Variables → Group B [AU]

22 → "ATTACK"

22 → "ATTACK"

GIRLS STARTED DESCENDING down into the hole before Adeline could process anything. Adeline felt a wave of relief course through her. They'd just shut down the Grievers. They'd just found a way out without being at least fifty percent sure that there was a way to get out through the hole. But there was, and they were so close to getting out. Harriet dropped down first. It was still dark, but you couldn't miss her coming down. Her screams emitted until she landed, crashing to the ground. Adeline stumbled to her feet, helping Harriet get up in the dark.

"What's it like up there?" Adeline questioned the moment Harriet was on her feet.

"A bloody mess. And I mean that literally." Harriet said. "Didn't lose too many girls, but more than ten. About twelve or fifteen at most. We were fighting for our lives, up until the Grievers shut down. I can't believe the plan worked."

Girls continued to descend downwards; Adeline counted them all as they came down. Counting Adeline, Aris and Rachel, twenty six of them had survived the journey into the Maze. Realising that fourteen girls died in the fight against the Grievers, Adeline's heart sank, leaving a feeling of heaviness in her chest. Nobody wanted to it bring up, though, wanting to move on.

"Let's get out of here." Rachel said.

"Agreed." Sonya breathed. "Where do we go?"

"Down there." Adeline pointed down the tunnel. "I heard a door open that way."

"Good." Harriet started heading the direction Adeline had pointed. Adeline turned on her heels and headed after Harriet, and girls followed. Adeline walked alongside Harriet, their torches guiding them down the black tunnel. It was dead silent the entire time they walked, until Harriet stopped dead in her tracks. It was slightly hard to see it, but they'd come upon what appeared to be a slide of sorts. It was a steep descending metal chute. Sonya stopped behind them, as did many others. But some crashed into others, complaining. Adeline and Harriet exchanged a glance with one another.

"Better go down it." Adeline shrugged. Harriet didn't say anything.

And just like that, just like when she jumped first down into the hole, Adeline shot down the chute. There was nothing to grip and there was an awful smell of something oily. Adeline tried to get her feet in front of her, her shrieks emitting through the tunnel as she shot downwards. Adeline sensed someone behind her, their screams echoing too. Suddenly the tunnel started to twist, turning in a spiral. Adeline begun to slow down, but not enough to stop her from getting dizzy. Adeline felt two feet smack into her back and a rushed out "sorry", the voice belonging to Harriet. They continued to descend downwards, then Adeline flew out of the tunnel and crashed to the ground. For the second time that day, the air got knocked out of her lungs, but before she could regain any air into them to breathe, Harriet crashed right into Adeline. Harriet went to push Adeline away when Sonya flew out of the tunnel, too, knocking Harriet over. Then came Aris, Rachel, Beth, and the surviving girls. One by one they flew out of the chute and knocked into one another, landing on top of others. Complaints erupted around them, girls trying to get to their feet. Adeline finally regained the air in her lungs to breathe, and got back to her feet. As everyone had gotten up, they had spread out from one another, standing alongside friends, getting the chance to take in their surroundings.

They were in an underground Chamber of sorts, each wall covered top to bottom in wires and machinery as well as ducts and computers. On one side of the room there was a row of forty or so large white pods and across from that on the other side were large glass doors. Directly in front of them, a row of twenty or so tinged windows stretched across the compound, one after the other. Behind each one, a person, some men, some women, sat observing them, staring through the glass with squinted eyes. They had to be the Creators, as Matt had mentioned. The ones who created the Maze, the ones who sent them there. The ones who watched as they struggled to survive and co-exist with the Grievers out in that Maze. A pang of anger washed over her, staring at the people who sat watching them closely. They barely did anything, just stare, blink.

"Creators." Adeline muttered. "The Creators."

"What?" Aris quizzed.

"The Creators." She spoke louder. "The people who sent us into the Maze."

"What are they waiting for?" Harriet questioned. "Is something about to happen?"

"I hope it's not the Grievers," Sonya rushed out.

Then, came a loud, slow, beeping sound. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. Nobody knew what to do, standing there almost helplessly. Some glanced at Adeline quizzically, and when she didn't give any suggestion on what to do, they glanced at Aris or Rachel. Both were as clueless as Adeline felt. That's when Adeline glanced to the doors, noticing someone stroll into the room casually. It was a man, with cropped grey hair, wearing a black lab coat. He stopped in front of them, greeted them with a smile, but nobody returned it. Nobody spoke.

"Welcome back." the man finally said. "Over two years and so few dead. Amazing."

"Pardon?" Adeline quizzed. The mans eyes landed on her.

"Everything has gone to plan, Miss Adeline." The man said. "But, we did expect for some to give up."

"To plan?" Harriet snapped. "What do you mean to plan?"

The man seemed to ignore Harriet, a smirk appearing on his lips. "You're safe now." He said. "It's best if you be at ease."

"You really think we're gonna be at ease?" Harriet challenged. "We've just fought our way to be here, and you want us to be at ease?"

"I'd be a lot more grateful, considering you just passed the Maze Trials." The man snapped.

"The Maze Trials?" Adeline scoffed. "What you're saying is that the whole Maze was one big experiment? And you want us to be grateful?"

"You better shut your mouth, girl." The man hissed. "One day you'll be thankful for all that we've done. One day. Dark times call for desperate measures, as you all should know."

"What?" Rachel spoke up.

That's when Adeline noticed that Beth, who stood a few people down from her, was fidgety and restless. She looked like she couldn't control her jerky movements, and was attempting to fight it.

"Beth?" Adeline said. "Are you —"

"They ... they can ... c - control —" she croaked out. "— m - me ... I can't. ..."

Beth stopped stuttering and fidgeting, but her eyes started darting around nervously. Adeline watched as she started racing towards where Rachel stood, where Beth rammed into Rachel's shoulders. Rachel fell backwards, hitting the ground with a groan, and before anyone could stop her, Beth pulled out her knife. Adeline watched in horror as it plunged into Rachel's abdomen.