Tommy and Grayson tried hard to not glance back at Simon but as he felt water stream down his cheeks he couldn’t help but take his last look at his best friend. Simon was leaned against the wall, Grayson made sure to close his wide and crazed eyes so he could seem like he was resting peacefully. It didn’t help Tommy though, he could still see the rigidness of Simon’s body which told him there was no life left in his friend. The thought of never seeing him again felt like a knife, he wasn’t sure which would kill him first, this pain or the maze that seemed to have no end. 

He felt Grayson’s arm wrap around his shoulders and tug his head forward. He whispered to Tommy “It’s not worth dwelling on man. We just found him, it’s not like we could’ve stopped it. Let’s just find our way out of here.” 

Tommy nodded silently, glad Grayson still had his head on enough, but he couldn’t help but dwell on nervous thoughts in the silence of this maze. The main thought troubling him: “What killed Tommy?” He didn’t even know for sure Tommy was killed, what if it was a booby trap or an accident? But still, that thought bore into his mind, echoing louder and louder every time. As they continued their way through the maze with nothing but their phone flashlights, Tommy couldn’t help but continue to check his shoulder. Not because he was hoping to catch one more glimpse of Simon, but because he couldn’t shake the feeling something was watching them. 

As Grayson rounded another corner of the maze, pulling Tommy along, neither could hide the amazement on their faces as they entered a giant room with stone arches decorating the walls. As they walked through, the little light they had could only illuminate a small piece of what seemed to be the grandest hall they had ever seen. The stone pillars reached so far into the ceiling their lights could barely catch the gargoyles carved into the stone at the top. Despite their twisted faces, they filled Tommy with a sense of comfort, like the statues were keeping an eye on the path behind them. As they reached the end of this hall, they found themselves standing in front of an ornate door blocking their path. Tommy reached out to touch the door and he was surprised to feel the only piece of wood he had found in this stone maze. It looked hand carved, amongst all the intricate swirls, vines and flowers, Tommy could see each indent of the hand held tool used to carve the door. The grooves were precise but non symmetrical, very human, which gave Tommy a sense of comfort similar to the gargoyles. 

Grayson eagerly said, “Finally! This must be the exit, help me open it!! Do you think it’s a push or a pull?” 

Tommy hadn’t moved his hand off the door, his mind told him this must be the exit but for some reason he didn’t feel quite as optimistic as Grayson about that. 

They stayed there, pushing and pulling on the doors with all their might for over an hour before Tommy felt like giving up and slumped against the door. Grayson, starting to lose hope too, does the same, sitting with his back to the door, their lights illuminating just the space around them. 

“How long do you think we’ve been here? Can’t be longer than a couple days, right?” Grayson asks. 

Tommy shrugged slightly but didn’t say anything, the weight of Simon’s death was creeping back into his mind. He closed his eyes and he could still see the expression on Simon’s face when they first found him, eyes wide and filled with terror, mouth shut so tight he could practically see his teeth cracking through his skin, and skin so pale it was like he had no blood, yet there was a small stream trickling down from the corner of his mouth. Tommy snapped his eyes open, hoping current reality would erase the memory of that image. Grayson was still next to him trying to figure out how to ration the little water he had left, but now it was dimmer. He looked down and noticed his flashlight had gone out, the battery on his phone now empty. 

“How much life does yours have left?” He asked Grayson,

“Less than 10% unfortunately”

“Turn it off while we sit then, save it in case we need it later.”

With one click the room around them falls into complete darkness, Tommy can’t even see his own hand inches away from his face. He closes his eyes hoping sleep will let him adjust to the dark a bit but is interrupted by Grayson shaking him aggressively. 

“Look! There’s light coming from under the door, barely any, but I can see it clearly in the dark”

Sure enough when Tommy looks down he sees the faintest light spilling out from under the door and gets up to help Grayson who is already back to trying to force the door open with sheer will. Before Tommy can suggest something else Grayson stops suddenly and places his ear against the door, listening intently. A smile starts to appear on his face and tears well in his eyes as he yells through the door,

“Maeve, is that you!? Can you try to get these doors open from your side? We’re stuck in here and they won’t seem to budge!” 

Tommy hears Grayson calling out to his sister but can’t hear anything when he puts his own ear to the door. Grayson continues to yell instructions and explanations as if he is conversing with Maeve but Tommy still can’t hear anything. At least, he can’t hear anything on the other side of the door, but Tommy can hear something in this room. He focuses his hearing to make out the sound of stone shifting, quiet, but unmistakable, as if someone were scraping a rock against the stone of a statue. 

“Statues!” He thought as he snatches Grayson’s phone and turns back on the light, pointing it up at the gargoyles. He sees each pillar the same as before but with empty platforms where the gargoyles were once perched. His stomach drops as he suddenly feels very exposed. What could possibly make gargoyles scared enough to run away? 

As Tommy tries to get Grayson’s attention, he refuses to turn his back to the now completely dark space from which they came. Finally able to yank Grayson off the door, Tommy points the flashlight up the pillars and just as Grayson gets a glimpse of the empty perches, their last flashlight dies. Left in total darkness, the two of them cling to each other's arms and Tommy’s instincts are screaming at him to run but his feet feel like anvils. It takes a moment to feel it in the dark but he realizes his feet aren’t frozen from fear, they feel as though they have been pulled into the ground, the stone cemented around them. The person Tommy was so glad was with him because of his level headedness when Simon died was now screaming down Tommy’s ear about how they were stuck and definitely gonna die. 

In an instant the screaming stopped and there were three unpleasant cracking sounds that made Tommy’s skin crawl. He leaned down, arms outstretched to feel around, hoping Grayson was crouched and crying silently. He touched something sharp, jagged, and covered in a wet and slightly warm substance. He didn’t even have to smell it to know it was blood and he didn’t have to think too hard to figure out he was touching the broken bones of Grayson’s legs. He was left to guess the third crack might have been his friend's jaw. Tommy, now trapped and alone next to what he could only assume based on the silence, was another dead friend, decided the only thing left for him to do was die. 

He sat and waited for whatever was hiding in the dark of this maze to kill him too and eventually couldn’t help but drift off to sleep. When he woke, he was at the campsite Grayson, Simon and himself set up a few days before. He thought for a moment it was just a terrible dream, but gave up on that hope once he couldn’t find his friends anywhere but all their stuff remained. When he went back to the strange cave they decided to explore not far from the campsite, he found nothing but smooth stone, as if the cave didn’t exist anymore.