"Today's kid will be..." Janson, the man I had been around every day since I was five years old, started. "One that'll join group A."
Young me nodded. "Why this time?"
"The parents are stubborn." He explained, bending down in front of me a bit more. "They won't give us the one we want."
"And where?" I questioned, not afraid like a normal kid would've been. It was easy for me. A habit... sort of.
"He's in the basement, Lenora." Janson lowered his voice. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. Manipulating.
"Any weapons?" I peeped, nervous yet excited. Somehow WICKED made me believe the things they commanded me to do were good and would save the world.
"Yes." He replied. "The dad has a gun and mom a knife, but you can take that, right?"
"Do I get the Shock Arrow?"
"Yes, you'll get that one." Janson smiled, but it faded away immediately. "Remember. You get one shot on this. If you fail, you know what's going to happen."
I swallowed. "I know."
"And don't hesitate." He threatened. "You know what will-."
"Mind control, yes." I bit my lip.
"Don't interrupt me, lady," Janson ordered. "Now hurry."
~
I woke up with a shake on my shoulder. My eyes glitched open in a split second, worry spreading through my body.
"You always talk in your sleep, Lee?" Minho hung above me. I gasped quietly, roughly getting up and packing my stuff. After that memory, I couldn't be close to any of the Gladers for a while. It hurt too much.
"Mind replying?" He added when I didn't, but I just kept packing and fixing my hair a bit. It probably looked horrible. "Or do you want some hair gel? I've got plenty."
I shook my head. Minho took the sign and yelled for everyone that we were leaving, which we did. I walked very fast, a few feet away from them.
I was still having trouble consuming the dream completely, but knew it was about Frypan.. the kind boy who didn't deserve anything from what he had heard or been through.
"Was it a nightmare?" Minho suddenly walked next to me. I shook my head again, scared everything that came out of my mouth would betray me.
"Do you have memories?"
Minho's question made me tense up fully.
"It's nothing." I cleared my throat and kept walking. "Do you have memories then?"
"Nope. Thomas says he has them in his sleep sometimes." Minho responded. "So be honest, was it a memory?"
Instead of replying to his question, I asked, "What did I say while I slept?"
Minho furrowed his eyebrows. "Some questions about who and where, weapons were mentioned, and something about mind control."
"Right," I mumbled, mentally punishing myself for letting the memory control me like that in the first place.
"What was it about?" Minho almost started jogging when I walked even faster, my hands and forehead sweaty. "Your past?"
"No, it was about you. Happy now?" I snapped. Mood changes were definitely a thing in me.
"I think you're not telling us something."
"I think there's a lot I'm not telling you." I crossed my arms. "I never told you my age, height, relationships, favorite color.. whatever. It's not special."
"It seems special enough since you don't mention it," Minho said sternly, then he changed. "Hey, uh, but relationships... you have a boyfriend?"
I turned around, putting my hands on my hips as Minho stood there awkwardly. "No, I don't." I raised my eyebrows, wondering why Minho would even ask that in the first place.. the hormonal teenager!
"I was just asking." He mumbled before jogging after me again. "What's your favorite color then?"
"Does it matter?"
"Very," Minho confirmed.
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"How can you not know your favorite color?"
I scoffed. "What's yours then?"
"Orange," Minho confirmed. And to be honest, I expected his favorite color to be blue or something.
"Orange?" I furrowed my eyebrows. The only orange I could think of was the bright orange on some of my arrows.
"Not bright orange." He sighed. "Sunset orange."
(Yes, my inspiration source is the Hunger Games)
"Mine's red." I ended up saying quietly.
"Color of blood?"
"I thought you were the vampire here?" I smiled. "But I don't know.. just simply.. red."
And that was the truth. I liked red. I liked to wear it, put it on my lips sometimes, and especially red roses.
"Red's cool."
I shrugged, not finding it that deep. "Probably,"
Minho let out a laugh and for the rest of the walk, we remained silent, until Newt interrupted.
"You two gonna wait for us or leave?" He shouted from quite a distance.
"You're just snails!" I yelled at the boys. They all walked far away from us, Thomas in the front as always. He was definitely the leader.
"Turtles!" Minho added.
"Yeah, well, every shuckin' step I make hurts, so you better be careful!" Newt shouted, his voice not showing off any emotion.
I didn't get what he meant with it but honestly was too busy thinking about other things that Newt. I took some deep breaths, finding climbing down a mountain quite tiring even though I was fit.
"This is exhausting," I mumbled to myself. I always mumbled stuff to myself, and yet most of the time, someone else heard.
"I'm not carrying you." Minho crossed his arms.
"I never told you to, did I?" I answered just as sassy. A boy like Minho couldn't put me down that easily.
"Then why are saying it's exhausting at all?"
"Because it is."
"It's nothing compared to being in a maze for three years."
I bit my lip, pissed about Minho.
"Maybe for you— but I've never been in that maze of yours, remember?"
"But you do know what a Griever is." Minho gave me a suspicious glance. "How?"
"Rumors." I lied. I knew what Grievers looked like as the best. Literally. Though I wished I didn't.
He never stopped staring at me. "I thought no one in your group ever went outside? How's it possible for you to hear rumors if it's obvious you kill every living thing before they get the chance to talk?"
"Just shut up and believe me," I ordered. He was really stressing me out by now. It overwhelmed me.. and that was the thing I hated. If I got overwhelmed, I got emotional pretty fast.
I swallowed as Minho continued ranting. I didn't bother to listen and tried to hold the tears I had been wanting to let go of since I woke up from the memory.
"And yet I still trust you." Minho finished the story I hadn't even heard a glimpse of.
"That's rare!" Frypan said from behind. The Gladers caught up on us a little more, but I already started to walk faster when my tears were on the verge of falling. "Minho trusts almost no one."
"As he should," I whispered to myself. As I bent down, tears rolled off my cheeks. I didn't completely get why I was crying in the first place. I barely did it, but this time guessed it was the memory and Minho keeping up the questions.
"I don't have a reason to trust anyone else. Remember what that Rat Man did?" Minho told them as I almost ran away.
"Hey! Newbie is going for a run!" Frypan announced.
"Pulling a Thomas as he did once he came out of the Box!" Newt added.
I then started walking again, not daring to look behind me. Boys weren't supposed to see me, the only girl, cry. Or literally anyone else in the world, but of course, Minho interrupted.
~
A/N: Just let me know if it bothers you that I (sometimes) update multiple times a day!
And what do you think Lena did in her last/what happened?
Sorry that this chapter isn't the best written.