The Maze Runner: Acadia

Chapter Eight

The day stretched on longer than the girl was comfortable with, ending with her swinging back and forth in her hammock, eyes closed, focusing on the sound of her own breath. What was going on?

Her mind traveled again to the new world she lived in: dirty, trapped, confused... she wanted nothing more than to take a long shower, put on clean clothes, get into a big soft bed, and sleep this nightmare away. In this world, she had no name. No identity. The constant adrenaline coursing through her system made her mentally and physically exhausted. This cannot be good for me, she thought, no way.

A quiet hum fell over the Glade as the doors grunted to a close once more. Now with the beautiful image of the stunning Griever in her mind, she was now thankful for the door closing every night...

Trapping her.

Alby had stopped her after dinner, which she refused to eat, telling her that her room was being cleared in the next twenty-four hours. She was more than grateful- her own room, as rickety as it might be, will be game changing for her. Privacy in the midst of the chaos.

She wanted to formally meet her neighbor- the keeper of Runners. From what she knows and who she has met, she has yet to come into contact with the boy. She thinks. As long as he isn't some creep, she assumed, it would be okay. Sleep enclosed her like a cold, trapping wave, suffocating her. Her mind buzzed with anxieties, spiraling into thoughts she had yet to address.

A picture formed in her dreamless sleep, giving her unconscious world of darkness some color. A blinding blue florescent light blinded the girls right pupil, the small flashlight-like-device held by the doctor switching to her left eye, her pupils contracting with the sudden exposure.

" One more." The doctor ordered, switching his light off with a light 'click'. The girl squirmed; her arms bounded tightly to her sides by leather cuffs lined with a scratchy fabric to prevent chafing.

The world lit up around her as a holographic screen filled her vision. Words filled the screen, its contacts unknown to the girl who simply stared at them. "A16?" The doctor, who looked to be a man in his lake fifties, inquired. The world spun around her, the only imagines rendering in her dream being the blue luminescent screen and the doctors voice, "Last test for today, Acadia." He sighed and clicked his pen a few times for effect. His words rung in her mind: Acadia. A16. Test. It all swirled in her mind as she was suddenly jolted awake.

Her eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at her, everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of midnight. A kind of deja-vu settled over her, remembering Newts' previous wake up call. She opened her mouth to speak but a dirty hand clamped down on it, gripping it shut. The moment of familiarity vanished as panic flared in her abdomen: this was not Newt.

A second hand grabbed at her hands, yanking her up and out of her hammock, her surprised scream muffled by the large, calloused hand gripped over her mouth. Her eyes darted around the darkness, trying to find a hint at what was going on- or who this was. In a panic, she kicked her feet outwards, seeming the boy slamming back into a nearby tree, taking the girl down with him.

She let out a strained yell, the same hand clamping her mouth shut halfway through her attempt to gain someone's attention. With her hands now free, her began tearing at the hand, digging her nails into the sensitive skin. The boy hissed in pain, adjusting his hand to cover both her mouth and nose as he pinned her to the ground with his body, only a few feet from her own hammock.

She began to suffocate, a heaviness filling her head and lungs as they burned with a desire for air. She could feel the boy's breath tickle her face, a few loose sticks and twigs digging into her back, a warm liquid pooling beneath her. The boys free hand began to move once her attacks began to subside; her body deprived of oxygen. Both her hands grasped onto his arm, pulling weakly in an attempt to get more air. Her mind hazed in and out of unconsciousness, her body stiffening against her attacker.