𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 | maze runner

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 of metal filled the female teen's ears as she shot up from the floor. Her stomach curled violently and she threw up all the water from her throat and lungs. When all the liquid was gone, her chest started heaving as she gulped cool air into her scratchy throat and she felt her face burn with heat. She backed away to the edge of the metal elevator and turned her head to the side to watch as the cage-like box seemingly hurtled to the roof of the shaft. The girl would have screamed if her throat didn't feel like it was on fire, instead, her heart started banging against her ribcage, almost painfully.

The teen could feel something clutched in her left hand but she ignored it, instead, closing her eyes shut tightly. The stingy smell of metal filled her nose as she gripped what felt like paper, tightly in her hands, the sharp edges of it, cutting into her palm. The girl realised that she was going to die but that wasn't what was bothering her the most. The thought that disturbed her the most was that she had no memory of her name, her family, her friends, any places she'd previously been or anything else. The only thing that came to mind was a man's face. He had pale skin with a thin rat-like face and deep brown eyes.

The teen blinked and the man's face disappeared from her vision. She looked out of the elevator at the roof and closed her eyes again as the roof hurtled closer, the cage ready to hit the top. However, the teen felt the metal box slow down abruptly and a box beside her tipped over and fruit tumbled out and rolled to a stop next to her leg. She slowly opened her eyes and watched in fear as the roof of the shaft opened up and a bright light filled her vision, momentarily blinding her. There was a small bang as something landed on the bottom of the cage and it shook slightly with the weight of it. The girl opened her eyes to see a dark-skinned boy, roughly around the girl's age, with dark, close-cropped hair. He had a soft look on his face that slowly morphed into joy and the girl swore she saw recognition flicker on his features before it was gone.

"Hi," He spoke softly but the girl could tell his voice was naturally rough even as it was filled with emotion. He stuck a hand out towards the girl as he kept his distance, his body language the epitome of caution. "What's your name?"

The girl's heart started hammering against her chest as anxiety clawed at her. The boy started inching towards her and out of fear she grabbed a piece of fruit next to her. It was red and shaped like a slightly deformed sphere. It was smooth under the teen's palm and cooled her hot skin. She threw the fruit at the boy and it hit him square on the forehead. He winced as his hands flew up to the spot the fruit had hit. The boy muttered something under his breath as he stopped moving closer.

"I promise I'm here to help," The boy still spoke softly but there was an obvious frown on his face. "I'm sure you don't remember your name, it'll come to you soon, I swear," The girl reached for another piece of fruit, this one was orange in colour and the skin was rough and coarse. She raised her arm, ready to throw the fruit again but the boy raised his hands in front of his face in panic and quickly said, "I'm Alby just please listen to me! I understand that you feel confused, scared and panicked but I need you to trust me!" The girl faltered as the dark-haired boy inched closer to her. "Please put the orange down! I'm not going to hurt you." The teen gently placed the fruit, an orange was what Alby called it, on the ground, and the boy visibly relaxed.

"Where am I?" The girl's voice was hoarse and her throat stung as she spoke. Alby reached out a hand and the girl took it. "Why can't I remember my name?"

Alby pulled the girl up as he replied in a defeated tone, "I don't know where we are except that I came here the same way you did." He walked over to a wooden crate and pushed it over to the edge of the metal cage before stepping on it and climbing up and out of the elevator. The girl quickly followed and what she saw didn't help the nerves that twisted her stomach and made her feel sick again.