"Yooo, this is some weird shit!" a tired-looking man rambled as they walked through the maze. "I swear we're in a simulation or something. None of this is real. Not real, not real, NOT REAL! FUCK!"
He threw his hands up wildly, breathing hard.
"Tch. Why did I even follow this guy?" another man muttered, rubbing his forehead. "He's gone crazy… though honestly, I can't even blame him anymore. I'm barely holding it together myself."
Nobody else reacted.
At this point, everyone looked drained. Fear and exhaustion had burned through most of their emotions already. Survival was the only thing keeping them moving.
The group continued through the corridors in uneasy silence.
Then the maze trembled again.
"This again?!" someone shouted.
The walls shook violently enough that several people grabbed onto them for support. Dust drifted from above as the deep mechanical groan echoed through the corridors once more.
After a few seconds, the shaking stopped.
"Shit…" one of them whispered.
The corridor ahead of them was gone.
A wall now blocked the path.
"Are you serious right now?"
They immediately turned around to head back.
Then froze.
"…What the fuck?"
"Wait—are you guys seeing this too?"
"Is that a wall?"
"No shit Sherlock!"
Both sides were sealed.
Front and back.
The corridor had become a trap.
Panic exploded instantly.
"Something's wrong!"
Then came another sound.
A low rumble from above.
Slow.
Heavy.
Everyone looked up.
The ceiling was moving.
Descending.
"Oh no… no no no no…"
A woman stumbled backward, staring upward in horror.
"Oh God… OH GOD!"
The ceiling kept lowering.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
People started screaming.
Some rushed the walls, pounding on them hard enough to bloody their hands.
"LET US OUT!"
"PLEASE!"
"OPEN THE FUCKING WALL!"
Nothing happened.
The wall didn't even shake.
The ceiling kept coming down.
Closer.
Closer.
The space shrank rapidly. People dropped to their knees. Some cried. Some clawed uselessly at the walls. One man curled into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then the ceiling reached them.
The screams became distorted.
Wet.
Bones cracked.
Flesh crushed.
The sound filled the sealed corridor for several horrible seconds.
Then—
Silence.