Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

ONE | the maze

An hour later, everyone in the field had woken up. Not a single person knew what was going on and none of them could remember anything. It was weird―I could remember ordinary real life stuff and events; I knew what a pig was, though I don't remember where I'd seen one. I knew about school, and remembered the fact that I hated it―but I didn't know why. Why did I hate school? And how long has it been since I've had learned anything? And though I could remember simple details like those, I couldn't remember a single thing about myself. It was so bizarre that I got a headache just thinking about it.

Another few hours passed. I had walked over to a nearby tree and sat against it, trying not to draw attention to myself. It didn't work. Every so often, someone would shoot a skeptical glance in my direction, no doubt wondering why I was the only female in the field. I ignored them all. A few even approached me and asked about it, but I merely shrugged and told them the same thing: "I don't know."

The Asian boy I'd spoken to earlier started to scale the walls surrounding the field. He clutched a bundle of ivy into his hands and climbed up, slowly but steadily. Others started following his example, and I stared at them in awe. Were they actually going to escape successfully?

I got my answer five minutes later. The Asian kid dropped to the ground, seemingly giving up. He went to another section of the wall and climbed it―then he would drop to the ground halfway. He did it again, and again, until he and everyone else gave up.

Night came, and I was shivering. I was huddled under the same tree I had sat under and I was desperately trying to warm myself. The other boys were either sleeping or staring off into the distance with a hopeless gaze. After many hours later, I finally fell asleep. I had no dreams.

-

I woke up to a thunderous sound and the ground trembling beneath me. Despite not getting enough sleep, my eyes snapped open and I sat up, looking around me. A crowd had gathered by one of the walls, and I saw why: a ginormous door in the wall was opening. It slid along the ground, shaking the earth as it did so.

I got up and jogged over to the crowd. Some of the boys gave me fleeting glances, but I ignored them all. They were not worth my time. After a long moment, the door finally stopped moving. The ground stopped trembling at once, and the air seemed to still. Beyond the stone door was what looked like a corridor―the walls were covered with more ivy and the ground was made of stone. A few of the boys stepped forward tentatively, out of the grassy field and onto the stone floor. I held my breath as they walked down the corridor, and a minute later, they were at the end.

"There're more!" One of the boys at the end yelled.

"More?" The dark-skinned boy I had talked to yesterday yelled back. "More what?"

"More corridors!"

Everyone around me began chattering at once. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd and followed the others down the hallway, and sure enough, there were two other corridors at the end, banking to the left and right.