Tears of Gold

The rat man🐀

"Thank you for meeting with me, Venus." Janson says as he opens the steel door and enters the room, another too-genuine smile on his face. My hands drop from my necklace to my lap, my fingers fiddling absentmindedly with each other. 

"Not like I had much of a choice." I reply, blowing a piece of damp hair away from my face.

"Well, I won't take up too much of your time seeing as you still have to have some tests run, blood drawn, vitamins, et cetera, but I figured we should have a quick chat away from the others."

"Then let's get on with it." I say, mentally rolling my eyes. Janson stares at me for a moment, still smiling, but something in his eyes seems almost menacing. 

"I really only have one question." He says after a beat of silence, still eyeing me.

"Shoot."

"What do you remember about WICKED?" He asks, all hint of fake kindness gone from his face. I raise my eyebrows, forcing my hands to stay in my lap instead of going to my necklace.

"I'm sorry?" I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You're not in trouble. I'm just trying to understand."

"Understand what? There's nothing to understand. I was sent up into a Maze for three fucking years with no memories. Suddenly, some random boy comes up in the Box and finds the way out. It's as simple as that." I reply with a shrug. Janson looks at me again as if he's trying to figure me out; to see if there's something that I'm not telling him. I can't help myself from thinking about the fact that he looks almost like a rat. Something in his features...

"Do you remember anything about WICKED?" He rephrases.

"Nothing that'll be of any use to you. None of it makes sense anyways."

"Try me."

I let out a sigh, brushing my hair off of my shoulder before fiddling with my necklace. Janson's eyes flick down to it before he looks me in the eyes again, waiting for me to tell him about my memories.

"I dunno." I finally shrug. "From what I can remember about the memories, which isn't much, by the way, I think one of them was my mother." I spit the word out like venom. Janson's eyebrows raise slightly, his eyes flicking up to something on the wall to the left of me. I look up, but Janson clears his throat quickly, causing me to look back at him.

"You were saying?" He asks. I furrow my eyebrows slightly, but continue with what I was saying.

"It's all just kinda confusing and fuzzy now. I don't really remember much."

"Do you remember what she looked like?" He asks.

"Nope." I reply, popping the 'p'. "Just that she was a complete bitch."

"Fond of cursing, are you?" Janson asks.

"Fifteen." I say with a sigh, running my hands through my hair.

"I'm sorry?"

"Just counting how many questions 'till you hit twenty. You're on a roll." I reply with a smile. Janson sighs, looking down in frustration. I can see him struggling to keep his composure. The thought of it makes me want to laugh.

"Where'd you get the necklace?" He asks, looking up at me with a glint of malice in his eyes. My smile falls, my hands immediately flying to it.

"Excuse me?" I ask quickly, my heart thumping in my chest as I try to keep my hands steady.

"The necklace. Where'd you get it?"

"Last time I checked, it was none of your business." I snap, trying to keep my emotions hidden from the man sitting across from me. Something about him seems too familiar. He doesn't respond, but the hint of malice stays evident in his eyes as he smiles wickedly at me. "Look, are we done here?"