“I went left”

It’s been days, I think. Maybe hours, maybe weeks, there’s no way to tell. I’m just as starved and just as desperate as if it had been a year. The only sensation beside bloodied feet is that of constant fluorescent humming, which I’m sure have existed before and will outlive myself. These rooms, they play tricks on you. I’ve tried to outsmart them time and time again but they’re too clever for that. I’ve turned around while switching hallways, I’ve sprinted back to places I had just been, I’ve even ran screaming down random paths in order to outrun it, still, nothing. These walls are clever in a way I can’t explain. I’ll take 4 rights and be in an entirely new place, take another 4 and be somewhere else, but after I run left 8 times, I’m back where I started. It’s like every turn just digs deeper into the same plane of space. I’m sure I’ll never get out until they allow it.

I’ve began hearing footsteps through the walls. I can’t tell if it’s my own echo or delirium, but the rhythm is always off. The steps move a little too fast to be walking and a little too slow to be running. Maybe it’s me at another point in time, would make sense at this point. Maybe there’s several of us in here and the walls know to keep us separate. Maybe I’m losing my damn mind.

At last! A break from the monotony. Before me on the ground lies a post-it note, the same disgusting color of the walls. On it, the simple phrase, “I went left”. Three words and infinite meaning behind them. Who could leave this? How did they leave it? Did I leave this in the past...or future? Is this another one of the walls tricks? Have the walls changed since this was placed? There’s halls everywhere, which left to take? Is this a warning or a beacon? Is this a chance to outsmart them?

I went right, just to be safe.