The pyramid echoed with the clamour of pursuit. Amidst the tumult two figures crept along shadowy passageways, silent and unnoticed in the inky gloom. Coming to a junction, Nikki pressed her back against the cool stone wall and peeked past the corner. Ahead stretched another passage, straight and empty, lit by dim orange flickers from sconces on the walls.

Behind her, Louise's voice emerged from a nearby shadow. "Clear?"

Nikki nodded. "Clear. Come on, let's go."

Their shapely silhouettes flitted down the torch-lit passageway. Had Nikki been alone she'd have simply made a dash for it, but Louise had become extra jittery since the fates of Tasha and Kelly were announced. Nikki had a knack for reading people, and despite having only met her the day before, she'd already noticed that Louise's normally faint south London accent became noticeably stronger when she was nervous. So far they'd avoided any undue attention, but staying hidden would be no easy task. Nikki decided that, in hindsight, a shiny pink bikini was perhaps not the ideal get-up for a covert operation. Ninjas wore black for a reason. Louise's cute little peach number wasn't much better, though the blonde moved with an almost preternatural grace, her footsteps like snowflakes on silk.

At the next corner Nikki juddered to a halt. What was that? Thinking quickly, she grabbed Louise's wrist and darted into a shaded alcove. With her teammate about to protest, Nikki placed a finger to her lips in a 'shush' gesture. Louise stopped herself just in time, almost gasping as two unfamiliar voices began to converse. The speakers were only a few yards away.

"You really didn't recognise her?" said one.

"Honestly I didn't," the other replied, "but she was pretty much covered by the time I got there. How'd you get her on that chair thing?"

"She did it herself. She was awesome. I swear she has to be one of my all-time faves."

"Yeah? Let's just hope the rest are even half as much fun. Did we get the key back?"

"No, she threw it down the ventilation shaft right before we got her. It'll be near the entrance, I reckon."

"Should we go get it?"

"No, let's get these last two first. Then, once their friends come looking, we can give 'em a proper welcome."

"You're evil."

"Why yes. Yes I am."

The voices passed by, the ghouls too engrossed to notice the skulking contestants. With the chatter receding into the distance, Nikki breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close. Sloshes and glugs tended to herald the approach of a ghoul, but those two had walked almost silently. Their costumes had seemed looser, she'd noticed, as though almost empty.

Louise had been holding her breath. She exhaled now, a tinge of excitement returning to her face. "Phew, they almost had us there. Did they say the key's outside?"

"Sounds like," replied Nikki. "Cool, now we just have to get out of here."

Without thinking, Louise tightened the sarong around her waist. Had Nikki and Tasha not convinced her otherwise, Louise would probably have buried her gorgeous figure in a boiler suit before venturing into the dome. As it was she was still visibly nervous, but Nikki had noticed how her teammate's shoulders weren't quite as tense as before, and more and more often saw the gleam of excitement in her eyes. Nikki's efforts to put her at ease seemed to be gradually bearing fruit.

They resumed their sneaking. The earlier ambush had left Nikki disoriented, but now she was beginning to regain her bearings. So, it seemed, was Louise, who now took the lead. Cheered by her companion's growing confidence, Nikki whispered directions.

*****

Meanwhile, over in the tumbled ruins near the arena's entrance, Lena was plagued by indecision. The two eliminations had been members of the temple team, but an almighty commotion seemed to be taking place somewhere to the east, where the bakery was supposed to be. Despite being desperate to get stuck in, it seemed Lena was doomed to always be on the edge of the action.

Fearlessly she strolled beneath pillars and arches, heedless of the chutes and sprayers she knew lurked all around. She'd come across a few shower points here and there, not that she had any use for one yet. Typical, I come here actually looking forward to the gunge, and everyone's getting messy except me.

She and Jen had ventured out here for a scout around. They were very much on the same wavelength - both intent on having fun - and had hoped to run into trouble. They'd passed the spot where Sarah had uncovered one of the keys, and sure enough had found the remains of disarmed traps scattered around. It was hard to believe Sarah had spotted and neutralised them all in such a short time. Even so, it struck Lena as a bit of a waste. Jen had headed back not long after, hoping to talk her friend into joining in a bit more. Lena didn't fancy her chances. Sarah was clearly averse to getting dirty... or perhaps just very eager to win, though in here that amounted to the same thing. This was hardly a crime, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Sarah was missing out. The fourth member of their team, Liz, was harder to judge. The imperious blonde projected an aura of unflappable self-assurance, yet was very particular when it came to her appearance. How she'd respond when elimination loomed was anyone's guess.

Elimination. Lena grinned at the thought of what that entailed. Supposedly there were no hard and fast rules, but it tended to happen only when there was no real prospect of escape - and once they'd been thoroughly coated in gunk, of course.

I shouldn't be so impatient. It'll happen to us all sooner or later. The question is - who's next?

*****

Adrenaline surged through Holly's veins. She and Ellie had barely evaded the ghouls outside the bakery, and now they bumbled through the maze, covered in gunk and bumping off the padded walls in their rush to escape. One drawback of climbing through the labyrinth on the way in, Holly realised, was that now they didn't know the way back. Even worse, they'd managed to lose Annabelle and Lucy in the confusion.

And now they were being hunted.

The ghouls were out there. How many and how far, she couldn't tell. In here it didn't matter how good their lead was, it'd only take one or two wrong turns and it'd all be over. Even so, they daren't risk stopping to climb the barriers as they'd done before. Distances here could be deceiving, someone in the next aisle might be five minutes away, while a single twist in the path could deliver a seemingly distant pursuer to kissing distance. The ghouls seemed to be running in a stooped-over posture, keeping themselves concealed below the maze walls and only occasionally bobbing their heads up to check where their prey had got to. For all Holly knew they could be waiting around the next corner. There was no way of knowing.

Risking a look back, she noticed Ellie starting to lag behind. The bespattered blonde was trying to tease her hair back into shape. "Come on, Ellie," she called. "You can do your hair later. We need to keep moving."

Despite having a horrible feeling that a net was closing around them, Holly skipped along as though without a care in the world. The reason was simple - she knew she was doomed whatever she did. At this point she was responsible for gunging Belle, the arena's chief technician, not once but twice. Right this moment Belle would no doubt be cleaning herself up and heading back to the control room. Holly glanced up at the network of pipes glugging overhead and smiled grimly. Once Belle got back to her terminal, she'd be able to drop gunge anywhere in the arena, and Holly had a good idea who would be first on her hit list.

With a resigned chuckle she put the thought to the back of her mind. Too late to worry now. Anyway, I knew what I was getting into. With the oversized key held securely against her midriff, where it had been smeared white and yellow from the globs of pie still sliding off her body, Holly concentrated on finding a way through the maze. Doomed or not, she intended to at least deliver the key before Belle took her revenge.

*****

Back in the temple, Nikki and Louise darted from cover to cover. One simple stone passage followed another, but their layout was like something from Escher's nightmares. Nikki no longer had any clue what level they might be on. Presently she signalled a halt. Something about the next intersection seemed... different. Ahead, two corridors collided in a wishbone arrangement, fusing into a single wide aisle suffused by golden haze. It looked to be a thoroughfare, but leading where?

Louise glanced at her, lips curling into a bewildered smile. "Nikki, are you humming the Mission Impossible theme?"

"I...uh.... I may have been."

Chuckling, Louise shook her head before continuing onward. Setting her back to the wall, she sidled along the polished stone blocks to the corner, the soft tones of her costume almost glowing in the diffuse torchlight. Stretching sideways, strands of honey-blonde hair spilling forward from her shoulder, she peered around the edge and almost immediately snapped back, doe eyes glimmering. "I see it. I see daylight!"

Nikki stepped from the shadows, bands of light gliding over her curves, and flicked back her dark hair. "So what're we waiting for?"

Louise's expression flickered, anxiety and excitement vying for dominance. Then she smiled.

Throwing caution to the wind, they rounded the corner and raced down the hallway, risking everything on one final dash. Before them a perfect square of white light drew steadily closer. They had done it. Nikki began to swell with pride at her successful subterfuge. I should totally have been a spy. But now Louise was slowing, her hand rising to stifle a moan. What's up with her? The concourse ahead seemed to widen and dip down, the resulting trench extending another twenty paces before rising just before the exit. Then Nikki saw it: the floor of that lower section glistened. A slimy pit stood between them and freedom.

They stopped at the slime's edge, coincidentally striking almost identical poses - one hand on hip, the other at their chin - while regarding the expanse of cherry-pink goo. Both of average height, each encapsulated a different kind of beauty. Where Nikki was all bronzed skin and toned abs, Louise was sleeker, more classically feminine.

"How deep you think it is?" Nikki wondered aloud.

Louise smiled sweetly. "Want to jump in and find out? It matches your bikini, after all." Just then her gaze drifted past Nikki's shoulder. Her brow furrowed. "Where'd that come from?"

Nikki turned - and very nearly sprawled backwards into the gunge. A latticed bamboo cage, slightly larger than a telephone booth, had emerged from a niche in the wall. Shaped like an oversized birdcage, it hung a few inches from the ground, suspended by cables that ran directly across the pool. The cables ran through a box-shaped mechanism atop the cage, from which handles like bicycle pedals jutted down.

It took a few seconds for Nikki to get past her surprise. Realising that someone in the dome's control room must be watching them, she grinned up at the walls and ceiling, trying to spot where the hidden cameras might be, before approaching the contraption and swinging open the flimsy door. "This is the answer," she declared. "We can use this to get across."

Louise looked unsure. "What if it's a trap? I mean, it just appears out of nowhere, and..." Her voice faltered - stalking footsteps were approaching behind them.

Spinning round, Nikki saw dimly-lit outlines emerging from the blackness. Reacting instantly, she hopped into the cage and leaned out, offering Louise her hand. "Come on, there's no time. Get in!"

Though seemingly on the verge of panic, Nikki's words jolted Louise into action, and with that she leapt nimbly into the cage and swung the door shut. A chorus of lilting laughter drifted down the hallway, where the pursuing ghouls had broken into a scampering run.

"Quick," said Nikki, "the handles!" Grabbing the set above her, she began spinning them furiously. Louise did likewise, but the cage didn't budge. "Damnit, it's not working."

"Nikki, the other way!"

"Ooh, yeah. Sorry."

Facing each other across the cramped booth, the two contestants worked the mechanism as fast as they could, each trying to squeeze back to avoid too much awkwardness from their chests colliding. The ghouls were plainly visible now, materialising from the murk like grinning spectres. Nikki felt her heart start to pound. Their only hope was to get the cage above the slime pit, out of the ghouls' reach. At last they were moving. Both girls uttered shrill murmurs as the cage shuddered out above the gunge, jerkily at first, but soon steadying once they established a rhythm.

Louise had her back to the ghouls. The blonde's head turned a fraction, though she dared not look back. "How far?" she said.

Nikki tilted her head to see past her teammate. The ghouls were accelerating... and there were a lot of them. This was going to be close. "Faster!" she replied.

Uttering a keening murmur, Louise redoubled her efforts. The bamboo cage swayed alarmingly but crept on along the track. Its floor was nothing but a slat of reinforced cardboard, one that seemed liable to give way at any moment. Nikki tried not to think about it. Instead she gritted her teeth and pretended this was one of her regular workouts. Soon her breathing settled into clockwork regularity, the handles turning tirelessly in her grasp. Louise too, though her movements were less fluid, was more than pulling her weight.

With the cage now safely clear of the pool's edge and beyond reach of the ghouls' sprayers, Nikki nodded to her companion. "You can relax. We're safe."

Louise risked a peek back and sighed in relief. "Oh my God," she said breathlessly, "I really thought they had us there."

Fearing a trick, Nikki checked behind her. All was good - there were no more side passages before the exit, so no way for the ghouls to cut them off. It was clear sailing from now on. Angling to look past Louise again, she watched smugly as their opponents reached the lake... and kept on coming.

Wait, what? Her surprise manifested as a hoot of laughter - the slime was only shin-deep. Their pursuers ploughed through it with ease. Suddenly nervous, she checked how far they had to go. The cage was halfway across the pool, but the ghouls seemed to have scarcely slowed at all.

We won't make it.

*****

At the arena's centre, shielded on three sides by the labyrinth, stood a gnarled tower. This bastion served as gatehouse to the sprawling palace complex which dominated the dome's northern half, and it had recently acquired a new feature. It had been Jen who'd noticed it first, and straightaway she'd rushed to summon Liz and Sarah - Lena having been nowhere to be found. The three of them now stood in the tower's hollow interior, peering down the north-facing tunnel that linked to the palace. Two sets of garish pink bars remained in their way - they would need the other keys to remove them - but beyond, not far from the palace doors, clear plastic panels had slid from the walls to create a rudimentary cubicle.

"What do you suppose that's for?" Jen wondered aloud.

"Well it's in our way, whatever it is," remarked Liz.

"So how do we get past it?" said Sarah, who sounded somewhat fraught. She was hovering at the southern doorway, clearly unsure whether it was safer inside or out. Jen's efforts to get her to relax clearly had a long way to go.

After scanning the booth once more, Jen cleared her throat and prepared to speak. The others turned to her, waiting expectantly. There was a long pause. Eventually Jen shrugged. "Beats me."

Sarah snorted. "Outstanding."

A few regal steps brought Liz closer, bright blue eyes drinking in every detail. There was no mistaking the tank of slime poised above the newly-created booth. "It looks as though getting in means getting... well... gunged," Liz observed, expelling the last word as though the very letters were distasteful. "But why reveal it now and not earlier?"

A hydraulic hiss tore through the chamber, silencing them. Dry ice shot up, obscuring the cubicle behind a grey veil. Jen looked, blinked, and looked again. Was it her imagination? No, there was something else there, something new. An outline in the mist. Murmurs from her companions confirmed it wasn't just her. With the air beginning to clear, a silhouette gradually emerged.

"Who's there?" called Jen.

The stranger said nothing.

More details came into focus as the mist dissipated. The figure was taller than both Jen and Sarah, though that was hardly difficult, and was definitely a she; the long midriff curved gracefully inward before filling out again, while glimmering light shone through hair that was long, straight and ash-blonde.

"G'day girls," the woman said.

Jen started. That accent... where have I heard that voice?

"I'm here to let you all in on a secret," the newcomer continued, sounding perfectly calm.

"Uh... good, I guess," said Sarah. "Fire away."

"Sorry, it's not that easy."

"Hmph, it never is."

That voice, it couldn't be? The last of the vapour cleared. Smiling eyes surveyed the three contestants. It was Melissa.

*****

Nikki and Louise spun the handles of their ludicrous mobile birdcage with all their might, but still the ghouls gained on them. The nearest squeezed the pads on her palms, sending purple streams lancing from the nozzles at her wrists. Nikki began to yell a warning, but it soon became obvious the gunge would fall short. Sure enough it tumbled into the slimy pool with a plopping sound. Still it had been close, and their hunters were gaining with every second.

Bunched together, each breath warming the other's cheek, she and Louise redoubled their efforts, but it was no good. Nikki giggled with anticipation on watching their pursuers fan into a horseshoe formation. They had to be in range now. Louise glanced left and right, though she dared not look back. "How close?" she squeaked.

The ghouls were levelling their arms. Nikki looked her teammate in the eye and smiled reassuringly. "Uh, Louise?"

"What?"

"I don't think we're getting out of this one."

Quick as a flash, Louise released the handles and tugged the sarong away from her hips. Twisting, she unfurled it into a makeshift shield, pressing the top corners against the cage while using her knee to keep the lower part in place. Moments later the fabric bulged inward, slime slapping against the material. With a squeal of alarm, Louise set her shoulder to the fabric and turned, using her back in a desperate attempt to pin it in place.

While Louise squirmed around, the sarong billowing before the messy onslaught, Nikki noticed two ghouls circling to the sides, their sprayers levelled at Louise. Was it worth giving a warning? It wasn't as though there was anything they could do about it, and in any case their improvised shield was already starting to slip. There would be no escaping this.

Even so, with her teammate still so nervous, Nikki knew what she had to do. Waving both arms and wiggling her hips got the attention of the flanking ghouls, at which point she gestured to herself. "Hey! Over here!"

A shiver ran down her spine on seeing the ghouls shift their aim. Oh God, here it comes.

The ghouls fired. With a look that was half grin, half grimace, Nikki turned her face away just as beams of translucent yellow slime shattered against the cage bars and flew on, spraying glistening nets across her skin. The impacts left her writhing on the spot, arms flapping in a futile attempt to protect herself. With slime issuing from both sides, twisting away from one blast only left her exposed to another. The cool jolt where it first connected was followed the next moment by the sensation of oily gloop spilling over her contours. The left side of her face had been slathered, the stuff bringing a faint taste of lemon to her lips.

Blinking blobs away from her eyelashes, Nikki peeked across to Louise, whose initial scream had morphed almost immediately into girlish tittering on seeing Nikki get the gunge. Just then a few blobs deflected onto the blonde's thigh. Louise squeaked and stared at the mess, mouth moving wordlessly - but she was still smiling. Inwardly, Nikki sighed in relief; she'd done all she could to loosen her teammate up, now it was out of her hands. She knew what was coming.

Louise squealed as the next volley arrived. This time it was directed at her, tattered splashes flying off her arms and streaking her hair. Nikki's heart froze. How would she react? At first Louise looked mortified, but slowly, and much to Nikki's relief, the look of horror morphed into a ticklish whimper when another jet skimmed her lower stomach. It moved higher, yellow muck spraying first her chest, then her neck, until her eyelids fluttered shut, the last blobs speckling her face. In her surprise she allowed the sarong to slip, and promptly arched her spine, eyes widening, as hails of multi-coloured gunge doused her back and came exploding out from her flanks.

Nikki cheered her approval. "Ha-ha, looking good."

Another volley was imminent. Shivering in shock and exhilaration, Louise lurched forward to huddle against Nikki, who grinned a little bashfully at having a scantily-clad woman suddenly press against her. She soon got past it though, and returned the hug just as the next barrage arrived. Shrieking and wriggling, gloop spraying around them, they clung tight to one another. Louise's back was getting the worst of it, and now her hair was turning green and pink, thin streams dribbling down her forehead and spilling down past her collarbones. It was mostly the yellow stuff hitting Nikki, ticklish jets playing up her sides and through her dark hair, but some of the other colours were getting through too, blowing back the hair at her temples or skimming along the sides of her arms.

Resting her forehead against Louise's, she smiled playfully and was relieved to see Louise grin in response, while at the same time shaking her head at the insanity of it all. Pressing together was providing less and less protection - the ghouls at the sides were intentionally aiming for where their bodies made contact, sending bursts of yellow ooze squirming across their stomachs and bikini tops, while ever more gunk came flowing over Louise's shoulders, where it ended up being smeared over both their chests. Their embracing bodies were sliding over each other now, the oozing gunk making them ever more slippery.

Looking dazed, Louise leaned back and peered blearily upward. "I - ugh - wait, why are we still moving?"

It was difficult to concentrate on anything but the slime, but Nikki forced herself to look around. The cage had taken on a life of its own. It was still moving onward, though slow enough for the ghouls to keep pace. "Hey, you're right. Maybe we can do this. If we're fast, we can..."

Then she noticed the look on Louise's face. Following her gaze, she saw some kind of switch laying across the track the cable passed along. It would be knocked into the 'on' position once the cage passed beneath it - which would happen in only a few seconds. A cable from the switch led on along the ceiling... to where twin spouts jutted down on either side of the track. There was just enough time for the two contestants to share an 'Oh no' look and cling to each other, then a tell-tale glug sounded overhead. Here it comes...

Smooth blue liquid descended. Falling in twin columns, it surged through the hair on each side of Nikki's head before careening off her shoulders. Gallons fell, flowing like thick milkshake, its scent that of blueberries and butterscotch. With gooey cataracts sweeping down her chest and back, Nikki had to tilt forward to keep her eyes clear. As the cage advanced, so the spouts shifted, first splattering into her cleavage before moving onto Louise, who yelped in shock, gunge draping ragged sashes across her front, and then passing over her as it had done Nikki.

Hearing a plaintive groan from Louise, Nikki shook sodden hair from her face and flashed a reassuring smile. "Hey, think of it this way - at least things can't get any wor-"

The cage disintegrated, its sides yawning outward before retracting upward like venetian blinds. Unsupported, the cardboard floor collapsed into the cherry goo below, taking the girls with them. While Louise managed to land with some measure of grace, Nikki simply swan-dived toward the sludge, and only at the last moment angled into a sitting position. Instantly her lower body was engulfed, slick ripples radiating outward. The swamp was room temperature and strangely silky in texture. Nikki kicked her legs a little, feeling it swirl around her. It was actually quite pleasant. Still, she knew she had to focus on the game. A look back revealed the pool's edge only a few yards distant. They were almost safe.

Immediately she scrambled up. "Ugh. Come on, we're getting out of here!"

Now the ghouls charged. Finding Louise on her knees, staring at the backs of her slimy hands as though transfixed, Nikki moved behind her, took hold of her wrists and began dragging her backwards through the muck. Louise squealed with startled laughter, cerise slime churning about her hips while the ghouls unleashed another salvo onto her front. The ensuing mess merged into a syrupy lotion that pooled in her lap before trailing in her wake.

Nikki backpedalled as fast as she could, a goofy grin lighting her features even as the ghouls splattered her too. Gelatinous strings trailed from her bikini top, the falling gobbets raining atop Louise's head. It occurred to her that they could've been home and dry by now if she'd just let Louise stand, but this way was more fun. It didn't take long for a misstep to pitch her onto her back. There was a thick squelch, and then slime rushed in to embrace her, colliding across her middle like mini-tsunamis. She lay there a moment, chuckling contentedly, before wondering why her head and shoulders hadn't been immersed. Most of her top was visible too, twin islands rising from the sludge. Then she realised - she was leaning against the far bank. They'd made it across.

Ripples lapped against her right side where Louise slithered up beside her. "You were right, you know," Nikki drawled.

Groaning, Louise put her hands below Nikki's armpits and set about trying to pull her from the mire, though managed only to get her into a sitting position. "About what?" she replied.

Scooping up a handful of the cherry slime, Nikki let it ooze between her fingers. "This stuff does match my bikini."

Louise grimaced. "Lucky you. Now come on, let's go."

The ghouls weren't about to allow that. Two launched flying tackles, landing with a tremendous splash and grabbing hold of the contestants' ankles. The surprise sent Louise toppling onto her back beside Nikki. They wiggled their feet, but it was no good, they were pinned in place. Now the other ghouls stalked up, faces bedecked by war paint surveying them with smug satisfaction.

Louise shifted, the gunge around her hips quivering like jelly, and looked over at Nikki. "Ugh. We were so close."

Nikki nodded, and was about to reply when one ghoul stepped closer. Seemingly the leader, this one was already spattered with gunk from a prior encounter. The brunette's striking grey eyes shifted from Louise to Nikki. "So, which of you wants to go first?"

Instantly the two contestants laughed and pointed to each another. "Her! Do her!"

"No! Her first!"

It was all academic, Nikki knew. The ghouls would eliminate them both whatever happened. The lead ghoul tapped her chin, pretending to be deep in thought. She pointed to each fidgeting contestant in turn. "Ip-dip-sky-blue-it-is-not-you. O-U-T-spells..." She pointed to the unlucky one. "...Out. Sorry, Louise."

Louise waved frantically. "No! Ha-ha, no - wait!"

Ribbons of slime pulsed forth from the ghouls' sprayers. Louise laughed and flailed, but there was no escape. Stray blobs pebbled Nikki's flank where she lay, but she was too busy watching the show to pay them any mind.

The grey-eyed ghoul smiled impishly. "I think we should get a little closer, don't you?"

"No, no, there's fine!" sputtered Louise.

The ghoul snuggled beside her victim, her costume exuding green slime wherever their figures touched. "Relax," she purred, "we've got a real treat lined up for you."

At this signal, a cluster of ghouls converged around Louise and began sliding her toward the right-hand wall. Laying back, hair trailing through the swamp, Louise issued a keening moan but allowed it to happen, even as jade gunge erupted from the ceiling onto her outstretched legs. Heedless of their prey's tittering protests, the ghouls dragged her slowly into the torrent. They seemed to want her at a specific spot, and the deluge only made it easier for them to slide her along.

Nikki saw her chance. The ghoul holding her ankles, a slender woman with sharp cheekbones and short fair hair, had craned to watch the procession - which left the ripcord at the back of her costume exposed. Even so, Nikki hesitated. Part of her wanted to see what was coming. Louise was nearing the wall, where a dark crack now stretched from floor to ceiling. With a rasping growl two semi-circular panels retracted, revealing a five-foot gap beyond which was only darkness. The slime that rushed into that gap seemed to fall away as though down a steep incline.

With eyes like saucers, Louise sat straighter, tucked her wet hair behind her ears and then pointed to the void. "W-what's down there?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"You're about to find out," replied the grey-eyed ghoul.

Louise peered at the faces gathered above her... and slowly her lips curled into a resigned smile. She knew it was hopeless. Submitting to her fate, she played along with them, jokily pleading for mercy while her captors nudged her closer. The spattering green gunk from the ceiling followed her as she went, and was growing steadily stronger. On reaching the chute's edge, her gaze dropped to see what lay at the bottom. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, slime skittering from her curves. "Oh my God, what's that?"

Nikki made her move. Feeling the yank on her ripcord, the ghoul pinning her emitted a confused squeak before her costume erupted like a punctured water balloon. Ignoring the sprays, Nikki struggled to her feet and glanced around. The other ghouls were busy with Louise, who was perched atop the slide with chin tucked down and hands clamped to her mouth. There was no chance of rescuing her, but Nikki lingered anyway. Whatever was about to happen, she wanted to see it.

The lead ghoul nudged the small of Louise's back, taking her to the very brink. She tapped the wall, called, "Dinner time!" down the chute, and then set her chin on Louise's shoulder. "Have fun," she whispered.

The lightest of prods was all it took. Louise's giggled pleas became a fast-fading yelp as she disappeared from view. Overcome by curiosity, Nikki skidded behind the ghouls and peeked through the opening. The light was dim, and she caught only the briefest of glimpses, but it was enough to spot the pinkish-yellow hulk at the far end. Remembering the thing from the briefing video, Nikki's mouth dropped open. The blob. Essentially one monstrous face, with paper plate eyes and a rubbery hide, it was laughably unconvincing. The chute, however, fed directly into its gaping, slime-filled maw. Down went Louise. She was on her back, wiggling and squealing, while oily gloop sprayed from either side to ensure the slide remained good and slippery.

Nikki heard snorts of surprise from the ghouls, who'd finally noticed her. Filled with a strange mix of glee and guilt, she took one more look at Louise before racing for the exit. The ghouls didn't follow. From down the slide came a colossal splash, followed by a tumult of sloshes and slurps intermingled with giddy laughter.

Leaving her companion to her fate, Nikki ran on. The passage ended in glorious daylight. Much to her surprise, she'd emerged onto a broad balcony almost halfway up the pyramid. Taking a moment to admire the view, she noted with amusement that the maze was now alive with running figures. A glance about revealed a semicircular flume carved into the pyramid's side, which would deposit her not far from the temple's main entrance. Rushing to it, she braced her arms against the sides, vaulted into a sitting position, and without a moment's hesitation went sliding down, whooping as she went.

Upon reaching the bottom she stood, shook out her soaked hair, and began fumbling through the foliage around the temple's entrance. The ghouls from earlier had been right - there lay the key, glinting amidst plastic fronds. Nikki grabbed it before scampering away between ranks of baleful totems. Four contestants had marched up this very path not so long ago, spotless and beautiful. Now it's just me, and I'm not exactly looking my best. Wait, technically there's still two of us. Who knows, maybe Louise managed to escape?

The intercom buzzed. "Louise has been eliminated."

Okay, maybe not.

*****

In the maze, Ellie tried her best to hurry while at the same time wiping pie out of her hair. This was shaping up to be a strange day. She had, much to her surprise, quite enjoyed the pie fight, even though by the end she was basically being used as target practice. Splodges of cream scattered in her wake where she ran fingers through her chin-length hair, trying in vain to restyle it.

Unbelievable. It took ages to get it just right, now I have to start over again.

With the gatehouse near, her pace began to slow. The sounds of pursuit had faded away. Noticing an alcove in the wall to her right, she took a quick peek and immediately halted. "Hey Holly, take a look - showers."

Oblivious, Holly kept running. Probably all that slime in her hair, Ellie mused. Seeing Holly take a right at the end of the aisle, she hesitated. That shower looked awfully inviting. Should I? Who knows when I'll get another chance to clean up? Another backwards glance showed no trace of any hunters. She decided to risk it.

The spray of water was warm and powerful, banishing the accumulated goo in short order. Within moments her skimpy white bikini re-emerged from the retreating sludge. Closing her eyes, she sighed contentedly and tilted her heart-shaped face into the spray. Soon her matted hair was smooth and silky once again. Finding a towel on a nearby rail, she tarried a little longer to dab herself dry. It was then that she noticed the full length mirror opposite. Her eyes lit up. With no sign of any ghouls, she took some time to admire her reflection, brushing a stray blob of cream from her elbow and arranging her white-blonde hair into a tousled style.

Much better. That can't have taken more than a minute, right?

Replacing the towel, she strolled back to the passageway, adjusting her top on the way, and before following in Holly's footsteps cast a final glance back - just in time to see a ghoul emerge from a side gallery around thirty paces distant. For a long moment the pair stood motionless, each as surprised as the other. Then her opponent's lips curled wickedly. "Over here, I've got one!" she cried. A second ghoul appeared beside the first, then a third.

Coming to her senses, Ellie yelped in alarm and fled up the passage. No need to panic, she assured herself, I can easily outrun these guys.

She was approaching the T-junction when two more ghouls appeared from the left-hand turning. Spotting her, they quickly blocked the path to the gatehouse. Ellie stumbled to a standstill. She spun round, searching for another way, but there was none. She was cut off. But that means...

With their quarry cornered, the ghouls slowed their pace, savouring the sweet anticipation of what was to come.

Looking back and forth between the two sets of advancing foes, Ellie tried desperately to think, but all she could focus on was an image from the briefing, of that Australian redhead after she'd opened the escape hatch to find enemies on both sides. She considered trying to vault the wall, but it was already too late - they were almost on her.

With a squeak that was equal parts alarm and embarrassment, Ellie moved to the aisle's northern side and turned, instinctively not wanting her back to any opponents. A small ledge ran at waist height along the wall. It was only a few inches across, but it was enough for Ellie to perch on. Shoulders tensing, she clasped the sill tightly. Though still near-enough in a standing position, it felt better to be grabbing hold of something.

This is just great, I travel thousands miles to be here and I'm going to be one of the first eliminated.

The ghouls fanned into a crescent around her. Ellie glanced down at herself and sighed wistfully. Moisture sparkled on her white bikini, so recently cleaned. The ghouls' thoughts seemed to follow similar lines. "Nice of you to get cleaned up for us," noted one, a freckled girl with a mop of dark hair and lines of blue war paint across her face.

Ellie's shrug wasn't quite as casual as she'd intended. "Guess I'm just the considerate type."

Dark eyes shimmering, the ghoul cocked her head. "So it would seem. I only wish there was some way we could show our... appreciation." As one, the ghouls' arms began to rise.

Pouting, Ellie shrank back against the wall, head bowed and knuckles showing white where she clung to the ledge. "Ooh, something tells me you'll find a way," she replied, her voice growing progressively higher as a row of nozzles were brought to bear.

A delicious pause, and then the ghoul spoke again. "You might just be right."

Hisses sang from the ghouls' wrists as gunge came spraying forth. The next moment froze in Ellie's mind. Slime seemed to drift at her, coiling webs that twisted and spun. Her mind captured each blob and gobbet with pinpoint clarity. It was coming from everywhere. She was powerless to resist. The first of it hit her lap, splurging gooey custard across her hip and thigh. A split-second later and neon-pink wetness exploded at the crook of her left arm, strawberry-sized blobs spattering her flank. Green and pink streams collided immediately in front of her, the resulting concoction bursting over her belly and bikini bottoms. She gasped as yet another spout, blue this time, landed between her collarbones; gunk splashed her neck and chin as the rest flowed down, her bosom channelling it into a serpentine river that seethed down the middle of her stomach. Her eyes blinked shut as tepid ooze soaked the right side of her face. When they reopened there were orange globs dripping from her brow.

Though her heart was hammering, Ellie let out a baffled chuckle. One volley and she was a complete mess. "What the...? Oh my God, look what you've done."

A second helping was already in on its way. Entranced, Ellie peered down as a green wave broke over her torso at the very instant purple slop slathered her hips. The two splashes warred with each other, leaving her midriff streaked like a backgammon board.

"Hey, that tickles!" she squeaked, toes wiggling in the gunk now pooling at her feet. Mopping her forehead, she used the other hand to paw at her front, disrupting the tassels oozing from her top. My poor little outfit. Just think of the charities...

While Ellie had a hand up at her head, a quick-witted ghoul took advantage of the opening to spray her exposed flank. Pink slime coated the underside of her right arm, splashed her armpit and the side of her breast, and then flowed down the inbound curve of her side until it reached the flimsy knot at her hip. Even as she shrieked, one thought echoed though Ellie's mind like a mantra: This is crazy.

Everything about this situation was alien. All her life she'd been taught to dress up and look pretty. As an actress she'd had teams of professionals on hand to choose her style, pick her clothes, fuss her hair and apply her makeup. Cleansing, wiping, preening, plucking; tanning and jogging and jumping and fasting. Countless hours sacrificed on the altar of perfection, and now here she was, barely dressed, being systematically slimed. She could feel the stuff pour down her, a cornucopia of colours and consistencies eager to feed the ravenous puddle at her feet. Suddenly thick green slime came pouring atop her head, wrecking her artfully styled hair. Everything about this was wrong. It was stupid, it was ridiculous, it was... oddly liberating.

Without really intending to, Ellie slowly lifted her arms, leaving herself defenceless before the onslaught. As her hands reached above her head, she began to chuckle. "Ha-ha, come on then! You call this a sliming?"

The ghouls responded to the challenge in typical fashion. Gunge flew, saturating Ellie's hair and sloshing through her top like a river through rapids. Oily waves slid helter-skelters down her legs, colours overlapping one atop the other. Ellie's murmurs escalated to embarrassed yet mirthful groans as the flow from above strengthened, the emerald cascade crashing over her head. She bent forward, allowing the worst of it to gush down her back and engulf her bikini bottoms, while strings of ooze drooled from her chin or dripped from her dishevelled locks.

Elimination was close - that much was certain - but there was something she wanted to do before then. Spotting the freckled ghoul moving to embrace her, Ellie beat her to it. Lunging forward, she wrapped her arms around her tormentor, pulling her close. Electric blue sludge burst like a halo where their bodies connected.

Though all was colour and motion, Ellie felt oddly calm. Resting her chin on the ghoul's shoulder, she whispered, "Consider this a parting gift." The ghoul stared, not noticing the pull on her ripcord, but then reeled back once her costume began to react, gunk first bursting inwards onto the wearer before flying out in every direction. Though pelted by the creamy sprays, Ellie danced on the spot. "Aha! At least I got one of you!"

The little victory jig continued even as payback began, flurries of gunge dousing her slimy frame with a series of delicious splats. The defeated ghoul stumbled away, the flows from her tattered outfit gradually subsiding, only for others to rush to take her place. Some had hands behind their backs and knowing smiles on their faces. Ellie tilted her head, wet hair flicking past her eyes, and tried to get a better look. Finally the ghouls raised their hands.

Pies. Of course.

A squeal escaped Ellie's lips as the crowd suddenly converged. Gentle impacts pressed against her skin, and within moments whipped cream coated her face and torso. With blobs collecting on her chest and rolling like an avalanche down her stomach, Ellie was reduced to hysterical tittering.

The ghouls, meanwhile, leaned in for a group hug. Shoulders tensing, Ellie gave a soundless shriek as blasts of multi-coloured gunge soaked her utterly. The dizzying sensations left her writhing, as though caught in a gelatinous whirlwind. More pies caressed her even as the green torrent intensified, sending contestant and ghoul alike sliding to the floor in a laughing heap.

I so wish my stylist could see me now.

*****

On the opposite side of the maze, Nikki ducked back from a junction and crouched low, barely avoiding the figures that raced by only seconds later. It seemed there was no way through - the labyrinth was alive with ghouls. Staying low, she clutched the key close to her gunk-spattered body and doubled back. It was best not to think about the trail she was leaving. She didn't think anyone had spotted her yet, but the moment someone noticed those mucky footprints she was as good as finished. Instead, trying to remain inconspicuous - or at least as inconspicuous as a gunged, bikini-clad beauty queen could be - she slunk to the next intersection and crouched, listening intently.

A voice whispered into her ear. "Boo!"

Heart leaping, Nikki sprawled back and clamped a goo-slick hand to her mouth to suppress a scream. She turned toward the noise... to find Lena crouched beside her. "My God, don't do that!"

A cheesy grin lit Lena's face. "Sorry, couldn't resist." Spotlessly clean, she adjusted her sleek black hair and looked Nikki up and down, plainly amused by what she saw.

Nikki shuffled bashfully. "Yeah, I got a little messy."

"So I see. Hah, I wish I'd been there. Is that the key?" Seeing Nikki nod, Lena rubbed her hands together. "Wicked. So you're on your way back?"

"Trying to. Way's blocked."

"Not to worry, I know a way. Follow me."

With that Lena turned and scurried off, black hair swishing behind her. Nikki watched for a moment, weighing her options, and then followed.

To Be Continued....