The Maze

Chapter 14

I gasped for breath. I was deep in the maze now. It would take hours for anyone to find me. The sun shone bright in the sky above me. Making the green ivy look beautiful. Everything looked so perfect, the sky a vibrant blue. It would be beautiful. But we were captive in a maze that seemed like it was a thousand miles wide and a thousand miles high.

I slowed to a walk. It was a hot day and I was already sweating from running so far for so long. I stretched my arm out and brushed my hand against the thick ivy. It was incredibly smooth and definitely strong enough to hold the weight of a person.

My mind raced with thoughts. Being thrown into a strange place with lots of people. Only knowing my name. Only I didn't even know if it was my name. How could I? Then came the hope. The hope that led us to try so many ideas that could help us escape the strange world we had been thrown into. But no matter how hard we tried, all our plans failed. And at a price. The emotions ran high after a while, many of the boys didn't think we would get out. They started fighting and some ended up paying the ultamite price. There lives!

Then Alby came up with a system and everything started getting a little better. But we're still stuck, were prisoners in this bloody maze and from what we can see there's no point in trying to get out.

The tears rolled down my cheeks and in my heart was a throbbing pain. I could still remember George, he was one of my first friends in this place. He had been killed by the terrors that lurked in the maze. My insides squeezed tight and I sobbed taking in ragged breaths. Who could be so cruel as to put teenage boys in a maze with no escape and the worst creatures imaginable to kill them if they didn't make it back in time.

I wanted to hurt them, to put them here in my place, but the chances of that happening wasn't likely. I saw movement to my left and spun round hoping it wasn't one of the monstrosity's we called grievers. Fortunately it was only a beetle blade. We figured out that the little pests were there to watch us. I walked on the beetle blade still following me.

I only stopped when I found what I was looking for. Behind the ivy on a gold plaque were the words: "World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department". I brushed away the ivy and stared at them. Anger grew in the pit of my stomach growing the longer I looked at the words.

I was some sort of experiment! A piece in a game. But what game? And why did they need me? I'm just a fourteen year old boy. I'm small and I've probably never done anything that brilliant in my life. I'm just average. I'm not super clever or fit or anything. I'm just me. But clearly these people need me and I don't want them to have me. But there's only one way out.

I couldn't think anymore I just had to do it. Hoping the beetle blade was still watching me I grabbed the nearest vine of ivy and heaved myself up. The perfect day, the perfect place, the perfect way out. It was ironic. I kept looking up not wanting to see how far I had climbed. I just kept pulling myself up until the ivy stopped. I closed my eyes and tried to picture my family, anything from before I was put in this retched maze.

I couldn't. There was only the black void of depression. So I did the only thing left that I could do. I closed my eyes and let go.