𝑳𝒂𝒃𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 - ᴀ ᴍᴀᴢᴇ ʀᴜɴɴᴇʀ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

0𝟼 - 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗

A/N: This chapter contains a trigger warning for mentions of mental health struggles, self-harm, insomnia, paranoia, and references to traumatic experiences.

Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies or offensive depictions, and I will edit them ASAP. I never want to offend anyone. I've included light-hearted humor in chapters that seemed too heavy, as it's sometimes Wren's way of coping with her experiences. But, please let me know if this humor or any other content is written in a way that is offensive or inappropriate.

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I woke up to the sounds of hurried footsteps approaching my bunk.

"Take her to the Slammer," a voice commanded as two men grabbed me before I could even open my eyes, one by the arms and the other by the legs. They headed toward an enclosed space with a heavy wooden door. A jail cell.

"What the fuck– no! Let me go!" I yelled, echoing throughout the Glade.

"Slim it, pretty face!" one of them snarled.

Their voices merged with the past— "Hold her down!" from another time, another place. "Don't be a coward!" He chuckled.

"No! Let go!" I twisted and wriggled, trying to break free but I failed. "Let go of me!" I kept yelling and didn't care what anyone would think of me. My throat became hoarse until I couldn't shout anymore.

The two guys started talking but their words were distant. I couldn't understand them—my mind was elsewhere as I fought back tears.

Their touch. Rough hands on my skin felt like chains, forcing me back to that cold room.

As they carried me to the Slammer, the present faded. One moment I was in the Glade, the next, I was back in that cold, blue-lit room, my back against the icy metal cot, and the equipment rattling filled my ears.

I kept on struggling to break free, my heart pounding so hard I felt light-headed. I was losing my sense of reality and it didn't help that I didn't get any sleep last night.

I couldn't breathe. My eyes hurt.

Just before reaching the Slammer, I managed to slip away from their grips while they were distracted and bolted towards the woods, not really sure where else to go.

But since nothing ever goes according to plan, someone grabbed my arm from behind and yanked me back with such force I almost twisted my ankle before I could enter the wood. He then wrapped his arms around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides, and lifted me off the ground, carrying me back toward the others.

I got caught.

Touching, again.

"Fuck you!" I yelled, my voice breaking slightly.

He chuckled, "Oh shut up, Greenie."

I can't go back. Please, no!

Not again.

My breath hitched, my chest tightening as panic set at my throat. I couldn't tell apart the now from then.

It's happening all over again. 

My eyes were shut tight until I heard Gally chuckle.

"Well, if it isn't one of our best Runners. She was incredibly fast, yet you still caught her." He clapped slowly.

I opened my eyes, blinking away the tears.

Tears?

I spat on the ground next to Gally, glaring at him and his minions: Hank, the two guys who had carried me earlier, and the rat-faced guy again, named Pete.