Day 10

The wet streaks are clearly visible on my face as I stare into the three sixty mirrors that surround me. The chill of a light breeze leaves goose bumps on my arms and legs and the ice of the cuffs around my wrists and ankles make my body twist with shivers.

A voice comes over an intercom that makes the small area echo with a gnarly voice. "There's no use, you won't figure out the maze."

"Please." More tears stream down my face and a sob shakes my body.

"You will have twenty four hours and if it's not completed, you will suffer."

A buzz rings my ears and the cuffs open, freeing my limbs and my spirit. My spirit is clearly visible as I watch myself spring out of the chair. I push each mirror until one opens and the dark hallway is inviting me to explore and find freedom.

At the end of the hallway are three more hallways each one a different color; red--a bright waking color, dark blue--almost black, and yellow--a much brighter vibrant color. I pick the one on my left, red. It ends short so I go into the next one, dark blue.

I am led to three more choices, this time doors with the letters; E, I, and O. I start on my right but that one ends after a misleading turn. Then I pick "I" the hallway gets darker the further I go. Complete darkness fills me with despair, if the hallway stays like this then I will never leave.

Heat radiates off of the walls causing me to pull my hand away with a sudden burst shock. Something in me, perhaps that small voice in my head, tells me to go back. Curiosity makes me linger though, but I fight the urge to solve the question of the sudden heat with the more urgent desire I have to find a way out.

I turn back and walk for hours, but is really just a matter of minutes waisted. Then I turn down "E" and I keep walking, no matter how much I want to give up I don't.

I am brought to three more doors but these are more terrifying. One door reads, stabbing, the other door reads asphyxiation, and the last door says shooting. Could they all really be a door to my terrible ending?

My palms start to slicken so I wipe them on my pants. There has to be some logic to these decisions. Stabbing and shooting are both very physical endings when a person can asphyxiate from gas. And asphyxiation is so much longer. It is also a different form, he could have said asphyxiating but he didn't.

I open the door with my breath deep at the bottom of my stomach, leaving no air in my lungs. I start to sprint until I come to the next doors but this time there are four decisions. The doors now read, in order, "THE END IS NEAR" each door having it's own word. I don't want to die, if that's what's implied. I close my eyes and push open the door "THE". When I open my eyes I realize that I'm still alive and I keep walking.

Is this some kind of sick game to him? Why does he put words on the doors? Or why were the hallways painted? My thoughts scramble for answers. Blue, "E", "Asphyxiation", "The" they have nothing in common. I cling to one thought though, one outrageous silly thought: all together the first words spell BEAT.

I stop in my tracks at the sight of more doors. This is a game to him and he wants me to know it. My next choices are "HIDE OR SEEK" all in order, referring to the game. But what word is BEATH, BEATO, or BEATS? Is he trying to tell me that he's beating me? But why would it be plural?

I sit down in front of all the doors and try to think. There has to be a better explanation. I think from the most recent door all the way to the first hall. The halls were so bright except for the hall that brought me here, it was darker than the others. I get up and smile as I realize that I can finish this word game. HIDE is the door I push open, because DEATH is the word he wants me to spell.

The lights are off and it's so dark that if I waved my hand in front of my face I wouldn't be able to see it, not even an outline. The door closes with a heavy click, it's locking me in.

"I gave you a choice and you chose death."

The sound of a machine comes on and I run to the door for help, I try to bang on it but no one is there to help me. I am trapped here, left to die. That's when I feel the heat again but this time it comes from the floor and I start to notice the floor slipping out from underneath me.

The machine makes a shrilling sound and stops, but it stops with a jostle of movement and I fall.