The Mind Game

My name was Jackson, and I was trapped. I was currently in an unknown location that seemed far away – out in nowhere. I could not seem to escape from this place. It was a continuous endless space with the same doors, lights, paintings – even the same carpet. Everything continued. It was a maze – arranged as one, was one.

Whenever I looked up or down, I could only see patterns – the same ways. It was patterns that had made me lose track of time – and not to mention the place. It has even made me doubt whether I have moved since my arrival.

I did not know what to say or do. I could not describe the feeling I had right at this exact moment, where I was sitting with my back toward the stone-cold wall. I felt chills down my spine by the thought of my existence in this room. My mind may have been playing tricks with me. It must have been. The real-world – actual world – blended immensely with fantasy, and I could not tell the difference between the many doors, paintings, and lights. I had opened many doors, and none of them – so far – has been an escape.

I ran a hand through my hair, almost ripping it out of frustration. Suddenly the world before me started to spin. My vision became blurry, and I put a hand on the wall to remain standing.

"Is anyone there?" I yelled out loud, hoping someone would hear me, but unfortunately, no one was responding. I could feel the energy drain out of me with force. A tremendous powerful force that made me bound to the ground. I covered my face and used my arms to shield my body.

"Go die," the paintings whispered.

I stayed alert ahead of me as the little girl in the painting stared directly at me. She continued to laugh as she pointed at me. In her hand, she was holding a bloody knife, while a dead man was hanging behind her. "Go die," I heard again.

My head was having a hard time comprehending what was happening, and I could not seem to make sense of this situation. A few moments ago, the innocent girl in the painting told me to run, and now she has become unrecognizable. The innocent girl has turned into a murderous girl, who must not be more than seven years of age. She has become a 7-year-old who wanted me dead.

I did not care anymore. I began to run. Run further and further away. I decided to follow the instructions from the girl in the painting.

As I ran, a mirror between two doors caught my attention. The mirror showed a man with ripped clothes and long hair. He was tall and with a slender build body. His hair was in a messy lock, and over his shoulder was the reflection of another man. The man had no face, taking delicate steps towards the latter, holding a sharp knife close to him. The sound of a ticking clock could be heard; the clock stopped ticking at 3:15 AM. That was when the latter died.

Everything was starting to spin again, and I feel my legs slowly giving up on me. My arms and legs were wobbly. My legs could not support my weight any longer, and I collapsed the same moment the latter died. I could not get up. Not yet.

"Follow me," A whisper sounded, "follow me."

The sound gave me strength, and I desperately followed it. It led me to a door with a golden handle, which was different from the other entries. The majority of the doors had silver handles, but this one had a golden one. Nothing around the door was different from the others. They were all in the same shade and color – even size.

While I walked towards the door, I hummed my version of the famous quote 'Roses are red...'. My rearrangement of the passage was, 'Roses are red, violets are blue, when do I get out, I need some food.' I repeated the same quote with hope for anyone to hear me. Unfortunately, no one did – but at least, I tried.

When I opened the door, I got led to a dark and empty room. There was nothing in there - nothing except a man, whose back was facing me.

"Hello? Anyone there?" I asked out loud in hope for the man to turn around. Once again, I heard nothing but silence. Slowly he turned around, and something about him felt familiar.

"Who are you?" I asked harshly. I demanded an answer from him, whether he had one or not. I was desperate.

My hands were shaking, and I was scared of what may happen to me. I tried my best to keep them steady – even though they were shaking uncontrivable. With my shaky hands, I did my best and searched for the light switch. My hand felt something on the wall behind me, so I pressed a finger against it. The light turned on. The face of the person was now clear; it was not a human. It was a monster.

"I'm Reyes," he said at a slow pace as he turned around," your savior." His face was strange. It glowed like the sun – and I could feel the heat and warmness, though his eyes were the opposite. They were cold as ice.

"Follow me if you want to live." He said as he walked out the door. He walked with confidence and without any hesitation – though it was the opposite with me. I was still shaking as I walked behind him. He did not wait for my response, neither as he just walked away like that. So, I gathered myself and followed Reyes.

We walked past narrow hallways until we reached the abandoned part of the house – outside. It was situated nearby the place I got trapped. Once again, he turned his back towards me.

I should have mentally prepared myself, as the next move happened so predictable. Reyes took out a knife and started to threaten me. He took one step, then two, and followed up many other steps; he walked toward me. He took lots of steps towards me, which made me take a few steps back.

He told me he would kill me if I did not listen. I did not want to give up yet, so I obeyed him. It was turned out to be the wrong choice. He spat on me and ripped my hair; while I struggled against his hold. He was holding me very tight. The blade was firmly pressed against my throat near my carotid artery while he still kept my hair locked in his hands. The knife was poking me, and I was shivery vigorously. One wrong move, I would have bled to death.

"What are you?" I weakly muttered out as he laughed dryly.

"That is none of your concern." He said, clearly amused.

He led me to a mirror at the front of the house. That was when I got a glance at his face – a real frightening glimpse. The sight was not what I excepted. He turned out to be a monster – a faceless monster that had vampire-like teeth!

"I told you," He laughed venomously at me as he stabbed me in the abdomen.

Before I blacked out, I got a glance at the clock behind me, and everything came to me in a rush. I had seen this before – it was like deja-vu. The clock stopped at 3:15 AM the moment I got stabbed, and everything started all over again. I woke up in the same hallway that had a continuous endless space with the same doors, lights, paintings – even the same carpet. Everything continued. It was a maze – arranged as one, was one.