The Maze Trials

Prologue: The Box

The huge cage-like elevator started up with a loud cranking noise.

It was dark. Pitch black. All there was was the loud thunderous grinding of the elevator. Then suddenly, for maybe two seconds, it was flooded with light. The elevator was maybe the size of half a classroom. All sorts of crates and barrels were inside, along with cages of chickens, pigs, boars, even a cow.there was also a small space in the middle, where limp body of a teenage boy lay. He was completely motionless, and for a moment, it could be debated whether he was even alive or not.

There was a loud shudder, and he quickly scrambled up, suddenly awake. He let out forced breaths, looking around him at the wrong time, as he had once again been plunged into darkness. His heart was beating a million times a minute, his body shaking. But his stomach hadn't caught up with the rest of his body, and his stomach lurched. In the dark, he stumbled over and threw up, letting go of what little he must have had in his stomach. He crawled back and wiped his mouth, his mind spinning. He was dizzy, and the motion wasn't helping him either.

The short flash of light came again, and the first thing he saw was his face inches away from a caged boar. It squealed challengingly as him, and he shouted, jumping backwards and sliding away, sitting against one of the crates. “HELP!” He shouted. “SOMEBODY HELP!” He tried to stand, but a jolt of the elevator made him drop back down. He wondered where he was going, where he came from, what was going on.

His heart sank when he realized that he didn't know who he was.

He didn't remember.

The boy was put into darkness again. He couldn't see anything; his eyes couldn't adjust. All he could hear were the scared and wild animals and the crank of the huge prison cell he was in. It didn't particularly smell good either, and it wasn't like him vomiting had at all helped.

Then it stopped. The noise, the motion. The boy sat there in darkness, wondering if this was it.

A dim red light came on to his sides, and a loud alarm buzz went off for maybe a second, making him cover his ears. When he took them away, it was completely quiet. Not even the animals stirred. He thought for a moment that maybe he had gone deaf. Then a new cranking noise came, and the whole elevator shook violently. The red light turned off, and once again, darkness.

Then there was a loud thud, and then a beam of light flooded the box from above. He closed his eyes, and see that that wasn't even enough, he folded his arms over his face. In maybe twenty seconds, the light completely filled the box, and the noises stopped once again. But this time it wasn't silent.

He could hear birds chirping. Wind blowing through leaves. But the loudest thing he could hear were whispers from above. People talking, all male. He tried to open his eyes again, but the light burned them; for the brief minutes he had been in the elevator, it adjusted his eyes to darkness. After another moment, he tried again, squinting.

A bright blue sky could be seen from above. Not a cloud in sight. And there were dark figures above him, their faces shaded by the light. The boy couldn't make out any distinguishing characteristics, just that they all seemed to be other boys, maybe men.

One of them stepped forward, and jumped down into the elevator, making it shake slightly. As he came into focus, The boy could make out the person. It was a teenager, maybe 17 or 18. He was black, with stubble for hair, and poorly shaven stubble on his face. His eyes were a dark, calm brown, and he was built like a football player. He was dressed in worn, semi-dirty clothes; a light grey long-sleeve, faded blue cargo pants, and worn boots.

“Hey there, Greenbean.” He said in a calm but friendly voice. “Come on, it’s day one of the rest of your life.”