-------- ≪ °✾° ≫ --------
[ Chapter 9 ]
❛Runner Material?❜
-------- ≪ °✾° ≫ --------
THE NEXT MORNING, the morning after a day filled of cooking with Jin and the party last night, Jay had woken Amara up bright and early - much to her dismay.
It had taken a great amount of effort from both parties, Jay and Amara, to get her from out of the warmth and comfort which was her bed, but also in stopping her from just choosing to roll out of it rather unglamorously and fall to the floor instead which took much less effort.
Jay had gave her the space she needed to allow herself chance to ready herself for the long; torturous day ahead filled with what would just be straight-up running. Thankfully though, the girl now had a change of her own clothes, undergarments and all, and so she was now changed into a tank top tucked into a pair of camouflaged cargo pants with black trainers. The trainers had to be worn instead of her usual boots, in warning from Jay that she wouldn't be able to run all day in those 'big and daft boots', his words exactly, but that didn't make her feel any better about the situation.
She replayed the memory of the rather unusual morning in her head. . .
Throwing her hair into a tight and high ponytail to get it out of her face, the girl sighed dramatically to make her presence known as she approached the back of the homestead where Jay had told her to meet him, catching his attention, smiling immediately when his eyes landed upon her figure.
Wordlessly, he cocked his head to the side and gestures for her to follow him in which she obliged willingly.
Jay had lead her to a small; defeated looking shack which he unlocked with a small key he pulled from out the depths of his black pants pocket. Walking inside, Amaras face immediately scrunched up into a grimace, coughing loudly as she attempted to swat away the cloud of dust that had formed before her.
Jay simply chuckled at her, clearly amused.
Now fully inside, Amara realised just how dusty the inside of the room was and how it was crawling with all types of bugs and insects, the wooden walls dressed with cobwebs. The lack of light made the room have a depressing ambience to it, only making the girl feel more against the trials she would be forced to face today.
Seemingly old and what she thought to be 'poorly-crafted' weapons hung from the walls, or were left strewn about the room sat idol on top of tables and cabinets. Numerous boxes were also scattered around the place and Jay had busied himself in sorting through them.
"What are we doing in here?" Amara asked him curiously, Jay turned back to look at her with a mischievous smirk playing on his lips, "this is where we keep all our important klunk..." he gestured to the room they were in.
She watched as he pulled a box out from underneath a wooden work bench, "and I was looking for these!" He exclaimed gleefully, lifting up a pair of running trainers to show Amara who only raised an eyebrow.
"You don't expect me to wear them, do you?" She pointed to the trainers in his hands before pointing down to her boots on her feet, "I'm perfectly capable running in these." She chuckled but Jay was being serious.
"They're runners shoes!" He exclaimed, "a runners best friend these are, well, second best." He mumbled the last sentence under his breath as he remembered who he was talking too, but Amara wasn't deaf.
"And what would be the first?" She couldn't help but ask as she toyed with her fingers nails. When she received no response from the boy, she looked up from her fingers to look at him instead, tilting her head in waiting.
"Uhm, forget I said that, you wouldn't understand greenie." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand out of nervous or embarrassed habit. She raised her eyebrow at him weirdly.
Amara was left intrigued to know what he meant, but she didn't press on the matter; having more important thing's to worry about, much like how she was about to venture into the maze soon with only Jay as her guide, or coach may be a better fit.
"Anyway..." he coughed before throwing the shoes at the poor girl with no warning, relying on her reflexes to catch them, which they did luckily as the trainers now sat uncomfortably in her grasp.
"These are the smallest pair we have, should fit nicely." He smiled at her as he walked over to her, restraining himself from laughing upon seeing her disgusted expression.
"Do I really have to wear these?" She questioned and Jay nodded, his face serious. "Yes. You can't possibly run around in them big and daft boots!" He loudly protests to her wishes as he gestured dramatically to the black combat boots adorned on her feet.
Like she were a child who was denied her favourite candy by a parent, Amara scoffed loudly as she rolled her brown eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Jay.
The boy didn't care though, instead his signature dominant; victorious smirk was dancing on his lips as he stared into her eyes as he stalked even closer to her figure. "Now change..." he demanded, clearly joking around with her, but he loved to play around with his dominance and teasing with her.
Brushing past her frozen form, Jay's lips brushed her cheek softly as he walked past swiftly, taking himself and Amaras fragile heart out of the room with him.
The dark-haired boy was insanely good at what he does, at what he was doing to her. Jay had left her a breathing mess, as if she had already just ran the corridors of the maze with him, leaving her breathless. He also angered her however, as she hated how so easily he dominated her with his silver tongue, his handsome face and husky voice... she wanted to be the one to leave him breathless... it was only fair.
Grumbling away to herself hastily, Amara changed out of her boots and into the trainers he had been so kind to gift her, before she left the shed and cane face to face with a smirking Jay leaning against the outer walls of the wooden shack; his gaze laced with amusement.
"Happy now?" She scoffed out, gesturing down to the change of shoes on her feet.
Jay's eyes flickered down to the trainers now on her feet, before his eyes slowly and shamelessly trailed up her figure, savouring in her natural beauty before his dark brown eyes met her light ones, which were narrowed at him upon seeing his 'sneaky' glances.
"Very." He quipped.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･༻❁༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
After the two were all changed, dressed and ready for running, Jay and Amara made their way to the kitchen where she was surprised to see Jin and Hope up and waiting for them.
"My brothers!" Jay exclaimed with a wide smile and wide arms as he waltzes inside. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked and the two boys smiled.
"We've prepared you shanks lunch and some snacks to take with ya out there." Hope smiled, feeling happy in himself for not only helping Jin, but also because he was at ease to know that for once Jay would be eating properly and that Amara wouldn't suffer because of his 'runner mentality'.
The two runners, well one runner and the other in training, smile at their sweet; caring mentality. "You guys didn't have to do that." Amara was taken aback by their kindness, so much so that she was worrying about their lack of asleep - they could've slept in for another hour or so.
"No we needed to greenie, otherwise our Jay here would've starved ya out there." Jin explained and the said boy mentioned scoffed in his own defence.
"She wouldn't of starved..." he grumbled with the roll of his eyes, "I wouldn't allow that." Maybe she wasn't meant to hear his words, but she did, and she couldn't stop her lips from forming into a faint smile.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine out there." Hope assured the girl, "you'll be safe in our Jay's hands." He slapped his back and smiled and those words only seemed to make the said boys ego grow, as if it wasn't big enough already.
"Course she is!" Jay gushed before he disappeared into the back of the kitchens, not bothering in telling anyone where he was going or what he was doing.
The three left standing in the main kitchens area watched his unannounced leave, before Hope just shrugged it off, that type of behaviour was nothing new for Jay, he was always disappearing off to places at the random of times. He then turned to Amara.
"We've packed a backpack for ya, filled with enough lunch and snacks." Hope began, grabbing it off of the table they were sat on. "Should keep youse both going for the day." Jin finished.
The two older boys continued to hold the bags in their grasps, waiting on Jay's return to hand them over to their rightful owners for the day. As if on cue, the said boy reappeared with two objects in each of his hands and a gleeful expression playing on his face.
"Eat up greenie!" Jay called out just as he tossed her something. Amara caught it effortlessly, looking down to see what he had tossed her, hoping it was muffin or something. However, she frowned upon seeing a simple apple.
"Seriously?" Amara looked down at the green fruit in her hands, wondering if they was being serious or not. "Is this all I'm having for breakfast?" She scoffed. The three boys could only laugh at her offended expression.
"Course you are!" Jay laughed, "can't go runnin' on a heavy stomach. Ya eat small and light in here, then indulge in the biggest shucking meal once we get back!" He explains to her unaware self.
Staring down at the apple in her hands with distaste, the girl mumbled under her breath. "Being a runner just continues to sound less and less enticing as it sounds." were her distasteful words.
"Quit whinin' greenie and get your pretty little ass out them doors, the day ain't gettin' any longer!" Jay chirped. The boy grabbed the bag and threw it over his shoulder as if it weighed absolutely nothing, before he placed his hands on Amaras shoulders and guided her out of the kitchen doors; ignoring her protests.
"Good luck shanks!" Jin and Hope chorus from behind them, bidding their goodbyes.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･༻❁༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
"I still can't believe you only let me have an apple for breakfast of all things." Amara continued to moan from behind the boy who was walking just a step ahead of her, hearing her take one final bite out of her green apple before disposing of its contents in the maze.
Jay turned back to look at her, flashing her an amused smile, "I told ya greenie, can't go runnin' on a heavy stomach. Ya eat small and light in here, then we indulge in the biggest shucking meal once we get back!" He repeated his words from earlier, Amara mimicking him with a roll of her eyes as he did so since the words were basically engraved into her brain.
Although Amara had busied herself with eating her breakfast, that didn't mean she didn't pay attention to the fact that she was now inside of the tremendously large maze, in fact the eating was just a distraction or else she believed she would faint there and then, overwhelmed by the stone walls standing tall around herself and Jay.
The boy had been incredibly considerate, the two hadn't actually done any running yet, they simply walked through three or four corridors as they ate their apples and exchanged simple conversation.
But now seeing that her apple had been eaten, Jay was ready to get down to business.
"Are ya ready to start running greenie?" He popped the question he had been dying all morning to ask, excited to finally show her his 'world'. Although it was rather daunting being inside of the maze which no one has anything but good stories to tell about, she was rather thrilled.
Amara looked around at her surroundings for a few moments longer before she settled her gaze on Jay. Her lips pulled up into an almost mocking smirk, "course I am." She replies slowly and Jay beamed at her.
Almost immediately, too quick for the girl to comprehend, Jay had grabbed her hand and she had no chance to think over the sudden contact between them both, as Jay took off into a sprint pulling the girl with him.
Amaras heart thumped erratically in her chest, now comprehending that she was actually inside of the maze, which many don't get to say, and it electrified every cell and being in her body and the girl couldn't tell if that was all because of the maze alone, or because of the boy she was running with as well.
She tried her best to keep her breathing even as she ran, wanting to be able to delay her tiring and work aerobically. The two soon came to the end of the corridor and took a left, then down another left before banking right. Amara tried her up-most hardest to memorise their path and which directions they were taking, engraving it into her long term memory by repeating everything over and over. However, it was easier said then done and soon she felt her brain attempting to be distracted by her surroundings, although there was only stone and vines to see - not the most exciting.
Looking at Jay ahead of her, Amara seen his muscles tense and she knew the reason behind that was her. He was being mindful of her inexperience and so was holding himself back, so she didn't feel bad about herself... how sweet.
The two ran endlessly, constant turns both left and right and Amara was soon left wondering how far they were from the Glade and where was Jay leading her to? Upon seeing truly how large and complicated the maze was, Amara was left feeling in awe in Jay's presence as she knew he knew the entire maze like the back of his hand, and that was truly impressive.
She was also impressed to see Jay had his sharp pocketknife pulled out and was cutting off vines every three or four turns they made, to mark their way, it was a smart move.
Seeing the vast amount of vines and how much stone they covered, Amara couldn't help but question if they were covering or hiding any clues embedded in the stone walls or even floor and that thought alone made her heart clench in fear.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･༻❁༺⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Amara had lost track of time, but when Jay looked around their surroundings and had finally signalled for her to stop running, she felt like she had been running for hours.
"Alright," he panted. "Break time."
Amara sighed dramatically in relief; collapsing to the floor in a tangle of her own limbs as her chest rose and fell heavily, the sweat on her forehead glistening in the sunlight that shone brightly high in the sky, now directly above them and making the maze the brightest it will ever be in the day.
The male, although swearing and out of breath, looked an awful more calmer than Amara did as if this was just second nature to him, which it was to be fair, however she was envious of the fact he had more breathing control than herself - although she managed a lot more than she thought she would, which was weird.
Jay sat down with his back against the wall. The boy went rooting through his backpack now lay beside him; pulling out a flask and tossing it straight to Amara.
The girl who was lay still with her eyes closed, failed to see what he was doing and so let out an 'oof' sound when the metal flask landed on her chest - at least she was thankful it wasn't her face.
Jay chuckled, smiling as she sat up from the ground; murmuring a small 'thankyou' to him before she opened it up, gulping loudly as she relished in the feeling of the cold water travelling down her throat, quenching her thirst.
Once she was rehydrated again, she passed the flask back over to Jay who was next to take a drink. Amara thought nothing of the fact that they were drinking from the same bottle, instead she was rooting through the same bag and almost moaning out loud when she pulled out a wrapped-up sandwich.
Opening it up, Amara offered him a half in which the boy took with little persuasion, and two began to munch on their dinner. It was a delightful sandwich, Hope and Jin must of been feeling generous as it was packed with ham, chicken, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes aswell as some sauce which the two couldn't name, it was nice nonetheless.
"How's it so far, being a runner?" Jay broke the silence between them.
Amara waited until she swallowed before answering. "It's not exactly as glamorous or cool as one would presume." She joked and Jay laughed, before he took another bite of his sandwich.
"Don't worry, we're not even at the outer sectors yet... just you wait." He smirked, holding a hand over his mouth as he spoke since it was still full with food.
Amara turned pale at his words. "Yet?" She repeated, her eyes wide in horror.
Jay nodded. "We're growing near though." He assured her with an amused smile. "We're heading into section one today greenie. Thought we'd start simple, besides a fresh pair of eyes like yours may spot something us shanks missed." He explains his plan and Amara slowly nodded in both understanding and agreement.
Looking around her thoughtfully, she noticed how they were still surrounded by vines, vines and more vines. There was just vines and ivy everywhere, growing out of even the smallest of cracks and crevices.
"Have you ever tried to climb the vines?" Amara felt she had to ask before she took the last bite out of her sandwich.
"Yeah. There isn't anything up there though." Jay shook his head, he too finishing off his dinner. "It's just the maze going on for miles and miles." He murmured.
"What about these outer sectors were going to? Have you climbed those?" Amara asks with the tilt of her head and again Jay shakes his head. "There is no vines in any of the outer sectors, just stone and landmarks, pillars if ya would." He tells her.
A solemn silence fell upon the two after that, the two of them ponder over how screwed they really were. Maybe Amara underestimated how easy it would be to find a way out of here; maybe the boys aren't as stupid as she thought and they had been stuck here for years, because there is truly no way out.
Suddenly, she shook her head as if trying to shake away the negative thoughts. How could she think so negatively? Surely if there's a way in this place then there's definitely a way out. Maybe it was just some elaborate game, puzzle maybe, and they had yet to solve it because it was just too advanced. These thoughts only motivated her to find something.
Jay rose to his feet, throwing the backpack over his shoulder before he held out his hand for Amara. His movements told her that their break was unfortunately over and so with a heavy sight, the girl placed her hand in his own again. Jay pulled her smaller form up easily and Amara thought that once she was on her feet again, he would let go... but that wasn't the case.
The duo ran down countless more corridors and Amara started to believe they were running round and round in circles, that was until Jay had lead her into an area of the maze that was completely foreign to her eyes.
She guessed they had reached the outer sectors...
The corridors here were much, much wider and not a single vine was in sight - much to her relief. However, there were large copper; rusty looking blades lined neatly in rows. They stood tall, almost as tall as the mazes walls. Curiosity got the better of her and she advanced towards one, Jay staying close to her side.
Her hand stoked over the smooth exterior of the blade and she immediately drew her hand back, it was sharp. She craned her neck upwards and a chill ran down her spine upon seeing what looked to be blood, dried and stained.
Seeing her scared, Jay pulled her away from the tall blades and instead the two jogged over to the other end of the large sector... Amara didn't spot anything that would seem out of the ordinary, leaving her feeling slightly deflated.
Seeing one of the eight sectors for herself, the two decided to call it a day seeing as the sun would soon be setting. The two jogged their way back, following the same route they had taken to get where they were and seeing as Jay had faith in the girl, he let her take the lead when he knew they were closer to the Glade.
Having little faith in herself to get herself and Jay back to the glade safely, indeed the girl was surprised when she seen the green of the glade up ahead. The vines Jay had cut did help a lot.
A bright smile grew on her lips as she squealed in excitement upon seeing the glade. "Well done greenie!" He congratulated her when the two made it out and was taken aback when Jay pulled her in for a hug, his arms wrapping around her back and her head pressed to his chest.
She could both hear and feel the erratic beating of his heart, matching her own.
The doors slid closed shortly after their arrival back, separating the two as the unearthly sound of the heavy stone scraping against stone in a deafening manner. The minute the opening was closed, relief washed over her like she was stood under a gushing waterfall, relieved that she had finished her first day as a runner and didn't get lost or eaten by a griever - granted they don't come out during the day.
But it seemed rest wasn't on her agenda yet, as Jay was now pulling her over to what she made out to be the map-room.
Entering inside, it appeared all of the other runners had made it back before them as they were all gathered in waiting around the large table stood in the middle of the room. Around the room sat chests and boxes, whilst some were closed, some where open and rolls of paper were sticking out of them.
"Hey greenie." One of the runners who she remembered to be named Ben, greeted her. "How'd she do Jay?" He asked the keeper.
Jay smirked at Amara before he faced the boys. "Eh, she was alright." He shrugged playfully. Amara scoffed and punched him in the arm making him wince.
The boys in the room all laughed, earning a warning glare from Jay, before they continued with their work. Then, the keeper of the runners pulled Amara over to a secluded area of the map-room, as he grabbed a piece of black paper and a pencil, wanting to give her some privacy.
"Okay," he grabbed some chairs for the both of them to sit on, Amara thanking him as he did so. "Draw the route we ran today quickly, use this as a template." He placed a map of the same section he drawn himself from the previous day in front of her.
Obediently, Amara did what she was told. Her brown eyes studied the example given carefully, before she went on to draw her own, referring back to it every now and again. Jay watched her with a small; fond smile, finding it adorable how concentrated she was in order to make no mistakes. Of course he still had to assist her here and then, but the girl wasn't perfect no matter how much she wished to be so, no one was.
When she was finally finished, Jay with his finger pointed to the top right corner of her paper. "Good! Now right the section number and the day of the week we ran it." He told her. Doing as she was told again, Amara sighed when she had truly finished.
Her brown eyes flickered between the two maps constantly, searching desperately for any pattern of sign that they could be missing, obvious or not - trying so hard to find something to show she had at least accomplished something, however when her eyes only began to hurt at the strain, did she sink back in her chair in defeat.
Jay seen this and placed a single hand of his on her back in comfort. "Don't worry yourself greenie, you'll only start to see a difference after a week or so, just like the rest of us." He assured her, hoping to make her feel better about herself, he hated seeing her so down about something out of her control.
Exiting the map-room, the two runners marched over to the homestead where an eager Hope and even Joon was awaiting their arrival. The two males looked expectantly at her, especially Joon, as he was the one who believed she was their saving grace and could get them out of here.
"Anything?" Joon asked. Amara looked to him and shook her head before her own fell to the floor, not missing the way Jay sent a look his way as if telling him drop it.
Both Hope and Joons faces fell. While one was more sincere and restrained the disappointment, the other, being Joon of course, sighed loudly before storming his way out of the homestead and to god knows where.
Jay's jaw clenched at his unnecessary actions and he went to storm after him, although he stopped when he remembered Amara would probably need him in case of comfort.
Hope smiled sadly at her. "There's always tomorrow." He reminded her with a smile, causing her to look up and meet his eyes. "We can't expect you alone to solve all of our problems now, can we?" He softly says.
"Yeah that's something Joon needs to remember." Jay grumbled distastefully, mad at not only his friend but also his brother for the way he was treating Amara.
Hope sent him a look.
Amara dismisses the boys exchange, her mind too tired to care anymore as she only wanted to sleep and that's what she went to do... sleep. Leaving behind a worried Jay and a concerned Hope.
△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽
In case y'all have forgotten, Amara is/was a well trained athlete and fighter. Since WICKED learnt of her strong immunity to the virus and her physical capabilities, they wanted to further that and push her to her limits so she could become their greatest asset, along with many other immunes (Jay for example), if they were to survive and so the two excel in physical combat and then skills will start to shine through for Amara who has yes to rediscover them :)
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and just know there is only one more chapter until a certain someone makes their long-awaited arrival ;)
<3<3<3