I start by slowing down. I need to get in the right mind set to even think about how I’m going to do this. Breath. Keep breathing. What is the plan? No not ready yet? Keep on breathing. In through the nose out through the mouth Freedome is the most important But you will not subdue to the pressure now breath!!!! That is the plan? Well I know that the 4 senses that are available to me I need to use to its fullest extent. Also my memory. I need to use my memory to its fullest extent Faith is also important I will now let fear dictate me steps only Strategy I trust me self and I trust the universe.

The muzzle of the rifle pushed me a step forward. I pressed my bare feet against the ground trying to keep my balance.

‘Five minutes or I’ll shoot you,’ said a freezing voice, devoid of any emotion, “encouraging” me to start walking. “Get to the end of the maze and you’ll be free. If not, you know what your fate is.’

I tried to contain a cry. They had blind-folded me too well, I couldn’t make more than a few distorted shadows around me. I stretched my arms up allowing my hands to look for obstacles. My feet slowly groped the ground around them. It was moist and crumbly under my toes. I took a careful step forward with my right foot and much to my relief, no trap viciously sank its teeth around my leg. I sighed, trying to summon whatever courage I had left to give another step. My toes scrapped around and this time they found something cold and smooth, yet sharp. Glass? I took the foot slowly further and bent down to catch this object.

‘Yes,’ my brain told me. ‘It’s glass.’

I threw it away moved the left foot towards the right where I knew it was safe.

‘Four minutes,’ the same voice announced.

I swallowed hard, trying to stop the lump that was forming in my throat like a snake swaying around its prey and enveloping it in its deadly embrace.

I ventured another two steps which thankfully brought nothing worth noting. Another two, after my toes carefully inspected the ground and my hands touched the invisible air. Then I reached the end of that path and was forced to turn right.

‘Three minutes.’

The tears flooded my eyes, unable to roll down. My blindfold was soaked. Unpleasant but I had no time to waste thinking about it. I realised I had to walk faster and risk whatever they still had in cards for me. I had less than three minutes to avoid a bullet in my skull. That’s when my both feet found nothing beneath them. I cried in sheer horror, believing I’d crush my bones against the far away ground or end up in a pit of fire. But my landing came just after my shout left my mouth. I feel on my left arm, the weight of my whole body on it. But it didn’t break. In fact, the landing was sore but nothing compared to the horrors my overwhelmed mind had imagined. Something had stung my arm and even my face. It stung harder on my hands when I got up, a nasty heat spreading all over the skin it had harassed.

‘Nettles...’ I murmured.

‘Two minutes.’

I had two minutes to figure my way out, the strength of an inevitable death finally winning over me. I didn’t know how long that maze was but if I had just fallen, how could I get back to my path and carry on?

I tried to shake away the itchy feeling from my skin and the gloomy thoughts from my terrified mind. I took my arms up again and tried to figure out if there was any way I could follow through. The only thing stopping me from removing the blindfold was the certainty they’d shoot me right away. A sardonic voice rose from the depths of my brain.

‘Maybe that’s a quicker and more pain-free way of dying.’

‘One minute.’

I was doomed. I pressed the blindfold against my eyes, trying to wipe the tears. My left arm was now burning from the tips of my fingers to my shoulders. In an ultimate moment of courage, I told myself I wouldn’t give up. I would not give those bastards the pleasure of shooting me nor would I stay there crying like a coward. If I had to die I’d die trying to earn my freedom.

I walked faster. And faster. I was suddenly in what I thought was a forest or jungle, thorns cutting through my arms and cheeks. I stepped on roots and fell on a muddy puddle. I just wished there were no crocodiles or snakes around.

‘Twenty seconds.’

I crawled my way out, mud flooding my mouth and nose. That would be my death for sure. Choked with mud. Then I reached far more solid earth and got up.

‘Ten seconds.’

I got up and started running, only to realise my cuts were aching more than ever. The itchy feeling, fueled by the mud, was unbearable.

‘Five.’

I ignored the pain. Run, I demanded to myself.

‘Four.’

Just keep running.

‘Three.’

I stepped on something again but didn’t fall.

‘Two.’

I cut my foot on a sharp stone or maybe that was another piece of glass.

‘One.’

My body and face crashed again something solid right in front of me, the impact throwing me backwards. Blood spurted from my nose and my forehead burst in pain. I landed on my back and hit my head against the ground. For a moment I thought they had shot me and I just laid there, motionless, not even sure if I was still breathing.

‘Take the blindfold off.’ the voice told me.

They probably wanted to look at me in the eyes and gloat as they took my life. So be it. I forced myself to a seated position and took it off in one go.

The thing I had crashed against was nothing more nothing less than a massive wooden door, solid as a mountain. I took my hand to my face, realising how it should be looking like some kind of gross cake of mud, leaves and blood. A bump on my forehead. It throbbed like a heart.

Slowly the door opened, scrapping the ground underneath like an old woman squeaking. The noise pierced my ears. My body ached terribly but I was determined to keep my head raised and die with dignity.

The sun beams flooded the area and shook the darkness away. I twinkled my eyes to get them accustomed to the light. I saw a figure approaching.

‘This is it...’ I murmured.

I stared at its face staring back at me. I saw neither guns nor blades. Would he strangle or choke me with his bare hands? Would I have to fight him? In such a state I knew I couldn’t. He wasn’t tall or bulky but there was no way I could kill him.

‘You are free,’ he announced.

It was that same cold voice that had been counting the minutes and the seconds.

‘What?’ I babbled.

He had dark, expressionless eyes as if he were blind.

‘You are free to go. Must I say it again?’

‘No...’

I tried to get up. He didn’t help me. Not that I had expected it.

I couldn’t walk properly, my right foot had been cut. As I looked at the bloody footprints I was leaving behind me, he grabbed my arm and made me scream. There we go, he was going to kill me. It was a trap.

He stared at me with his lifeless eyes. I panicked.

‘Well done,’ he said. ‘Many give up and die like cowards.’

I dared not speak.

‘Go heal your wounds, woman. At least your eyes survived.’

The hush, surrounding me. My eyes cloaked by a tough cotton cloth. I hear the voice of my past beckoning me, pulling me into my darkest depths of my pain. I trudge forward though, yearning for release from the ties that bind my previous life to my new one. My heart, yearns for a fresh start yet I can’t have that until the last memory of pain is cut off, and the person with it. The sun before me, calls out to me, a beacon leads me to freedom. The chains around me in piles of ash beside my feet. My breath no longer caught in my throat as I suffer. “Keep onward child! You’re almost out of the darkness that clouded your childhood. Now come into the light that brightens your future. Don’t stop or your heart gets confused. No hesitation and you’ll be home free love!” My hands are in front of me, feeing the sun warm my aching palms. Fresh scents tickle my nose. My husband, my children and all my loved ones giggle and call out “You can do it!! Keep going!” I don’t stop and feel my feet land on the lushest grass my toes have ever squeezed! I know I am forever safe

I opened my eyes, but I saw nothing, I panicked thinking I was blind, but reaching for my eyes, I felt the blindfold bound around my head. My fingers roamed over the rough canvas fabric feeling for where it joined together. The back of the blindfold I felt the metal lock binding it together. I began to cry knowing that there was no way to get it off, the tears soaking into the fabric.

A crackle over a speaker, brought my attention back to the present. "Hello Alice, welcome to my labyrinth, if you can find the exit you are free, it won't be easy," with a final crackle silence surrounded me.

I screamed out, pounding my fist against the stone floor. It was cold, and hurt my hand. When I get out of here I am going to find and kill whoever did this to me. My anger burned I was going to get out of here. Crawling along the stone floor, my hands reached out in front of me, my fingers roving over the grooves in the stone, feeling for a way out.

I edged along for what felt like hours, the cold making my body ache, my knees sore from crawling around. I had to take a break, and think about this for a bit. I moved off to the edge feeling for a wall to sit against. I rested. I listened for any sound. I strained to hear, imagining my hearing pushing out further than it ever had before. Water. I heard water, or some liquid, a drip, I had to find this drip.

I began moving again, renewed following the sound. It got louder as I fumbled along. It wasn't long before I knew I was close, it smelled different, the dampness filling my nostrils. Coming to the edge of a puddle, I inhaled, there was no smell, only dampness. My mouth watered in anticipation of a drink. Moving my hand with caution I touched the liquid. Searing pain shot ty hand, I wiped the liquid was on my pants. and backed away. It felt over the burn, it had blistered, and continued to hurt. I pounded my hand against the stone again.

I sat and cried again, listening, sniffing, but nothing new came to me and I resolved to keep moving forward.

I can’t see. I can’t hear anything else except the faint rustling. I don’t know where I am. I am starting to panic.

“No, no, no, no, no.” I whisper softly to myself. I don’t think anyone is around. My quiet voice starts to gain volume until I am sobbing. I can barely breathe in between my panicked pants.

A thousand thoughts go through my head. I need to slow down and think. First, inhale. Next, hold my breath. Then, slowly breathe out. This helps me calm down to the point where I can organize my thoughts.

What can I see? Nothing. What can I hear? Something rustling. What can I smell? Something metallic. What do I taste? Some salt. What do I feel? Stone.

I gather that I am in some sort of cave, sitting on the ground. The taste in my mouth is from my tears which are silently flowing down my face. I decide that my best course of action is to find a wall.

Crawling over on my hands and knees, I eventually find the wall. It is cool to my touch and feels the same as the ground. Placing my right hand on the wall, I fully stand up. I extend my left hand in front of me and walk forward, keeping my right hand on the wall.

After using this method to get around for some time, I start to hear the rustling sound again. Trying to stifle my panic, I take a deep breathe. I will survive this.

But then the rustling sound is louder and closer. I can almost feel it behind me. I give up on keeping my hand on the wall and just run away from it. I sprint until I can’t anymore. I don’t hear the rustling sound.

I walk around the new room I’m in and find a wall. Leaning on my back, I slide down it until I’m sitting. And then I realize it. The wall isn’t cool stone. It is warm and moving. I can feel its breath moving its chest. Its arms reach around me and tighten. It says, “I’ve got you.”

I squeeze my eyes close and try to black out everything. I don’t want to be here. “Come back to me,” it tells me. I feel its arms getting tighter. My breath is coming in short pants. My body goes limp and I wake up.

My fiancé wraps his arms around me, comforting me from my nightmare. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he tells me.

Maze runner.

In my situation being blind fault it was not a big deal. I was already blind to begin with. I just had to use my other senses.

It freaked me out at first. But I had to tell myself you are OK. Lined folded or not makes no difference to you. It will not give you more or less vision.

So once I calmed down I could think more clearly. I listened, I smelled, and I felt.

And slowly but steadily I made my way out of the maze. Pretty soon I was standing out in the open in the sun in freedom.

There’s something salty on my lips. Could it be a tear that escaped my thick blindfold? It taste good, I tell myself while licking the traces of the drop. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was... There’s no time! With trembling fingers, I touch the rough surface of the walls, to find a soft spot. Sometimes softness means hope, even if most of the times is just another illusion. It’s been years since I’m trapped in this labyrinth. Blindfolded and scared, I had to learn the difference between the helpful and the hurtful ones. I learned to never truly sleep and to listen to my own heartbeats. My body lets me know about dangers and threats, I just need to trust the signs. My intuition never failed me. It tells me to never give up. To feed from the salty waters that flows from beneath the blindfold. It assures me that, at the end of all torment, I will find my freedom. I will find Love. My way out of the pain is through the soft spots that he tried so hard to destroy. They’re getting bigger as I’m learning to let go. To stop hating the one I used to love. The one who made a deadly maze out of my life. And then, blindfolded, naked and wounded, he threw me right in the middle of it...

I’m stuck in a maze blind. I feel walls surrounding me as I touch them with my hands. I kick the floor and see if I can feel walls with my feet. The lights are off, so I can’t even try to see through my blind fold. This is a dare so I must keep my blindfold on. I’m alone. I pray and listen. I hear birds singing. I head forward then to the left down a long narrow hall. I run into a wall— it’s time to turn. Let’s see right or left. I turn right since the bird chirps are louder that direction down a short hall. Something is on the floor—something gushy. Eeew. That smell! Maybe I’m close to the birds. I continue to the left this time as the hall came to an end and I walk straight for a long while. I see light. I found a door. I’m out! Yay I can take off the blindfold now! Birds are in a tree outside. I wonder what I stepped in. I look down at my shoe —it’s glue.

Dazed in abysmal darkness. My sense of awareness was depleted leading me to engage fight or flight instincts. Panic ensued. I must concentrate. Amnesia struck me like a piercing blade as I tried to collect my thoughts. My head was pounding as if I’d ran head first into a concrete wall. Where am I? Oh god. I can’t see. Once I focused myself it became apparent there was a tough fabric rudely accompanying my brows akin to a cats claws on a leather sofa. Somebody had attempted to disable my vision, I was tried to remove the sheath from my face when I realised my wrists were banded together proving me to be even more hopeless than I had previously known.

The floor was cold & lifeless like a damp eerie graveyard with an unbearable stench as though decomposing bodies lay beside their gravestones. Could this become my graveyard? I need to calm down. Somebody might be here! “SOMEONE HEL-“ my plead was interrupted by a crossing thought, dear god, somebody might be here.

My survival could no longer be reliant on simply finding a way out or breaking out through physical prowess. I listened for any sounds, it was strangely quiet other than fragile droplets of water harshly hitting the floor creating a slight echoed. The lack of birds or traffic nearby alarmed me that I was in a potentially claustrophobic situation.

There wasn’t much distinctive to sniff out, but whatever combination of odours I was investigating were atrocious. I was below the surface possibly close by to some sewers. Oh god. Breathe. Slow down. Just walk.

I carefully paced forward for nearly a minute, it seemed regardless of speed my heart rate stepped up faster. This continued until I brushed a wall. The hairs on my left arm stood up as a cold breeze lightly skimmed my skin whereas to my right arm goosebumps rose as I heard streams of water flowing like a river. The right seemed safer as if I would head towards a lakeside sunset accompanied by symphonic birds, however this idealistic thought was only projected due to me relying on that one defining noise. Left although more ambiguous was surely safer. I continued left.

The pathway steepened slightly. Don’t fall. Take your time. I was lead forward until similar predicaments found their way to me again & again - follow the breeze or risk my hopeful desire, to which I continuously took what I believed to be the safer route. It felt like I was walking in circles.

I stepped forward down the last pathway & found myself falling. Oh god. Panic. Peculiar thoughts provoked fear in me as there was no way to tell how far I would fall & how hard I would hit the floor. I landed upon a mild watery abyss in a large open room which became apparent from the echo of my footsteps. My head was bruised from the immediate blow I hit, leaving me nauseous.

I creeped up to the edge of the room & walked in a circle, back to the wall with my hands holding it for safety. Some time passed & it occurred to me just what I had found - nothing. Out of conceivable options I sat down, questioning what my next move would be. A foreign footstep pressed down onto the water. “Hello?” I whimpered.

The End.