[1] Let Me Go ➝ The Maze Runner ✓ (WATTYS 2015 WINNER!)

*The Maze*

*The Maze*

I awoke to a droning hum that pierced through my thoughts like shattering glass. My eyes fluttered open, yet my vision was somewhat cloudy; all I was able to make out were rough structures, towering around me like buildings. Buildings... buildings from where? My mind drew a blank and I forced myself from the ground on which I was laying; hard, concrete, cold. My head thudded and I blinked rapidly, vision swimming.

A keen wind rolled over my body, and I hastily reached the conclusion I was outside somewhere. My hand slapped against the ground, pricked by savage mobs of dust and crisp foliage, fluttering down from above in vague shapes. They were definitely leaves; one landed on my face, emitting an earthy smell, and I brushed it away with my free hand.

My head rolled to one side, then the other, trying to distinguish my surroundings. Just strange, towering columns. Perhaps they were walls and I was in a building. But I could see the sky above me, peppered with stars, and the biting wind breathed over my body. Definitely outside.

I clamped my eyes shut and blinked them open again, and I was able to discern the towering pillars of concrete, riddled with dark vines enclosed around me. The image reminded me distinctly of a maze, or labyrinth. But where had I seen one before? I couldn't remember. I had no memory whatsoever, no knowledge of my past or even my existence. It was strange; my thoughts were muddled. Perhaps I had amnesia? I wasn't sure, but I brushed the thoughts away and focused on the present.

I was in a maze.

Okay. How the hell did I get here? Was there even a way out? Perhaps it's a game, a trick, and I'm the unwilling victim for some sick person's amusement.

A low but piercing shriek wailed through the night like a horn, a stark contrast to the silence that had settled upon the walls. My eyebrows creased as my eyes darted through the shadows. Whatever it was, it didn't sound at all human. Nor even animal-like. I gingerly struggled onto my knees and, grasping the wall for support, dragged myself onto my feet. A surge of dizziness struck me and I barely managed to stop myself from toppling forwards.

Sucking in a long plume of air, I brushed away the dirt sticking to my trousers and glanced around. Darkness clung to the walls like leeches, sucking dry all the light the vines may once have possessed; now only shrivelled leaves clutching shadowy ropes trailed down the columns.

Another irrational wail sent my heart plummeting in my chest; it was getting closer. I was able to discern another sound too; the irregular droning hum I had awoken to, like a generator surging with power. Every now and then, the humming was interrupted with various clinking sounds, like metal scraping against stone.

Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant. Suddenly feeling vulnerable in the open, I glanced about for somewhere to hide. But the trail led deeper into the maze, and I wasn't sure which way led to the exit.

If there even was an exit.

With the humming growing louder, I made a rash decision and darted in the opposite direction, urging my stiff muscles to propel me forward. The maze whirred past me in an addled blur, merging with the darkness of the night and making it seem like I was running through a void of nothingness. Only the feeble shine of the stars indicated the presence of another looming wall, allowing me time to either clumsily or nimbly dodge the barrier. The clanking began to slowly fade into the distance, and soon enough, silence reigned once more.

After a while, however, the distinct whirring returned, ahead of me this time, and a gurgling shriek forced me to halt in my tracks. My footfalls ceased, though my heaving breaths still sounded profoundly loud, almost obscuring the clanks and groans of the creature amongst the shadows; the odd metallic sounds colliding with concrete.

I wasn't sure whether to continue or not. There was obviously more than one of the creatures. I couldn't run the entire night. Perhaps I ought to face this 'thing' and get it over and done with; it'd be better than spending the rest of my miserable life trying to run from them. I wasn't even sure what they were.

My breath caught in my throat. As I contemplated on my chances of survival, I was heedless of the sounds drawing closer, until the outline of the beast haunting the maze emerged from the darkness. Fear paralysed my body; I stared, transfixed, as the shape became easier to discern against the shadows, only it's distinct features visible to my clouded vision.

My heart drowned with a sudden dread, sinking even lower in my chest. There was no I would outrun this... monster; protruding spikes and razor-sharp blades sliced through the fog, retracting in and out as it's bulbous body rolled towards me like a giant slug.

I was still momentarily frozen; my feet refused to obey my commands.

I snapped out of my fear-induced daze as the horror of what was approaching dawned on me. Panic caused me to act, and I suddenly dashed back the way I came, bolting round abrupt twists and turns, sharp as a blade. I risked a hasty glance over my shoulder, a fleeting jerk of my head to glimspe the beast trailing after me, spikes retracting in and out more visiously as if itching to rip through my flesh.

Fear rolled through me, forcing my feet to move faster. Darkness clung to my vision, and I continued to run blindly through the maze, the soles of my feet thumping painfully against the concrete, swirling up a tempest of dust.

Sweat beaded my forehead, and I swiped a hand along my damp skin to remove the perspiration starting to cloud my sight even more.

I could still hear the creature rolling along behind me, but my pace started to slacken, and I knew there was no way I could outrun the beast.

A moment later a small glimmer of hope sparked its way into my chest, growing into a ball of optimism as a bulb does a flower. A feeble light was beginning to seep through the darkness, and the dull murmur was beginning to fade. Morning had come, and that obviously meant good riddance to the creatures.

However, to accompany the light, a resonating rumble was also beginning to drown out my dry, sucking breaths as I paused for a rest. I frowned and glanced upwards. A gasp escaped my mouth; a little further into the distance, the largest walls of the maze were shifting, moving apart groaning with the strain of heaving themselves further and further away. It was a spectacular sight, seeing such a colossal structure move by an unseen force. But it was also one that brought a sense of hopefulness; there was an exit!