The darkness inside the dome was suffocating, a prison that instilled claustrophobia in the confined souls. Each was filled with anxiety, not understanding what was happening.

As darkness enveloped them, one by one, without warning, the small torches scattered on the floor ignited. The dim light cast a lugubrious hue over the room, revealing the strange structure in which they were trapped.

The chamber's walls were adorned with figures resembling branches of a giant tree, winding around the perimeter. In the center, a small obsidian altar stood out. A mysterious hand carved in the black stone seemed to beckon one of the lost to approach. On the wall behind the altar, an inscription in a strange language baffled all present; none of their native tongues could translate it. It was as if the labyrinth was posing yet another enigma.

Lucas, Evelyn, Marjorie, and Hector. Four names that echoed through the shadowy walls of the chamber. Despite the deep cultural and chronological differences that might have separated them under normal circumstances, within the labyrinth, these differences vanished. It was intriguing how the same enigmatic symbol that had brought them to this obscure plane now united them, serving as a means of communication that transcended linguistic barriers.

- What do you think this could be? - Hector asked reluctantly, his expression betraying his concern. A large, burly man in his forties, with a large scar on his face. He was an unlikely leader of the group.

- I have no idea, but it's something fascinating... - replied Lucas, a young, slender man. He, an artist before entering the labyrinth, was driven by an insatiable curiosity for the wonders and mysteries that the labyrinth presented.

- I don't like this feeling, boys... - Marjorie felt a tightness in her chest due to the sense of confinement. A 71-year-old lady, Marjorie needed attention and care from the group. She was the last to join them.

- I'm here with you, Marjorie. - Evelyn, a young doctor with short black hair, tried to comfort her colleague. Her medical skills proved invaluable for everyone's survival in that hostile environment.

Although they didn't entirely trust each other, the need for companionship and protection kept the group together. They shared a connection that transcended differences and suspicions.

Lucas continued to explore the chamber, impressed by its structure. He looked at the palm of his left hand, where the labyrinth symbol was marked. Glancing back at the small altar, he acted on impulse.

- Lucas, wait! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? - Evelyn shouted impatiently, while Hector tried to catch up to him.

But it was too late. Lucas placed his hand in the hollow of the altar, which fit perfectly. In an instant, his eyes began to glow with a bright blue light.

The inscription on the wall behind the altar started to rearrange itself, revealing another pattern that only Lucas could understand. The branch engravings on the walls became more prominent, compressing the space like an intricate mechanism.

As the shadows cast by the torches on the floor grew more intense, they began to rearrange themselves on the walls like a gigantic animated zoetrope. What appeared in the shadows was a scene of a boy running with his dog, sharing moments of joy in a peaceful community. However, darker and more sinister shadows emerged, wielding weapons and spreading destruction wherever they went.

Suddenly, Lucas withdrew his hand from the altar, stumbling back, still euphoric from the visions.

- Easy, lad! - Hector held him before he fell.

- I saw... the labyrinth...

- Lucas, take a deep breath. What exactly did you see? - Evelyn tried to comfort him.

- The labyrinth told me... Leave the rotten fruit behind and move forward.

- What? - They all asked, attentive.

- I didn't quite understand, but it's something related to the structure we're in - Lucas explained, pointing to the carved branches on the walls.

- Rotten fruit? Like a wicked person? - Marjorie asked, visibly frightened.

- Exactly… - Lucas confirmed.

The four of them stepped back slightly, wary of each other and attentive to what the maze might reveal next. The shadows slowly ceased their dance on the walls, assuming the forms of the four lost, as usual. The torches on the ground dimmed their light over the scene, once again leaving them in an enigmatic atmosphere.

- I think we should try to rest a bit... we've been through a lot today - Hector said, tension evident in his voice after Lucas's words - Evelyn, how are we with supplies?

Evelyn, nimble, pulled a bag from her back that she had found in the maze, containing provisions for the group's survival.

- We have a few more fruits and some mushrooms. No water… - Her concern was palpable in the face of scarcity.

- Alright... Tomorrow we'll try to get out of this sphere - Hector said, gesturing towards the dome. "Let's just stay calm in the meantime.

- I'm not sure I can sleep with all this tension, Hector… - Marjorie admitted, still tense with the claustrophobia the dome conveyed.

- I'll sleep with you, don't worry - Evelyn approached Marjorie, seeking to calm her.

- Alright... good night then - Lucas wished the others.

As they settled in different corners, the shadows of the four danced around, illuminated by the faint lights of the torches on the ground.

. . .

Time passed slowly and haunted, and Lucas still dwelled on the visions in his mind. Every gunshot, every scream, represented a trauma experienced in childhood, a macabre memory that the maze insisted on reliving.

And the screams persisted, echoing in his mind like a sinister chorus.

- LUCAS! - The voices resonated, a distressing cry.

- LUCAS!

- LUCAS!

- Lucas? - Hector called, concerned, as Lucas jolted upright.

- Hector?... What are you doing awake?

- I can't sleep... I kept thinking about what you said earlier. I saw that you didn't have a good sleep either.

- Yeah, I... yeah, I really didn't.

- Do you want to talk about it? - Hector settled next to Lucas, both leaning on the carved obsidian branches.

- I… - Lucas thought for a moment - I went through some really heavy stuff as a kid. Let's just say the place I came from was pretty rough. The maze threw all of it in my face at once... I wasn't prepared for that - he confided.

- I understand... But you know, Lucas? Don't let the... - Hector looked at the carved branches in front of him - ... well, let the root stuck in dry soil define how well you can flourish. I know we haven't known each other for long, but you're a good kid. I feel that.

- Thank you, Hector. You're big but you're really kind.

They both laughed together in a relaxed manner.

- Well, we better try to sleep, okay? Don't let this place mess with your head - Hector comforted Lucas - Good night, Lucas!

- Good night, Hector - Lucas replied.

They turned to sleep. But the phrase echoed incessantly in Lucas's mind: Leave the rotten fruit behind and move forward.

. . .

Lucas's awakening was abrupt, the darkness persisting in the dome. The concept of time seemed fleeting and irrelevant. Marjorie's urgency echoed in his ears, bringing him back to reality.

- WAKE UP, LUCAS! - Marjorie's voice trembled, a mixture of fear and desperation.

Confused and still somewhat dazed, Lucas quickly joined the group in the center of the chamber, beside the carved altar. The obsidian branches seemed to have a life of their own, swirling ominously, squeezing the dome with suffocating pressure.

- Quick, Lucas, put your hand back! - Hector ordered, his eyes wide with apprehension.

Lucas took a deep breath, preparing to face the visions again. With determination, he placed his hand in the void of the altar. However, this time, nothing happened. The shadows remained static, the inscription on the wall unmoving, and the torches emitting their unaltered light.

- IT DIDN'T WORK! - Lucas exclaimed, frustration seeping into his voice.

- Damn it! - Hector cursed under his breath, concern painted on his face. Evelyn acted swiftly, pushing Lucas aside and taking her place at the altar. With an intense gleam in her eyes and the symbol on her neck radiating light, she restored balance to the dome.

The torches blazed brightly, and the shadows on the walls began to dance in a macabre choreography, like a zoetrope. Evelyn's representation unfolded before them.

It was a bustling emergency room, with patients in critical condition and palpable tension in the air. A woman, at the epicenter of the storm, moved with agility between the beds, trying to save lives amidst the chaos. The line of patients seemed endless, a procession of distress and despair.

Suddenly, a colossal shadowy hand emerged among the suffering figures, offering assistance to the woman. She reached out toward the imposing shadow, her expression a mixture of hope and mistrust. In a brutal twist of events, the shadowy hand mercilessly crushed the woman. The once beseeching patients transformed into abominations in the shadows, a terrifying metamorphosis.

With her heart pounding irregularly, Evelyn withdrew her hand from the altar. Lucas reached out to her, as if to support her, but she stood firm, determined.

- Evelyn… - Marjorie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

- Evelyn, are you okay? - Hector inquired, concerned.

Evelyn looked at her companions, her eyes slowly losing the sheen of the strange contact with the altar.

- Yes... It's not about you. Leave the rotten fruit behind, that's all the maze told me.

Hector fell silent, a shadow of concern crossing his face.

- All right, everyone... we need to get out of here. I don't know what else to do… - Lucas admitted, a touch of desperation in his voice.

- Why don't you try putting your hand on the altar? Maybe you're the rotten fruit! - Marjorie suggested, irritated, casting an accusing glance at Hector.

- MARJORIE! - Lucas and Evelyn reprimanded her in unison.

- I can't... I can't do it. - Hector murmured, his voice laden with anguish.

- Why can't you face the bad things you've done? - Marjorie continued to taunt, her words sharp as knives.

- BECAUSE I CAN'T RELIVE MY SON'S DEATH AGAIN, OKAY? - Hector erupted with fury, his eyes red and teary. - I can't face the accident again... Please, leave me alone.

- You need to get over this, Hector. It's not my fault you killed your own son! - Marjorie retorted, her voice harsh and cold, a complete antithesis of her sweetness from the night before.

Hector advanced furiously towards Marjorie, but Evelyn intervened, holding him firmly.

- EVERYONE, CALM DOWN! - Lucas shouted, his voice echoing in the dome like thunder - The maze wants this, for us to fight each other, for us not to progress...

The tension in the group reached its peak, a heavy silence hanging over them. They were trapped in a nightmare, and the labyrinth continued to exert its power, probing the deepest wounds of their souls.

The air was charged with the electricity of conflict. Hector trembled with nervousness, his gaze shifting between Lucas and Marjorie, both on the defensive.

- TELL THAT TO THIS CRAZY OLD LADY! - Hector's voice crackled with contained anger.

Evelyn intervened, her eyes locked onto Hector's, silently pleading for calm.

- Hector... please - her voice was gentle but firm, like a beacon in the midst of the storm.

Lucas tried to steer the situation with careful words:

- I know this will be difficult, Hector, but right now you're the only one who can do it. We need to find some clue, some way out of here.

Hector took a deep breath, aware of the burden he would have to carry. With a courage forged from the depths of his pain, he slowly placed his hand on the altar. The symbol on the back of his hand began to glow, and his eyes followed suit.

The shadows danced, recounting Hector's painful life story. They revealed a boy and his father, once inseparable, but as the boy grew, their relationship crumbled. Frequent arguments replaced the joy they once shared. The father attempted a desperate solution: a trip to reconnect with his son.

However, fate had other plans. An out-of-control truck appeared out of nowhere, sending them into a spiral of destruction. The father, his face bloodied, rushed to the car, where he found his son's lifeless body. At the funeral, he buried his own son, and his heart was irreparably broken.

When Hector withdrew his hand from the altar, he couldn't contain the tears streaming down his face, his emotions raw.

- I... I couldn't save him. I couldn't save him in time...

Evelyn and Lucas were there, beside him, offering the silent comfort of their presence.

- Did the maze tell you anything? - Evelyn asked carefully, aware of the fragility of the moment.

Hector looked at Marjorie, his expression a mixture of surprise and horror.

- Marjorie... it said it's Marjorie...

The echo of this revelation reverberated in the dome. Everyone turned to Marjorie, incredulous. The sweetness that once surrounded her had completely dissipated.

• What have you done?... - Lucas whispered, disbelief written across his face.

Evelyn was quick to act, her unwavering determination:

- Come on, get her!

Hector and Lucas hurried, grabbing Marjorie, who resisted and screamed, desperate to escape the hands that held her. The chamber had turned into a whirlwind of tension and horror. Hector, desperate, shouted at Lucas, his words filled with an almost frenzied urgency:

- PUT HER HAND ON THE ALTAR!

With hands firmly holding Marjorie, Lucas didn't hesitate. He forced her hand onto the empty altar, his own eyes and the symbol on his arm glowing with an intense orange hue. The maze was revealing its darker, twisted side.

The torch flames grew even more intense, casting grotesque shadows on the dome's walls. And as the shadows danced, they revealed a scene of pure agony. It was a nightmare vision, not of Marjorie herself, but of the countless victims she had claimed. Children, women, animals, all piled in a gruesome mountain of suffering. Deafening screams echoed through the dome as the four watched in horror. Nothing in their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the true nature of Marjorie, a cruel and sadistic psychopath. They had been standing side by side with a wolf in sheep's clothing.

As the vision ended, they quickly withdrew Marjorie's hand from the altar. Her face was a portrait of unfathomable anger, pure hostility.

- You bitch... you're a monster! - Evelyn exclaimed, unable to contain her revulsion.

- So many innocent lives… - Lucas murmured, unable to believe what he had seen.

Hector remained still, paralyzed by the revelation that the sweet lady they had known harbored such a horrifying past.

Marjorie, now consumed by unbridled fury, raged:

- I would do it all over again! ALL OVER AGAIN! I was purifying all those rotten, filthy souls. Just like you, you wretches! - She pointed at Hector and Lucas, her words dripping with hatred and disdain.

Suddenly, the inscription on the wall rearranged itself, forming the labyrinth symbol, and all the branches moved away, creating a door in the obsidian dome. The light from the maze burst forth, blinding the four instantly.

- Let me through! I COMMAND YOU! - Marjorie seethed with rage, her true chaotic nature on display.

- No… - Evelyn replied with determination - your place is not with us.

Marjorie tried to force her way through, but Hector held her firmly. She let out a grunt of pain, her face contorted in a mix of anger and despair.

- Go, I'll catch up with you - Hector said to Lucas and Evelyn, who didn't hesitate to cross the exit - You... you deserve to rot here, like the rotten fruit you are! - he said, his eyes piercing hers with a mix of anger and repulsion.

- Oh really… - she retorted sarcastically, pain evident on her face - and what's a worthless Mexican gonna be leaving an old lady behind to die alone? - Her smile was a glimpse of the true monster hiding behind the mask.

Hector's eyes narrowed with anger, the large scar on his face making him appear even more imposing:

- If that's the case... I'll see you in hell, you pendeja.

Without ceremony, he pushed Marjorie back into the chamber. Her body fell onto the carved branches, and Hector turned to make his way to the exit. The door slammed shut with a bang, echoing like a sign of Marjorie's condemnation.

All the three could do was watch as the dome twisted, the branches spinning faster and faster, and the fierce screams of a condemned woman echoing until darkness consumed them completely.