Hypnotized - sequel to 'Captivated'

Two - escape

If you go so easily,

go on, get out, when you leave,

I will wait, I will want

wait till the day you're back.

   - Haim, let me go

***

Bell had Lily shower and change her clothes in the bathroom.

It was odd being in such sanitary conditions after spending so long in the glade. The water was warm. Body wash and shampoo was dispensed right into her hand from a small machine on the wall, and they left her smelling like strawberries and cream. Truth be told, it made her feel ill - she was used to smelling of cheap soap and sawdust. 

It was as if she was washing away her memories of the Glade.

Lily found it odd how she had worked so hard to get out of there, and now that she had finally escaped, she wanted nothing more than to return.

Taking her time, Lily dried her hair with a fluffy white towel. She then began to pull on the clothes that Bell had laid out for her - a pair of white jeans and a coral blouse. She didn't like the way the clothing clung to her, fitting her perfectly. She preferred wearing one of Newt's t-shirts and some sweatpants.

"Miss Perez, I must ask you to hurry." Bell called through the door, her voice thick and sweet. "There are many patients who require your help."

"Why?" Lily snorted, "Haven't you sent them all to the Maze by now?" she flung open the door and sauntered out into the hallway. "Or do you want me to install some devices into their brains before they leave?"

Bell narrowed her cold eyes, her lips tugging down into a grimace. "Actually, no." she said icily, "the children who need assistance have just returned from the Maze."

Returned from the Maze? Lily's eyes widened. Had her friends managed to crack the code? Was everyone finally free from the glade? She felt her heart begin to pound in her chest.

Newt...

"M-my friends?" Lily stuttered, "They're here?"

To her dismay, Bell shook her head. "No I'm afraid not." she said, "You have come from group A. The group that have just arrived back are group B."

Lily's heart sank. "So...my friends haven't cracked the code."

"Not yet." Bell said curtly, "And I think it would be in your best interest to forget about group A, Miss Perez. You have completed your duties and helped the experiment greatly - it will not do well to hold emotional ties to the subjects." 

Lily felt anger boil up inside her. "How shucking dare you-"

"This way please." Bell said, cutting her off. She then began to walk briskly down the dark hallway, and Lily was given no option but to follow.

First chance she got, she was getting out of this place. There was no way she would be sticking around to help WICKED find their 'cure'. She didn't want to watch anyone else suffer the way she was.

But if she was going to escape, she knew that she had to play it cool for a while.

Bell pushed open a pair of double doors, sweeping into another large hospital room. Hesitantly, Lily walked in after her.

The room was chaotic, to say the least. About forty teenage girls lay on the white hospital beds, shouting and crying at the top of their lungs. Many of them had been restrained, tied down by leather bonds that strapped them to their beds. Lily's jaw fell slack as she looked at them.