Story of Brooke Evelyn //Alice in borderland//

MEMORY MAZE

The floor shifts beneath my feet, and the walls rearranged themselves. I was now separated from the other players. A clock began ticking down on my wrist: 45:00.

As I began to explore, I encounter a room filled with hauntingly personal items. A locket I thought I had lost years ago, a photo of me as a child with a scratched out faces and a book I vaguely remember from school. Each object seemed tied to a trail:
The locket: A riddle to my family history.
The scratched photo: An emotional confrontation where I must face a memory I tried hard to forget get.
The book: A physical trail, with traps that force me to dodge and weave the key inside.

It all hit me at once. This was the first heart game that had made memories my biggest challenge. I tried continuing but illusions of repressed and hurtful memories in which I was helpless played in the hallways as I became dizzy and weak. Causing me to collapse against wall after wall in this endless maze of hell.

As I progressed, I ran into a nervous teenage boy trying to solve a puzzle involving his favourite childhood toy. He begged for help, but I had to decide me or him.

Later I encountered a cocky rival who tried to trick me into giving up one of my key. The encounter turned into a tense game of wit and deception.

Him mixed with the illusions of the past made my head spin and I felt myself starting drifting away until the cold metal of a sharp blade pressed against my neck brought me back to the unpleasant reality. My face quickly turned from confusion and fear to anger and hatred, I pretended to grab one of my keys and he smiled and scoffed " that's what I thought pretty lady." I saw his now grinning widely and licking his lips, inches away from my face.

Clenching my teeth, I quickly grabbed my waist knife and slashed it along his throat. He stepped back gargling blood and grasping his throat. I was taken back by my actions until I noticed a small trickle of blood come from a small incision on my throat, which he had made. Realising this I smirked at his suffering and watched as he weakly dropped to the floor tugging my leg.

"That sucks." I remarked coldly, staring at his now lifeless body motionless on the floor in the pool of blood.

Continuing, the maze began to change unpredictably, responding to my emotions. When I grew scared or frustrated, the walls collapsed or pathways disappear. At one point the maze seemed to speak to me, echoing my own doubts back: "you don't belong here. You're not strong enough."

I clenched my fists. "Yeah? Watch me."

As time ticked dangerously close to zero, I reached a massive, glowing door. To open it, I must face the moats personal memory yet. The one I had buried so deep it feels like a punch to the gut.

I hesitate hearing the maze walls cracking around me. My own voice whispers. "If you don't face this, you'll never escape."