[CYOA: NAVIGATE THE MAIZE MAZE] Hayden

[a pet dino]

"Come on! This will be so much fun!" Hayden begged Devoss in their dorm. "Plus there could be riches! Wouldn't that be awesome!"

"We don't need riches. You're parents give us silver seeds every month," Devoss replied as he groomed his left paw.

Hayden shook her head and looked out her window before coming to a decision. "Fine, don't go. I'll just go by myself." With that Hayden grabbed her jacket and headed to the door of their dorm.

Just as she reached the door Devoss stopped grooming himself and sighed. "Wait up, wait up. I don't think you'd be able to get out of a maze by yourself. I'll come with you. But this means another bath when we get back."

Hayden smiled and nodded, happy that her plan had worked. Even if he liked to be clean Devoss couldn't pass up an opportunity for an adventure, especially if she was going to go with or without him.

The two of them neared the entrance and screaming could be heard. The gnomes made it, and it really didn't look all that scary, so Hayden wasn't really sure if those were even real screams. She looked down at Devoss and was about to say something when he started walking in. She shrugged and followed.

The whole thing was starting to get boring when all of a sudden the pair of them came to a crossroad. "Left or right?" Hayden asked. It was always so much easier to just let him make the choices.

"Right."

show spoilerhide spoiler

It seems like only the other year, students had to navigate the terrors of a maze. Or maybe it was just a year ago? Whatever the case, it wasn't talked about and no one seemed too traumatized by any maze tomfoolery, so with ignorance and silver seeds on the mind, it seemed a few groundskeeper gnomes had set up part of the school to be a temporary maze made of..well. Maize. Corn. Lots and lots of corn. It cost nothing to get in, and there was a promise of riches should any find the center with the Golden Ear. However, signs warn of various 'Spoopy traps' and 'much scare'. Given that the signs were also made in scented pens on colored poster board, it was hard to say if it would live up to what was promised.

Yet on occasion you do hear terrified screams and see a few students dashing backwards out of the maze. So perhaps there is room to hope this place can deliver a real fright. Just don't get too lost they warn... or else.

Eh, it was made by a bunch of gnomes. What is the worst that could happen?

You enter the maze and well, it's a bit underwhelming, yet quickly enough, you find yourself at the first crossroads. Do you go left, or right?

Right

 

[a pet dino]

"You know, you are meant to put your hand on the wall. That's how you find the middle. I'm not sure which hand though." Devoss commented as they walked through the maze.

Hayden snorted. "That would have been much more helpful if you would have told me as soon as we got into the maze. It would also be helpful to know which hand."

Devoss looked up at her with his foxy grin, as if he knew but he wasn't willing to tell her. "But where is the fun in that?" He might be the more responsible of the two, but that didn't mean he couldn't be fun.

They walked and walked, nothing scary appearing. There was just a ton of corn. All of a sudden there was the smell of smoke. The pair looked at each other before heading towards the fire. Fire was their thing, heat was there thing, so why in the world would they go away from it?

The further and further they got into the maze the more smoke there was. It wasn't hot, sadly, but it was getting so bad that they couldn't see. As a result Devoss jumped in Hayden's arms. He didn't want to get lost!

show spoilerhide spoiler

The path is clear, yet you can smell very faintly, smoke from burning wood. It gets thicker as you walk and while it's not hot or burning your eyes, its getting harder to see clearly the path ahead of you.

Head towards the smoke

 

[a pet dino]

After what seemed like forever the smoke cleared and Hayden spotted a bonfire. But it wasn't any kind of bonfire... "Are those... Are those socks?" she said with a confused look on her face.

Hayden wasn't able to put the pieces together, but Devoss did. "All the socks that we've been missing... That everyone's been missing..." and then it clicked for Hayden.

She was about to turn around and run away, tell everyone that it had been the gnomes for all these years, but before she knew it everything went black. She was knocked out, and so was Devoss.

show spoilerhide spoiler

You end up at a bonfire. In the fire are socks. Hundreds, THOUSANDS of socks, no two alike. Suddenly, you realize it. This is where all socks without a match have gone. Before you can stop a gnome from throwing more on a fire, you are knocked out (Special Ending)

 

[a pet dino]

The two of them woke up in the nurses office and were told that they fell.

"We didn't fall! We found about about the gnomes, we know all about the socks." no one seemed to be paying attention to them though. They had a feeling that no one ever would.

show spoilerhide spoiler

You wake in the nurses office for 'having been set on fire and falling too hard on your head'. As you get up to claim you saw the gnomes and what they were responsible for. You SAW them burning the socks, yet no one believes you. No one ever will. This is your fate. Your curse. Only you will know the truth of what happens to missing socks, and it will be a secret you will carry to your grave.