[ ELECTRA ]
❧
Dull pain was the first thing to greet Electra as she opened her eyes. Groaning, she reached for her forehead with her left arm before harshly being reminded of what happened.
The wound in her left shoulder shot fire through her nerves. Electra let out a whine then pulled herself up to a seated position, swinging her legs around. Her feet hit the hardwood underneath her and its hollow sound brought her back to reality.
She blinked a few times to try to process what was around her. She was sitting in an actual bed in the corner of a room, the roughened sheets still tucked into the mattress. She couldn't remember ever having a real bed, although she must have before the Maze since its familiarity buzzed in the front of her head.
Beside the bed was a rickety table with nothing on it. The wood in the room was weathered, with numerous splinters sticking out and a fair share of warps. Her pack sat beneath the only window in the room and it slumped forward as if it too was exhausted.
A window? Electra tried to stand, wincing as her entire body protested for her to remain seated. Placing a hand on the wall, its jaggedness poked into her palm. She slowly stumbled over to the window and rested her weight on the sill, peering out at the world below her.
She was in the Glade. Electra had no idea what time it could be since the sky was still its boring shade of grey, but many boys were busily working below her, most of them working on rebuilding the fallen buildings.
The buildings themselves looked like piles of burnt ash and Electra assumed she must've been in the Homestead since her room was above the ground floor. She wondered how the Homestead was still standing, considering most of the other buildings had toppled to the floor during the attack.
The attack. Electra was sobered by the memories. She remembered cutting the device out of her own arm, before hastily trying to bandage it with whatever medical supplies she kept in her pack.
Next, she remembered sneaking past the barricades and seeing the utter mayhem unfolding in front of her. In the distance she saw a Griever stuffing Alby into its bulbous flesh, and beyond the killing she saw Minho, watching. Electra ran up to her best friend and fought off another Griever.
Finally, she remembered Thomas stabbing himself with the Griever spike right before Electra passed out.
Feeling dizzy on her own feet, Electra limped back over to the bed and sat down, letting out a sigh.
The doorknob started turning and instinctively Electra crawled backwards away from the door. When the door swung open, she saw Minho walking in with a tray of food in one hand and medical supplies in the other.
"You're awake," he commented, placing the food tray on the nightstand and the medical supplies on the bed.
"How long was I out?" Electra asked, looking at the food Minho brought. Her mouth watered when she saw a stew on the tray. She couldn't remember ever eating stew but, again, she knew she must have before.
"Mmmm." Minho looked up at the ceiling, mentally counting. "About seventeen hours."
Electra nodded slowly then reached over to grab the stew. When her arm flared in pain once again, she cringed and brought her arm back towards her, reaching her right hand up towards the wound.
When she held her right hand in front of her, it was stained red. Electra looked over at her left shoulder, and the wound was still bleeding through the new bandage. The bandage itself was different from the ones she had out in the Maze and Electra worried over who had changed the bandage while she was unconscious.
"Here." Minho opened the bag of medical supplies, fetching some new bandages, along with some pills. "Let me help you."
Electra pulled away from him. "I can wrap my own wounds, Minho."
"I know. But you don't have to." Minho didn't make an effort to come closer to her, and Electra studied his expression for a quick moment.
His eyebrows raised as he looked down at her. Her eyes trailed over to the bandages Minho was holding and she noticed they were the same material as the one on her arm at the moment. It must've been him that had changed her bandages while she was unconscious.
Electra used her right hand to grab the glass of water that sat on the tray before sitting closer to Minho and taking the pill from his hand. Somehow, she knew the pill was some form of ibuprofen; another link to a past life she had no recollection of.
"How come you never brought me these painkillers before?" Electra put the pill in her mouth before taking a swig of her water. Minho held out his hand and she gave him the glass, before he set it gently on the floor.
"The medjacks don't have a lot of it. They'd notice if it mysteriously went missing," Minho said passingly, his focus on her left arm. He slowly unwrapped the bandages, and she winced as the material clung to her.
He placed the bloody bandage on the floor, before rolling out new cloth and getting ready to apply it. She looked over at her shoulder and noticed it already looked much cleaner that she remembered. She wanted to thank Minho but no words came out.
Instead, Electra looked at her best friend, observing his concentration as he cleaned her arm. She was reminded of how terrified he'd been just the night before when he watched Alby get murdered by the Grievers.
"Minho, why did we save Alby?" The words came out as a whisper, barely audible above the faint sound of Gladers working below them.
He looked up at her, a confused expression crossing his face. "Hm? What do you mean?"
"He's dead, regardless. Why does it matter when he died?"
Minho frowned at her, and she was taken back to their night in the Maze when they'd saved Alby's life. The entire dilemma felt pointless now that the very boy she'd risked her life to save was dead anyways.
Minho finished replacing the bandage on her shoulder and he sat upright, his eyes still locked on her. He took the bag of medical supplies and dropped it on the floor, then he looked lost in thought for a few moments before he spoke, "We saved him because it was the right thing to do."
"Right..." Electra trailed off, breaking eye contact with him. "I guess I wouldn't know anything about that, would I?"
"Electra, no one's blaming you-"
"Don't." She shook her head, her eyes travelling across the room, before she looked back towards Minho. "Everyone is blaming me. All of them."
"You don't know that."
"I do know that. Because if I was in their position I would be blaming me."
Electra took a deep breath to try to ease her tears away. The Gladers had to be blaming her at a time like this. Their friends had been dying in the Maze for three years and suddenly a girl showed up that could've helped them but she never did. She only ever helped herself.
But that wasn't true though, was it? What about Newt? Long before Thomas showed up and the Ending was triggered, she'd helped the boy. Did he know about her? Or did he only remember waking up in the Glade afterwards? Did the difference even matter?
She helped him and nothing bad came of it. She was able to see Minho every single day for three years and she was still alive. Now, she cut the device out of her arm and was in the Glade, and the Creators hadn't done anything to stop her. They certainly could've electrocuted her when she was tearing the device out, right? Or perhaps they could've gotten a Griever to kill her. Why hadn't they?
Minho handed her the stew and Electra felt the warmth on her fingers through the chipped bowl. She looked down at the meal and slowly took the spoon in her hand. Mixing the stew around in the bowl, her hunger from before melted away as her anxieties got to her.
Putting the bowl back onto the tray, she sighed, "What if something bad happens? I mean — I revealed myself to everyone and — the voice..."
"Hey, calm down. The Teresa chick triggered the Ending so basically, I don't think normal rules apply anymore... probably." Minho shrugged. "Besides, what could be worse than what we're going through at the moment?"
He was right. The Doors wouldn't close, the Box refused to go down, the sky wasn't working, and the Grievers had access to them at all times. What could be worse?
Minho's fingers gently rested below her chin, before he brought her face up to look at him. "By the way, you cutting the device out of your own arm? That was really stupid."
Electra let out a small laugh, "I knew your dumbass would need my help, so I did what I had to."
A smile spread on Minho's face and the warmth radiating from him proved to be contagious. Electra felt her lips curl into a smile as she looked up into his eyes. His fingers were still resting under her chin and they were comforting against her cool skin.
Electra's heart began fluttering in a way she'd never felt before when Minho's hand on her chin slid back to caress her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. It was innocent, and pure, invading all her senses and leaving her feeling weightless.
Their lips met and the fluttering in Electra's chest somehow intensified. She raised her right arm and ran it through the back of his hair while Minho's other hand made its way to her waist, pulling her closer.
All the worries she was feeling seemed to melt away, and for the first time since getting dropped into the Maze, her heart radiated with warmth. She could feel the raw emotion in the way he deepened the kiss and Electra tightened her grip in his hair.
The two had grown together for the last three years; forced to grow out of whoever they could've been before the Maze. In fact, who they could've been didn't seem to matter anymore. Here, in this moment, Electra was thankful for who they were, and who they would one day become.
Then, the worries and insecurities started to swarm in her mind. The Maze. They were trapped in a death Maze.
Electra pulled away from Minho, looking at the floor. His hands left her sides and she felt the energy of their absence.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, unable to get the words out any louder. "I can't."
The Ending was already triggered. The Maze was about to end once and for all and Electra couldn't bear the thought of losing him. Even if they both escaped, what would happen to them? She had no idea what the real world could be like but the Creators wouldn't throw a group of kids into a death Maze just for fun, would they?
Minho leaned backward, and his face went red. "Uh- it's okay. I'm sorry too... I shouldn't have."
Electra barely heard the words; her mind already running at full speed. What was the outside world like? What were the people on the outside like? They must be pretty cruel if they were okay with killing innocent kids, not to mention torturing Electra with the infamous voice for three years.
When was the last time the voice had haunted her dreams? They seemed to haunt her every single night for three years but Electra couldn't remember dreaming of it within the past few days.
Again, Electra thought of Newt and the weird instance when someone was able to physically control her body. She looked back towards Minho. He'd been there that day.
"What do you remember about Newt's injury? He has a limp, yeah?" The words came out before she could think of a better way to word her sentence.
Minho gave her a pointed look and she felt her cheeks go hot. She just kissed Minho, but completely ignored it and then went on to ask about Newt.
She just kissed Minho. Electra pushed the fact out of her mind before she let it consume her. She would process it another time.
Minho raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. "Limp's there, yeah. And, I don't know... just remember carrying him back. I blocked most of it out."
"You don't remember finding him, though?"
Minho knit his eyebrows together, before his nose scrunched. "Um no. I don't remember that, I guess. Why are you asking about this?"
"I found him that day. I remember meeting you in the Maze and handing him to you. They were controlling me, somehow. They made me help him."
"They? You mean the Creators?" Minho stared at her plainly. "Why can't I remember this? And why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"The Creators erased our memories before dropping us in the Maze, maybe they can do it whenever they want. They definitely erased my memory of the control but it all came back when I saw Newt." She looked to him, hopeful that Minho would believe her. "I remember forgetting... as weird as that sounds."
"If that's true, then I bet they erased my memory up until you left. Those sneaky sons of bitches." The expression on his face was unreadable. "Why would they make you help him when they explicitly told you to stay away from everyone? It doesn't make sense."
Electra shrugged, turning away from Minho and passively looking out the window. She knew the memory she remembered had to be real; the feelings that filled her chest when thinking of the terrible day convinced her. But why? Why warn her to stay away from the boys but then make her help one of them?
Where were the repercussions of her actions? She never got punished for helping Newt. Maybe since the boy didn't technically see her, as far as she knew. Or maybe since she'd been forced to help him then her memories were erased. But if the Creators had the power to control them, why make her, out of all people, help him?
Her thoughts drifted off to Thomas and Alby. When they were trapped in the Maze overnight, she chose to help them. Then the Grievers evolved, the sky stopped working, and the Ending was triggered. Electra guessed all these changes had been a way to punish her for breaking the rules, but would they have happened if she didn't help them that night? Would the Creators have forced her to help that night, regardless of what she decided to do?
Did her actions even make a difference? Alby was dead. Her decision to help him didn't matter. He was gone. Electra felt energy build up in her chest then spread to her face. Her eyes became blurred while her cheeks burned.
Was the voice even real? After all this time she strictly believed in it, considering the device implanted in her arm and the frightening experience on her first day.
Protect the boys inside the Glade. Don't reveal yourself.
But she had. She saw Minho almost every single day for three years. Then, she helped Newt. Then Thomas and Alby.
Then, she was unable to protect the boys inside the Glade. Not all of them, at least. Not Alby.
She failed. Electra was unable to satisfy either of the voice's statements. Yet, here she was, safely tucked in the Homestead with her best friend alive and right by her side.
She didn't deserve it. Why was she deserving of safety?
A tear fell from her eye and Electra quickly reached up and swiped it away, only for another one to fall in its place. Her own heart felt bruised and the emptiness inside her shook her to her core.
The voice wasn't real.
Therefore, for three years she'd let numerous Gladers die. She remembered Alfred. She could have helped him but she didn't.
Electra didn't realize how badly she was trembling until Minho's arm curled around her, bringing her close to him. She sobbed into his chest and with each breath she felt more sadness expel from her heart.
She was ashamed. She couldn't even find the strength to tell Minho what she'd just discovered, but she had a feeling that he'd always known the voice was fake. He'd still supported her decisions regardless of what he believed.
Electra didn't deserve him just as much as she didn't deserve to feel safe.
Minho gently stroked her hair. "Jeez, didn't think my kissing was that bad."
Somehow, Electra laughed, "Shut up, Minho."
Someone stomping just outside their room made Electra jump away from Minho and she rubbed her eyes free of tears.
A tall boy crashed through the door without knocking, and Electra rushed to her pack where she grabbed her knife, raising it forward at the boy.
Minho got up and stood between the two of them, raising his arms to block them from each other. "Woah, both of you need to calm down!"
The boy looked at her and an ugly taunting smile flashed on his face. "Minho, what did you say to her? Poor girl has been crying, hasn't she?"
Electra pushed against Minho, trying to get past him to slap the boy straight across the face.
Minho pushed her back. "Shut up, Gally unless you want me to punch you in the face, again."
Gally's posture stiffened, and the teasing smile disappeared from his face. "The girl should be in the Slammer right alongside the other traitors."
"Traitors?" Minho scoffed.
"You heard me. Now come on. Newt has already made a huge exception for you by letting her sleep in the Homestead. If it were up to me, she would've been thrown right into the Slammer immediately."
"Right, but it wasn't up to you, was it?" Minho asked tauntingly and Gally scowled at him.
"I'm serious. The girl is going into the Slammer. Minho, get out of my way." Gally shoved past Minho and forcefully grabbed Electra's left arm.
She winced, her wound flashing with pain. She dropped her knife to the floor, before tearing Gally away from her, pulling his fingers back until he yelped and released his grip on her.
"Touch me again and I'll break your arm," Electra said, before Minho pushed Gally away from her.
Gally shook his hand out, grunting in pain. "Don't shoot the messenger, girly. These are Newt's orders, not mine. I know you're used to living out in the Maze like a wild animal but here in the Glade we have rules, and now that you live here you have to follow them."
Electra's heart dropped at his statement, making her push past Gally. Minho followed her, casting a glare at the boy.
Electra didn't wait for either of the boys as she left the room. "Whatever, let's go. I'd rather hangout with these so-called 'traitors' than you, anyways."
Gally didn't come up with a response, instead he arrogantly led them towards the Slammer, his head held high in a way that annoyed Electra to the utmost degree. All the Gladers they passed raised their heads to stare at her and Electra tried her hardest to block out their judgemental whispering.
The trio reached the Slammer and Gally unlocked the door for her to climb inside. He pushed her inside at the last second and Electra spun around, only for the Slammer door to close in her face.
"You're an asshole, Gally," Minho said while Gally locked the Slammer.
"Consider yourself lucky that you're not in there with them, Minho." Gally glared down at Electra, before turning to look at her best friend. "Newt has a bias towards you, but I don't. You're just as much of a traitor as she is."
"Yeah? How'd you figure that?"
"You knew her this whole time, didn't you?" Gally sneered, before patting Minho on the back and pulling him away from the Slammer. "Don't answer that yet. Newt wants to talk to you, so let's go."
Electra watched Gally pull Minho away from the Slammer, and Minho cast her an apologetic glance. Hopefully he was going to clear her name, somehow. Even though Electra was guilty of being a traitor.
Once Minho and Gally disappeared from her sight, Electra inspected the Slammer door, reaching out and holding one of the locks in her hand. She could definitely break out if she wanted to. Electra shook the door a couple of times, squeezing on the wooden bars that crossed back and forth. When she started pulling at the bars, a voice called out behind her.
"I don't think that's a smart idea."
Electra turned to see a pair of blue eyes watching her, almost cat-like in the way they glowed. Squinting to get used to the darkness of the Slammer, she recognized the dark wavy hair. Teresa.
The girl just stared at her, not saying another word. Electra looked beside Teresa and found Thomas sprawled out on the floor, his face sweaty and expression troubled. She turned back towards the Slammer door, contemplating if she should break the door open.
Groaning, Electra let go of the door and sat on the opposite slide of the Slammer, bringing her knees up to her chest. She already caused enough uproar within the Glade. Besides, Minho was working on defending her at the moment and her breaking out of the Slammer wouldn't look good for either of them.
Teresa got up from where she was sitting, and slowly walked over to Electra. The girl held out her hand for Electra to shake it. "I'm Teresa."
Electra looked at Teresa's hand, but didn't grab it. "Electra."
Teresa awkwardly retracted her hand, shuffling her feet. After a couple moments, the girl slowly sat in front of Electra, crossing her legs in front of her. Electra didn't look up at Teresa and instead kept her eyes trained on the floor.
"I'm really amazed by you, you know? Surviving three years out there all by yourself. Sounds impossible."
Electra looked up at Teresa, furrowing her eyebrows. How did she know that Electra had been in the Maze for three years? Did Thomas tell her? Was it a lucky guess? Had word already gotten around about her? Maybe Minho already told the Gladers about her in her seventeen hour slumber.
Seeing Teresa up close, she looked different than she had when Electra saw her from on top of the walls. She was even prettier and when she flashed her a supportive smile, Electra was filled with suspicion.
She couldn't trust this girl. Teresa triggered the Ending, causing Electra's entire world as she knew it to shatter.
Besides, why was she the only girl brought up through the Box? Electra remembered when Minho told her about Teresa's arrival and her ominous message before she fell into a coma for days.
Electra nodded at the girl, fidgeting with her hand in her lap. "You came up in the Box."
"Uh, yeah..." Teresa trailed off, looking at the ceiling. "Seems like I got lucky."
"Seems like it."
Electra's tone was cold and Teresa flinched at it. Before the girl could reply, Thomas began panting. Electra looked over and Thomas squirmed in his spot on the floor, muttering incomprehensible words as his face flushed.
Teresa got up and tended to Thomas, kindly shushing him while gently stroking his shoulder. She put her hand on his forehead and sighed.
"Is he going through the Changing?" Electra asked from across the room, remembering Thomas stabbing himself with the Griever spike.
Teresa nodded. "Yeah. Newt gave him the Serum before throwing him in here."
"I saw you talking to him yesterday, before the Grievers attacked."
"Yeah, I did. I'm not sure why, but he's familiar to me, more than the others." Teresa raised the back of her hand to Thomas' cheek. "So when I woke up, I knew I had to find him."
"You seemed familiar to him too. He told me that he could hear you in his mind."
She looked up at Electra, and Electra felt insecure under her stare. Teresa curtly nodded. "He can."
Electra's gaze diverted from Teresa, and to Thomas, who started to quiet down from his nightmare. Sweat dripped down his face and he looked ghostly. All this time, he was telling her the truth about hearing Teresa. Would he be able to speak back to her?
"Is she in there?"
Electra's ears perked up, and she peered over towards the door of the Slammer to see a Glader peeking in, staring directly at her.
"Yeah." The Glader laughed at her, before getting up and walking away. She heard his voice faintly. "She's pretty scary looking. No wonder Minho kept her a secret all these years."
Electra grumbled in her position on the floor. If anyone tried to mess with her as soon as she was let out of the stupid Slammer, she decided she would punch them square in the face.
—
A/N: THIS WAS SUCH A FUN CHAPTER TO WRITE!! electra and minho's first kiss omg and electra meeting gally and teresa??! BRO!! so exciting !!!
also yep yep the voice !! THE voice wasn't real? lol. it will get explained more in subsequent books (yessir i am planning for this to be a series!). i think the lore behind the voice is super interesting!! and i'm excited to share it with y'all eventually :))
vote and comment if u wanna !!! :)))