The MindMaze

Chapter One

It was as normal a day as anything, or so I thought. We were just going to the mall as a small treat. Who knew anything would become of it? But we walked through the hallways of the mall, oblivious to the danger.

My family had all agreed that we were old enough to look at stores by ourselves, with the 3 younger ones together. So my mom and dad went off to look at appliance and electronic stores, my 3 younger siblings went off to look at the toy stores, and Mandie, my 15-year-old sister, moved off to shop to her heart's content. We were going to stay at the mall for two hours as a family treat, because we were hardly ever able to go places--what with dad's work, school, and other things.

Alone, I wandered around, trying to think of a store I would like. Since I'd never really been shopping, except for a few errands I helped my mom with, I didn't know what stores were there or where I wanted to go. Finally, I just decided I'd start with the store closest to me: The Mindmaze. 

Before entering the small shop, I glanced back just to see if my family was still nearby, or see where they had gone off to. It was then that I realized just how far I had wandered into the mall. The entrance doors were way far down the hallway to the right of this store. The hallway I was in was not as wide as others I'd seen on the way here, but was still wide enough for several people to walk down side-by-side. The walls were made of various small shops, so that in this hallway there weren't any windows. The majority of the mall traffic focused more towards the right side of the mall. 

Well, I guess for that brief description to make any sense, I should describe the actual mall to you. It was huge (or at least it seemed so to me, who had no experience shopping). When you enter the mall, you find yourself in a large, circular room that branches off into 3 hallways--one to the right, one in the middle (where I was), and one to the left. My family had followed the people streaming into the right hallway, with some of the crowd moving into my hallway and the left hallway. Though, the small stream of people coming into this hallway seemed more focused on getting to the large, circular room at the end of it, where there were escalators, stairs, and many more prominent shops. But, here I was, at this small shop called The Mindmaze.

I shrugged my shoulders. This place was as good as any to start in.

So I entered the open-front store. It was very small, and consisted mostly of brain games neatly displayed on wall shelves. There were small tables to work at in the middle with some brain games already on them. The only other thing in the front of the store was one footless desk, which was simply a slab of wood screwed into the right-hand wall. On top of the desk was a miniature maze.

"Can I help you, miss...?" a man asked me behind the cashier counter.

"Emily. No, but thank you for the offer," I said politely. I moved towards the mini maze I had seen.

"Interesting, isn't it?" The cashier said--right by my shoulder. I jumped and turned around.

"How did you get there so fast?" I asked. He chuckled.

"My friends call me the silent, tall mover." I doubted that.

"This maze was handmade. Carved with extreme care. If you are interested in this, I can show you more things like it in the back," he offered. 

At first I wasn't completely against it, but then I remembered my parents warning me about such things--being alone with strangers. I hesitated. Surely he didn't mean any harm. But then again, he's a stranger... That can move fast and silently, apparently. I wasn't so sure anymore. An excuse popped into my head.

"But to do that, you will leave the cashier desk unoccupied," I said, hoping he would change his mind so that I could politely go away.

"Oh, no matter. When we go in the back, I will call another worker, and he will take care of it. Now, let's go and see more of these mazes." He took my arm, and steered me to the back. I didn't want to stay. Starting to feel frightened, I decided I would try to escape--even if I had to run for it. As we entered the back of the store, I tried to think of something to say so that I could politely escape.

"Um, sir, my family and I were only planning to stay here in the mall only for a few minutes, and I would like to see what else there is too. I think I have to go now in order to do that. But maybe another time, I'll come back," I attempted. His face suddenly turned a deep purplish red, but he composed himself so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. I tried to take a step back, but his hand was still holding my arm.

"Miss Emily, I am sure this will take but a few seconds. You showed such interest in the mini hand carved maze, that I would be impolite not to show you more of it. You could have one of your own! They are such pretty things, eh?" He would have pulled the commercialist act decently, had he not been so creepy. "I am sure that once you show your family your new maze, they will be delighted that you spent your time here."

I tried with another excuse. "I am not saying your maze is not intricately designed, but I do think I should go now. If I remember, my family told me they had a shop they wanted to show me."

"Miss, please! I haven't had any customers recently--" at which I thought sarcastically, can't imagine why, "--and my shop will become bankrupt and be thrown out of this mall! Miss, this is my one chance to make a living! If I do not have any customers, my reputation will fall, and no one would want me anywhere!" He continued pleadingly. "But if you buy something, and have a good review, I will be saved!" He looked so pitiful I actually believed him. I entered the back room with him. I would regret this decision for the rest of my life.