My hand was shaking like a leaf as I pressed it against the wall of the maze. As I had anticipated, this was no ordinary field of corn, through which I might have pushed. The stalks were grown densely together, tightly packed to an almost brick-like solidity. There was no way through this save the path itself. Well, at least I had come prepared for that.

From my pocket, I took out one of my balls of string and tied one end to a stalk near the entrance. This done, I began to walk into the maze, paying out the string behind me. On I walked, carefully leaving the trail behind me, walking slowly and nervously, trying to hear any approaching sounds above the thumping of my heart.

After about fifteen minutes, I rounded a corner and was brought up short. There was my string, laying on the ground, indicating that I had been here before. Which was the idea, but the string was disjointed and disappearing fast, courtesy of a pair of mice, one at each end, nibbling away at this length of string. A soft sound of rustling made me look around to see a family of the despicable rodents scurrying out of the corn to begin consuming the string immediately behind me. Looking at the speed at which they worked, I could assume that the trail I had left from the start was now gone. It seemed that the Greek gods had learned their lesson since the last time they had done this.

"Damn." I dropped the ball of string. Now what? Anything I tried to leave behind me marking my path would be subject to the same fate - the gods weren't taking any chances.

But did they keep abreast of advances in technology?

I got out my phone. There's an app for almost everything now, including a useful little feature that will track your steps so you don't get lost in a strange town. Would it work? I couldn't see any reason not.

"Score one to Cat," I muttered to myself as I set off again, penetrating deeper into the maze.

Whatever smugness I might have been feeling about overcoming this first difficulty was short lived as a creeping fear began to trespass through me. The further I went into the maze, the more I noticed the noises issuing from around me and from up ahead of me. The whispering and rustling sounds that stalked through the cornfield had initially struck me as being no more than the wind going through the stalks, making them weave against each other. Now, those noises were becoming clearer and I was starting to get the feeling that I was not alone in here. What had seemed at first like the breeze, now sounded like sniggering - someone concealed in the field laughing at me. Perhaps it was the mice. From time to time, I was sure I could hear footsteps and would spin around, confident that I would see someone there, only to find myself still alone in the shadows of the labyrinth. Perhaps it was all in my imagination; growing anxiety taking the perfectly natural sounds and turning them into something terrifying.

But one sound could not be so easily explained away. As the narrow pathways of the maze broadened – hopefully, indicating that I was on the right track - I heard a rumble from up ahead. At first, I thought it was thunder but it modulated, rising in tone and volume into a roar - angry and snarling. Something was up ahead of me. Something big. Something pissed. I knew that the Minotaur was part human, in theory, but there was nothing human in that sound. It was pure animal, and the hairs on the back of my neck raised in terror. It was followed, minutes later, by another roar - closer this time, though still a little way up ahead of me.

On the bright side, this presumably meant that I was approaching the maze's center, now all I had to do was make it there alive and then get back out again. How hard could it be?

I turned a corner and found that the corn maze had ended and I was surrounded by twisted trees and dark bushes with needle-like spines protruding from them. What my Granny used to call blackthorn. For a moment, I wondered if I had made it all the way through the maze and out to the other side without having bypassed the center, but I swiftly realized that this was the outer-lying area of the center. I was going the right way, and now would have to pick my path gingerly through this spiky part of the maze to reach the absolute middle. Would the Minotaur be waiting for me there? Or would it come to find me? I wasn't sure which I preferred; neither seemed ideal.

A new sound reached my ears. A grunting, growling, snuffling, as of some large animal hunting for its prey. The sound seemed to come from all around me, leaving me no obvious direction in which to run. So ahead was as good a direction as any.

The blackthorn tugged at my clothes and scratched at my skin as I went on. It was wild and unkempt, as if no one had been this way for long years. The sound of footsteps that I had heard earlier was now clearer again on the hard earth, but I was beginning to think that “foot” was the wrong word. The heavy, solid thud was more the sound a hoof would make. Though it stood upright like a man and possessed arms and a torso like a man, the Minotaur was said to have a bull's hooves as well as head. At least I would hear it coming.

I turned a corner just as the moon emerged from behind a wreath of cloud and my heart sprang into my mouth. There it was. Picked out by the cold moonlight, standing, statuesque at the end of the alley, was the beast itself. It was at least seven feet tall, the ripped muscles of its body visible through a scattering of black hair that thickened around its broad shoulders and between its legs. Those legs terminated in heavy hooves, looking like they were made of polished metal, and its fingers were clawed with dirty nails. But, inevitably, the head was where I stared. Crowning the torso of a strong but otherwise normal human, was the head of a bull. Massive and heavy, steam erupted from its flared nostrils as it breathed and a pair of brutal horns curved from its forehead.

For a long moment, we stared at each other; I seeming to have lost the power of movement, it assessing its latest victim. Then, suddenly, it threw back its huge head and let out a baying roar, emptying its lungs. Still, I did not move, the blood like ice water in my veins, my legs refusing to respond to the urgent, panicked messages from my brain. The Minotaur charged.

That did it. I took to my heels as fast as I could, not caring which way I went, the blackthorn tearing at me as I passed. Any idea that I might be able to fight this thing had gone straight out of my head. This was a very far cry from playing Capture the Flag with Nico wearing a pair of cardboard horns. The principle might be the same, but the sheer voiding terror made it impossible.

From nowhere, the creature appeared in front of me and I realized that, even if it had the brain of a bull, it knew this maze inside out - there was nowhere for me to run. Which didn't stop me from trying. I turned on a pinhead, taking off back the way I had come and hearing its thunderous hooves, pounding the earth as it came after me. I couldn't get away from it, not like this. A low hanging branch caught my eye and I grabbed it, swinging myself up into the tree and clambering upwards to keep me out of the creature's grasp. The Minotaur screamed below me and I stuck my tongue out at it – because, however afraid you are, you can sometimes fool yourself by pretending you're not. The gesture didn't please the beast much; it screamed afresh, backed up a few paces and then charged the tree trunk, its thick skull slamming against it and setting the whole tree shaking. I clung on, then had the presence of mind to take in my surroundings. From my vantage point, the maze seemed to stretch on into impossible infinity, but while I could not see the way out from up here, I could see the way to the center.

The Minotaur's head smacked into the tree again and this time I was unable to hold on. I seemed to hit every branch on the way down, bruising my skin, tearing my clothes and bloodying my lip. I hit the ground rolling and was straight up into a running position before the Minotaur knew where I had come down. I took a series of sharp turns then hid in the shadow of a bush and tried to still my ragged breathing.

Somewhere - and pinpointing any sound in the maze was frustratingly difficult - I could hear the heavy tread of the Minotaur, slow now as it searched for me. At least it didn't know where I was, but I could hear that snuffling noise again that I had heard earlier. It was sniffing me out like a bloodhound. Didn't I have a single advantage in this fight? They say that animals can smell fear, and if that was the case, then I had left a clear trail in my wake. The snuffling now turned to a few grunts, which I took to mean that he had gotten my scent. I had to move again.

Taking a deep breath, I headed off once more but, rounding a bend, I found myself facing a dead end. I turned, and there was the Minotaur behind me. Trapped. I didn't stop to think, I just acted. I ran towards it. Perhaps this took the Minotaur by surprise but not for long, as it lowered its head to meet me in the charge. We ran at each other and then, at the last moment, offering up a prayer to any gods listening that this would work as well today as it had yesterday, I sprang into the air. My hands pressed into the thick, coarse hair on the creature's shoulders as I leapfrogged over it, and a rush of insane joy flooded through me as I hit the ground and ran on. It had worked.

It would take the Minotaur a moment to get its bearings again and I wasted no time. Weaving my way through the bushes and trees, trying to remember what I had seen from above, I dashed towards the center. Through the darkness, I saw a flickering light, appearing and disappearing in amongst the tangle of branches. I made for it and saw a pair of flaming torches mounted on a curved wall, either side of a wide entranceway. There was no time to hesitate, I hurried on, past the torches and through the entrance into a circular space with lit torches all around the walls and, in the middle, a round table. On the table stood a simple bust of Zeus, King of the gods. Leave it to that self-important jerk to make himself the prize. All I had to do was touch it and I had fulfilled the first part of the task. Then I had to get out with my life.

I should have run up to it, touched the bust then run out again. That was certainly what I had intended to do, but my feet seemed heavy and the air felt thick. There was something indescribable in the scene, some enforced reverence that would not allow hasty action. Or, maybe, I was just overawed by the whole thing, or by how close I was to victory. I crossed to the table slowly and placed a respectful hand on the head of Zeus. The cool marble seemed to warm noticeably beneath my fingers.

A sharp snort from behind me made me start around to see the Minotaur blocking my exit, its malevolent eyes trained on me. It charged and I barely had time to vault over the table out of its way. The beast barreled into the table, sending it flying. The bust of Zeus shattered to marble fragments on the stone floor. No matter to me - I had already touched it - but I still had to get out or the task would be considered incomplete and mankind was doomed. Plus, I would be killed.

I dove for the door but the Minotaur was quicker, seeming to get the measure of me and surprisingly agile on those heavy hooves. I cast about for another way out but there was none. The walls were too high for me to climb and, while on the outside they were rough, in here they were clad with marble, smooth as ice and impossible to climb. Perhaps if I stood on the table? It was still more or less in one piece. I ran for it but the Minotaur seemed to guess my mind, charging at me again, swinging its head like an offensive weapon. Again, my training with the guys yesterday came to my rescue as I dove out of harm's way, then rolled to avoid a hoof coming down at my head like a sledgehammer. Bouncing back to my feet, I tried for the door again, but again the Minotaur was there. On this game went, of him charging and me dodging, of me running for the exit and him cutting me off.

Grabbing a piece of the broken bust from the floor, I flung it at the creature's head. My aim was good and the momentary distraction this gave me was enough to snatch up the table. But the Minotaur wasn't about to let me use it. It charged me and, as I was unwilling to put down the hard-won table, I used it as a shield.

It was a mistake, and one I paid for as the beast's horns split the wood, passing through the table. I shrieked in pain as one horn penetrated my side and went straight through me. The Minotaur pulled the table from my hands but it remained stuck to the beast's horns, infuriating it and sending it off, banging its head against the walls, trying to remove the encumbrance.

Even through the blinding pain I was in, I knew this was my chance. I ran for the door, clutching my side and feeling the hot blood flow. I didn't stop running until I was back in the corn maze, where I stopped, leaning against the wall, crying with agony. I had to focus, it wasn't over yet. I grabbed for my phone in my pocket to look for my way out. But it was gone. Somewhere in the fight, I had lost it. How would I ever find my way out of the maze now? I could hardly even stand.

I didn't have long to wonder. The next second, the wall beside me exploded in a shower of corn dust and Minotaur. The beast had smelled me out and taken the path of least resistance, straight through the wall. Fear was, of course, my topmost emotion, but behind it my brain was working. If the maze posed no obstacle to the Minotaur, then perhaps I could use it to get myself out. I just had to convince it to lead the way.

But right now, I had bigger problems. Trying to ignore the screaming pain in my side, I ran from the Minotaur, not caring which way I went. Another wall exploded beside me and I backtracked desperately as an idea formed in my mind. Fumbling in my pocket, I found my cigarette lighter - I don't really smoke but it can be useful in grifts and I'll smoke if the situation calls for it. Now, I lit the thing and shoved it into the corn wall. The wall lit fast and I hurried on, lighting walls as I went. Soon enough, the maze was an inferno of blazing flames, and I realized that if this plan didn't work, then I had doomed myself to an even less pleasant death than being gored by a bull-headed man.

Then the Minotaur screamed. I looked back to see it, stumbling this way and that on its hooves, petrified by the fire, its quest to kill me forgotten. In common with all animals, the Minotaur did not like flames. The labyrinth might be its home, but at a time like this, it just wanted to get out, and it would take the quickest route possible.

With a roar of anger, the Minotaur charged, bursting through a wall of corn, then another and another, heading for outside, and safety away from the spreading flames. I followed as fast as I could, the scorching flames pushing me on as the severe pain in my side encouraged me to just give up and stop. Just a little further. Just a little further and then I could lie down and bleed to death, safe in the knowledge that I had saved mankind.