Guzman’s Labyrinth
Guzman was here somewhere, and Simeon planned to find him.
As he walked down the outer wall of his maze, Simeon saw Mr. Lankford turning a nearby corner. Not expecting to see anything above him, he continued to look only straight ahead. Simeon decided that the man could become an ally, but he held the rifle up to his shoulder and trained the crosshairs on Mr. Lankford before speaking.
“I am not your enemy, Lankford.”
Mr. Lankford looked up at Simeon with a smile that melted at the sight of the rifle. He licked his lips.
“I don’t know you, but you are my enemy because Guzman says you are.”
“And what if Guzman is the real enemy? He dropped us into this twisted experiment.”
“Maybe. But I’d like to be the subject who survives that experiment. No offense.” Lankford licked his lips and raised his gun.
“What if we could both live, Lankford? What if Guzman dies, and we live?”
“But I am Guzman.” Confused, Simeon lowered his rifle. Lankford cocked the hammer on his. “Adios, my boy.”
Lankford’s words echoed in Simeon’s brain, as if he had heard them before from another voice. Before his delay could become fatal, Simeon’s training took over. He raised the rifle back to his shoulder and pulled the trigger before Lankford had a chance to fire. Mr. Lankford collapsed and a memory pounded into Simeon’s mind at the sound of his adversary’s fall.
After days without food or water, he was being removed from a cell. Handcuffs were being taken off his wrists. The darkness of an indeterminate time exploded into painful and blinding light.
And a voice was whispering in his ear. It was Guzman.
“Listen carefully, Simeon. If he gets his gun on you, say ‘I am Guzman.’ Those words will save you. And if you live, your debts will be cancelled. You will be free.”
“Remember, ‘I am Guzman’”
Simeon lowered the rifle and stared mournfully at the man who hadn’t been his enemy. He dropped the rifle and a voice filled the giant arena from above.
“Game complete in Grid G2. All units in the area report to G2 to procure contestant.”
Brandon Satrom is an avid reader and writer. He writes across multiple genres, but has a particular love for the speculative and the surreal. A recent work of Brandon’s speculative fiction is being published in the upcoming anthology, Futuristic Motherhood, to be published in the Fall of 2008. Brandon lives in Colorado with his wife, Sarah, and is working on his first novel.
Clever story with a clever man. Guzman had told both of them, “Listen carefully, Simeon. If he gets his gun on you,…” Guzman had all of his bases covered.