Chapter 6

On the other side , Samira's voice was urgent. "Omar, you're there. The center is right in front of you. Just—"

Omar's marker stopped.

Samira's voice cracked. "Omar? What are you doing?"

Across the map, Muneer saw it. Omar's marker had stopped at the entrance to the center. He wasn't moving.

Tarek's marker was close behind. "Omar, what's wrong?"

Omar's voice echoed through the maze. "You've been directing us the whole time. You haven't made a mistake. Not one."

Samira was quiet.

"You're perfect," Omar said. "Perfect directions. Perfect timing. You haven't touched a wall. You haven't hesitated. You haven't doubted yourself once."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that you're not a nurse giving directions to patients. You're someone who's done this before. You've been in a maze. You've been a Guide."

The maze was silent.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Samira said.

"Yes you do." Omar's voice was hard. "You knew the map before you saw it. You memorized it during the ten minutes. You've been directing us from memory, not from the screen."

Samira said nothing.

Tarek spoke. "Is that true?"

"I—" Samira stopped. "Yes."

The silence stretched.

"I was in a game like this before. A year ago. Different place. Different system. I was a player. I made it to the end." Her voice was quiet. "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't think it mattered. I'm here now. Same as all of you."

Omar laughed. It was cold. "Same as us. You've done this before. You knew what to expect. You knew how to win."

"I didn't know what the games would be. I didn't know about the Negotiation. I didn't know about the Duel. I just—"

"You just had an advantage. While the rest of us were figuring out the rules, you were already playing."

Tarek's marker moved. "Omar, we're almost at the center. Let's finish."

"No." Omar's marker didn't move. "I want to know why she didn't tell us."

"Because she knew you'd react like this," Ali shouted from across the maze. His voice bounced off the walls. "Because she knew you'd turn it into a betrayal. You're the one who ran from the closet. You're the one who left your team. And now you're standing at the finish line, refusing to win, because someone didn't tell you their life story?"

"Stay out of this, Ali."

"No. You don't get to be the victim. You don't get to pretend you're the one who was wronged. You ran. She didn't. You lost money. She didn't. Now you're going to lose the game because you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself."

Omar's marker moved.

Not toward the center. Back toward Tarek.

"What are you doing?" Samira's voice was sharp.

"I'm not winning because someone else did the work." Omar's voice was steady. "If we win, it's because we all win. Together."

Tarek's marker moved to intercept. "Omar. Stop."

"Tarek, move."

"No. You're going to walk us into a wall and lose the game because you're angry."

"I'm not angry. I'm done being carried."

Their markers collided on the map.

---

On the red team side, Muneer saw the blue team markers tangled at the final junction.

"Rashid. Ali. You're twenty steps from the center. Keep going straight."

They moved. Ten steps. Fifteen. Twenty.

Rashid's marker hit the center.

"Rashid reaches center."

Ali's marker hit the center.

"Ali reaches center."

Muneer looked at his own marker. He was at the entrance. He needed to move.

He stepped into the maze. The walls rose around him. The map was on a screen in his mind now. He couldn't see it. He had to remember.

Straight. Ten steps. Left. Three steps. Right. Five steps. Straight. Ten steps.

He moved through the corridors, his hands out, his feet finding the path.

Behind him, the blue team was still tangled. Omar and Tarek had not moved. Samira's voice was desperate, trying to separate them.

Muneer reached the final corridor. The center was ahead.

He walked.

---

"Muneer reaches center. All three red team members have reached the center. Red team wins."

The maze lights went dark. The blindfolds dissolved. Muneer stood in the center of the maze, blinking against the sudden brightness.

Across from him, Rashid and Ali stood at the center. Ali was grinning. Rashid's face was unreadable.

"Red team receives five thousand dollars per player."

The totals updated:

Ali: $5,000

Rashid: $5,000

Muneer: $13,000

Omar: $16,000

Samira: $10,000

Tarek: $0

"Blue team receives nothing."

---

The maze walls lowered. The blue team stood at the final junction. Omar and Tarek were facing each other, their postures rigid. Samira stood apart, her arms wrapped around herself.

Ali walked toward them. He stopped in front of Omar.

"You had the game won. You were at the entrance. All you had to do was walk in. And you stopped because you found out Samira had been in a game before."

Omar said nothing.

"You stopped because you wanted to prove something. And now you have nothing. Samira has nothing. Tarek has nothing."

He leaned closer.

"That's not being principled. That's being stupid."

Omar's hands clenched. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know you ran from the closet. I know you gave me money because you felt guilty. I know you threw this game because you couldn't stand being helped by someone who knew what she was doing." Ali's voice was cold. "I know you think you're the good person here. But you're not. You're just someone who makes bad choices and calls them principles."

Omar stepped forward. Tarek moved between them.

"Enough."

Tarek's voice was calm, but his body was rigid. "The game is over. Fighting doesn't change anything."

Omar stared at Ali. Ali stared back.

Then Omar turned and walked toward the exit.

Samira watched him go. Her face was pale.

"Samira," Tarek said. "Let's go."

She nodded slowly. She followed Tarek toward the door.

At the threshold, she stopped and looked back at Muneer.

"You led your team well."

She walked out.

---

The exit door closed.

Ali stretched, his arms above his head. "Five thousand. Not bad. Not what I had before, but not bad." He looked at Muneer. "You didn't make a mistake. Not one. Every turn, every direction, every stop. You never hesitated."

Muneer shook his head. "I was terrified the whole time."

"That's what I mean." Ali's voice was quieter now. "You were terrified and you didn't panic. You didn't guess. You just did it."

He walked toward the door. "Maybe Rashid was right about you."

He walked out.

Rashid stood at the center, looking at Muneer.

"You didn't let them down."

Muneer nodded slowly. "Neither did you. You moved exactly where I told you. You didn't doubt me. Even after everything."

Rashid was quiet for a moment.

He walked toward the door. He stopped at the threshold.

"You are a good guy."

He walked out.

Muneer stood alone in the center of the maze.

He looked at his total. Thirteen thousand dollars. Enough to save the shop. Enough to clear the debt. Enough to do what he ca

me here to do.

He thought about Rashid's words.

He had been terrified the whole time. He had doubted every turn. But he hadn't stopped. He hadn't run. He had led.

He walked toward the exit.