Run With Me ➵ Newt [2]

TWO | apologies

"Agreed," Newt said. "Though personally, I wouldn't have aimed for the face."

"Where would you have aimed for then? The crotch?"

"Shut up, Minho."

"So, what happened while I was gone?" I asked, shoving a forkful of my food into my mouth as I did so.

"Thomas the Special here got to speak with Rat Man himself," Minho answered.

"Rat Man?" I said.

"The Janson dude."

"Yeah, I got that, but why the weird nickname?"

"Cause he looks like a rat. Duh."

Thomas raised his eyebrow. "You're one to talk."

I laughed as Minho threw his spoon at Thomas, who smacked it away. It felt good to be back with my friends.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," I said suddenly. "Who are these other people? Where did they come from?"

"Well, turns out we weren't the only Maze out there," Frypan said.

"What?"

"Ya heard him," Newt said. "There were other Mazes just like ours, full of boys and girls alike."

"We've only been for a day, but those kids over there? They've been here for almost a week." Minho nodded to a table far behind us.

I craned my neck to look. Two boys were sitting by themselves at a table at the far side of the room, staring down dejectedly at their cornbread, looking quite lonely. One of them was short and wore a plain grey hoodie while the other was tall, with wavy locks and a sharp jaw.

Before I could ask more about the boys, Rat Man - I meant, Janson - came into the room and said, "Good evening gentlemen and ladies." 

He stood in the front of the room, clutching a folder. "You all know how this works. If you hear your name called, please rise in an orderly fashion and join my colleagues-" he gestured to the two men behind him, both of whom also held folders of their own- "behind me, where they will escort you to the Eastern Wing. Your new lives are about to begin."

There was a smattering of applause, which confused me. Why were people clapping? 

Janson opened his folder and glanced at the crowd dramatically, letting a cloud of suspense condense among us.

"Connor," Janson said.

A boy got up from his seat and went forward, standing next to Janson's colleagues behind him.

"Evelyn."

A brown-haired girl stood up slowly.

"Justin."

Another boy went forward.

"Peter. Alison. Squiggy."

Several people snickered at that.

"Alright, settle down. James. And... Abigail."

There was a second's pause. Then Janson snapped the folder shut. Groans resonated throughout the room as the people around looked annoyed.

"Now, now, don't get discouraged," Janson said. "If I could take more, I would. There's always tomorrow. Your time will come."

I frowned. I didn't liked the sinister way he said the last part. I also didn't get why most of the people in the room seemed to think getting their name called out was some sort of achievement.

"Go on, eat up," Rat Man said. He walked out the room with his two colleagues and group of chosen teenagers.

"Where're they going?" Minho asked, looking just as perplexed as I was.