Six Feet Under.

chapter fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: NEW LIVES

     Layla found herself sitting next to Newt as the Doctors didn't have enough room to put her anywhere else—but she felt safer knowing she was next to one of her oldest friends. She stared down at her fingers, as if waiting for a dark cloud of shadows to burst out like in the video tape. It was... unsettling to know that she was different from the others, and it might've been why WICKED wanted her in the first place.

Still, there was a hint of relief. Layla was one step closer to knowing who she truly was, and that was more important to her than she had previously realized.

"Uh," she looked up at the sound of Newt's voice, watching as he looked at a needle wearily. The doctor glanced up at the blond upon hearing him speak. "Wait, what is that?"

"Just a little cocktail." The doctor held the needle up, "Calcium, folate, vitamins A through Z. Pretty much everything you've been deprived of out there." He finished with a nod, lifting up Newt's arm. "Try to relax."

     Newt still looked weary, but he allowed the doctor to give him the needle. After doing so, the doctor took a few minutes to set up another one for Layla. The girl watched as Newt looked down at his arm, before deciding to look around at the rest of the Gladers that were getting check ups.

     "Hold out your right arm please." Layla brought her attention back to the older man, turning her head to see him looking down at her with a needle in hand. She hesitated, sighing softly before she complied. She winced as the needle pricked her forearm, but it wasn't so bad.

She felt more uncomfortable by the thought that the needle held something else, and that the man was lying. The pain wasn't her biggest concern. However, after taking one look at Newt, and seeing the calm look on his face, she relaxed the littlest bit. She would trust his judgement.

At least, for the moment.

     "There..." The doctor muttered softly, placing a bandaid over the spot that she had gotten the needle as a drop of blood slipped through. "You're all done."

     Layla held her head in her hands at the sounds of the chattering between teens. A headache began to grow, but the boys around her seemed just fine as they continued to talk to each other, and another group of boys who were in mazes, just like them.

     After Layla and Newt were given their needles, they were quickly led into a cafeteria with the rest of the Gladers, and much to their surprise, it was full of kids who had gotten stuck in a maze just like they did. It all felt so... surreal.

Layla felt a little bit less alone.

     "Hey, Thomas!" She could hear Minho walking away, so she could only assume that he'd gone to go fill in Thomas on what was going on.

     "...And there was this big, loud explosion, and these guys came out of nowhere." A boy continued explaining his story of his maze, and how he got out. Layla wasn't exactly sure when he showed up, but he had been explaining his story for quite some time. "Started shooting up the place."

     "It was intense." Another boy agreed, who Layla didn't catch the name of either.

     "They pulled us out the maze and brought us here." The first boy finished.

     "What about the rest?" Newt asked curiously, but was met with silence. He continued, "the other people left behind in the Maze, what happened to them?"

     The boy shrugged, "I don't know. I guess WCKD still has them."

     "How long have you guys been here?" Newt asked curiously.