I Know Places [Thomas The Maze Runner]

[01: The Girl]

Her eyes opened. The girl was immediately submerged in darkness, her ears welcoming the sound of metal grinding against metal. Breath quickening in panic, she raised her trembling hands to feel around her in the darkness, attempting to figure out where she was. The screeching sound that seemed to echo eerily in her eardrums gave no hint of what was happening. Her head pounded. The skin of her hand came in contact with the cold, hard exterior of a metal floor. It was strange to the touch; the floor had gaps, like a gate or cage.

Her breath quickened as anxious thoughts spun around in her head, all wondering what happened to her and why she couldn't remember anything. The strange room she was in felt like it was moving upward like an elevator, which did nothing to resolve her dizziness. The speed of the room was growing faster and faster, almost in pace with her own heartbeat thudding angrily in her chest and eardrums. The girl knew what this feeling was. Terror. She tried to remind herself that there was a reason for all of these bodily responses: adrenaline. The idea that she could identify what was causing her body to respond so erratically gave her some relief.

An uneasy feeling bubbled in her abdomen, and she thought that she might throw up from the speed at which the metal cage was moving. Her heavy breathing seemed as loud as everything else in the room, and she felt my eyes watering as her throat closed, making it difficult to breathe. A choking sound escaped the girl's lips in an attempt to unlodge the feeling and get her breathing back to normal.

Hearing her cough, someone called out, "Hello?"

She was startled, a quiet shriek escaping her lips as she realised somebody was in the room with her. It was a boy's voice with a deep timbre and timid tone. "What's going on?" the girl yelped. Her own voice was unfamiliar to her ears. "Who are you? And where are we?"

"I don't know," the boy confessed. His voice was significantly deeper than the girl's, and it sounded coarse like he hadn't used it in a while. "Do you--" he paused. "Do you remember anything?"

The earliest memory that rose to the surface of her thoughts was waking up in that very cage. She couldn't remember anything except the whisper of a name. Her name, she guessed. But something in the back of her mind told her not to trust it. "I don't know. I don't think so," she admitted. "Do you?"

"Not a single thing," he replied, sounding frustrated and exhausted. "Look, I'm confused and I'm pretty terrified right now. I'm just trying to figure this out, same as you."

A hand brushed her arm, causing the girl to jump in surprise. The boy had found her in the darkness and reached out, offering her a lifeline. It felt better knowing she wasn't the only one going through this. She felt his hand trembling and, out of instinct, covered it with her shaking hand. Their fingers interlocked, and he squeezed her fingers tightly. Even though the girl had no idea who this boy was, She didn't hesitate to cling to any semblance of comfort.

"I think we're in some sort of elevator," the girl said eventually, mostly to break the silence and party to bring herself out of her head. Almost as soon as she got the words out, all movement ceased, and a bright light flooded their vision.

The girl's eyes squinted to adjust to the change in light as her free hand rose instinctively to cover her eyes. Once she was accustomed to the gleaming lights, she moved her hand out of the way to see a group of boys standing by the opening of the elevator, towering above them. Stumbling back in surprise, the girl retreated as far back into the elevator as possible.

With trembling legs, she leaned back against the cage for support as she glanced over at the boy who was trapped with her. He was tall with broad shoulders and dark brown hair. The distance between them severed the contact between their hands, and the girl noticed how she instantly felt less secure. The boy in the elevator wore a blue, long-sleeved shirt rolled up to reveal his forearms with dark pants and comfortable athletic shoes. A glance down at the girl's own body revealed nearly identical clothing.