Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 36

"Yeah," she responded shakily. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

"We're eating over there." Newt didn't bother to point to where. That wasn't his concern. "Are you all right?"

Emma licked her bottom lip. "I don't really know how to answer that question right now."

Newt understood. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Let's get you something to eat, yeah?" Emma didn't respond, but she didn't need to. Newt guided her toward the table, where she found most of the others. Winston, Minho, Frypan, and Jack. Thomas wasn't there.

The first person to notice her was Winston. "Emma," he said. Immediately, everyone at the table, including the strangers, turned to look at her. She tried to stop walking, but Newt didn't let that happen. Instead, he guided her into an open seat beside his.

The girl did her best to ignore the stares from her friends, but it was hard. If they weren't looking at her sympathetically, they were looking at her questionably.

"Hi," an unknown boy said. He had tan skin and black, curly hair. His smile was bright like the sun, and his eyes shinned. "I'm Riley. This is David."

"Hi," she responded, voice faint and shy.

It caused the boy beside him to grin. He shared a look with Riley that Emma didn't care to decipher. Minho stood up and walked away, but she barely noticed. Newt placed a hand on her knee, stopping her leg from bouncing. Something she didn't realize she was doing.

"They said you were in the Maze with them for months?" Riley placed his arms on the table. Emma never had a chance to respond. "That's nuts, man. Our girl came up three days before everything fell apart."

She raised an eyebrow. "You guys were in the Maze too?"

"Yeah," David confirmed. "But we didn't escape like you guys did."

"There was a big explosion. These people came out of nowhere." Thomas and Minho joined them. Emma crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back.

"It was intense," Riley added.

"They took us out of the Maze and brought us here." Emma wasn't sure what to make of his story. They didn't escape their Maze. They were rescued.

"What about the others," Newt questioned curiously. "The other people left in the Maze. What happened to them?"

David shrugged, not seeming to care much. "No idea. I guess WICKED still has them."

"And you were okay with that?" Emma couldn't imagine leaving the others behind in that sort of situation.

Riley took a bite of his sandwich. "Didn't really have much of a choice."

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long," David glanced at Riley. "A few days. That kid over there." He nodded toward a boy at a different table. He had a grey hood over his head, causing Emma to be unable to see his face. "He's been here the longest. Nearly a week."

"His Maze was all girls."

"Really?" Minho's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes at his tone. "Some guys have all the luck."

"Good evening, Gentleman," Janson spoke. He was standing at the front of the room. All conversations ended almost instantly. "And ladies. All of you know how this works." In his hand was a clipboard. "When you hear your name, please stand and join my colleagues behind me. Then we will escort you to the Eastern wing. Your new lives are about to begin." A few people clapped. Emma wasn't sure what was happening, which seemed to be a reoccurring pattern.