*Lab Thirty-Four*
"What're cranks?" Someone sprouted the obvious question as soon as silence had settled.
"Monsters," Soldier stated simply, absentmindedly brushing a speck of dust from his jacket. "Humans that have been turned into cannibalistic creatures by a disease known as the flare," he continued in the same flat voice.
"So it's probably best to keep away from them?" Someone asked in a dumb tone.
"Unless you want your head bitten off, then yeah," Minho replied sardonically, folding his arms across his broad chest.
"Hey, slim it," Newt hissed to his friend.
Minho sighed and I quickly glanced over to him. His face was hard, but his shoulders seemed to relax as he met my gaze with a blank stare.
"So what are we going to do?" Azela asked.
Soldier sighed. "I suppose we ought to wait until its clear. But first," he continued, dragging the walkie-talkie from his belt. "I'm going to contact Kyle."
There was a subtle beep, and he began speaking quietly into the microphone.
Despite being at the back - where Thomas, Newt and I had somehow found ourselves - I caught snatches of speech from the conversation.
"Where are you?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"Lab thirty-four," Kyle's muffled voice returned.
The number struck me hard in the chest. Lab 34. Something stirred in my memory. I recognised it from my past, lingering on the edge of my thoughts, yet the details weren't clear.
"You alright?" Thomas whispered, looking at me carefully.
I nodded. "I recognise the number," I responded quietly. "I'm not sure."
Newt noticed we were whispering and inched closer. "Everything alright?"
"Mhmm. I'm just hungry that's all," I lied.
He nodded, though his eyes were clouded with lingering suspicion. He eyed me carefully, as a cat does a mouse. "Aren't we all."
You're making it worse! A voice screamed somewhere in my mind. Stop trying to make him more suspicious!
"Alright guys!" Soldier yelled, averting our attention. "Looks like Kyle's group have found a safer exit. We're going to head back. Someone should meet us at the original lab to escort us out safely."
There was a series of exhausted huffs and sighs, and everyone turned around. Solider pushed a path through the teenagers, none too gently, and began leading us back the way we came.
Someone close to my ear muttered under his breath. "Maybe we should have stayed in the Maze."
"No, I trust these guys!" A familiar voice countered, and I glanced over my shoulder. Chuck was trailing along behind me, and I flashed him a smile, remembering how kind he'd been to me in my past.
He suddenly leant forward, eyes smiling. "Hey, Rowan, right?"
"Indeed," I said, slipping out from between Thomas and Newt to speak to my old friend.
He turned a little sheepish, fiddling with the belt around his waist. "So, you said we were friends before?" His cheeks were slightly flushed, and I chuckled.
"Of course we were! You were one of the nicest people in the Glade," I confirmed, gently nudging his shoulder. He chuckled loudly, and my heart warmed. It was nice to have friends again. It felt as though so much had happened since I'd gotten the chance to laugh, even though I hadn't a clue how much time had actually passed. With all of my other memories mixed with the Maze, I was struggling to keep them in order, remember the details. My childhood memories had long faded, and life with my real family were faint. Lingering on the edge of my thoughts. I briefly remembered a quiet neighbourhood. I remember going to school, playing on my street with the few friends I had, singing carols with my family at Christmas. I had been content with life. Until the sun flares were launched, and everything turned upside down. The world was scorched, millions of people died. And then the Flare hit, twisting people into monsters. Twisting my friends into monsters.
But then WICKED came, promising to make everything alright. To make everything better. They thought taking me away from my family, from my past life, made everything better!? Experimenting on me? Shoving me into a Maze with stupid abilities? Killing me? Bringing me back to life like some lab rat? That was their idea of making it better? It wasn't right. It would never be right.
"Must've been pretty tough, huh?" Chuck began, breaking my train of thought. I quickly released the tension building up in my muscles. "Being the first girl. I suppose it would've been like when Teresa came; she's the first girl we remember. Everyone got pretty confused and we ended up shoving her in the slammer."
I nodded distantly. "It was tough alright; I was in the slammer twice. But I got through it... with the help of you and Newt, and Minho," I added with a lightly humoured tone. "Gally didn't take too kindly to me. But the others grew used to me being there I suppose."
Chuck nodded thoughtfully as I spoke. "At least you didn't arrive in a coma," he murmured, quickly glancing up.
"Teresa arrived in a coma?" I asked incredulously.
"Yup," he said matter-of-factly. "And apparently she knew Thomas."
I let his words sink in. Teresa sure did know a lot more than she was letting on; Remembering me and Thomas? Did Thomas know me from before too?
"I woke up in the Maze," I admitted softly, fingering the rim of my shirt.
"In the Maze? Woah, that's strange."
I nodded. "This entire thing is strange. But yes, in the Maze. That's when I first encountered the grievers. I ran away, and kept running, until I eventually collided with Miss. Sassy Shank over there." I directed a playful smirk in the direction of Minho, but he wasn't looking.
"You ran into Minho?" He chuckled, ringlets of dark hair flopping over his eyes. He impatiently swiped them back.
I nodded. "He was... pretty surprised to see me."
"Obviously; not often you stumble across a girl in the middle of a maze," he said flatly.
"Ha, I see Minho's a good teacher!" I exclaimed a little too loudly. Chuck immersed into a bout of girly giggles, whilst Minho himself glared at me in question.
"You're talking about me?"
"Nothing bad!" I said, waving my hand as if to dismiss his suspicions.
He rolled his eyes and turned back to the front.
I patted Chuck on the back, still giggling to himself, and rejoined Thomas.
"You've set him off now," he murmured under his breath, smiling bemusedly. I shrugged, but a smile tugged at my lips. A genuine, humorous smile.
We stumbled back into the eerie lab after another ten minutes of slowly plodding along.
Another soldier - clad in an army-style jacket, black trousers and combat boots - greeted us with a grim salute. The gun slung over his shoulder rattled against the wall as he turned to face Soldier. "Commissioner Kyle sent me to escort you, sir!" He said in the same dull voice. "Follow me." He turned and began matching smartly down the hall.
Soldier nodded to himself, a slightly grim smile plastering his face, and we began surging forward once more in a wave of exhausted, illuminated faces.
Soldier obviously picked up on the silent reproach of the group. He didn't bother to turn around as he spoke. "Once we get out of here, you'll be fed and provided with clean clothes and bunks. It won't be long until you're tucked up in bed with your teddy bear." There was only a slight hint of amusement in his tone, but he didn't glance back once.
"Won't we all be going to the Girl's Maze?" Azela asked loudly.
"No."
The silence was unsettling, but I wasn't surprised by it. I was also beginning to feel woozy, even after my prolonged rest back at the homestead. Newt looked ill in the languid light, his face a sickly pale.
"You don't look too great," I commented.
"Thanks," he snorted, regaining a tint of colour in his cheeks. "It's all this bloody change, I suppose. Leaving the Maze after all this time."
An awkward silence fell heavily on our surroundings, until it was interrupted by the abrupt blare of an alarm, only moments later. The corridor was suddenly basked in a haunting crimson glow.
My heart fluttered into my throat. I recognised the sound instantly, and my breath quickened as the familiar voice droned through the speakers, shrill and piercing.
"Do not let Group C escape. Do not let the Failures escape. Do not let Group C escape. Do not let the Failures escape."
Goosebumps prickled my skin. My head began ringing, trilling with a high frequency wail.
What was happening?
The gladers began panicking, glancing around in a bewildered manner. Even Soldier and his companion bore expressions of confusion.
"What the bloody hell?!" Newt exclaimed, squinting in the glaring red light spilling throughout the corridor.
I faltered. Who'd set off the alarm? Why was it about us? The Failures.
"I... I don't know," I lied, but Thomas arched his brow. His illuminated face looked ghostly.
Soldier caught my eye, but I merely shrugged, averting my gaze.
"Alright, keep moving guys. Nothing to worry about!" His voice was strangely steady, but I caught the uneasiness lodged in his dark pupils.
He continued down the corridor, matching his companion's loping strides, and the rest of us followed tentatively behind. As the alarm continued to flare, Soldier began to increase his pace, until we were all jogging after him, weariness and hunger forgotten.
The two sentences continued trilling through the speakers, until my ears grew numb and the sound faded into a distant hum.
As we all filed through another metal door, a ripple of cheers surged through the crowd. The two groups merged as one, and I found myself pushing through the wall of gladers, directed toward Kyle and Axel. I found Azela close behind me, her eyes wide.
I grabbed hold of her arm and squeezed it reassuringly. She offered me a cursory nod as we stumbled in front of Axel.
Dark shadows danced along his sunken cheeks, but his eyes sparked as soon as he caught sight of us.
"Everything alright?" He asked anxiously, casting a glance toward the crimson basked teenagers.
I nodded. "Everyone is fine. But apparently the courtyards been overrun by cranks and we need to get to the other maze and find Harriet!" I exclaimed without taking a breath. Azela placed a hand on my shoulder, calming me down.
"There's another way. We'll get there," he reassured.
"I certainly hope so," I said with a sigh.
Then, as if it never happened, the alarm ceased and silence fell like shattered glass. A moment later, a bone-chilling snarl resonated through the speakers, followed by a venomous hiss. I threw a hand to my mouth, stifling a gasp.
"Come now, little Failures, did you really think you'd escape? EVER?!"