prolouge

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The brunette girl scurried down the corridor, wanting a break from the endless number of tests and training. The place she lived – well you could hardly call it a home. The endless hallways and testing wards, locked rooms she wasn't even allowed to be in a 10ft radius of, the excessive orders that were hardly given in a kind fashion and the not having a family with her: that one sucked the most

Flitting her eyes from left to right to make sure nobody was watching, she slipped into The Room. The Room that had the kids. She had always been told to never leave the East Wing but after days, weeks, even months of walking past The Room she got sick and tired of having no friends. The place began to feel like a prison with its enclosed walls and codes to get into rooms and escorts to get from one place to another.

The girl got lonely; being only 9 years old she craved a friendship with somebody her age. A friendship where you could braid each others hair, paint each others nails, and tell each other their darkest secrets – at this stage, the darkest would be embarrassingly wetting the bed until she was 7.

The girls eyes widened at the sea of children in front of her; kids of all ages, sizes and colours were before her playing, painting, exercising and most importantly to the girl, they were with each other. She had never seen so many children together her whole time being in this place and although this was slightly overwhelming it excited her massively. Suddenly, the girl felt a tap on her shoulder causing her to falter in her footsteps. Praying it wasnt the scary man with the rat-like nose, she turned around to be met with another girl.

"Hi! I saw you were alone, so I wanted to see if you were okay – not that being alone is a bad thing of course but I know I was really sad when I was alone and separated from my brother so" - the new girl rambled on, waving her hands around animatedly as she spoke.

'Hey! Its okay dont worry. I know exactly how you feel, I dont get to see my older brother as much anymore either. Anyway, its nice to meet you, my names Beatrice but I dont really like it that much," the brown-haired girl laughed, incredibly excited to even be talking to someone her own age. The other girl she had just met had wavy-chestnut brown hair falling a few inches past her shoulders and dark eyes with a childish glint in them. Her skin was fawny beige like Beatrices and they both shared small turned up noses. To a random stranger, the girls looked like siblings - twins even - and would be shocked to find the two had just met.

"Thats fine, I can call you Bea – if you like?" the other girl asked nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"Of course, I like that nickname, it sounds like a bee!" Beatrice giggled tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The other girl laughed with her, finally easing up and becoming more comfortable.

"So how long have you been here?" the girl asked Bea as they made their way to a few tables and chairs, curious to find out more information about her possibly new friend

"I came here when I was 7," Bea spoke picking up a crayon to start colouring in an oddly shaped dinosaur, "My mom brought me and my brother here and I dont really know why. I miss her loads though." The other girl listened intently now beginning to start her own colouring masterpiece. "What about you, when did you get here?"

"Well," the girl shifted to get in a more comfortable position, "I've only been here a few months, a place like this is hard to get used to." Beatrice nodded enthusiastically in agreement; although being there for two years she had never quite gotten used to the many men and women with clipboards, the whispers when she was in the room and the countless programs she had been assigned to do.

"You said your brother was taken away – maybe he might be with mine!" Beatrice exclaimed, smiling at the thought of her brother not being all alone.

"Hopefully," the other girl replied, Maybe when we can all see each other properly us four can be friends!"

"That'd be good," Bea grinned, "I think hed like you, sometimes he acts like hes too cool for me because hes older but- "

"Beatrice?" a low, male voice boomed startling both girls, cutting their conversation short. Beatrices head immediately snapped to the side, eyes searching for the person who had said her name. Her eyes locked with the one man she didnt want to see. "What have I told you about not leaving your Wing?" A brooding man with brown hair that was greying at the top stood next to the door of The Room, arms crossed, and eyes narrowed at the girl.

"Sorry, I have to go now," the girl mumbled to her new friend, lowering her head in shame. Her eyes flickered back to the man who was now leaning against the frame of the door irritated.

"We do not have all day Beatrice," the man said faking a smile on his face. He jerked his head towards the corridor, gesturing for Beatrice to hurry along. Bea offered her friend a small, apologetic smile before traipsing towards the main door. Rolling his eyes, he gripped Beatrices wrist yanking her closer towards him, not wanting to waste any more of his precious time. Her eyes caught the other girl who was looking at her sorrowfully. She mouthed a quick 'bye' to the Bea who was slowly but surely being dragged away.

"Hurry up Beatrice, we dont have time for your meandering!" the man said agitatedly through gritted teeth. The girl quickly snatched her hand away from the mans grasp, gently rubbing her wrist which had a slight red patch on it from his tight grip.

"Sorry Mr. Janson," she muttered quickening her pace to catch up with the tall man. The man marched down endlessly long, high-ceilinged corridors with Beatrice trudging always a few strides behind him. Eventually, the pair came to a halt outside of the girls room. The lean man swiftly turned around to face the awkward brunette girl avoiding his eye contact.

"Now what have I told you about leaving the East Wing and even more, what have I told you about going into that room specifically?" the man questioned exasperatedly, arching an eyebrow at the poor girl. Not responding, the brunette kept her eyes trained on a specific mark on the marble floor.

"Speak when you are being spoken to Beatrice!" the man remarked growing more annoyed by the second.

"You said dont leave the East Wing unless you have an escort and dont go into that room no matter the circumstances," the girl regurgitated in an almost robot-like voice. She had been told this many times and the words were implanted in her head like a stuck record. The man nodded briefly, satisfied with the answer the girl had given and opened the door to her room waiting for her to enter. As soon as she took two steps inside, the door slammed shut making her jump a tiny bit.

Sighing, she made her way over to her bunk sitting down on the simple, undecorated sheets. Her room wasnt much, it was more like a box room; one wardrobe, one bedside table, a lamp and a desk, a wash basin and a toilet and a painted sign right above the door in black, bold, capital letters. WCKD IS GOOD.

The radio clock on her bedside table flashed signalling it was nine which was the bedtime for all the kids in this establishment. Kicking her shoes off, she clambered into her bed and snuggled under the duvet, not bothering to change into her pyjamas. The girl longed to see her brother, she missed him more than ever especially in moments like this when she was isolated and alone.

Thats when her eyes shot open.

She realised throughout that whole conversation she had with the other girl; she never got her name. From that moment Bea made it her mission to find that girl again.

a/n

soooo there's the prologue. I really hope there are no spelling or grammar errors in there. anyways hope you enjoyed, don't forget to like and comment and more chapters coming soon

Love - K :) xx

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