chapter 4

It was just me and Tyler, we had lost the others. Whatever was chasing us wasn’t too far behind. We turned the corner I don’t know how long we have been running but it feels like it’s been hours.

“Do you even know what’s chasing us?” I asked Tyler out of breath.

“I don’t know but I’d rather it not catches up with us.”

I bent down and took the throwing knife at my ankle and handed it to Tyler.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“If you see whatever is chasing us, stab it.”

“Alright.”

We kept running. We turned another corner and bumped into Sarah, Brad, and Katie

“How are we going to get out of here?” Sarah asked.

“We aren’t,” Katie said.

“Don’t think that way,” I said.

“Why not we have been in this maze forever,” Katie said.

“We should follow the sun,” I said.

“What good will that do?” Brad asked.

The ground started shaking.

“It will keep whatever that is away from us. Here.” I handed each of them a knife. I kept my two daggers strapped to my arm and my butterfly knife in my pocket.

“Alright let’s keep moving,” I said.

We move forward following the sun but midway through our journey the sun disappeared.

“What happened?” Katie said.

“I’m not sure but we should keep moving?” I said.

“You’ve grown up Amanda,” Tyler said.

“So, have you.”

“Not like you have. You’re beautiful bold and a leader we could never work together, none of us were bold enough to lead so we split up. Now you’re the glue that keeps us together.”

“Be quiet.”

“What? I was just trying to be nice.”

“I know and thank you. But listen.”

We stayed quiet.

“I don’t hear anything,” Brad said.

“I know, stay close. It shouldn’t be this quiet.” I said.

“What’s it like?” Sarah asked.

“What’s what like?” I asked.

“To be outside of all of this. What was it like before he took you?”

“For me it was lonely. I didn’t have friends. People thought that I was weird. I had a few minor offenses in school. Nothing serious. But I guess it was better than this. I was able to live my life instead of fighting for it.”

I’ve been in the man’s possession for six months. His name is Jonathan Pantelli. He used to be a doctor. In fact, he was the best doctor in our town. Eleven years ago, he and his wife were having an argument in their car and they weren’t paying attention and they were hit by a truck. His seven-year-old daughter was hospitalized and lost control of her legs. The two split up and Pantelli disappeared with his daughter. Then months later he kidnapped Sarah, Tyler, Brad, and Katie.

Despite the longevity of my disappearance, I still have hope that they will find us.

As for this maze, there is no light to guide out way through. We are surrounded by an unforgiving darkness.

“Guys stop we can’t keep feeling our way through, you guys rest up and I’ll keep watch,” I said.

“Are you sure Amanda?” Brad said.

“Yeah.”

I took my butterfly knife out knife out and started to twirl it.

“Amanda.” Tyler said.

“Yeah what’s up, Tyler?”

I felt him sit next to me. I stopped twirling the knife.

“Have you given up yet?” He asked.

“Given up on what?”

“On getting out of here are going home. He said that when we found the end we could go home.”

“I have never given up and I won’t start now.”

“Why?”

“Because I give up I have nothing.”

“Having nothing is not too bad.”

“Maybe for you, but if I have nothing, that means I’m just some orphan girl in a maze with kids that were dead to the rest of the world.”

“I’m sorry about your parents.”

“It’s fine there’s nothing that can be done about that.”

The ground started shaking as if a giant thing was walking.

“Amanda?” Sarah said. “What was that?”

“I don’t know stay close and stay alert.”

There was another thud. Each thud got closer to our position. The sky started to light up and as soon as it was bright enough for us to see, we ran. I never looked back to see what was chasing us. It took about another ten minutes, but we managed to get out of the maze and into an open grassy area. While everyone else got themselves situated I studied our surroundings.

It was weird. There were no animals or birds. There was no sound of nature there no bugs it was as if everything was dead. I walked over to a tree I touched it and it sent electricity through my veins.

I fell backward.

“Amanda!” Tyler caught me. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m…. fine.” I said. My eyelids felt heavy.

“Hey, hey open your eyes. Keeps your eyes open.” He shook me, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

“Tyler is she dead?”

“Let me see her!” Pantelli came out nowhere.

“No, you get away from her.” Sarah slapped Pantelli across the cheek.

He pushed her down.

“Hey!” Brad helped Sarah back to her feet.

“I’m a doctor. I can help her.” Pantelli picked up my limp body and carried me away.

I woke up in a hospital bed but not in a hospital. I was in a room with yellow walls and a white ceiling. I was hooked up to a machine monitoring my heart beat. Pantelli was asleep next to me. I unplugged the machine and bolted out of the room and down the hallway. Then something caught my eye. There was a girl in a wheelchair. I looked at the television it was a video of me being shocked by the tree. The screen said next time on Survival will the children get out of the swamp alive without Amanda?

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Pantelli.

“She’s a beautiful child, isn’t she?” Pantelli said.

“So, you kidnapped us to entertain her?” I turned to him.

“I first kidnapped the children, so they could be her friends. But, then I was inspired by the Hunger Games and I created this arena.”

“Why didn’t you put her in school?”

“Do you see her? They would taunt her for sure.”

“The world is not as cruel as you think.”

“Maybe.”

“Daddy, do you think Amanda will be okay the next episode?” Chandler turned around. “Wait, she's here?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t say Amanda Thompson was coming to see me.”

“It was a surprise.”

“Does she know that you kidnapped us?” I asked.

“No, and you better not tell her, or I’ll kill your boyfriend.” Pantelli looked sternly at me.

“I won’t.”

“I love how you brought the four of them together. You’re amazing.”

“Thank you, Chandler. It’s hard but someone has to do it.”

Chandler smiled. She was a beautiful young girl.

“Daddy and Amanda have to go, baby, I’ll see you later.”

“Alright.” Chandler said.

We walked out of the room.

“Thinking about running away weren’t you.”

“Yes, until I saw myself on the tv screen. Is that all she does?”

“No.”

“What else does she do?”

“She online games.”

“Do you take her outside ever? Sitting there in front of the screen all day is killing her brain cells, and this is something you should know Doctor Pantelli.”

“I don’t have time to take her outside.”

“Why because you’re watching over five kids that don’t belong to you?”

“Someone has to do it.”

“Some was doing it until you kidnapped them and killed my parents.”

“Fair point.” He shrugged.

“All I’m saying is spend time with your daughter and let us go home.”

“No, my daughter thinks that you are heroes.”

“But what does she think of you?”

“You do realize your life is in my hands.”

“Do whatever you want with me. I’ll be your little toy, but you will not break me.”

“I will, and when I do, you will love me.”