It was somewhere between 8 and 9 pm when Zara got out of the elevator on the fourth floor. Lucky for her, her father was showering so she had no problem sneaking away. She walked over to the bathrooms, got in, made sure there was no one then closed the door.
Right after diner her father'd told her that the ten teenagers from earlier today already... you know. It kept haunting Zara and she hadn't been feeling any better since. And now she had to wait. Wait until Aris would come see her. How? She didn't know. When? Neither. And the question was whether he would come at all.
She went to stand with her back against the white wall. After a long twenty minutes of nothing happening, she sat down leaning to the wall. She still wore the black jeans from that day with a white shirt and black shoes. Despite the long waiting and the silence, the girl was alert. Every single sound she picked up and she kept an eye on the door constantly.
But Aris didn't come through the door.
After almost an hour of complete silence, there were sounds. Zara sat up and looked where it came from. It didn't take her long to realize it was coming from the vent. She watched it as fingers grabbed the metal and pushed the entire plate out. Short after, a head popped up and looked around.
''Hi Aris.'' Zara softly spoke.
The boy was a bit shocked but relaxed as soon as he turned his head to her, still laying in the crawl space of the vent with only his head sticking out.
''Hi.'' He answered. ''I brought someone.''
Zara frowned. ''For when I try to kill you?''
''Something like that.''
Zara pressed her lips together and pondered. ''I can tell you everything I know if that makes you trust me more.''
The boy nodded, giving Zara the sign to start. The girl knelt down next to the vent.
''First of all, you're still in W.C.K.E.Ds hands. The teens they take every day aren't going to some paradise, they're getting killed for their blood. The blood is to find a Cure for the Flare, a virus that affects the brain and turns you into a zombie. People who're infected are called Cranks.''
She paused for a moment to see Aris' reaction. He seemed scared by what she'd told but interested. So, she kept going.
''Janson is my father, that's why I know all these things. But we're not... equal, we're not equal. I hate him, he hates me, and I want to help you and the other teenagers. I'm fully on your side, just so that you know.'' She paused again.
To Zara's surprise, her pep talk was enough for Aris to shift out of the crawl space entirely. After him, another person followed. When his head and body became visible, Zara recognized the boy she'd talked to after he'd shouted for a girl behind the window.
Zara got to her feet, so did the two boys.
''Did you also hear what I said?'' Zara asked the taller one.
He nodded, still doubting. ''But aren't you gonna betray us?''
''Obviously.''
''I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.''
Zara's mouth curved into a smile. ''Yes, I am. How'd you want me to kill you? With my shoes?''
She was glad to see the two boys could still smile. They seemed to relax a little more. Especially the taller one now she had the feeling Aris already trusted her a bit.
''I'm Thomas, by the way.'' The taller one spoke.
Zara nodded. ''I'm Zara.''
And there they stood, in the bathroom, in a circle. Zara'd already noticed some cuts and little wounds by Thomas. Mostly his hands and face. She wondered what he'd been through to get those.
''We just saw the same thing you told us about.'' Aris revealed.
Zara looked at him. ''What? A corpse?''
Both Aris and Thomas nodded. Aris held up his thumb. ''It got taken into some room one floor below us. I've seen it before, Thomas hasn't.''
Zara looked from him to Thomas.
''I've been here two nights; this is the third. He's been here for a week.''
Zara's eyebrows drew together. ''No one has been here for over a week?'' Her voice was a little high-pitched in unbelief.
The boys shook their heads.
''Then where were you first? Where do y'all come from?'' Zara asked
Thomas and Aris exchanged looks. Thomas was the one to answer. ''In mazes. Everyone in that room including us. Some have been there for over three years, other only three days, like me.''
It left Zara speechless. She gaped at the boys in unbelief, but her mind was busy thinking how her father could have ever done such a thing thinking it was good.
Thomas' lips formed a line. ''There were even more teens...''
Zara glanced up to him in shock. A weird feeling filled her. They'd lost people trying to get out of something her dad put them in. And now he was going to kill the ones that survived.
Aris was the one to change the subject. ''Can't we go inside that room and look around? Even if it's just for a second.''
Zara pondered. ''Yes, we can. But we need a pass. All the doors around here only open with a certain pass. All people in service own one.''
Thomas nodded determinedly. ''I'll take care of that.''
Zara and Aris looked at him. Zara tilted her head.
''You sure?''
Thomas nodded again. ''I can at least try.''
Zara nodded consenting. ''Alright. I'll come to your room right after you guys were taken there by the guards. How do you get there through the vent?''
''Straight on, first corner left and then the third plate. That's Thomas' room. I'll meet you two there.'' Aris determined.
Zara nodded. ''Take care, boys.''
The two boys looked at her and nodded, then made themselves ready to leave through the crawl space again.
First went Thomas, then Aris. ''Can you p-''
''Put the vent back? Yes, I can.'' Zara interrupted. When Aris had fully disappeared into the space, Zara grabbed the vent plate and put it back. She could see Thomas and Aris crawling away on their stomachs. When they disappeared around the first corner, Zara left the bathroom to head for the elevators. She hoped her father was in his bedroom, so that she could go to her room without hassle. And if he wasn't, she'd come up with a lie for sure.
-------------------------------------------------------
22 hours later.
Zara entered the bathroom on the fourth floor again and closed the door behind her after making sure there was no one there. It had just been 7 o'clock in the evening and the teenagers had been brought to their bedrooms. Zara figured that it was actually pretty early but thinking about the fact they were awakened around five or six in the morning made it somehow logical. And they didn't have to sleep at seven of course. That was up to them.
She took the vent plate away and placed it on the ground, then stared at the crawl space with a dubious look.
Did it look appealing or safe? No. Was she gonna do it anyway? Yes.
She dropped to her knees and crawled in the space. Lucky for her she wasn't big, so she could turn around and put the plate back herself. Then she turned back around and started crawling. After a few meters, she shifted to crawl on her stomach and elbows because that would make less sound.
Straight on, first corner left, third plate. Zara'd memorized it, and with success. Because when she came closer to the third plate, she recognized Thomas' voice.
The girl grabbed the plate and pushed forward. It took some strength, but the thing came loose so that Zara could carefully put it on the ground. She crawled further, now with her whole upper body out of the crawl space. It didn't take her long to realize she was under a bed. And she saw feet. Lots of feet.
She continued crawling until she was out of the vent entirely, now laying under the bed and looking into the room. She took in the sight of Thomas talking to two other boys. She noticed the pass in Thomas' hand. He did it. A satisfied feeling shortly filled Zara.
When Thomas noticed her, she crawled out from under the bed and sat down on the ground.
All attention was drawn to her. Seven faces stared at her from above.
''How long have you been sitting there?'' An Asian boy spoke up.
''Longer than you'd like.''
The boy frowned and turned to Thomas. ''Who's that?''
''Zara?'' Zara answered, not understanding why the boy asked Thomas who she was instead of herself.
''Wait,'' A bigger boy called out. He was dark-skinned and stood next to the Asian boy. ''Isn't that Janson's daughter? The one Aris was talking abo-''
Suddenly another boy grabbed Zara's arms and firmly held her hands on her back. Zara let out a small yelp and glanced diagonally upwards to see a blonde boy with a frown on his face. His grip around her wrists was firm.
''What the hell?'' Zara exclaimed. ''I'm helping you and this is what I get?''
The boy ignored her and looked at Thomas. ''Do you trust her?''
Zara immediately heard that he spoke differently. He had an accent. A British accent.
Thomas turned to look at Zara, who looked back at him with a not so pleasured expression on her face.
''I don't know.'' Thomas eventually admitted. ''But I trust her attitude.''
To Zara's relief, the boy let go of her wrists. Zara rubbed them painfully and glanced up. Right after that, Aris' voice sounded from the vent. Zara peeked under the bed and saw the boy's head sticking out of the crawl space.
''Does he have it?''
Zara nodded. ''Yes, we can go.''
Thomas did as she said and knelt down. He waited until Aris had turned around before he crawled in the vent space as well. Zara went last, which she really appreciated because the thought of crawling on your stomach through a narrow space with two boys behind her didn't seem too comfortable.
''Where are you going?'' The bigger boy asked.
Zara made herself ready to follow Thomas. ''Hell, most likely.''
She heard the Asian boy snicker. ''I get what Thomas meant with attitude.''
Zara rolled her eyes. ''He'll be back in a few minutes.''
And she disappeared into the crawl space.
''Aris, you know where it is, right?'' Zara whispered as soft as possible.
''Probably.'' He responded.
Zara followed Thomas who followed Aris. After a few turns, they stopped. Aris was making sure if it was safe to go, because in front of him was a vent plate in the ground of the crawl space. It led to a corridor on the third floor, so they had to jump down. And if they'd jumped down, it wasn't that easy to get back in.
But it seemed to be safe.
So, Aris opened the vent and jumped down first, followed by Thomas, and lastly Zara. The thump that sounded when her feet touched the ground was much less loud than when Thomas and Aris' landed.
Thomas held the pass in his hand as the three walked over to the doors where they'd seen corpses getting brought in by doctors earlier. Thomas held the pass in front of the scanner, and the red light turned green. Followed by the opening doors.
Zara's heart pounded in her chest and the adrenaline rushed through her veins. She knew Thomas and Aris were feeling the same by how alert they were. In a row, the teens walked in the room. It was everything but what they'd expected.
Dark blue lights, cold air, strange smell. There were glass aquariums in the big space with crazy looking creatures in them that didn't look like anything familiar. Zara scanned them in disgust.
''Grievers.'' Thomas whispered to himself.
Zara looked at him. ''What?''
''We had those in the maze. They're the cause of the deaths among us.''
Zara returned her gaze at the horrible creatures while the hate for her father grew. Could this get any worse? He'd held so many details from her. And for what?
Zara, Aris and Thomas continued walking carefully. There was another door, and the closer they got, the worse the smell got. Thomas scanned his pass and the doors opened, immediately for a nauseating smell to enter their noses. Zara spontaneously had the tendency to puke.
But besides that, the air was even cooler inside the other space. And when they walked further into the room, they took in the sight of something horrific.
Shivers ran down Zara's spine as she scanned her view. The girl clenched her teeth and continued walking together with Thomas and Aris, but a lot slower and more careful than before. Every one of them was looking around, scanning what they saw in horror.
It was even worse than they'd expected. It was cruel, inhuman.
They were all dead.
word count: 2205