𝑳𝒂𝒃𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 - ᴀ ᴍᴀᴢᴇ ʀᴜɴɴᴇʀ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

0𝟿 - 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 & 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐

A/N: This chapter contains a trigger warning for the mention of self-harm, mental health struggles, and emotional distress.

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I was in the lounge of Her office when one of Her assistants called, saying She needed me in one of the patients' rooms.

When I entered, I saw Her talking to a boy, one of Her patients.

He looked about my age, 14 or maybe 13.

"Oh, here she is," She whispered to the boy on the cot beside Her. "Lilith, this is the boy I was telling you about. You're going to help him with one of the challenges." She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

She gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Don't be scared of these challenges. They make you stronger and braver. And now, you have a friend by your side."

I reassured the boy with a smile, which he quickly returned.

His smile was so cute, I could stare at it for days.

Why did She do that to me? To us.

Out of all people, why Her?

A loud screech jolted me awake. "No," I whispered, panting as I sat straight up, tears still fresh on my cheeks. The remnants of the dream lingered, leaving me confused and unsettled.

Damn it, I fell asleep.

My eyebrows furrowed when I noticed the fire pit was still on, bigger than earlier. I leaned back on the tree trunk, steadying my unstable breaths. That's when I saw a shadow on the other side of it.

Leaning slightly to my left, I spotted Minho sitting on a log, methodically carving sticks into spears.

I gave him a questioning frown even though he wasn't looking at me.

"Nothing gets in here. You're safe." He said with a flat voice without looking at me.

I noticed something was wrapped around my shoulders. It was my button-up.

"Newt found it." He mentioned before glancing at me, "Why aren't you in the Med-hut? It's not safe out here."

I wiped my dried tears and frowned, "You said it's safe."

"I meant with all the guys here. It's not safe." He raised his eyebrows at me, giving me an attitude.

"You're a guy." I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "And it was too dark in there, so...I couldn't sleep." The area around the Med-hut was enveloped in darkness, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Aw, looks like someone's afraid of the dark." He teased under his breath. "Don't worry, there's no monster under your bed because it's already here around the campfire." He scoffed, not looking up from carving.

"Now that you've mentioned it, you're actually what I imagined a monster to look like," I smirked. He quickly shot daggers at me before he went back to what he was doing.

"Why are you here?" I asked, noticing the sun rising, I'd been asleep here all night.

"It's not like you own the place." He grumbled before standing up when he finished carving. "Get back to the Med-hut before Jeff freaks out." He stated flatly, carried all the spears, and jogged to his bunker for the Runners.

This guy really can't have proper conversations.

Back in the Med-hut, Jeff examined my arm and advised me not to use it too much to avoid reopening the stitches.