It's dark. It's cold. We're in the middle of nowhere and I want to go home. I don't even know how any of us got here. When we arrived, each got a note card telling us what we had to accomplish in order for us to get out of this maze. There are only six of us and we're all teenagers. We don't know what will happen, who's going to save us, or where we're supposed to go. So we just stand and wait. An hour goes by, then two, and after three, we begin to walk.

We pass a small rock wall with bloody handprints all over it. We find a wide path that fits all of us side by side and even though we're strangers, we hold hands to reassure each other that none of us are leaving. It seems to become colder as every second passes. The path leads us into the woods with 'keep out' signs posted every five feet or so. The smallest boy, I think his name is Jared, lets out a small peep and starts shaking my hand. He tries pulling us back, but we're all already scared, so what would be the point of just turning around? The oldest of us, Isabelle, hushes him and searches in her pockets. She pulls out a key chain with a small flashlight hooked onto it. She lights up the front of the path as much as she can, which is only a couple of feet in front of us. Then, something jumps out, screaming at us.

Whatever jumped out is coming towards us, screaming so loud i think my eardrums are permanently damaged. All of a sudden, we're chained together, hands and feet in handcuffs and shackles, and none of us can move. I feel like I'm about to faint. I start sweating and trying to move backwards, but it seems as if Isabelle isn't afraid of anything. She stands in the front staring down the creature. She begins to whisper in a different language and none of us know what she is up to, but it makes the creature stop and stare at us in a puzzling way. Whoever or whatever that was coming at us now pulls out a fish from his back pocket and starts swinging it around. The guts are hanging out and ready to let go and come straight towards us. The Thing starts to walk again, still with the fish in hand, and whispers back to Isabelle. Her face goes from serious to scared and turns white as snow.

She slowly turns towards the group, her eyes starting to bleed, and softly tells us to run. She snaps her fingers and we're released from our handcuffs and shackles. We do as she said. We run. We run to nowhere, as long as it gets us far away from them as possible. I start to hear screaming and as I look back behind me, I see the others one by one getting dragged back into the dark. I'm next and I know it, but I keep sprinting anyways.

Something grabs me by my hair, but I keep going. I'm running so fast , it feels as if I'm flying. My lungs are about to explode and I need to stop, but can't. My jacket gets torn off, and I now realize how bony my arms have gotten these past few hours. I look down and see my feet without my shoes, bleeding from everywhere. My time is coming up, I just want to let go and give up. My head is swooning, my feet are numb, and I can't tell if I'm still breathing or not. I quit. I fall to my knees and let the monster from my dreams catch up to me.