𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎
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02.
┏━━━━━━༻〄༺━━━━━━┓
ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴏɴ
┗━━━━━━༻〄༺━━━━━━┛
°•. ✧ .•°
HER HEART DRUMMED and drummed, ringing the echoes through her ears as she released the breath of fresh air she had stored away.
"Holy shit!", she finally spoke after what seemed to be an eternity of silence. She spun in small circles, slightly tripping over her feet as she eyed the walls that towered over her, making the plethora of green suddenly dull.
Her senses were frantic, heightening at every aspect of the unknown place. Her ears, faintly ringing, met the sounds of the chatter of different voices, mixing as to create one noise. She looked back at the boys, who were still watching her every move.
They stared at her face, then at her hair, then at... "Have some fucking respect, you animals!", she exclaimed at them, disgusted by their actions.
Each one of their eyes widened, some shook their head, others exclaimed a mouth full of apologies. "Everyone get back to work", Alby commanded, giving the girl a sympathetic smile. Little by little, the crowd of boys began to disappear until only Alby and Newt were left besides her.
"It's okay, I'll handle this one Newt", Alby told him. With a soft nod, Newt left, his eyes never leaving the new girl.
"Let me begin", Alby said as he watched the overwhelmed expression on the girl's face getting worse and worse. "I know that you must be scared, but nothing will harm you", Alby spoke, trying to reassure the girl.
Usually, Alby was one to have an intimidating appearance, however, as he stared at the girl, he couldn't bring it to himself to be anything but gentle.
"What is this place?", the girl asked, her eyes glued onto the grey walls. "We call it The Glade, just as I had mentioned before", Alby answered, starting to walk small steps forward. The girl stood still for a moment, her feet sinking into the ground, then gathered enough strength to place her right foot forward.
Blade still in hand, gripped to the extent that her knuckles became bright white, the girl started walking along side Alby. They passed several wooden structures, all unique in their own way, Alby explaining each of their significances.
"We only have three rules", Alby spoke, making the girl look at his tired face, "First, do your part, we have no time for freeloaders. Second, never ever harm another Glader. Lastly, and most importantly, never go beyond those walls. Do you understand?"
"Am I stuck here?", she asked, ignoring Alby's question, her eyes not blinking as she looked at the boy. "Depends on your definition of stuck", Alby answered, meeting her eyes. "That's not a valid answer, a simple yes or no will suffice", she told him, thirsting for answers to the questions her brain shouted.
"See those walls there", Alby began. "Hard to miss", she told him as a light scoff came from her lips. Alby lightly chuckled and continued, "Behind those walls is a maze, filled with deadly traps and monsters, no one has ever gotten out of an encounter alive".
The girl remained silent, her heart beat increasing rapidly. Alby mentally flinched at his choice of words as he stared at the terrified expression on the girl's face.
So much for gentle, right?
"How many?", she asked. "How many what?", Alby asked back, confused at the lack of context her question held. "How many have tried?", she asked him. "More than you can think of, some without a choice", he told her, sighing at his memories, sorrow racing across his dark brown eyes.
"Banish?", the girl asked, bringing up the word from earlier. Alby simply nodded his head, not wanting to go into detail about the horrifying yet necessary act.
"How much information do you guys have, you know to get out of here?", she asked him. "Not enough", Alby told her, looking off to the walls.
"So what I'm gathering here is that you don't know anything, at least anything useful", she harshly spoke, angered at the absence of information. However, a pinch of guilt invaded her heart as she watched Alby's eyes meet the ground. "I didn't mean it like that", but she did, "I'm just overwhelmed." "I understand. We've all gone through it", Alby told her, walking off again.
The girl had thousands of questions remaining at the tip of her tongue, but remained quiet seeing as how Alby couldn't be the one to answer them. "Learn now, gather later", she thought.
Alby continued explaining on how life in the Glade functioned for the rest of the time, not giving the Maze another single statement. A frustrated boy soon came up to the pair, making Alby hand the girl off to Newt to deal with what the boy had to say.
"I'm assuming you're hungry?", Newt asked, his question soon answered by the grumbling noise the girl's stomach let out, "Let's get you somethin' to eat, alright?" Newt slowly walked off, not giving the girl time to answer.
"Who put us here?" "Why did they put us here?" "Am I going to die here?" "Why can't I remember?"
All questions that she desperately wanted to ask out, but knew that no one's answers would be detailed enough to satisfy either. Her focus snapped back to reality when her stomach grumbled once more at the scents that had suddenly invaded her nose.
Newt led her inside a wooden cabin that was full of chatter and laughs, making the place appear warm and kind. As she entered, the room met a sudden cold silence, and eyes were once again on her.
She was going to make a remark again, growing tired of the stares, however soon the chatter had begun to resurface and the place became bright once more.
Newt began to walk off again, making the girl follow his lead as the pair walked across several tables filled with sweaty boys. Finally, he had settled in front of a small table, occupied by three boys. They all glanced at Newt and stared, communicating through their eyes.
"This is Minho, Keeper of the Runners", Newt spoke to the girl, as he pointed towards a muscular asian boy whose eyes fluttered in exhaustion. She gave a soft nod towards Minho, acknowledging the introduction. He quietly appreciated not being ambushed by the girl, drowning in weariness and hopelessness after another tiring day inside the sorrow filled maze.
Newt continued the introductions towards the two other boys besides Minho. "This is Frypan, Keeper of the Cooks and Winston, Keeper of the Slicers" , Newt gestured to the two boys, one being dark and full while the other tan and lean. "Hope you enjoyed the talk with Alby, Greenie", Winston spoke, sarcasm playing at his tongue. "Heyyy", Frypan exclaimed right after Winston, emphasizing the singular word. She looked at him, seeing his grin widening. The girl returned a soft smile, not knowing how to perceive their interaction.
"That reminds me, what in the hell is a 'Greenie'?" she asked as she turned her head to her right, facing Newt. Winston slightly laughed at the lack of acknowledgement that the girl gave Frypan. Frypan on the other hand felt proud to have gotten the girl to crack a smile because he hated to know how they felt, all lost and afraid, just as he once did, or continues to.
"It's what we call the new bo- well now people", Newt told her, "I'll be right back". The girl gently nodded, her hand, gripping her blade slightly harder.
"Well, come on, sit down", Frypan smiled, his hands gesturing towards the seat in front of him. The girl's eyes roamed around the room, no danger in sight, everything seemed normal. She reluctantly made her way down to the seat.
"Have you found a use for it, yet?", Winston asked. "For what, exactly?", the girl asked back, confusion darting through her feature. "The blade", Winston smiled, his eyes drifting towards the silver encased in her palm.
"Not yet, but I'm keeping my options open", she spoke, her eyes narrowing. It might have been an entertaining sight for the wondering boys, but for her, for her it was a way to keep her sane.
Sane in her vocabulary.
"At least you weren't like Hudson when he came up", Frypan mentioned, hoping to make the girl in front of him relax in the slightest way. "Hudson?", she asked, unfamiliar to the name. "Yeah, he refused to leave the box. We had to remove him", Winston spoke, earning a harsh nudge from Frypan. "Not helping", Frypan muttered underneath his breath.
The girl watched how the energy flowed between the two boys, they seemed at ease. They seemed okay. Though she knew she was surrounded by a murderous maze, the fact that the boys seemed to be happy astonished her.
How?
"So, you guys have your own sayings?", she asked, curiosity dancing in her brain, "I mean 'Greenie' isn't exactly a known word in my vocabulary."
"Oh yeah, don't laugh though, you'll find yourself saying these things in a matter of time", Winston told the girl, sipping his drink. "Interesting", she replied, as her face fell, the thought of being trapped dawning on her.
"So, how was your first day?", Frypan asked, trying to change the subject, once again. "Can you even call it a first day?", the girl honestly answered. "I just can't get myself to remember anything", she continued.
"That's normal", Minho spoke for the first time throughout the interaction. "I didn't remember my name for a whole week", he continued, picking at his food. "That's all we get back though, nothing else", he looked up at the girl, and then went back to eyeing his plate. Before the girl could ask him what he meant, Newt had set a plate of food in front of her.
"Taste it, it's amazing", Frypan said as Newt took a seat next to the girl. "Yeah because you're biased", Winston told him. "Says the one with the empty plate", Frypan fired back.
The girl found their banter amusing, causing a small laugh to escape her lips. And just as she did, four pairs of eyes were on her, each giving her a warm smile. And those smile grew wider as the two boys continued their bickering.
However, the bright laughter died down as a distant roaring sound was heard, reminding the girl of the racing box she once was entrapped in.
"W-what was that?", the girl stuttered, suddenly alert at the noise that seemed to had only taken effect on her. "The walls, they close every night and open back up in the morning. You'll get used to it", Newt explained.
At that, the girl remembered that there was still so much left to be answered and discovered. She remained silent, yet alert, for the rest of the time, eating her food, giving at least her stomach a taste of peace.
After Newt had finished eating his own food, he led the girl outside, bidding silent goodbyes at the remaining boys in the cabin. "Where are we going now?", the girl asked him, struggling to keep her eyelids open. "Well we still have to rest don' we?", Newt answered in a slight 'isn't it obvious' voice.
The girl didn't reply and was soon met with the sight of what appeared to be white hammocks, all clustered next to each other. Newt led her toward a hammock, one that was slightly secluded from the rest.
"Thought you might want some privacy", he told her, feeling bad for the situation. He knew what it felt like to be trapped, but not what it felt like to stick out along with it. "Much privacy", she sarcastically said, a sigh releasing from her lips. "It's all I could think of", Newt told her, his lips tightening into a straight line.
"No, yeah...thank you", she told him, giving him the best of a smile that her muscles could manage. "I am just right over there", Newt said as he pointed towards south, "If you need anything, anything at all, just come get me." The girl looked up at him, softly nodding at the blond boy as a response. Newt bided his goodbye, and walked off, leaving the girl to her own thoughts.
As she gently climbed inside the hammock and laid her body to rest, she tried hard to shut her brain off. However, the scenes of the dark room that once captured her played in her mind on a constant loop.
She relaxed her eyes, trying to give in to the dark. And as her mind finally started to let go, a voice echoed through her brain.
"Josephine? Come on Jo, wake up...i-it wasn't your turn. No...no."
And as the sobbing voice returned her name, her mind finally met peace with the deep slumber that would be awaiting to be awoken into a new life.
.•° ✧ °•.
━━━━━━ AUTHOR SPEAKS !
I didn't really want to make Jo's interactions with the boys naturally easy. I wanted to make her logical and with sensible instincts, but still emotional and aware of her situation.
The next chapter will have a time jump, but watch out for some flashbacks.