The Maze Arena

Chapter One

I sat on my balcony watching the sun set below the horizon. My legs were dangling off the edge down towards the crashing waves that hit the tower below me. I had started to do this a lot, this past year, just peacefully watching the orange, yellow and blue mix together in the sky as the sun started to disappear. Just before it disappeared, making the sky turn dark, the water shimmered in the suns glow then instantly fell to a dark blue. The night sky was twinkling with stars and the moon cast shadows everywhere.

I sighed. Another day gone. The sliding glass door, behind me, slid open, i didn't bother to turn round, i just stared out to sea watching the waves lap over one another .

"Mum says dinner's ready"

Still staring ahead not bothering to turn around, i grunted a reply at my brother who was standing in the doorway. He was two years older than me, making him 18. He always looked out for me and made sure that i was ok. Mostly though he worried about me. The maze was two weeks away, and me and all the other sixteen year old's had to enter to fight to the death. I tried not to think about it.

My brother had luckily survived. He was one of the remaining twelve, but when he came out of the maze he wasn't happy and cheerful. He was haunted.

He never spoke of the maze, nor did my mother and father. It always brought back memories to them. They wouldn't tell me what it was like, but when i was little when ever i brought it up in a conversation their faces would fall and turn pale, then they would suddenly try to change the subject.

The cold in the atmosphere made me shiver, goose bumps had began to sprout down my arms and legs. I stood up from my sitting position and climbed back over the fence, landing softly on the right side of the balcony.

Walking through the door to the kitchen, roast chicken filled my nose. My stomach grumbled making me realize how hungry i was.

I saw my brother, Harry, and my father sitting at the white, hovering table. My little sister, Lily, was in the kitchen trying to help mum, but failing. She was eight and was always running around hyper and crazy.

Sitting across from where my sister would be sitting, i helped myself to a glass of water, letting the cold, soothing liquid clear my dry throat. I put the glass back down onto the table and waited for the food to come.

I looked out the huge window that was in front of me, still seeing the peaceful ocean and the midnight sky. A plate was suddenly put down in front of me, and i smiled at my little sister,

"Thank you Lily" I said politely, then started to dig into my food.

Lily beamed at me then skipped back to the kitchen to grab the other plates for the others.

When everybody was quietly sitting at the table eating their food, i was already half way through my meal. The juicy chicken and tasty vegetables delighted my stomach.

We all sat in silence, there was nothing to really talk about, so we just kept guzzling down our food until every single crumb or speck of gravy was wiped off the plate.

"So Sam..." my dad suddenly spoke, interrupting the silence, "We um need to talk to you..."

I lifted my head, indicating that i was listening. This sounded serious. Curious, i waited for my dad to continue.

"The..the maze is two weeks away and we wanted to..to know if you are ready," he rushed out the last bit, but something tells me he wanted to say more.

I nodded my head. Now that it was my turn to go into the maze, i wasn't really comfortable talking about it. But i answered anyway, for whatever my father might say it could help me to survive the dreaded maze.