The maze stretched endlessly.
Every corridor of glass reflected them a thousand times — but none of those reflections looked quite the same. Some smiled when they didn't, some cried silently, and some were simply… gone.
For Samy and Tin, the journey began with silence.
Only their footsteps echoed, soft against the mirrored floor.
Each step felt heavier than the last — like the maze itself was pressing into their minds, forcing them to remember things they had buried deep inside.
Samy whispered, "Do you feel that? Like the air's getting thicker?"
Tin nodded slowly. "Yeah… it's like walking through our own fears."
They kept going. Sometimes the mirrors showed them memories — flashes of their pasts, moments they'd rather forget. Samy saw her younger self crying in a classroom, surrounded by whispers. Tin saw himself pushing someone smaller, the look of fear in that kid's eyes haunting him again.
He clenched his fists. "It's making us relive it… all of it."
Samy glanced at him gently. "Maybe that's what it wants — to make us remember before we can escape."
Elsewhere, Jet and Tony wandered through a different passage.
Every wall looked the same — polished glass stretching into infinity. It was impossible to tell which way they came from or where they were going.
Tony ran a hand through his hair. "This place is like a broken compass. I can't tell left from right anymore."
Jet tried to sound calm, though her voice trembled. "Just… keep walking. Standing still feels worse."
The mirrors around them flickered faintly, showing blurred shapes that moved when they didn't.
Tony froze. "Did you—"
"I saw it," Jet said quickly. "Something's behind us."
They spun around — nothing. Only their reflections. But one of them — in the far mirror — turned its head a moment too late.
Tony's throat went dry. "That's not us."
They backed away, keeping their eyes on the reflection. The air felt colder now, heavy with invisible eyes watching their every move.
The same feeling crept across all three paths.
Whether it was Roger and Kim, Jet and Tony, or Samy and Tin — they all began to sense someone else.
A third presence. A faint sound of breathing behind them. A soft footstep.
But every time they turned, there was nothing there.
It wasn't just a maze anymore — it was a living test.
The voice echoed faintly from somewhere above.
"Step by step… find what you fear most, and perhaps you'll find your way out."
The maze laughed quietly after that — a cold, distant sound that faded like wind.
Hours seemed to pass.
The group — separated but still faintly aware of each other — grew tired. Their legs ached, their stomachs growled, and their throats burned with thirst.
Jet leaned against a glass wall and pulled a small water bottle from her backpack. The plastic crinkled sharply in the silence. She drank half, then handed it to Tony.
"Here. Don't finish it all."
Tony nodded, gulped once, and reached into his bag. "I've still got some cookies left."
He tore open the wrapper — the smell of chocolate breaking through the metallic air — and passed one to her.
Somewhere else in the maze, Tin took a small water bottle from his jacket and drank carefully, while Samy sat down, rubbing her eyes. "At least we're not losing our minds yet," she whispered.
Roger and Kim rested too, sitting near a corner where two glass walls met. Roger pulled a bottle from her waist pouch and handed it to him.
"Drink," she said softly. "We need our strength."
Kim took a small sip, then nodded. "Thanks. We're not done yet."
For a few minutes, everything was quiet — almost peaceful.
The reflections around them seemed to fade, the darkness settling like dust.
But then, softly at first, came the sound again — the same haunting whisper that had followed them from the beginning.
"Rest while you can… the maze never sleeps."
A shadow moved across the mirrored floor — long, stretching far beyond where it should have ended.
They looked at each other. Their moment of peace was over.
One by one, they stood up again, gathered what courage they had left, and started walking.
And with every step, the mirrors whispered — not words this time, but faint murmurs, like voices calling their names.
The maze had begun to change again.