The walls opened and flung Joe out into a null void.
He found him self in an empty space, no more corridors, no more hallways just empty space. The darkness was infinite and it stretched in all directions. He tumbled from one end to another.
Then all of a sudden everything came to a standstill. Joe's breathing was ragged, he looked around and cold shivers ran down his spine.
Bodies, Dozens of them floated through the darkness like debris, their eyes were open and empty and their mouth were frozen in silent screams.
They are dead passengers.
"Welcome to the point of no return, the heart of the maze." A voice boomed from everywhere at once, not gothic but loud and calming.
"Take a look around you Joe Miller. These are the strongest passengers In the maze, the bravest and the most intelligent. They were determined to escape the maze. But they were wrong. They failed trying to escape. And you too will surely fail."
Joe clenched his fist. "I'm not like this people and I will never be like them."
"Ha..ha..ha.." The voice laughed dryly. "They all said the same thing but look at them now."
A body drifted past Joe's face. It was a young man, maybe thirty, wearing a black suit. His eyes were open but they stared at nothing.
"There's no escape from the maze," the voice continued. "This is where everything ends. This is where all hope dies."
"You might be wrong this time," Joe said through gritted teeth. "My friends are still out there, Maya, Marcus, Leo and Goldy. They are waiting for me to come and save them."
"Are they?" The voice mocked. "Or they might have even forgotten about you?. The maze would have surely made them forget."
"I will never forget my friends and I won't give up easily on them."
"That's impressive. But foolish."
The void shifted. The floating bodies began move. Forming a circle around Joe. Their stiff eyes all turned towards him at once.
They one of the bodies moved closer to Joe. The eyes blinked and it came to life. The chest began to rise and fall.
It was a girl. Short hair with glasses.
"Lena?" Joe whispered
She gasped suddenly, her body jerked as it was shocked. She opened her eyes, it wasn't dark it with was normal.
"Joe?" Her voice was weak but real. "is that…. really you?"
"Lena! You're alive!" He touched her and felt her body. She was real this time not the dark Lena he had seen before. "I thought the you were consumed by the maze and that you're now a predator."
"I..I don't really know what happened to me , if I'm really alive or dead." She looked at her hands, touching her face to know if she was actually real. "The maze took me. I was in that room with my mother, but it wasn't her, it was a trap. I tried to fight but.." Tears filled her eyes. ,"I failed..I thought I would become one of them.A predator."
"It alright you're alive Lena. The maze played us both," Joe said holding her hands. A wave of understanding flooded through him. "What I saw at the corridor and the chamber of mirrors wasn't you. It was another trick the maze was playing with me."
"The maze showed me you abandoned me," Lena said quietly. It showed me you wanted me dead so you will escape."
"I'll never do such a thing to you, I tried to save you but Maya held me back."
Lena nodded slowly. "I know. I know that now. The maze feeds in doubt and fear. It turns us against each other."
"We're getting out of here", Joe said firmly. "Together"
"Yes we need to fight this," Lena agreed.
Ha..ha..ha. The voice laughed again. What a touching reunion. But you're going nowhere unless you pass the final test. The test of doom, only then can you proceed to the next game ahead of you.
The void shifted again. The floating bodies disappeared. I'm their place a massive stone tablet, floated between Joe and Lena. Strange symbols glowed on its surface, suddenly it rearranged into words.
"THE FINAL MAZE TEST"
"SOLVE THIS AND IT RELEASES YOU"
"YOU FAIL IT, YOU JOIN THE OTHER PASSENGERS IN ETERNAL SLEEP"
Below a text puzzle appeared:
"A farmer ties two donkeys with ropes. One donkey faces left and the other faces right. He places a pile of grass 10cm away from each donkey (one pile on the left side and one pile on the right side). However, the ropes are too short, so each donkey can only reach within 10cm of their current position, making it impossible for either donkey to reach their respective grass pile on their own. How can both donkeys manage to eat the grass from both sides?"
A timer appeared above the tablet, counting down from three minutes.
2:59..2:58…2:57..
"What the hell?" A brain teaser, after all what we've passed through. Lena said adjusting her glasses.
"You maze is testing our intelligence, we only have three minutes we need to figure out the answers together." Joe said his mind racing fast.
"Two donkeys with each at left and right positions" Lena said racking her brain.
"But it's so easy the farmer can just cut the rope"
"No Joe, the answer can't be as easy as that this is a brain teaser"
Think Lena, think…Lena said hitting her head with her hand.
2:10…2:09…2:08
Let's just say were the donkeys.
We're..what?
No I'm just saying.. practically..ok let's assume we're the donkeys and you're at the right and Im at the left but I can't be able to eat my grass because of the short rope what would you have done " Joe asked racking his brain the more.
Lena's eyes widened. "I would have told you to come to my position.
"Yes the rope won't be taut that way and we would eat mine together." Joe added lighting up for the first time.
"Then we would go to yours and eat your grass together too and the grass will be finished"
"Yeah co-operation is the right answer" Lena said and adjusted her glasses.
The tablet glowed bright green.
1:54…1:53…1:52..
The timer stopped.
Then the voice spoke, and for the first time, it was shaky and sounded surprised.
"You..you solved it."
"We solved it together," Joe said gripping Lena's hand tightly.
"In over three hundred attempts. Only thrice gas anyone passed this test. You're the fourth and fifth.
The void began to crack suddenly and light illuminated through.
The maze will release you. You may proceed to the next game.
For the first time Joe felt relieved. They did it. They actually did it.
The light stopped spreading.
"But now you must choose. Which two of your companions will remain trapped in the maze forever? Maya and Marcus? Or Leo and Goldy?
The voice was silent and it waited for their answers.