" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

thirty-four.

[CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR]
the truth revealed

~

The next time Eleanor awoke, she felt the padding of a slightly uncomfortable mattress beneath her. Her head hurt something fierce, resting on a lumpy pillow. A shaky sigh of relief fell from her lips as realization flooded over her, for she knew the feeling of her own cot in the Homestead.

It had all been just a horrible dream.

Eleanor rubbed her eyes as she sat up in the bed, and as she lowered her hands to her side once more, it took a moment for her vision to adjust to the brightness of the room. She was more than ready to get on her feet, for she felt the sudden urge to find Newt and throw herself into the boy's arms. The dream had felt so real, and thinking back on it then was almost enough to send her into yet another sobbing fit.

Eleanor's eyes eventually adjusted to the bright lighting, though what she found caused her stomach to twist inside of her. The room that she was in was much different from the one she shared with Minho in the Homestead. All she saw was white. White walls, white marble flooring, and a single white door was on the wall opposite of her. The only furniture in the room was the bed she lay on, which was covered in a snow-white sheet, and a white wooden desk across from it. The only color in the entire room was a bright yellow flower sitting in a vase atop the desk.

It hadn't been a dream.

Tears brimmed Eleanor's eyes as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Though as soon as her bare feet hit the marble flooring beneath her, her legs buckled and she collapsed on to the ground. Her entire body felt weak, her legs aching almost as much as her heart inside of her chest. Eleanor cried out in pain, shakily pulling her legs to her chest as she laid helplessly on the floor.

"Someone help me!" Her voice was scratchy, as if it hadn't been used in days, and it sounded almost foreign to her. There was no answer to her plea for help, and her voice only echoed off the disgustingly white walls. She laid her head back on to the floor, squeezing her eyes shut and letting the tears fall.

The sound of the single door in the room opening caused Eleanor to stop moving, though the girl didn't dare move from her spot on the floor. The sound of shoes clicking against the marble flooring grew louder as whoever had entered the room approached her. A figure appeared in her vision, kneeling down beside her, and as her vision adjusted, she realized that it was a woman. Dressed in all white with black hair cut short, the woman stared down at her in confusion, her lips moving though no words came out.

Eleanor let herself go limp as the woman pulled her to her feet, carefully guiding her back to her bed. She collapsed on to the sheets, staring blankly at the woman as she waited for her to speak. Though she only handed her a glass filled to the brim with clear liquid- she wasn't sure if it was water or not, for she didn't trust these people one bit.

Eleanor only stared skeptically at the glass in front of her. "Why would I take something from the people who wiped my memory and sent me into the Maze?" she asked bitterly, her words dripping from her tongue like venom.

The woman almost seemed amused, though she wore no smile on her face as she spoke. "Honey, we didn't send you into the Maze," was all she said, and this only made Eleanor all the more confused. Once again the doctor handed the glass towards the girl, though once again, she refused it.