We both look around anxious, how did we even get here in the first place?! We look around trying to find a way out. It feels like we’re almost going in circles but there’s no giving up. Jack flicks his brown hair out of his eyes and stares at me, “Do you think there’s a way out?” I freeze, anxious at this comment. Could it be true that there’s no way out of this place? I look side to side, looking at the cobblestone walls with vines growing out of them. “Yes, I’m positive we can get out of here” I don’t mean that. A part of me still holds on to good though as we continue on looking for the exit.

As we’re walking, Jack grabs ahold of my hand steadying me, as I wobble a bit, fatigued from walking for so long. A force a smile, “Thanks” We barely know each other, we’ve only met once in the halls at school, but that was an awkward situation. Will we ever get out of here? I just can’t imagine staying here any longer with someone I barely know. He seems nice enough though, he has nice curly brown hair, with sparkling blue eyes and a shining smile. I’ve always imagined him as a dream, so far out of my reach. He always hung out with the cool girls, and I seemed like a fan, always following along but never being in the group. I never thought I'd be here, in a maze? Labyrinth?, with him. As im thinking about all this, as soon as he grabbed my hand to steady me, he let go not long after. Still, out of my reach.

It grows late, the darkness falling on us. We see a tiny ledge hanging off of the wall, creating a little roof, that can keep us stay safe during this night. Jack twists his arms around and starts grabbing at his back, "Oh my goodness! There's been a backpack here this whole time!" My face lightens up with joy, maybe there's something that can help us through tomorow and tonight. He starts to unzip the bag and we both reach in, pulling out two waterbotlles, a sealed packet of salad, two thin jumpers and a threadlike, compact, blanket. "What are we supposed to use this blanket for?! It's not gonna keep us warm, nor will it cover up both of us. We would have to really squeeze in, but even then it wouldn't be enough! I guess the jumpers can help, but they are really thin too!" I can't help but giggle as Jack gets mad. He goes bright red and smirks, as if he's achieved something.

We put our jumpers on, still feeling cold, and lay down together. This is the closest I think I've ever been to Jack! He pulls the blanket over us, making me scooch over so I can have some blanket too. Jacks' body warmth radiates off him, making me feel at ease instantly. It has been a long day and it seems as though Jack was the one who got me through it. We each take a sip out of the waterbottles, and decide to eat the salad tomorow. We share the long backpack as a pillow, making us lay even closer together. I twist onto my side and as I do so, so does Jack. I guess we both don't want to make things to awkward between us. He has been so kind today and I wonder what its' like to be friends with him in a normal situation, like at school. I highly doubt that because of this, if we escape this place, that I will be let into their friend group. I guess its worth imagining for now...

It was almost like a dark cave, but it was just a house with no lights on. Water dripped from the ceiling but it was all just the rain seeping through the collapsing ceiling. I scurry to a steady stance, the moonlight simmering through a window. We had been chosen to go to the Labrynth. No one ever wanted to get chosen. No one could find the exit. The labyrinth was the largest house ever, built in 2034, its architecture was poorly built for a reason—to challenge the contestants that were chosen for the show. It was all just a game show hosted by the government—all to keep the population in check. At least they give you a chance to live. It wasn’t really a house—but more of an escape room to mess with your mind. When I woke up the next morning in the Labyrynth, I was, understandably, upset. I knew it was random, but out of the 10 billion people in the world, you would think that I wouldn’t be chosen. Some people theorized that they picked people who were troublemakers because then they could focus they’re time on smarter and more intelligent people. The other 9 contestants came to a stance. The ceiling was starting to cave in on us. Water was flowing down from the walls. Mold encapsulated every wall. Coughing was surely expected. I’ve never seen it this bad before. Some contestants ran wild around the house, they’re footsteps quickly fading away, the house had no end some say. Sometimes they just think it wraps around the entire earth, but maps don’t show it, so I don’t believe it. The government doesn’t let us know history, for they say that it is best not to know how ignorantly our ancestors acted. Schools are like houses—right next to each other so each different grade doesn’t get too far ahead in their classes. Houses have shrunk to only around 500 square meters. We simply cannot support the overpopulation in the world. The Labryinth however disregards every house size law. Maybe it is the reason houses can barely support four people. Or maybe it’s just to prohibit people from giving birth so much. If you have twins and already have one other kid, one of the twins is confinscated and put up for adoption—a family of more than 2 is not allowed in any part of the world, but the population still climbs. I search around every room in the house, every fake bedroom with moldy covers. Every window that is sealed too tightly for anyone to pry off or break it. Others find keys. They can’t even locate the front door, what good is a key. Some go down into the basement that stretches farther than the actual house. Everywhere you look it seems to infinitely stretch on with no end. Every hallway is more like a corridor that is most likely more than a couple miles long. The government built the Labyrinth for a reason—to make people so mentally unstable that they die. We can’t do anything to protest. Anything made by the government is protected, and will never be removed no matter how hard people try. I search every dark corner with almost no light, I search every crevice and drawer, I search all the closets, but even after 12 hours of searching—I have still not reached the end of the house…

I keep questioning wether or not I’ll make it. But this house is simply too long to escape, and who knows if there even is an exit—no one’s lived long enough to find it…

I last saw Gus, the leader of our group try to guide three teenage boys and girls to the far leftside of the labyrinth where nobody has been before, but I never saw them come back. Did they really make it out?

I guess I should have tried harder to make them stay, but Gus kept saying he knew better than me and that he had memorized the labyrinth looking for a way out. But he’ll get what’s coming to him, like they all do. There’s monsters lurking around every corner. But they’ll never know that unless they come face to face with one. Just like they’ll never know that the only way to win is to take my place to become the Game Master.

Trevor begins to walk around the labyrinth with Missy and Kyle but little do they know there’s nowhere out.

“Kyle, do you think it makes sense for us to split up?” Trevor had asked, Kyle’s & Missy’s face fell low as if that was one of the stupidest thing they had ever heard. If only this was an episode of Scooby doo but obviously this is not that.

Missy proceeded to say, “You’re literally the reason we’re in this mess Trevor so maybe I’ll stick with Kyle while you go wonder off alone.”

Trevor stopped walking and stood there silently, knowing Missy was right. It was his fault they were stuck there in the first place. He then decided that he’d take Missy up on what she said and proceeded to split up from them.

Trevor says “Alright Missy, I can’t deny this is my fault so let’s do it. Stay with Kyle and I’m going to go off on my own here.”

Kyle and Missy take a look at each other, shrug as an acceptance to Trevor’s bravery.

Trevor begins lurking around corners and there’s nothing but dead ends. Same is happening for Missy and Kyle… 40mins later and they’re scaring each other shitless after running into each other.

“FUCK!”, Trevor screams. “There’s no way out, we’ve been through every inch of this place and I don’t even understand why we can’t even go back from where we came. It’s like it got magically blocked….To be continued

We came around the corner of the hedge wall, only to find that we must continue down the path lined again with towering hedges. Green, thick, bushy walls, much too dense to see-through or even to attempt to force our way through. These healthy and neatly trimmed hedge walls are inconveniently too high to see above. If we want to know what’s around the corner, we literally have to turn the corner to see if there is hope or more disappointment. So far the turning of every corner has led to the same sight. A lined path of hedging persuading us the next turn will look different. We have walked so many of the enticing paths getting around the corner either turning left walking more to peek around the corner. The next intersection to turn right just to be faced with more of the same, each corner seemed to insist it was different from the last the joke was on us as we were desperate to be faced with an opening. The hedges seemed to be insisting that we look around just one more corner. Every step we took forward we implored the hedges to reveal a new sight to us. It is possible we chose a poor path that will never open for us, but maybe with each turn we get closer to a clearing and exit something that gets us out of this insanity of bush work. What if the next corner is the one that finally shows us determination pays off that we stayed the course and now the reward of persistence will be presented to us. It didn’t seem like there was any hope behind us so even though going forward seems like the encouragement of insanity we pushed onwards. I suppose we will just continue one foot in front of the other. One hedge lined path after another. Like a bad dream it just feels never ending. Not fully awake or peacefully sleeping we were just persisting.

I woke up in a labyrinth. With a group of 5 other kids, ranging from what looked like 13-19 but ended up being 12-18. There’s Cassie who’s 16, Julian who’s 17, Cameron is 15, I’m 14, Hayley (maybe Hallie?) is the oldest at 18 and Isaac is the youngest at 12. We each woke up with a bag filled with food and water. None of the girls were given any sanitary products, which I found out when Hayley (it’s definitely Hayley.) took me to the side to ask for any. We all woke up in these ugly ass blue jumpsuits, and have no change of pants or bras.

So we woke up in a labyrinth. With a group of 5 other kids. Accompanied by a bag filled with dried food and bottled water. With no acces to toiletries. No acces to fresh water or food. No acces to a change of clothes. And no idea how to get out.

Quick description of what I have learnt so far, in case we don’t get out, so they can find out information about us. I shouldn’t think like that, but I’m a glass half empty kind of person:

Hayley(18): has a boyfriend, comes from Edinbrough, Scotland, has a part time job as a barista in Starbucks. She likes going to the gym. Favourite colour-pink, favourite holiday-Portugal. Has one younger sister.

Julian(17): has a boyfriend, comes from Melbourne, Australia. Likes painting. He helps work at his parents shop sometimes. Favourite colour-purple, favourite holiday-France. Only child

Cassie(16): just broke up from an abusive relationship, comes from London, England, has a part time job as a waitress. Loves reading. Favourite colour-ashy blue, favourite holiday-China, to visit grandparents. She has two younger brothers and one older sister.

Cameron(15): single, Canadian. He says he likes boxing. Assistant coach. Favourite colour-green, favourite holiday-Brazil. Has one older sister.

Me-Alice(14): single, I come from Dublin, Ireland. I like to write. Paper rounds. Favourite colour-lavender, favourite holiday-Vietnam. I have a baby brother.

Isaac(12): has a crush, Floridian, likes football, no job. Favourite colour-blue, favourite holiday-Japan. Has one older brother and one younger get sister.

We don’t know why we are here. We don’t know if there is link between us. We just know we woke up in a labyrinth, and have been looking for a way out for at least 4 days. And each day feels a little worse. Less hope in the air. We are all tired. We are all frustrated. We are all scared.

Day 4

We all trudge through the sandy pathway, making turns at random. My head cranes up to look at the stars, I try to recognising the constellations, but no luck. “I’m cold,” Isaac complains, “and hungry.” “I’m sure we’ll be out soon,” Hayley, always the caretaker. I glance over at Cassie and see her grimace for just a second, but a second enough to tell me she doubts we’re getting out. Julian walks behind us, scraping a rock against the sandstone wall to try mark our pathway, it’s a faint line but it will do. “It’s cold now, it doesn’t matter when we’re getting out, can we please lie down early?” I stay silent, I try to avoid lying, and if I speak I might have to tell him we are getting out soon when I don’t belive we are. “I’m not averse to sleeping,” Cassie glances around the group to a few head nods. “Alrighty then,” Julian’s Australian accent has been one of my saving graces. It’s just the way he pronounces things, it sounds so happy. So we all lie down beneath the stars, it’s not that cold compared to Ireland, classic Autumn weather. But to be fair Isaac comes from Florida. Fry an egg on the pavement heat. We all plump up our bags to use as pillows. “Goodnight,” I say, closing my eyes. A sleepy chorus of goodnights, and I’m out.

Day 5

When I wake up I feel just a little worse than the day before. Cameron is leaning against the wall, toying with a ring on his finger. I pick up my bag and go to sit next to him. “Morning,” I whisper, sitting down. “Good morning,” Cameron says, his green eyes remain closed. I always remeber people’s eyes. And his are the nicest I have ever seen. They’re like moss, green mixed in with a shade of brown. I open my bag and dig around for the canned bread they gave us. It’s better than you might think. But it’s still bad. I realise I’ve shifted closer to Cameron and suddenly I’m grateful for the fact his eyes remained closed. My cheeks burn as I shuffle away. “G’day,” Julian says, his tall frame walks over and sits across from me. His black skin gleams in the sunlight, a contrast for the white teeth which grin at me. “Morning,” me and Cameron say at the same time. “Had a good nights rest?” Julian asks. “As good as we can in this shit-hole.” Cameron replies. “Alright, how about you Alice?” He leans forward to meet my eyes. “Fine,” the mindless banter continues, until everybody’s awake, searching in their bags for food. Hayley looks at the sun, “We should get going, it looks about 9.” So we pick up our bags, and continue through the maze. I slow down my pace until I’m next to Cassie. “Do you really think we’re getting out of here?” I whisper. Cassie glances around the group, then looks back at me. A tiny shake of her head tells me what I need to know. My mouth forms into a line and I nod, I mouth _me too _before me and her catch up to everyone else.

After a break for lunch we keep walking. Everybody looks just a little more weathered than they did yesterday. Just a little more worn out. The sun started making its slow descent to beneath the sky a few hours ago, and already it’s behind the tall walls of the labyrinth. My feet pound from almost eight, maybe nine hours of constant walking, with one 20 minute break to eat food.

**_Day 14

_**Everyday is the same as the day before. Everyday we walk, and talk, and eat. We’re running low on food. I have two water bottles left. 5 cans of food. And everyday the hope dwindles. Nobody’s going to say it. But I don’t think anyone still believes we are getting out. Me and Cameron spend more time talking at the back of the group. I have learnt more about him, more about everyone but I’m more interested in his past. Julian teases me for it whenever me and him are the first to wake, but I find I don’t care, it’s a nice thought. A nice feeling when Julian says I have a crush on Cameron, or when he tells me Cameron looks at me with wanting. I want him too.

Tonight I lie awake, thinking of my family. I hate the feeling of trying to sleep, but unable to doze off. So I stand up, evade the sleeping figures until I’m just outside the group and sit down. My eyes are closed and I’m only dimly aware of somebody sitting next to me. I open my eyes when that someone starts tracing patterns on my thigh. I look at Cameron, as his eyes stare distantly at a grain of sand, and as his hands move expertly across my leg. I lean my head on his shoulder and he uses his other hand to stroke my hair softly.

Day 15

I wake up next to Cameron, my head still leaning on his shoulder. His head is propped above mine, and when I stir, he does too. His green eyes blink at me lazily, hair falling across his forehead in sandy swoops. I smile awkwardly and try to push up, but he grabs me around the waist and pulls me back to him. We stay like that for a while. It’s comforting. Knowing I’m not alone.

**_Day 19

_**We ran out of food.

Day 20

Waters gone too.

Day 21

We all wish for rain. Nobody has the energy to talk. Me and Cameron spend the nights in each others arms.

**_Day 22

_**Cassie left while we were sleeping. Isaac isn’t waking up.

Day 23

Hayley won’t wake up.

We left Hayley. Julian was walking behind us. He said he felt tired. He lied down. And he didn’t get back up. I’m so scared

Day 24

When I woke up I was wrapped in Cameron’s arms. Cameron doesn’t wake up We are back where we started. I see the trail made by the rock. Cameron doesn’t wake up. I see Cassie. Her eyes are staring at nothing. Cameron doesn’t wake up. I fall asleep in his arms one last time. I don’t wake up.

Solaria is on one end of the labyrinth and Altare is on the other. Neither of them know each other is there and Altare is the last person Solaria wants to see. Now they face challenges, turmoil, and an obstacle that shows their deepest characteristics and things that they will take to the grave. “What the fuck? Where the fuck am I?” Solaria says in fear and confusion. She looks around only see concrete in every waking corner. She runs frantically, desperately trying to find a door, a window, a crack, something or somewhere to escape the purgatory infront of her. She runs and runs till her breath sends stabs to her lungs. She drops to the floor as she realizes theres no way out… or so she thought. “Oh fucking hell. Not this bullshit AGAIN?!” Altare screams into the void. Altare has been here before. What do you expect from a man who doesnt understand the word ‘no’ and ‘please stop’. He starts walking around, trying to find the first task he has to complete. Will Altare finally learn his lesson and learn his actions have consequences or let his ego shine through and duck around the rules again and will Solaria finally close a chapter in her life that she has left unwritten and untouched or will she continue to stare at it till the end of time and forever leave it untouched.

“Jackie! Can you just stop, PLEASE,” Lynn exclaims as Jackie says under her breath, with a mocking tone, “let’s take a mindful stroll in a STONED WALL, labyrinth. Great idea Lynn.”

“They open this part of the park next week. I thought it would be fun to be the first ones to go through the labyrinth. We just need to rest and make a better plan. How does that sound Jackie?”

“I don’t see another option.” Jackie points at the path that goes left. Lynn says”We can use my lipsticks to mark the path, you know so we can see a new way out.”

“Let’s mark here and turn left” smirks Jackie.

“Do you see anything, yet? Lynn?” Jackie can feel the heaviness in her chest and tightness in her throat as she can’t see or hear “LYNN LYNN!”

As we walk to the no where, I begin to question myself “what did I get myself in, I was never meant to be here.” All I remembered was, nothing. But I know, I was in bed sleeping tightly, But did my sleep go that deep? “No, no. And No!, this isn’t real I know it isn’t “ as my workmate was trying to calm me down “shhh we’re gonna find an exit,. Now if you just please calm down Zaila” I nodded with no hope. As we began to walk, through mazes and walls. “ Owen, I don’t really think there’s such hope, like for us to find an exit .” He stoped me, and stoped himself “I’m sure, every story suddenly has an exit “ he explained “I’m sure “ we walked both beginning to sweat of with thirst and hunger, we both heard our gut lumber of hungry “well we have no food .” Owen announced “ we don’t I just don’t , don’t understand what made us get stuck in here?” Both still clueless. The pair walk and stumble into three doors ablazeing them “d-do ..do you think this can be our exit?!” She declered with belief, “I-i-it might be it, just might be!” They both set in motion to start heading to those doors “but there to much options to walk in to .” Zaila had said “ I say we go to different doors , we separate . “ declared Owen. They both just go straight for it, there both desperate to go back to the human world. Yet only one made it out . “ Owen?, Owen! I think I just think I’m back to some town! Owen ?..” as her smile started to fade away. “ Zaila, Zaila!” Owen began to shout her name to see if he can even sight her. For all that, “ What was I dreaming about?” As she slowly began to open her eyes from a sheet less bed “thank god!, This was just a fake dream “ but she saw the exact same place she was dreaming about, and Owen right next to her.

Benji and Sam are brothers they have always gotten along for the most part. On a sunny Friday they go outside and play basketball both very happy that the teachers have PDA day today. As they go outside Benji’s blonde hair glows in the sun, and Sam’s freckles are very noticeable along with his bright red hair. Sam goes to the garage to grab a basketball so he can take the ball first in their 1vs1, Sam blows past with his fast speed. Benji gets shoots a three and makes it! He does a celebration as Benji is more outgoing and a little more arrogant than Sam is.