"Chuck!" I laughed as we ran through a beautiful field. Colorful flowers were everywhere, sending nice smells into the air too.
"They're gonna get us!" He screamed, definitely less cheerful than me. Minho and Alby ran behind us, playing a game where we had to catch each other. "And I'm not fit, Leelee! And Minho is like Sonic!"
I chuckled and took the kid's hand in mine, pulling him with me. We passed the edge of the woods and soon arrived in the middle of them. It was scary and dark, but also beautiful.
Just when I was about to inspect it a little better, Chuck, the young and kind kid, interrupted. "Look!" He gasped and pointed at a steel door with the letters 'exit' on it.
"Chuck, wait!" But he already pulled me in there. Glass and blood were all over the floor, just like dead bodies.
Chuck gasped quietly, but not at the blood. He stared at something else.
I furrowed my eyebrows deeply, feeling my heartbeat speed up by the second. A boy I recognized as Gally stood there. His hands were shaking and his eyes were completely black; he was stung.
"Gally?" Another voice questioned. Minho came walking from behind, without Alby.
Frozen in my place I watched it all happen.
"I belong to the maze." Gally cried. "We all do."
A gunshot went off right when Minho threw a spear toward Gally— it hit him right in the chest. The boy gasped for air, but then slowly fell down onto his knees lifeless.
"Lenora..." Chuck breathed from my side.
And then the world faded away, a last image of Chuck's red-stained shirt showing up in my mind before I woke up again.
~
Tears streamed down my face as my eyes opened, staring right into a doctor's ones. He smiled at me and wiped some tears away.
And all I felt was... blood being taken from me. The rest of my body was just numb from all the pain.
"All right, take her with us," Janson commanded. Hands touched me, and I did nothing. I couldn't anymore. My energy got sucked up and after seeing Minho in that state, I had no idea what I was even trying to fight for.
"Where are we going?" I mumbled to no one in particular.
"A train." Was the only thing they replied.
And indeed, about half an hour later, they sat me down on a train. My hands and feet got tied with strong, silver chains. There was no way of escaping. And for the first time in what felt like months, I saw other kids. Dozens of them.
No one said anything. They were all tied just like me, staring straight forward as if they were hypnotized. I swallowed and just did the same, not feeling like doing anything else.
~
A few hours after, when my body already hurt from sitting, the sound of two figures running over the train was there. It didn't bother me much, until later, my wagon came to a sudden stop.
"Minho! Lena!" I suddenly heard.
At first, I thought I was dreaming, but when other kids started to scream for help, I knew it must've been real.
I took a glance around the wagon, not seeing Minho anywhere, meaning I remained silent. If one of us had to be saved, it had to be Minho.
And indeed, further into the strange event I only heard more yells, but they were from a distance; not my wagon. So I just sat there, dreaming about things that didn't even make sense in my mind anymore.
Gunshots hit against the steel and I heard a Berg approach, yet all I cared about was for them to save Minho, so that's what I waited for.
~
Guards dragged us out of the train at night. A cold breeze hit my face as I got placed next to dozens of other kids, who they called subjects. They scanned us all, calling out the names as usual.
"How sad they didn't get any of what they wanted." Janson walked over to me, grinning slightly.
"What?" It took a while for my brain to work properly. "They didn't get him out?"
Janson laughed. "They didn't, no."
My face fell, the world only turning darker. They didn't get him out.
"But..." Janson started, giving me a pat on the shoulder. "You get to see him soon, Lenora. Don't worry."