Joe was stunned. Why do they have to choose who survives.
"You have to choose."Maya and Marcus? Or Leo and Goldy?"
"No," Joe said firmly. "I won't choose."
"Then you all will remain here forever
"Lena grabbed his arm. "Joe, we have to make a choice"
"No!" Joe pulled away, his voice rising. "We can't follow what the maze wants. It wants us to turn on each other. To sacrifice our friends. And I won't do it."
The voice laughed coldly. "Impressive. But that's so foolish of you. The maze wants balance. Two will leave. And two will stay. That is the price of survival."
The void began to get darkenlr. The cracks of light started closing, darkness covering it.
"You have sixty seconds to make your choice. Or you all die here."
60...59...58...
"Joe, please," Lena begged. "We have to make a choice."
"There has to be another way." Joe's mind raced desperately. Think. Think!
"There is no other way," the voice said. "This is the final rule. The only rule that cannot be broken."
47...46...45...
Different image appeared in the void. The first one shows Maya, fighting skeletons in the Hall of Death. The second shows Marcus protecting Leo from the shadows. Goldy was standing alone in a dark corridor, her cold eyes scanning for danger in the third image. Leo, crying in a corner, scared and alone in another image.
They were still alive. Still fighting.
"Look at them," the voice said. "They trust you, Joe Miller. They believe you'll save them. But you can only save two. So choose. Who deserves to live more? The strong or the weak? The useful or the useless."
"Shut up!" Joe screamed, grabbing his head with his hands.
32...31...30...
"Joe, we're running out of time!" Lena's voice shook with panic.
Joe's hands shook. How could he choose? Maya had saved his life. Marcus was strong, capable. Leo was just a kid. Goldy was... what was Goldy? He barely knew her.
But did that matter? Did any of it matter? He has to save them all.
"The maze is testing you," the voice continued. "Not your intelligence. Not your strength. Your humanity. Can you sacrifice two innocent lives to save yourself and one friend? Can you live with that choice?"
The Images flashed faster. Maya's determined face. Marcus's scarred hands gripping his rope. Leo's tears. Goldy's empty stare.
18...17...16...
"I can't," Joe whispered. "I can't choose who lives and who dies."
"Then you choose death for all."
"No!" Lena grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "Joe, listen to me. If we don't choose, we will all die. Everyone. Including Maya, Marcus, Leo, and Goldy. They will all be trapped here forever."
"But if we choose—"
"Two of them get trapped instead of six. It's still saving four lives, Joe. We can still save four lives."
Joe's chest was stiff for a moment. She was right. Logically, she was right. But his heart was against it.
9...8...7...
"Think about what they would want," Lena said desperately. "Would Maya want all the six of us to die? Or would she sacrifice herself to save the others?"
Joe's mind flashed back to Maya's words: "Survival isn't about being strong or smart. It's about making choices."
5...4...3...
"I..." Joe's voice broke. Tears streamed down his face. "I choose..."
2...1...
"LEO AND GOLDY!" Joe screamed. "I choose to save Leo and Goldy!"
The void went silent.
The timer stopped at zero.
"Interesting," the voice said slowly. "Most passengers choose the strong. You chose the weak. Why do you make that choice?"
Joe wiped his tears roughly. "Because Maya and Marcus can survive on their own. They can fight on their own. They've been here longer. But Leo is just a kid. And Goldy... I don't know her story, but she deserves a chance too. And they are both weak to stay"
"And what about Maya? The one who saved your life?"
"Maya would understand," Joe said, his voice hollow. "She would want me to save the others."
Lena squeezed his hand. Her own tears fell silently.
"Very well," the voice said. "Your choice is made. Leo and Goldy will be released with you. Maya and Marcus will remain in the maze."
The light exploded outward, it was sharp and blinding. Joe felt his body being pulled, stretched, torn apart and rebuilt.
The last thing he heard was Maya's voice, distant and fading:
"Good choice, Joe. Now survive. For all of us."
Then everything went white.
Joe gasped and his eyes flew open.
He was lying on cold concrete floor. Rain drizzled down his face. The smell of exhaust and garbage filled his nose.
He sat up quickly, looking famished. Where was he?
He looked around. The street and buildings were familiar.
Chicago. He was back in Chicago.
"Joe?" A weak voice beside him.
Lena lay on the ground next to him, soaking wet, shivering. Beside her, two other figures stirred.
Leo. He was looking smaller, he pushed himself up slowly.
And Goldy. Her silver hair plastered to her face, her eyes was wide with shock.
"We're... we're out?" Leo whispered.
"We're out," Joe confirmed, his voice numb.
But the relief he should have felt never came. Instead, a heavy weight pressed on his chest.
Maya and Marcus are still in there.
He had saved four lives by sacrificing two.
And he would have to live with that choice forever.
"Joe, look." Lena pointed with a shaking hand.
Joe turned and his blood went cold.
Standing across the street, watching them with empty black eyes, was Ben. His high school bully. But something isn't right, Ben never moved that way, it was too smooth and controlled.
And behind him, more figures emerged from the shadows. Dozens of them. All with black eyes. All moving in perfect arrangement.
Ben smiled, but it wasn't his smile. It was the maze's smile.
"Welcome back, Joe Miller," he said in the familiar gothic voice. "Did you really think escaping the maze meant you were free?"
The street around them began to shift. Buildings twisted and the sky suddenly turned red.
"The maze is everywhere. And now, the real game begins."
Joe stood slowly, helping Lena to her feet. Leo and Goldy huddled behind them.
"What do we do?" Lena whispered.
Joe's jaw set with determination. They had escaped once. They could do it again.
"We must survive," he said. "Together."
The figures with black eyes began to advance.
And the second chapter of their nightmare began.
They are out of the maze into the next game.