The Maze Runner|| Newt

Chapter 10

That night is when they started.

It was cold in the pit and I laid against the stone wall shivering, with my bare. legs pulled up to my chest.

Sleep came and went but never for longer than an hour. Every time my eyes closed and consciousness faded from my body my mind began to burden me with its secrets. My eyes closed again and sleep took over my body.

"Come on, push harder." A stern voice came through a speaker to my right. My heart was beating out of my chest, going faster than humanly possible. I wouldn't have been able to respond even if I wanted to. All I could focus on was taking air in and out of my burning lungs. There were several cords attached to my arms, chest, and head as I ran. My legs were numb under me and I was sure I'd faint any time. I was running on a treadmill of sorts but it was large, circular and part of the floor, outlining the floor closest to the wall.

Blinding lights lit up the room, reflecting off the white walls. "Faster!" The voice commanded, sounding angrier this time. I tried listening, I tried pushing myself harder but I couldn't. How I was even still moving was a mystery to me. My entire body was drenched in sweat, my clothes clinging tightly to my body. The baby hairs that fell from my ponytail stuck against my face. My chest burned, my hole body felt like it was on fire and before I knew it everything went black.

The next time my eyes opened I was somewhere new. Bright white lights made me squint when I awoke. I instinctively tried to bring my hand of to cover my eyes but discovered I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move either. I tried lifting my head up to look down but remained still. I could feel the leather strap holding my head down to the metal table under me. The same straps were tied around my wrists and ankles.

I tried to open my mouth to talk or shout or anything but my throat felt as dry as the desert, I swallowed hard, hoping to lubricate it but it only ached. Metal clattered against the floor and my eyes immediately moved to the source of the noise. My head pounded from the movement but I did my best to ignore it.

A middle aged blonde woman stood next to me, a loving look on her face contrasting the situation. "Shh, it's okay." She cooed at me and that made me wonder just how old I was at the time. Her soft, slightly wrinkly hands took hold of my forearm and I used every bit of strength I could muster to remove my arm from her grip but it did nothing more than twitch in her hands. She turned away from me for a second to reach something and when I saw what was in her hand my eyes darted around as panic filled my chest.

A syringe with a rather large needle was filled with a bright green liquid and she was bringing it closer and closer to my vein. No matter how hard I tried to pull away from her my body wouldn't move and all I could remember was a small whimper leaving my throat as she injected me with the unknown liquid.

Again I was in a new room, all white but this one had padded floors and walls except for one wall full of weapons from floor to ceiling. I held a dagger in each hand. Both matching with a black handle and very sharp silver blade. The one in my right hand had some blood along the side of it and I hoped it wasn't mine. I didn't feel any pain other than some aching in my arms and legs. A boy stood in front of me in all black, his face was a bit blurry but I could make out his dark brown hair, sticking up in weird spots. He looked to be around 11, pretty short, and his face remained blank as he charged toward me with a knife of his own.

I dodged but he managed to nick my arm, drawing some blood. The spot stung but I ignored it and moved forward, trying to slice his arm. The boy brought his knife up to block mine and succeeded. My dagger almost fell out of my hand from the impact and the sweat covering my hands certainly didn't help.

The two of us continued fighting, slashing each other's arms but not doing any real damage, that was until his knife ended up in my gut. For a second I saw sheer panic and fear flash in his eyes before it faded and he stepped away from me. The knife wasn't too deep but I didn't dare remove it for fear of losing even more blood than I already was. It was seeping into my white shirt, coloring it a bright red.

My chest heaved with each staggered breath I took, I felt light headed and hot as I shakily stepped away from him. A strong feeling of betrayal filled my chest and I couldn't explain why. Who was this boy to me? Why were we fighting? Why did he made me feel like my heart was being ripped from my chest?

Before I knew it I was sliding down to the floor, my back against the wall, trying to stop myself from losing too much blood.

A scream ripped through my throat and it felt so painful and raw that I couldn't tell if it was the dream or if I was actually screaming.

"Hey are you alright?!"

I hear someone's panicked voice from beside me and my eyes finally open. My head pounded relentlessly and my throat was rubbed raw. I brought my hand up to my neck and swallowed hard hoping it would ease the pain. A layer of cold sweat covered my body. On the other side of the barred window sat a panicked looking Gally with messy hair and the dark night sky behind him.

I'd clearly woken him up, he was shirtless and had bags under his eyes. I didn't say anything in response, I didn't even know if my throat would let me. Looking away from him I lift up my shirt a bit to expose my midriff and find a white, raised scar where the knife hit me. Unsure if it were real or if my mind was just playing tricks on me I trace the scar. With the light from the lantern Gally was holding I got a clear view of the damage, as did he.

There were many other scars on my abdomen but none nearly as bad. "Shit..." Gally mumbled under his breath, probably looking at them wondering the same thing I was. How the hell did I get all these scars? My nightmare didn't answer any of my questions but added to the list of them instead.

"Are you alright?" He asks again, a hint of worry lacing his voice. Slowly I lift my head up to meet his eyes. "I-" I started, and cleared my throat. "I don't know." I answered honestly. "I'm sorry for waking you." I say, looking away from him again and focusing on my hands resting in my lap. "It's fine. I don't usually get much sleep anyway."

It was silent for a moment, awkward, the only thing I could hear was the quick beating of my heart and my breathing. "Does- does anyone here get nightmares? Not normal ones though, like- memories?" I ask, wincing as I swallow saliva. My voice was all rough and my throat ached with every word.

Gally's thick fingers gripped the metal bars. "No. No, none of us have any memories whatsoever other than those who've been stung. And we never talk about it."

'we'
Gally's been stung before.
Hold on what the fuck does he mean stung?!
I pray to God he's talking about bees but with my luck that's not the case.
And Jesus why did Newt have to leave out so much important information in the tour.
I should've just put up with Alby.

"What sort of stuff do people who've been stung remember? The real world? Their families?" My chest felt heavy, I didn't remember my family or anything about the real world. After everything I have seen I'm not sure I'd want to. If all that stuff happened to me then the world can't be that good of a place.

Gally opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it again and grips the barred window harder, his fingers turning white. "Nothing good." He says, shaking his head and dropping his hands. Neither of us saying anything and after a moment he stand up to walk away. Just before he's out of reach I say, "What about being tested?!"

He stops immediately, his head shoots back to look at me for a second before walking away again and leaving me in the dark.

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