WICKED property || Maze Runner (Janson Fanfiction)

Chapter VII

||

Esmeralda hardly slept. She kept having nightmares. Dreams about the Cranks, and her younger brother turning and attacking her. Nightmares about the Scorch and the sun flares. She couldn't tell if they were dreams, or memories. She woke up bright and early the next morning, knowing that yesterday she'd agreed to escape WICKED. It was a mistake, she thought. They were safe at WICKED, in comparison to the outside world, at least. But, the other didn't know it was WICKED. All part of the trials, she told herself. She was intervening in the trials, and she knew Janson wouldn't be very happy about that. He'd already warned her, after she tried telling Aris it was WICKED.
Still, she'd agreed to escape. She wondered if them escaping were part of the trials. An idea planted into their minds. She could never be sure with WICKED.

Esmeralda ate breakfast, as usual, in her room. She was only allowed in the canteen some days. She didn't understand why, Janson had lifted her punishment. After breakfast, she was taken to the lab for her daily blood test. While the doctors were extracting her blood, Janson walked into the lab. He smiled at Esmeralda and walked over to where she was sitting.
"Good morning, Esme." Janson looked at the doctors, who stopped drawing her blood and pulled the needle out. They moved out the way, and Janson sat down next to Esmeralda on the medical bed. He looked serious now, no longer smiling.
"I hope you've been behaving yourself." He gave her a stern look. For a moment, Esmeralda thought he knew about the escape plan.
"Yeah, of course I have." She said calmly, trying not to sound suspicious. "As long as you haven't been... You know, planning stuff behind my back." He definitely knew. Esmeralda didn't know how he knew, but WICKED probably had cameras and mics everywhere. He was just warning her, making sure she was aware that he knew.

Esmeralda shook her head, even if there was no point lying, "No."
Janson stood back up again, and glared down at her.
"I don't want you to be in the canteen today, Esmeralda. You can have lunch in your room." Janson said firmly. Esmeralda knew he was trying to prevent her from seeing Aris.
"But-" She started, but Janson cut her off.
"No. You're going to eat lunch in your room. Don't argue with me." He put a hand on her shoulder, gripping tightly. Esmeralda gulped, then nodded. She wasn't going to argue with Janson. It wouldn't end well. He nodded as well before standing up and leaving the lab.

She spent the next few hours in her room, doing absolutely nothing. She had finished all the tests for today, and luckily there wasn't any experiments. She sat, thinking about the crazy thing she'd agreed to do. She wanted to escape, but her mind kept going back to that elevator... The closeness between her and Janson. But then she wasn't sure she could survive anymore experiments like the Maze Trials. She didn't want to abandon Aris either. Janson also knew about the whole idea, meaning he would do anything in his power to prevent her from leaving.
She wanted to see Aris again though, before the big escapade.
Esmeralda thought about the vents. It was the easiest way to get around the facility undetected. She jumped off her bed and knelt down on the floor, peering underneath. She saw a vent, big enough to fit through. She got down on her stomach and crawled under her bed.

Esmeralda tried pulling the vent cover off, grunting from the effort. She gave up, instead trying to unscrew the nails keeping it attached to the wall. She also gave up with that. It seemed impossible. How did Aris manage it? She suddenly thought of an idea. She pulled her hair pin out of her hair and used it to unscrew the screws. It worked, though it took a little while. She pulled the vent cover off, and crawled into the vent. It was dusty, dark and cold, and it made her cough.
She started crawling through the dingy vent, having no clue where to go. She didn't know where Aris's room would be. She crawled through the vent, until she reached another vent opening. She heard voices on the other side. Male voices, by the sounds of it. She listened, hoping it was Aris's room. She didn't hear Aris, but she recognised one of the names. Thomas. Ava and Aris have both mentioned him. He must be pretty damn important. Esmeralda pushed the vent cover off, letting it hit the floor with a loud clang. She heard exclamations from the boys, as she crawled out from the vent and out from under someone's bed.