A5 // The Maze Runner

Chapter 1

My eyes burst open to reveal only utter darkness. As I laid on my back, water clogged the back of my throat suffocating me. I flipped onto my stomach and heaved out the water through the squares in the floor.

I gasped for air as it finally reached my lungs and I could take in my surroundings. I was inside a metal cage with tiny boxes carved out of them with just enough availability to see through.

Beneath me was pitch black, to my sides were gray walls and above me was even more black with only a single red light following along the wall, a few meters in between each light to guide the path.

What the hell was I doing here? Now it occurred to me I don't know how or why I was here. But did someone know I was missing? Did my family know I was missing? Family. Wait who was my family?

I began to panic as my thoughts went haywire and I couldn't remember anything except one word: (Y/N). (Y/N) must have been my name although it sounded wrong. As if it left a bitter taste in my mouth as I said it aloud.

I pushed that thought away when a loud siren echoed through the tunnel. I collapsed to the ground with my hands cupping my ears to mask the blaring noise but it went on for a while.

I took my hands off as I looked up towards the noise. The faint outline of a door came into view triggering my breathing speed up again. The lift was rising extremely fast meaning the ceiling was coming close at an immense rate. I was going to crash.

"Help me!" I screamed to anyone although I knew somehow no one was going to come rescue me.

I pinched my eyes shut as I gripped onto the floor, bracing for the impact that would most likely kill me.

The lift stopped abruptly sending me into the air and slammed back down on my stomach. As I pushed my back against the closest wall, I inspected the barrels and crates beside me; the letters W.I.C.K.E.D engraved in white were on each of them.

Suddenly, bright light filled the box, temporarily blinding me. I shielded my eyes with my arm as I looked down at the black beneath me. Wherever I came from was very far down.

"Newt what is it?" I heard a voice say above me.

I dared myself to look up so I did hesitantly. Above me we're thirty boys staring down with confused faces or smirks.

"It's a girl," a British accent said. I darted my eyes between the boys looking for anything familiar but to my dismay, nothing.

Different voices rung above me as the lift shook with a new person joining it.

"Is she cute?"

"I call dibs."

"You can't call dibs!"

"No one touches her."

"Why is it a girl?"

"All you lot slim it!" The British accent yelled up to the boys and I realized that's who was inside the lift with me.

"Names Newt, greenie. Don't worry I'm not gonna hurt you," he said calmingly as he held his hand out for me to take.

I slipped my hand in his, feeling a sort of shock of familiarity run through me. I knew I had seen him before yet I couldn't remember where from.

"Here let me get you out of the box," he said as a rope was lowered down to me. He had me step into a loop and hold onto the long end.

I was quickly lifted onto the grass as if I wasn't any weight at all but I still stumbled on my feet a little before strong arms helped me up.