“Alack and alas!! It is not so! More work’s to be done before we go!” I jumped a little, and turned to see that our mysterious guide was back.

  “Yikes – give a guy a heart attack why dontchya?” said Ross.

  ““Onward and onward! No curtain just yet, the scale’s still tipping, the sums not all met!”

  “Guy’s a nut job” Ross said. “I guess we should find Winsford and Sophie. Wonder where he’s gone?”

  “Kendrick”, Chen asked politely, “Why are you saying that we’re not out of the subconscious yet? Is this some kind of test.”

  “Ahh! My dear lady, the danger’s not gone; but the buck stops with Winsford before we move on.”

  I looked around. Ross was right, Winsford was nowhere to be seen. It was just like Winsford-topia though. And yet… it wasn’t. The city scapes were the same from that first day when we’d given thought-casting our first real test, but something was off. Shadows falling in wrong directions. Reflections reflecting the wrong things.

  “I don’t think we are out”, I said, “But there’s an easy way to test it. If we’re really out of the subconscious, we should be able to will ourselves straight out of the system right now.” I tried immediately to get out, but – as expected – it was no use. We were definitely still in the subconscious.

  “If we’re still stuck in here, and this is Winsford-topia”, Ross said, “then I guess… this is Winsford’s cast, and we all know what that means. We need to find him. I don’t like the guy, but nobody deserves to get stuck down here.”

  “But why didn’t he wait for us?” Chen asked.

  “My guess is he got to the top. Probably tried to port his way out, realised he was still stuck down here, and then realised that it was his turn” I said. “Kendrick, were you here when he got to the top?”

  “Indeed I was!” said the flamboyant magician.

  “Did he say anything?” Chen asked.

  “Indeed he did! As I recall, he said: ‘Bugger off’.”

  “Did you see where he went?” Chen asked.

  “Oh yes. Perfectly. He ran.”

  “But why?” Chen asked.

  Kendrick blinked at her, genuinely surprised.

  “Why...” he repeated. “My dear lady, wouldn’t you run if Gilgamesh of Uruk was chasing you? I believe he quickly realised that his legs were not ornamental.”

  “Wait… you mean…”, said Ross, “wait… who’s Gilgamesh?”

  Kendrick smiled thinly and said, “In brick-dust and dreams I saw the Uruk rise again, where a king who would not die learned too late that strength cannot outrun fate, and every wall he built only echoed his name back to him.” He twirled his fingers. “Gilgamesh always learns in the end, but the learning is the wound.”

  “Gilgamesh is an ancient king from a mythic Mesopotamian epic who realises, after losing his friend, that he cannot escape death and that power does not make him immortal”, said Chen.

  “Oh.”

  “We need to think”, I said. “If some Gilgamesh guy is chasing Winsford, then he might be in the same trouble that Everett and Simon were in. We’ve got to find him.”

  “Ok – but how the hell are we supposed to find him in this place?”

  “Back in the actual Winsford-topia, I remember scanning the city with x-ray vision. There actually wasn’t that much to it. Most of it was just a veneer. But there were a few hotspots where Winsford obviously spent his time. I think we need to go back to where it started: the Winsford building.”

  VRROOOOOMMM. Chugga chugga chugga chugga…

  We turned to look at the noise. I’m not a car guy, but even I knew the sound of a V8 engine when I heard one.

  “If we’re going to save Winsford, we may as well do it in a late-80s full steel body, long wheelbase muscle car. Get in”, said Ross. He leaped in, and Chen, Kendrick, and me all jumped in behind him.

  “Five litre,” he said, as he dropped it into gear, “rear-wheel drive, solid rear axle, fat rubber on the back and skinnies up front. Everything the body needs” he said as he sourced a pair of aviator sunnies onto his face.

  “Pay attention ladies: that bonnet scoop isn’t just for decoration either.”

  “Ross, just drive”, Chen said, rolling her eyes.

  The cityscape flashed by at high speed. I wound my window down, and let the air whip through my hair. I put my hand out, and wove it through the force of the wind. The city we’d seen at the start was a bright utopia, but in the flashes of scenery I saw dark reflections and new dimensions.

  “Almost there”, Ross shouted, as we screamed around a corner.

  I saw the Winsford Building about a block away, towering above everything else. I had had no idea what was in store the first time I’d approached it in the real world. It was like a touching point between thought-casting and reality. Of course, if I had my time again, I think I would have walked away. Wouldn’t I? At the least I would not have gone down into the subconscious.

  Ross screeched to a halt in front of the perfect glass entry point. Massive rotating glass doors greeted us, and perfect glossy building front expanded in front of grass lawns in both directions.

  We jumped out, racing toward the doors. Probably he was going to be up top in his penthouse if he’d be anywhere here.

  “I’ll do a quick check around the building”, said Kendrick, as he disappeared from view with a puff of smoke.

  We burst through the side doors, just next to the massive rotating door, and our feet squeaked across the marble floors as we ran. But then we pulled up short. At the far end of the entry foyer, a figure was hunched down, kneeling on the ground. A figure in a very expensive suit…

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Winsford?” I said. “Are you ok?”

  He turned in a flash, it was… his eyes were wild. And then I noticed his hand. It was… gone! Midway down his left forearm, his arm had entirely disappeared. He was cradling it to himself while it bled some kind of code-energy looking substance.

  “Sophie!!”, he shouted, “Do it! He could be here any minute. We don’t have any more time to wait!”

  In a flash, Sophie appeared. Her speed was blinding, and she was coming at us! Curled lightning sprang from her hands, whipping our feet out from under us. I hit the ground hard, winded.

  How the hell do you get winded down here?

  No time to think.

  CRACK.

  “Arrgghhh!” The lightning flashed across us again. Couldn’t think! Couldn’t breathe! No pain dampeners! No time!

  I felt metal chains winding around me like snakes, picking me up off the ground. Got to do something! I focused my eyes on Sophie as she cast her chains, she was looking at us from the top of her half-moon spectacles. I tried casting something at her, but she dismissed my half-formed cast before I could even think. Energy arced from her hands again, the pain was intense!!

  “That”, said Kendrick, strolling calmly through the front doors, “Is quite enough, I think!” In a blur, he was on her! It was mad! Energy and casts forming and breaking at light speed! I couldn’t even tell what was happening. Our chains disappeared, and we fell to the ground gasping.

  I looked up to see Kendrick slamming some invisible force into Sophie like a freight train. She flew back and the world warped around them. Fire and lightning that looked like molten lava spiraled around the room as we dove for cover behind the welcome desk. Mirrors folded, and the two of them ported and flashed around the room. Sophie snarled, her face distorted with hatred. Kendrick spun, curving her lightning around his body.

  She cast fire, he cast ice. She disappeared, then seized his wrist. She was holding a… rubber chicken!! What the hell! I saw his cloak, but I couldn’t see him. Then they were facing each other again, poised and flickering with energy.

  Suddenly a great, booming laughter filled the air. Winsford spun wildly. I couldn’t see where it was coming from.

  “Little man, little man! Why do you run? Why do you flee from Gilgamesh?”

  “Get away from me!!” Winsfrod screamed. “Sophie!! Sophie!! KILL HIM!!!”

  “Ha. Huhuhahaha! Foolish little man! You thought to dabble in the business of the gods and even catch one on your leash! HA!” And Sophie was gone.

  Winsford tried to run, but his face smashed into some unseen mirror and he lay sprawled and groaning on the ground.

  “You wanted to eat these little fishies did you? Feast on their souls? Suck them dry and capture the muse within?” the booming voice said. “Well…”, it continued, “… it is time the hunter became the prey. Come now, little man, your hand was so very tasty!”

  I heard a sound then, like great, booming footsteps in the distance. I spun around, looking for the source. And then I noticed it through one of the windows. Or was it a mirror? I couldn’t tell. A shape was approaching. It was hard to tell at first, but as the reflection grew larger I saw a man. No, a giant! He was enormous! 8 feet tall… no 10, maybe 12!

  The colossal figure stood tall in the reflection, transparent and obscured, but terrifyingly close. His black, Syrian hair fell down his muscled chest in ringlets. His massive arms were adorned with ancient gold bracelets and filled with muscles that looked like boulders. And then the myth stepped into reality.

  As he stepped forward, his foot somehow changed planes – moving from reflection to reality. The marble floor cracked under his feet. He was the most enormous man I’d ever seen!

  Winsford lashed out with his good hand, casting lightning similar to what Sophie had used. Gilgamesh laughed as it lanced helplessly against his chest, and broke apart around him. In a blinding flash he cast his counter, freezing Winsford’s energy blast before it collapsed and disintegrated.

  “You think you can match wit and will with a god?” Gilgamesh laughed. That great, horrible, booming laugh. Deeper than any man’s voice has right to be.

  And then he was upon him. Gilgamesh caught him from behind, catching Winsford’s head in a chokehold. The giant leered down at him, leaning in close to whisper in his ear from behind, as Winsford’s tiny head sat gripped in the vice of his forearm and elbow.

  “Tell them, little man. Tell them what your plan was. Tell them, before you die.”

  Winsford looked wildly around, trying to find a way out. Finally, his eyes settled on us.

  “I…”, he began, “I will… pay you triple if you attack him!”

  Gilgamesh tightened his grip, and Winsford’s face went purple as he gagged and hacked in pain.

  “No no no no no! Tell me the story, little man! I want to see their faces when they realise it! Tell them what you are.”

  “I… I’m…” he sputtered.

  “Say it”, Gilgamesh purred.

  “I…I’m a… ” The giant twisted his arm, and he screamed.

  “CANNIBAL!! I’m a Cannibal!!” he croaked out.

  My head spun. What?

  “Tell them about your previous victims, comatose in the depths of the Winsford building. Tell them about how you have mapped their very minds in preparation.”

  Winsford sagged. It was all coming together. It was never about transcendence. At least, not in the way that we thought it was.

  “She wasn’t your wife, was she?” I said quietly.

  “Ho ho ho!!”, boomed the giant of Uruk, “That’s the best bit!! She was!!”

  I felt sick. I looked over at Chen and Ross, their faces had gone white.

  “And now… out of the eater comes something sweet!!”, roared Gilgamesh. Then his mouth opened, wider than any human mouth, and he bit down on Winsford’s shoulder. Winsford screamed, as code and energy exploded from his avatar. The rest of his arm was gone. The giant lifted him up above his head, and tore him in half! We simply gaped, hardly able to believe what we were seeing.

  I vomited all over the floor. I think one of the others did too, I can’t remember. I knew I would never, ever never forget the screaming as long as I lived.

  When his grizzly business was done, Gilgamesh leered at us. For a moment I thought he was going to come at us as well, but he didn’t. He stood again, and with three massive strides he returned to his reflection and disappeared.

  His laughter echoed dimly around us.

  Three left.