The Frozen Time Maze

                                                                           -Before the story-

It was a cool windy Friday, my friends and I were walking down the worn down path through the woods on our way home from school. We had planned to go to the park and hang out after homework, and have ice-cream later. Little did we know that our plans were about to change.

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          The leaves crunched under our feet as we walked along the worn path. Wind whistled through the treetops, it was getting colder outside, nearing November. Today had been a busy day, Mr. Wilson, our history teacher, had given us a surprise pop quiz that was anything but easy. I was still lost in thought when I heard barking. I looked up just in time to be knocked down by a large dog. "Whoa there Sheba! Calm down!" I shouted as I pushed her off of me and got up. Sheba was my dog, a German Shepard and Husky mix, that I had gotten from my parents last Christmas. "She sure seems excited today." said my friend Shane laughing. My other two friends, Craig and Jacinda, were down petting Sheba, who was wriggling with excitement. I bent down to pet her head, "What is it girl?" I asked, "Come on, show me." Sheba jumped up, barked, and bounded off down the trail. My friends and I had to run to keep up with her. Then Sheba stopped short and barked. I looked up and gasped. In front of us was an old cabin, covered in vines that hugged the house like old, bony fingers. A feeling of dread crept into my stomach. Something about this house just didn't seem right.

          "Wow," said Craig, breaking the silence, he was staring at the house in awe. "I swear this house was never here before." He's right, I thought, this wasn't here before. "Guys, is it just me or do you guys have a bad-" I was cut off by Shane who yelled "J-da! Stop! Don't go in there!" I looked up and saw Jacinda stepping onto the porch of the old house. Sheba barked and whined. "Why?" she asked, "It's just a weird old house." She turned around and in four steps she had made it to the door. Sheba barked and ran toward Jacinda, I followed with Shane and Craig close behind. "J-da! Don't!" I yelled, but I was too late. She had already opened the door and disappeared inside. I stopped. "What do we do now?" asked Craig. "We go after her." said Shane. We heard an unsure and frightened gasp from the house. "Guys?" It was Jacinda. "Come on," said Shane, "We have to find her." We all walked to the door of the house. "Ready?" Shane asked. "Ready as I'll ever be." I said, the feeling of dread like a rock in my stomach. "Let's do this!" said Craig, and we stepped through the door. Everything went black and we were plunged into darkness. I felt a strong wind blowing around us. Sheba whined. "Guys? What's going on?" I asked. "I don't-" Shane stopped short as the dark was pierced by light. The next thing we knew we were surrounded by hedges. "Guys!" shouted Jacinda, as she came running over to us. "Guys....I think you should turn around." "What?" I turned around and gasped in surprise for the second time that day. The door we had come through was gone; we were trapped in what looked like a maze of hedges. "I don't think we're in Wyoming anymore Sheba." Craig said.

          "Where...Where are we?" I said my voice barely more than a squeak. "Well, according to that sign right there this place is called The Frozen Time Maze." said Jacinda, pointing at an old wooden sign that read:

                                                                         -Frozen Time Maze-

                                            Will you make it through before the time runs out?

I shivered, "Weird." I said. "Yeah, definitely." said Craig, then he asked "So what do we do now?" "Well," said Shane thoughtfully, "If this is a maze I say we try to find a way to make a mental map of the place." It was quiet for a moment until Jacinda shouted excitedly, "Oh! I know! We could stand on each other's shoulders to see over the hedges so we can see which way to go!" We looked at her like she was crazy. "What?" she said, "It was only an idea, and I think it's worth a shot if you ask me." We all debated about this for awhile, and when we didn't come up with anything better, we ended up going with Jacinda's idea. Craig went on bottom, and Shane stood on his shoulders. I went up next, and then came Jacinda, who had her ever present pad of paper and pencil in her hand. After awhile Craig started to protest, "J-da, are you done yet?! You people are going to kill me!" he shouted. "Hold on, hold on, just a sec, I'm almost done.....just a few more lines...and...done!" said Jacinda. Just then Craig decided he was done and we all fell in a heap on the ground. "Ow! What was that for!?" Jacinda shouted, rubbing her arm. "I told you guys that you were going to kill me." said Craig who was struggling to hold back a laugh while failing miserably to pretend to be dead. We all burst out laughing, and for a moment it seemed like nothing abnormal had happened. But reality dawned on us to soon. Shane straightened up, "Okay J-da, let's see what you got."