Inspired by this picture on Flickr.
At the heart of the labyrinth, they used to say, was a minotaur – part man, part bull.
But how could such a rational people ever have believed that, he wondered. How could they have believed such ridiculous stories? They were men of science, men of numbers, like me. I shall simply follow the path where it leads me, no matter how dark. There is, he told himself, no reason for unease.
Yet with each step his breaths grew shallower. Alone in the dark he ran through complex equations in his head to stave off the rising, ridiculous panic.
It worked! The air seemed suddenly less oppressive, the walls around him no longer felt so close. A triumph of mind over matter…
So why was his heart still pounding? And what was that terrible smell?
In the central chamber, a dark shambling figure grunted and shook its taurine head, satisfied for now. It had been a reasonable meal, it thought amiably; perfectly seasoned with sudden fear and just a hint of Euclid.
