Subject of the Flame | Maze Runner [2]

FOUR

[ ELECTRA ]

❧

Electra pulled herself out of Dr. Crawford's grasp as soon as she was pulled out of the cafeteria, "Where are we going?"

"I'm just bringing you back to your room. It's bedtime."

Electra furrowed her brows, "Isn't that Claudia's job? She's 'head of security for the girls' or whatever she called it. Where is she anyway?"

Dr. Crawford hesitated for a few seconds, leading Electra down various hallways, "Various supervisors agreed that I was better suited to look after you."

"Ah, okay. So, what you actually mean is that they know I don't like her?"

The woman muffled a smile but didn't offer a reply, which was an answer itself. Electra was led down a few more hallways before reaching the familiar door to her and Teresa's bedroom. The doctor pushed open the heavy metal door, gesturing for Electra to enter the room.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to be alone tonight," Dr. Crawford said. "Teresa isn't quite done with her tests yet. Tomorrow, I'll bring you to the showers to clean up. Today was so hectic we didn't seem to have time for it, I hope you understand."

Electra turned to face the woman, trying to hide the excitement she felt, "Don't worry about it."

"Lights out in 15." Dr. Crawford gave Electra a small smile, before swinging the heavy door closed.

Electra heard the ka-chunk of the lock before she flopped down on her bed. Her room didn't have a bathroom, but tonight she noticed a bucket in the corner of the room and cringed. There was no way she would be using that. Besides, she had more pressing matters to distract her. Ordinarily, being locked in a tiny room with nothing but two beds would be claustrophobic at best, but Electra's veins were running with adrenaline.

The night before, Electra considered climbing through the vents but was thwarted by her utter distrust of Teresa. Tonight, Teresa wouldn't be here to stop her.

Electra firmly gripped the edge of her mattress, her nails digging into the soft fabric as she looked around the ceiling, trying to spot any sort of camera. None. As long as none of the workers checked up on her, she should be good to go.

Electra dropped to her knees beside her bed, bending over and finding the vent located under her bed. She slithered over and used her nails to pry the vent off the wall. Silently setting it down beside the hole, Electra climbed into the vent, replacing the panel behind her. Maybe if the workers came in and noticed her gone, they wouldn't suspect the vent if the panel looked untouched.

At first, the vent was a tight squeeze, and she wondered if she'd be able to force her way through without making too much noise. Thankfully, after a couple of turns, the passages opened up enough for her to move at a comfortable crawl.

Electra tried to recount her steps back to the cafeteria, and her years in the Maze helped her to remember the exact route. The vent passageways weren't identical to the hallways, but Electra was easily able to find the dusty cafeteria where she and the Gladers had just eaten their dinner.

She peered through a panel in the vents, watching a couple of workers finishing up cleaning the room. She recognized one of the men from his encounter with Thomas earlier, and she redirected her attention to the door that Janson had left through.