurtis. The cat-man crawled slowly—too slowly. The room's shaking increased. Kurtis moved forward little by little, until there was a foot of space, two,… Matt dove into the opening and heard the click-click-click of the ceiling lowering behind him.

The passageway was dark. The faint light from Fallyn’s staff peeked out from the moving limbs of the three people crawling ahead of him. Sheetmetal flexed and bowed as they moved across it. Minutes felt like an eternity.

Matt’s kneecaps began to feel bruised. He cast Rapid Regeneration to heal them and its blue reflected softly in the metal.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Kurtis stopped crawling.

“You okay?” Matt asked. “What is it?”

It was Fallyn who called back. “There’s an incline ahead! We’re going to have to slide down!”

What does that mean?

“When I do, you’ll lose my light.”

Shit, Matt thought, but called back, “Got it!”

The light winked out.

“You’ve got this,” he told Kurtis as much as himself.

He could hear the clunks of crawling, so pushed his limbs forward. Then he jammed his head into what was probably Kurtis’ butt.

“Ow.”

Matt backed up a few inches, then probed ahead with a hand. He found Kurtis’ shoe. “Just me. Just finding where you are so I don’t do that again.”

The high-top didn’t move.

“You okay?” Matt asked.

“It just goes down,” Kurtis whispered. “I can’t see.”

“Real life Luke and Han then.”

“You’re telling me there’s a Dianoga down there and you want me to do it?” Kurtis’ voice went up an octave with the last few words.

“Uh, okay maybe I could’ve picked a better analogy. But they made it out of the trash compactor, didn’t they?”

“R2-D2 had to turn it off!”

“We are in a desert full of robots,” Matt suggested. “There could be a friendly one. If there is, I’m sure Val will find it. I bet she’s already down there, making friends.”

Kurtis sighed, then spoke in a defeated whisper. “Thanks, man. I know what you’re doing.” Then the shoe moved out of Matt’s hand.

There was a faint sliding sound and Matt thought he heard a grunt. The metal groaned. And then there was nothing. Matt swept a hand in front of him and confirmed the way was clear. Then he slowly moved forward until his fingertips curled over the edge.

It felt like a 45-degree angle. It might as well have been straight down. Matt twisted and contorted, trying to maneuver himself so that he could slide down feet-first, but it didn’t work. The space wasn’t large enough for turning around.

Fucking hell. Matt took a deep breath, then yelled, “I’m coming down!” He pulled himself over the edge.

Seams in the metal beneath him bumped and burned, as he sped over them. It was like when he’d fallen off his tube on a waterslide as a kid. It had torn the edge of his suit. He grunted through clenched teeth.

And then he started to make out something in the distance. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were adjusting or if something was getting brighter. The faint square of light rushed up to greet him. Matt shot out into a foam pit.

“Hey!” Val cheered, with both hands raised. She, Fallyn, and Kurtis were lined up at the pit’s side.

“Ow,” Matt breathed and felt at his chest and ribs.

“A bit bumpy, huh?” Val said.

“Yeah.”

Matt climbed from the blue chunks of foam and surveyed the dim room. It was the size of two basketball courts and the same stone as the larger passage. The raised box he’d landed in was nestled in one corner. He walked to the center of the room and turned three-sixty. There didn’t seem to be an exit, just the faintest glow from the ceiling, barely lighting the room.

“No R2 or Dianoga,” Kurtis said.

Wiggles had placed a rectangle of blue foam against the middle of the far wall and was scampering back to the pit, presumably to grab another. Val made an ‘I don’t know’ gesture and let him continue.

“How did you trigger the openings in the last room?” Fallyn asked.

“I think that made the ceiling drop too.” Matt grimaced.

Fallyn raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, I think it just happened when I walked by? I had my hand on the wall, I think.”

Fallyn strode to the wall on their right and slowly raised her palm. She stood there, fingers splayed, waiting. She eyed the ceiling, then stepped back.

“Don’t know what to tell you,” Matt said.

Wiggles continued to build his foam dam. At least one of them seemed to be having fun. The little guy was so industrious and seemed to know exactly what to do. Matt envied that clarity. He watched the beaver and tried to come up with a solution. There had to be a way out. There had to be something they were supposed to do.

Wiggles continued to pile the foam and Fallyn paced the perimeter. It was like they had switched roles. Matt studied the walls, ceiling, floor. Nothing. She passed by Wiggles’ handiwork and flashed a smile.

Then the stone blocks shifted behind the foam dam, sliding and rearranging to form a large opening. Fallyn Blinked, appearing in the middle of the room, as a huge robot rolled from the darkness.

“R2?” said Kurtis.

“It says his name is… Bob?” Matt said.

It was a BattleBot the size of a minivan, a tank with two arms. One lever ended a pincer, the other a circular saw blade. It crashed through the foam pile. And mounted at its top, where a head or a hatch should be, was a red orb the size of a five-pin bowling ball.

“Yippee ki yay, motha fuckas,” it emitted in a robotic voice. The orb pulsed in the dim light with each syllable. Then the saw blade began to spin.

Matt pulled his sword and shield from his inventory as the Level 16 robot rolled towards the beaver on tank treads. Wiggles froze and slowly dropped his rectangle of foam. Matt bent his knees and adjusted his grip.

“Come here you oversized power tool! Compensating for something?” Matt Taunted.

Bob began to move in reverse, curving around like a vehicle struggling to back into a parking space. Then it rolled in Matt’s direction.

“I’ve got him,” Matt yelled. “He’s just slow.”

White flames began to flow over blue metal, like clouds on a windy day. Then a dark throbbing arrow landed, magically piercing the steel. Oil oozed from the would-be wound. Matt cast Rapid Regeneration and braced himself for impact.

“Welcome to the party, pal,” came that robotic voice again. And then the saw blade swung down.

Matt twisted, intercepting it with his shield. His whole body vibrated as he held off the attack. His health ticked down as the reverberations sharpened. Then the pincer snaked around and jabbed into his side.

“Agh,” Matt groaned. That cost him 20%, but the robot’s health was going down too.

Spells and arrows rained down on the enemy like a meteor shower at dusk. Then Fallyn’s conduit connected, the brightest comet, swirling with fire and lightning. Matt Shield Slammed upward, hitting the pincer-ended limb. Then he followed with a single-handed Blood Slash. The short streak of afterimage matched the orb above. The robot’s health was at 60%.

“Yippee ki yay, motha fuckas,” the robot said as it backed away from Matt.

What the hell? Matt thought. He yelled after it, “Come back here you glorified toaster!”

The taunt should have worked. But the enemy kept rolling at its slow tank pace. His interface showed it on cooldown. Bob stopped at the center of the room.

Light blasted up from the red orb to the ceiling. The room went from dusk to midday. Matt squinted and instinctively raised his sword hand to shield his eyes. He almost knocked off his hat. Then a hollow thud sounded across the room. Blocks were loosening from the ceiling as the light from the orb flowed along them. They began dropping around the edges, crashing and kicking up dust, working inward.

“Aaah!” Val screamed as she jumped closer to the robot, narrowly escaping a falling stone.

Bob trained his spinning sawblade on Matt. He blocked with his shield, arm reverberating painfully. A minute went by, and another. Matt’s forearm burned from within. The robot held at 60% health.

“It’s not working!” Matt yelled. And then added a Taunt, “What does Bob stand for? Bitch-ass old bot?”

Wiggles scratched at the robot’s side with furious tiny claws.

The twining fire and lightning connected with the tank. Its side was covered in arrow shafts, oozing oil.

“Val the orb!” Fallyn called.

An arrow clinked against the red sphere; it continued streaming light into the ceiling unaffected.

“Ex-caliper!” Fallyn yelled.

A blur of pink scrambled up behind the enemy, disappearing, only to re-emerge atop it.

“You throw quite a party.” The robot rolled slowly in Matt’s direction.

Matt back-stepped so as not to get crushed.

Then Val shot back from the robot in another pink blur, ex-caliper skittering across the floor. The light continued streaming straight up to the ceiling.

“Is she okay?!” Matt yelled.

Val was sprawled on the ground near Fallyn and Kurtis, unmoving. Then a block fell at her location. Kurtis grabbed her arms and pulled. Not fast enough. The stone crushed her leg. She whimpered, still out.

“Hee?” Wiggles said softly. He’d stopped attacking and stood by her side.

“Guys?” yelled Matt. He Shield Slammed the enemy, then used one of his few stamina potions. “I can’t keep this up forever.” He renewed Rapid Regeneration as the pincer dove for his unprotected bicep.

Kurtis jogged to retrieve ex-caliper and approached the back of the robot. He hung the teardrop around his neck and climbed with both hands, abandoning his staff.

The enemy knew what was coming this time. It immediately started spinning in place. Its upper half moved, arms and orb, while the treads stayed still. It spun faster and faster. Kurtis’ orange tail flew up as he clung to the hunk of metal. His ears flattened against his silver colander hat.

“Tell me when you’re ready!” Matt yelled, hovering just a few feet from the spinning metal. The pincer would probably cut as easily as the blade at those speeds.

“I…” Kurtis responded, riding the robot like a mechanical bull. “I’m almost…”

If it were him up there, Matt wasn’t sure he’d still be holding on. He held up his sword and watched the arms spin, like a kid trying to gage a skipping rope.

“Now!” Kurtis yelled.

Matt Conked the robot.