WICKED property || Maze Runner (Janson Fanfiction)

Chapter II

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Esmeralda found herself staring around the large canteen, teenagers chattering all around her. It was overwhelming. She had spent so long in the Maze, with the same group of people that all the new people looked intimidating. The gaurds who had escorted her there had just left her standing at the door. Esmeralda looked at each individual table, taking in everybody. On one table sat a group of girls, all talking and laughing. At another table was a group of boys. One of the boys was an Asian boy, sitting next to a blonde boy. Both of them were talking to the guy sitting opposite them, a skinny, brunette boy

She saw a table that was empty, apart from a miserable looking boy who had his hood pulled up over his head. He stared at the table, not eating his food. Esmeralda sighed and sat down on the opposite end of the table. The boy looked up at her but he didn't smile or anything.

"Hey. My names... Eve." Esmeralda said politely, trying to introduce herself to the boy. She was debating whether to tell him her real name or not, but decided she wanted to wait until she could trust him.
The boy didn't answer straight away, "I'm Aris." He finally muttered.
Esmeralda smiled at him but she was unsure of what else to say.
"I haven't seen you before. You're new?" Aris smiled back.
"Yeah, I am. Are you from a Maze as well?" She was hoping he would say yes, so she could relate to him about something. He nodded.
"Yeah... You are too, I guess. Where's the others, from your Maze?" Aris looked around the canteen as if looking for them. Esmeralda shrugged. The truth is, she had no idea where they were. They were probably taken to some other facility.
"I don't know. What about you? The others from your Maze?" She asked, wondering if he's in the same situation as her.
Aris also shrugged, "I don't know either. Me and Rachel were brought here but... Rachel was taken the first day and I haven't seen her since."
Esmeralda thought about what Aris just said. Rachel and Aris were separated, but where's Rachel now?

She didn't have time to ask the question though, because the canteen fell silent and everyone was looking at the front. Aris sighed, not affected by this sudden change and he just looked down again. Esmeralda turned to look at the front as well and saw Janson walking forward, holding a clipboard and staring around at everyone. He opened the clip board, giving a brief explanation of what was happening.
"You all know how this works. If your name is called, please join my colleagues behind me." His voice was monotonous, as if he does this everyday. He stared down at the clipboard and started reading names off the list, and one by one the named teenagers stood up and walked to the front, forming a line.

About 5 kids were called, when Janson paused and cleared his throat.
"Last, but not least..." He paused and his eyes scanned the hall until they fell on Esmeralda, "Eve."
Everyone clapped, but Esmeralda just froze. Aris looked up suddenly and stared at her, suddenly looking worried.
"Don't go... This how they took Rachel..." He whispered, the clapping died down and everyone stared at her. She had no choice.
"Sorry, but I've got to..." She whispered back. She looked to the front and Janson was just staring at her, waiting. She hesitated, thinking that now her question about Rachel was finally going to be answered. Just not in the way she thought. She swallowed hard then slowly stood up, but Aris reached across the table and grabbed her sleeve.
A hushed whisper fell over the hall. Esmeralda shook her head at Aris, not wanting to cause a scene.
"I wasn't able to help Rachel... But these people aren't who they say they are... Don't go." Aris hissed, trying to warn her. She already knew she was dealing with WICKED, she knew what they were capable of but still she had no choice.
"Aris, I'm-" Esmeralda was about to respond, but Janson cut her off.
"This is very sweet, but we have a schedule. Come on, Eve." Janson sounded impatient.

For some reason, she changed her mind. She wasn't going to be so cooperative with them anymore, even though she told Janson she would.
Esmeralda sat back down, an act of defiance even if it would be shortlived. Janson gave her a deadly glare, warning her not to test him.
"I'm getting fed up. Get up here, now." He definitely sounded pissed off now. Aris sighed in relief. He was glad she wasn't going to go, not without a fight at least.
Everyone was silent, waiting for something to go down. They didn't have to wait long. Janson, realising she wasn't going to listen, signalled to two of the gaurds. The gaurds immediately understood their order and made their way towards Esmeralda. She sighed, knowing what was coming. Suddenly, she got an idea. Aris said that these people aren't who they say they are.