They continued deeper into the maze for another half hour before Oliver started to look concerned. He glanced over at Agnes a few times, but didn’t say anything as the two of them continued to lead the group.

  Progress was slow. Nate was still suffering from the Mind Addled debuff, and had to be prompted for every step and turn. Graham wasn’t much faster as he gingerly tried not to trip over any rocks he wasn’t able to see without his glasses. Maybe that’s why it took another half an hour before Oliver finally asked Agnes, “Do you remember it taking this long last time?”

  She shook her head. “But we also didn’t have to fight anything like Joel last time.”

  “Yeah, makes you wonder what else this place has for us,” Brett said sourly.

  Laura glanced over at Nate, who was nearly at the end of his debuff period. Hannah had passed him back off to Russell who was now gently pulling Nate’s arm to keep him from veering into the side of the maze. Shepherding him and Graham around had at least given Russell’s group something to do.

  They turned the next corner and everyone stopped short.

  A giant black cat sat at a T-intersection.

  “I’m guessing this is new?” Laura said, gripping her club.

  Agnes nodded.

  Oliver examined the large cat, then stored his weapons and took a careful step towards it, deliberately showing that he was unarmed.

  “What are you doing?” Caroline hissed at him.

  “It’s not a mob,” Oliver said. “No level attached to it. This is something else.”

  The cat watched Oliver as he took another step closer. Its eyes were an unnerving shade of bright green.

  Oliver took one step closer, and was now within arm’s length of the cat. The cat opened its mouth.

  “Pick a number between 1 and 10,” it said.

  “Holy shit, it can talk!” Brett said.

  Caroline shushed him, then went back to gaping at the large talking cat.

  “Excuse me?” Oliver said.

  “You heard me,” the cat said, sounding bored. “Pick a number between 1 and 10.”

  “What’s the number do?”

  “Determines if you go left or right.”

  Oliver looked down both directions, then looked back at the group, like he was seeking input. From what Laura could see, both paths looked the same—another long stretch of corn stalks ending in another sharp turn in the far distance.

  “No, no,” the cat said, its tail twitching. “Not your group. You. It determines if you go left or right. Your group’s too big. Gotta switch it up, you know?” A bird landed on a corn stalk above the cat’s head and its tail twitched as it glanced up at the bird. “And no, you can’t just get past me. Try it.” It turned its head to stare back at Oliver. “Seriously, try.”

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  Oliver paused. Clearly they hadn’t encountered anything like this last time. He seemed like he was trying to figure out if there was some trick to all this.

  “Fine,” the cat said, rolling its eyes.

  It reached up to swat at the bird which took off in a scatter of feathers and raced down the left branch of the T-intersection until it smacked into something invisible blocking the path and fell to the ground. “See? No getting through either way until I let you.” The cat got up and leisurely padded over to the bird, then picked it up and ate it in one mouthful.

  He returned to sit in front of Oliver. “So what’ll it be? Don’t overthink it. Just the first thing that comes into your head.”

  “Seven.”

  The cat indicated that Oliver should go left. Without another glance back, Oliver went down the left side of the intersection. When he reached the spot where the bird’s flight had ended, he disappeared. Laura could still see the path stretching into the distance between the rows of corn stalks. One moment Oliver had been walking down it, and the next he was gone. Maybe he’d simply crossed the barrier that the cat controlled. Or maybe the supposedly clear view of the path they were seeing was just an illusion.

  “Who’s next?”

  Agnes stepped up next. She opened her mouth.

  “Pick an animal,” the cat said before Agnes could talk. “Cat, pig, dog, or cow.” Agnes looked stumped. Clearly the cat wanted to make sure no two people could give the same answer.

  “Dog,” Agnes said finally.

  The cat sniffed. Left,” it said. Agnes nodded, then looked back at the group. “Good luck,” she said. Then she walked down the left branch and vanished.

  Laura walked over to where Russell was standing with Nate. Nate still had five minutes left before his debuff ran out. “I’ll wait with him,” she told Russell, who was already focused on the rest of the group and where everyone would end up.

  Mi-young was sent to the left, while Hannah was sent to the right.

  Mitch and Graham soon followed Hannah to the right.

  Russell and Brett took their turns.

  Nate’s debuff finally ended as Caroline stepped up to the cat.

  “Name a planet. Pluto doesn’t count.”

  “Mercury,” Caroline said. The cat sent her to the right.

  “Next,” it said to Laura and Nate.

  “Is that a talking cat?” Nate said. “When the hell did that get here?”

  “You were out of it for a little while there,” Laura said.

  “Clearly.”

  The cat cleared its throat. “Next,” it said a little louder.

  “What are we doing now?” Nate said.

  “You answer a question and it picks a side for you to go down. We’re getting split up,” Laura said, trying not to sound like the idea made her want to throw up. But what didn’t these days?

  Nate nodded, then stepped up to the cat. “Okay,” he said. “Hit me.”

  The cat sang a scale, then asked him to pick a note. Nate sang a note back. “Right,” the cat said.

  Nate looked back at Laura and gave her a thumbs up. She gave a small smile back. Then with a little wave, Nate headed down the right branch and vanished.

  Laura was alone. The only sound she could hear was the rustling as the wind blew through the corn stalks. She couldn’t even hear any more birds. Her skin prickled. It was the same feeling she got whenever she was in a store five minutes before closing. But she didn’t step forward.

  The cat stared at her and one of its ears twitched.

  “I’d like a minute to think,” Laura said to the cat.

  “You don’t even know the question yet.”

  “I’d still like a minute.”

  The cat was silent. Laura took it as permission. She sat down cross-legged directly on the dirt. She drew tick marks on either side of her knees. On the left were Oliver, Agnes, Nate, Mi-young, and Russell.

  On the right were Caroline, Mitch, Hannah, Graham, and Brett.

  The group had so far been split relatively evenly in theory, but the fact that the group on the right had Graham, who was missing his glasses, and Brett, who had to be pushed into leveling up, didn’t bode well for them.

  Laura drew her knees up to her chest and stared at the tick marks. The sun was just touching the tops of the corn stalks. It was the weaker sun of late fall, the kind that provided more light than warmth. Laura wrapped her arms around her legs. Shadows pooled at the base of the path, and the cat’s fur bristled as a breeze picked up.

  “Time’s up,” the cat said.

  Laura pushed herself to her feet and dusted her legs off. Her heart hammered as she walked up to the cat. How did Oliver ever get used to this feeling?

  The cat seemed to grow even larger the closer she got to it. Close enough that she could see the velvety olive undertones to its fur, and the sharp claws on its feet.

  “What kind of—”

  “I’d like to go right, please,” Laura said.

  The cat blinked. Laura stared impassively back.

  “Fine,” it said, waving her to the right. “Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

  Laura turned to walk down the right branch. Before she hit the point where the others had disappeared she looked back. The cat was licking its paw and using it to groom its ears. From this distance Laura could almost convince herself it was a normal cat.

  She turned back around and stepped forward.