When The Darkness Comes // Newt

Part one, "I didn't go through the Swipe"

This story contains a bit of violence

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A loud yell reaches your ears and your eyes shoot open. You blink several times to see if there is any light, but nothing happens. Breathing in and out, slowly, shakily, you sit up and curl your legs up to your chest, heart pounding. 

A scuffling noise and a loud clank make you jump. You back away from the sound, until you're pressed against a cold metal surface with ridges. As your eyes slowly but surely adjust to the darkness, you see the figure of someone else with you in what appears to be a small room. The figure is hitting on the walls with all of their might, yelling. You decide to stay put and pretend to be asleep, as you don't know who they are. 

As you lean your head against the wall, a sharp pain arises and you give a small yelp. The figure turns and sees you. You stare back and see that it's a boy.

"Who are you?" Judging by his voice, he can't be much older than you. The thought seems to fully awaken your mind and you try to remember how you came to be in this room with this boy. One name is running through your head, but you can't remember anything that has happened to you before.

"I- I don't know," you say, realizing how babyish your voice must sound.

"I think I'm Bill," he responds, making you feel glad that he didn't question you further. As if in response, he asks, "Is there a name running through your head?"

You nod slowly, aghast.

"That's what happened to me. I think it's my name, but I don't know."

"Then I- I guess I'm Y/n?" you say, trying to make your voice sound stronger. You finally know it's been as long as you can handle, and the questions explode out of your mouth.

"Where are we? Why can't I remember anything? How did we get here? Why is it dark? Where did we come from?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" he yells. "I thought you would. You've been lying asleep there for what I think has been about an hour."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" you insist.

"I tried to. You were knocked out or something." Instinctively, you feel the back of your head and wetness covers your fingers. How can you remember blood, but not anything else?

"O- Okay, I know we don't know each other, but if we are going to get out of here, we need to work together." You try to stay calm and assess the situation.

"Y/n," he says suddenly. "Y/n, I need to tell you something."

"What? Is there a way out?" You're shocked at what he says next. "Y/n, I didn't go through the Swipe."

"What's the Swipe?" you ask.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He slumps to the floor and groans.

"Bill- whatever your name is- I need you to tell me what's going on." you say, trying to stay calm and be gentle, but really you're itching to know what he knows.

"The Swipe. It didn't happen to me. But I had to warn you." He looks up at the corners of the ceiling for some reason, then crawls closer to you. "Y/n, this might come as a shock to you, but in less than ten minutes you will be in the center of a huge maze. No- just let me finish- there are going to be boys there, and I need you to trust them. I need you to put your life in their hands if needed. Can you do that?" 

"Are you mental or something?" you say. 

"No," he pauses. "I'm just trying to protect you."