The figures with black eyes froze mid-step. Then, like smoke, they disappeared into the thin air.
Joe's heart pounded. "What just happened?"
A massive screen appeared on the red sky above them, glowing with red colored letters:
"CONGRATULATIONS PASSENGERS"
"THE GAME MAZE OF HORROR - COMPLETED"
TOTAL SURVIVORS: 5
"NEXT GAME BEGINS IN 24 HOURS"
The screen flickered and vanished. The red sky faded back to gray. The twisted buildings straightened. Chicago looked normal again, but something felt wrong. Everywhere was empty.
"Twenty-four hours?" Lena whispered. "We only have a day before the next game begins?"
"We need food and a place to stay," Goldy said, her voice cold and shivering. "Now."
Leo pointed down the street with a shaking finger. "There. That old house."
It was an abandoned building, with it's windows already out of place, the paint had already peeled off, everything about the building looked untidy, but it had roof. This was hope.
They ran towards the building.
Inside, the house was dark and dusty. Furnitures were covered in dusty sheets. Broken glass scattered on the floor. But it was quiet and safe. For now.
Joe collapsed against a wall, his body finally giving in to exhaustion. Lena sat beside him, Leo curled up in a corner, and Goldy stood to watch by the window.
"We made it, didn't we?" Leo asked quietly. "We actually made it out of the maze."
"Not everyone did," Joe said, his voice heavy with guilt.
Silence fell.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway upstairs.
Everyone froze.
"Someone's here," Goldy whispered, pulling out her knife.
The footsteps grew louder and closer. Coming down the stairs.
Joe stood, his body tensing for a fight.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
"Relax," a familiar voice said calmly. "It's just me."
Joe's breath caught. "Maya?"
She stepped into the dim light. Her clothes were torn, blood stained her jacket, and a deep cut ran across her cheek. She was alive.
"Maya!" Joe rushed forward, but stopped himself. "How... how did you escape?"
Maya smiled weakly. "I didn't. Not completely." She held up a glowing stone, the same one Mr. Harrison had given Joe. "Marcus found this in the walls of the Shadow Abyss. He gave it to me before..."
Her voice trailed off.
"Before what?" Lena asked softly.
Maya's eyes darkened. "Before he sacrificed himself. The maze gave us a choice too. Only one person could leave. Only one person can stay. Marcus..." She swallowed hard. "He pushed me through the exit before I could even argue."
Joe's chest tightened. "Marcus was gone!."
"He saved me," Maya continued. "Just like you saved Leo and Goldy." She looked at Joe with something like respect. "You made the right choice, Joe."
"It doesn't feel right," Joe said quietly.
"It never does."
Maya walked to the center of the room and pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She spread it on the dusty floor.
"What's that?" Lena asked.
"A map," Maya said. "Marcus found it in the Heart of the Maze before... before the end. It shows the layout of the Dark Lands."
They all gathered around. The map showed Chicago, but it was different, this time it was Divided into ten sections, each labeled with a name:
Game of Riddles - COMPLETED Maze of Horror- COMPLETED The Hunt - NEXT Fountains of Flames Minesweeper games The Valley of Death Tower of Doom The Gauntlet The Final Sacrifice The Reckoning
"Ten games," Goldy said flatly. "And we've only completed two."
"Eight more to go," Leo whispered, his voice trembling. "Eight more chances to die."
"Or eight more chances to survive," Maya corrected. She pointed to the third section on the map. "The Hunt starts in twenty-four hours. According to this, it takes place in the Industrial District. Abandoned factories. Warehouses. Lots of places to hide."
"Why is it called The Hunt?" Joe asked.
Maya's expression darkened. "Because in this game, we are the prey."
Silence fell for a moment.
"The rules of the game are simple," Maya continued. "Brain eating zombies are released into the district with weapons. These zombies are former passengers who have been turned by the maze. Their only goal is to kill us before time runs out."
"How long do we have?" Lena asked.
"Ten hours. If we survive ten hours without being caught, we pass."
"And if we're caught?" Leo's voice was barely audible.
"Then we become eaten by the zombies and turn into a zombie too," Maya said. "Thereby getting trapped in the game forever and hunting new passengers."
Joe stood and walked to the window. Outside, the streets were empty. No cars. No people. Just silence.
"We need a plan," he said.
"Agreed," Maya said. She held up the glowing stone. "This can help. It reveals truth for a few seconds. It cuts through illusions. If the hunters try to trick us, this will show their real form."
"How many hunters are we talking about?" Goldy asked.
Maya checked the map. "They're Usually twenty. For four of us. Plus there might be other passengers who survived other game and have the luck is not playing the maze of horror. The games usually rotate against each other's will.
"So you mean there might be more people in the games," Lena said. "Those aren't good odds."
"The odds are never good, also there might be sub games in each of the games, so don't be happy yet," Maya replied.
"What do you mean by sub-games." Leo asked suddenly.
"Meaning each games has it own different levels just like the maze if horror." Goldie added.
Joe turned back to the group. Despite the exhaustion, despite the fear, something had changed in him. He had survived two games. He had made impossible choices. He had lost friends.
But he was still standing.
"We've defeated two games," Joe said. "We can beat this one too."
Maya nodded. "Get some rest. We have twenty-four hours to prepare. Then The Hunt begins."
Leo pulled his knees to his chest. "What if we don't make it?"
"We will," Joe said firmly. "We have to. For Marcus. For everyone that is still trapped in that maze."
Outside, the sky began to darken. Not with night, but with something else. Something red.
A countdown timer appeared in the clouds:
"23:47:12"
The Hunt was coming.
And this time, there was nowhere to hide.
Maya stared at the timer, her jaw set. "Tomorrow, we run. Tomorrow, we fight. Tomorrow, we survive."
She turned to Joe. "Because if we don't, the maze wins everything."
Joe nodded. "Then we don't let it win."
The house fell silent except for the distant sound of something howling in the streets.
The hunters were already waking up.
And they were hungry.