Will Navidson: Father Karen Green: Mother Chad: Son Daisy: Daughter [[Trip]]After a visit to Seattle, the family returns home and discovers a new door in their living room leading to a small black closet. Neither feature - the door or the closet - had been present prior to the family's trip. [[1/4"]]The inside of the house is 1/4" bigger than the outside, which is impossible. Navy tries to reconcile it, but to no avail. Follow [[Navy]] or [[Karen]].Navy calls his twin brother, Tom, to help solve the mystery of the house. He then makes a [[Promise]] to Karen that he won't enter the closet again, but believes that " [[a little look around]] isn't going to hurt." After encountering the door and its black-walled closet, Karen reveals her claustrophobia and, inadvertently, her dependence on Navy. Her fear of the closet causes her to say to Navy, "[[Promise]] me you won't go in there again."Navy promises not to re-enter the hallway, but breaks that promise almost immediately by having [[a little look around]]. Karen does not know of his betrayal until later.Navy gets [[lost]] in a black-walled labyrinth, the walls of which seem to shift constantly. A growl permeates the maze from time to time - is it the walls groaning as they move, or some kind of beast that calls the labyrinth home?After getting lost, Navy decides that he and Tom cannot solve this problem alone. He enlists the help of an explorer named Holloway and his team to conduct [[Explorations]].There are four explorations involving Holloway's team. The longest, [[Exploration 4]], consists of Holloway and his team members Jed and Wax, who plan to spend six days in the maze. At some point in between explorations, Wax lets slip Navy's broken [[Promise]]. Holloway, Jed, and Wax. Scheduled for six days. Rescue mission attempted after eight days. Follow [[Holloway's Crew]] or Navy [[Rescue Mission]].Navy, Tom, and Billy Reston hear SOS, enter labyrinth to find and rescue Holloway's team. Karen stays behind with the kids, Tom stands guard by the door, and Navy and Reston search for the missing team. Follow [[Tom's Story]], [[Navy and Reston]], or [[Karen at Home]].Jed, Wax, and Holloway hear the growl constantly; is it real?. The never-ending stairs and subsequent maze seem to drive Holloway out of his mind, and he parts from his team. Follow [[Holloway the Hunter]] or [[Wax and Jed]].Karen remains in her house with [[Chad and Daisy]]. She refuses to abandon the radio post. Despite her dependence on Navy, which is evident in the post-rescue [[Chaos]], her [[Determination to Leave]] the house one way or another is cemented.Tom uses humor to alleviate/cope with his fear. He calls the beast "Mr. Monster" and entertains himself with hand shadows and jokes until the [[Radio Contact]] with Navy turns serious. The two explorers follow a trail of shredded path markers until they find [[Wax and Jed are found]]. Holloway abandons his team, determined to hunt down the "monster" that he believes is stalking them. He takes his gun, but abandons most of his supplies. [[Holloway Shoots Wax 1]].The two team members wait for Holloway as long as they can, but eventually realize that they have to return without him if they want to survive. On the trip back, [[Holloway Shoots Wax 1]] in the arm. Jed supports Wax for as long as he can, but eventually realizes he cannot carry his friend all the way back. He resorts to pounding on the walls in the hopes that someone will hear his [[SOS]].Thinking Wax is the beast he is hunting, Holloway shoots at and injures Wax. Wax and Jed manage to send out a distress signal [[SOS]]. Increasingly unstable, Holloway then flees into the dark alone; he soon becomes [[A Man in a Doorway]], unable to identify what he is shooting at.Holloway is clearly unstable, which becomes evident when he fires on his own team. He runs away on his own and starts babbling on tape, trying to keep his identity firm in his mind. Eventually, he exclaims, "Bullshit!" and shoots himself. His body, apparently taken by the maze or something in it, is never recovered. Double-click this passage to edit it.Though Jed does not create the three long, three short, three long pattern of an SOS signal, the house seems to interpret his punches into a clear distress signal, which sparks off the [[Rescue Mission]]. Eventually, [[Wax and Jed are found]].Navy and Reston find Jed and Wax. Before they can head back, however, [[A Man in a Doorway]] begins to fire on them.Unable to see at whom he is shooting, [[Holloway Kills Jed]] by shooting him in the head. Navy fires back, but is unable to hit his mark. Follow [[Holloway's Madness]] or [[Navy's Attempt to Get Home]].Towing Jed's corpse and Wax's limp form, Navy and Reston reach the bottom of the staircase and establish [[Radio Contact]] with Tom. Navy to Tom: "Meet me at the bottom."Navy to Tom: "Meet me at the bottom" of the staircase. Follow [[Navy at the bottom]] or [[Tom at the top]].When Tom doesn't meet them at the bottom, Navy says, "This is what Tom does best. He lets you down." He is proven wrong by Tom's [[Pulley System]].Tom tries to descend the staircase, but the stairs expand, making it impossible for him to reach his brother. He returns to Karen instead and fashions a [[Pulley System]] using rope and wooden planks.Navy and Tom, working together, manage to [[Rescue Reston, Wax, and Jed's body]] up the system. Reston is the last to ascend, and relief turns to horror when the [[Rope Snaps]].Halfway through Reston's ascent, the stairs begin to rapidly grow in height. The distance between the top and the bottom of the stairs grows exponentially; the rope, unable to cover the distance, snaps, barely allowing Reston to escape alive and leaving Navy trapped at the bottom. Follow [[Tom's Grief]] or [[Navy's Isolation]].Tom to Karen: "We lost him." Where he used humor to deal with his fear, Tom uses [[Substance Abuse]] to deal with his grief and devastation. He is lost without his twin. In the face of [[Chad and Daisy's Fear]], however, he rallies with food and stunted attempts at humor.Navy is stuck at the bottom of the staircase, an impossible distance from his family. He has only one survival pack, and believes that even if he finds Holloway's pack, they won't be "worth a rat's ass" in the long run. His film runs out here. [[Navy Somehow Escapes]].In the early hours of the morning, Navy stumbles through the door into the living room, where Karen is sleeping. He wakes her up, and she gasps; they are [[Reunited]].Double-click this passage to edit it.Daisy screams "Daddy!" at the hallway, even though there is no reply; [[Chad hears a man's death]].Upon being reunited with Navy, Karen's [[Determination to Leave]] only grows stronger. She insists that they leave right away.The children are essentially neglected by their mother during the Rescue Mission. This is pronounced during [[Chaos]] caused by the partial return of the team.Chad tells Tom that he was woken up by "murmuring, something about a walker in the darkness, then a bang, like a gun shot, and the sound of a man dying." [[Holloway's Madness]] and suicide are the obvious culprits.Karen tells both of the children to start packing; this sense of purpose jars her out of her obsessive vigil by the radio post. After An injured Wax, dead Jed, and terrified Reston are liberated from the labyrinth; this, combined with Navy's absence, causes [[Chaos]] in the house.Reston and Wax's return, Navy's absence, and Jed's death cause chaos in the house. Follow [[Chaos: Karen]], [[Chaos: Chad and Daisy]], or [[Chaos: Tom]].When the pulley system is able to bring back three of the six men, Karen loses her composure, sobbing, "Where's Navy? What about Navy?" When [[Navy Somehow Escapes]], she is finally able to relax somewhat. Chad has been inexplicably aggressive, and Daisy has shown odd scratches on her arms as well as hysterical behavior (See [[Chad and Daisy's Fear]]). The two are oddly detached during the bloody scene of the rescue, asking Wax calmly, "Where's our daddy?"The disorder and grief following the team's return brings Tom's dormant alcoholism to the surface. He is drowning in grief for his twin, whom he believes has died or been lost forever.Karen begins packing in a frenzy, relieved to finally be leaving the house. Her relief is short-lived, however: the family's attempt to leave seems to trigger [[The Collapse]].The master bedroom collapses on itself, shrinking around Karen and causing her to panic. She screams, and Navy comes to rescue her; they then hear [[Daisy Screaming]] from elsewhere in the house.Daisy is trapped, terrified, somewhere upstairs. Her screaming stops when [[Tom Rescues Daisy]].Tom almost gets to the window with Daisy, but the floor starts turning beneath his feet, drawing him back toward the yawning pit behind them. He manages to outrun it long enough to hand Daisy to Navy through the window and then stops running, exhausted. Follow [[Navy Outside]] or [[Tom Inside]]After ensuring Daisy's safety, Navy goes back to try to save Tom. The house answers his attempt at climbing in after his brother with the sight of Tom's demise. Navy's scream chases his twin into the void. [[Navy Lives]] without Tom.After Tom stops running, the floor carries him another fifteen feet before halting. Every step he takes is counteracted by the floor moving him two steps backward, away from Navy. The walls snap together, shattering Tom's outstretched fingers and causing him to abandon his bid for escape. Tom's last words - "Aw, Christ" - drop with him when the floor dissolves and devours him.After getting his family settled elsewhere, Navidson re-enters the house. Follow how [[Navy Returns]] or how [[Karen Returns]].Equipped with flares, a bicycle, special film supplies, and provisions, Navy re-enters the labyrinth and sets off on a [[Sloping Journey]].Navy's bike travels with increasing speed, no matter which direction he goes; he comes to a stop, tosses flares behind him, and discovers that the [[Hallway Changes]]: the distance between him and the flares is growing quickly.The walls and ceiling expand and contract, sometimes impossibly narrow, other times vast and cavernous. Eventually, the ceiling disappears completely. Navy senses a drop ahead, so he stops. He discovers a seemingly bottomless pit in front of him and stairs to his side. He finds a [[Window]].Upon ascending the stairs, Navy spies a window; however, when he attempts to reach it, the floor and walls restructure themselves so that he is left standing on a pillar with no way to get off except jumping or [[Falling]].The pillar disappears, and Navy falls. Falls. Falls. Falls for an interminable amount of time - days? weeks? He cannot tell. He begins babbling about his children, about [[Delial]], and - mostly - about Karen. He sees a [[Light]].Karen reveals that Delial was a young girl whom Navy photographed being stalked by a vulture just before her death of starvation. Her death, and his treatment of it, haunted Navy.A pinprick of blue light appears, high above. Navy is in disbelief. "Light," Navidson croaks. "Can't. Be. I see light. Care--" The film runs out. [[Escape]]She visits a realtor, but ultimately [[Karen Moves Back Into the House]]. She has not seen Navy in six months.She keeps a journal, the contents of which remain a mystery. She finds Navy's Hi-8 camera, which contains "nothing of significance": the tape is blank. Turning from this disappointment, Karen discovers that [[The Wall Has Disappeared]].The wall directly behind Karen has become a yawning black hole, waiting for her to enter. After a moment's hesitation, she does - and the wall reappears, concealing her from view. [[Escape]]Forty-five minutes later, Karen and Navy appear on the front lawn. The labyrinth has dissolved. They are free - but not from the memories.