¶. Jack quickly pulled Jamie and Meridith into the huddle. They all embraced eachother in a warm hug while I stood awkwardly away from them. It felt like time had stopped, and seeing their wide smiles and hearing their laughter, It made me feel... hollow. Like I had no place among them. They're people I've know for about a lifetime, yet I still feel like an imposter hiding in the crowd.
¶. Meredith was the first to notice my absence, she smiled at me, and offered me her hand to pull me in. I somberly smiled back at her and slowly waved her hand away. Before I could take a step back, Jack grabbed my hand and pulled me next to Meredith. I quickly felt my cheeks heat up. Lucas was the first to break from Jack's pace, "wait why are we celebrating"? It took a second to remember our current predicament and look at Jack. His laughter bellowed across the room, "because I finally beat the maze game"?
¶. " Jack, I told you what happened to us". Jack laughed loudly, "I didn't realize you were such a great actor Reeling". I felt what was left of my smile fade, "Jack I wish I was lying to you". Jack's eyes searched our faces until Evans broke the silence, "we can prove it to you". Evan guided us into the other room where a series of mirrored statues reflected light onto a switch. Evan placed everyonr at various buttons and told us to press them when he said so. Me and Jack stood by Evan and waited for whatever it is he wanted to show us.
¶. As they all pressed the buttons, the statues pivoted in opposite directions and the room shook. I didn't believe it was possible, but the entire room swiveled. The arcade completely disappeared from the door, and in it's place stood a pure white void. I barely managed to stay on my feet and from the looks of it, the same could be said for everyone else. Jack's eyes lit up, he was in awe of the void. I heard him laugh, "woah, how much money did it cost you to make all this"? I griped my nose while Meredith calmly explained, "This isn't a prank Jack. Place your foot in the void and youll see". Jack looked towards Jamie with furrowed brows and hesitantly tried to place his foot in the void.
¶. He threw himself back, "this isn't funny, you know I'm afraid of heights"! Even though he was having a minor panic attack, he asked, "how do we get out of here"? Evan spoke, "go press the buttons again". After they pressed the buttons again, the room shook again. The arcade was back in our sight as well as the elevator behind us. We rode the elevator in silence back to the main room. I don't know what to expect, Jack was the last one, we should be able to get out of here, like he said. I just, I have a sinking feeling in my chest. Something is going to go wrong I can feel it.
¶. When the elevator opened, the masked man stood in the center of the room. "Now that you're all here, the real test can begin". Before we had time to react, he snapped his fingers. Again, I felt myself fall down the elevator shaft, but this time I saw my friends falling with me. One by one, they disappeared from my sight. I was alone falling into the void, again. I accepted my fate and shut my eyes.
¶. When I stopped feeling the wind pushing against me, I opened my eyes to a void once again, but in the sky, I saw a dragon flying toward me with a breath of fire aimed at my path. I shut my eyes to brace for the flames, but they never came. When I opened them again, I saw a tidal wave of green goo coming to devour me. I felt my body get thrown to the ground, but when my eyes opened a young man with an oversized crown over his eyes stood over me with a pistol directly at my face. I heard the gun go off, and felt it pierce my chest, but when I felt my back hit the floor, the pain was gone. I felt someone push me forward, and as I fell on my knees, I saw a man in front of me in a cloth sack and chains around his back. In seconds, the scene disappeared. I felt a ring pressed between my fingers and saw a girl standing in front of me, before I could see her face, she disappeared.
¶. I opened my eyes one last time, and the void was gone. A gentle hum filled the air while my back laid against a thick and rough carpet. I pushed myself up to see my surroundings. The red carpet and beige walls reminded me of some sleezy hotel you'd stay in the middle of a road trip. That would be bareable if it weren't for the feeling of a lingering gaze glued to my back. I felt like something or someone was watching my every move. I didn't know where to go. I stood in the center of a room and in every direction there were so many walls and empty hallways. This maze, it felt suffocating. Suddenly, I heard a calm whistle break the silence, I focused on the whistle and wondered, could I trust it? I don't know. I'm trapped in this place. There are too many directions I could go, which one is real? Is any of this real? Please someone tell me.
¶. I fell onto the ground and clutched my knees, it could've been fifteen minutes or it could have been an hour, I don't know. I just thought about everything I could. After everything we went through, after finding them all, Im alone again. When I finally stood up, I followed the whistle. I thought to myself, even if it leads to my death, at least I'll be free from this place.