Process of Elimination

Chapter 5: Part 4

POV: Inside the Maze (It's been a few days)

Kichirou, Xavion, Renfrew, and I were still going through the maze. We had no idea what our other teammates were doing. As Kichirou and I followed along the maze, it was very quiet. Kichirou was very concentrated. "Hey, Kich. Do you think we're almost there?" I asked him. "Not even close, maybe. We've been here for days." he replied. "Well, do you think that we're going in the opposite direction?" I asked. "Shut the hell up, man. We've gotten so far. And you think that we--" his words paused. A scraping noise and large thud sound was heard. Shortly after, a bigger but quieter thud was heard.

"Kichirou?" I called out. I waved my arms around trying to see if I could feel where he was. I placed my hand on the ground. I felt a line on the floor. It was wet. I slowly walked forwards and a loud buzzer filled my ears. "Congratulations, Leo. You made it through the maze alone. Take off your blindfold for your prize." a voice said. Alone? But, I'm with Kichirou. What did it mean by alone?

I took off the covering shielding my eyes and briefly observed my environment. I was in the room all by myself. I directed my focus towards my hand, taking a moment to examine it. My fingertips had a slight trace of blood. Kichirou unexpectedly stumbled into a cavity. More precisely, the commencement occurs in close proximity to the exit. I spent three days searching for a way to escape the maze.

Kichirou's assistance was crucial for me to finish. His death is solely my fault. If I hadn't spoken, we would have been able to succeed together. The exit was just a stone's throw away from us. I didn't deserve the Immunity Policy. Shortly after, the other team made it to the exit without any problems. Both Renfrew and Xavion were across the finish line with no reward. Instead, they were both up for elimination.