A Way Back - The Maze Runner (♡Newt)

Chapter 2

Published: March 5th 2018
Edited: 09-09-19

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At first, I didn't know I had woken up from my peaceful sleep. My head was drowsy, but I thought I was hearing voices around me. More asleep than awake, I opened one of my eyes slightly. This seemed to be harder than it normally was, which hinted me off that I must still be dreaming. With my half open eye, I saw it was still dark around me, so I closed it again without paying any attention to the grassy smell that made its way up my nose. 
     Less than a minute later, I actually did hear a voice, a males voice.  "Is she sleeping?"
     "Yeah, I think so..." Another male voice answered.
     "What should we do? Should we wake the Shank?" I tried to ignore the voices, but I couldn't. There were two of them, both sounding somewhat familiar, but it was hard for me to actually place them. Were they from my brothers? It was the most obvious answer, which is why I decided it must them. 
     "I don't think she's sleeping, man." The first voice spoke up again. Ezra? I think it was Ezra. The voice did sound older, definitely older than Darren.
     "I was sleeping, assholes." I mumbled in my sleep drunk voice. "Now go have your tea party somewhere else, or you'll regret ever being born." I tried to turn around, but that was when I felt something hard and cold poke me in the side. Auw... what the h... what am I lying on? As I opened my eyes to look at what I assumed was my bed, I saw that it was the ground. Not the floor in my room, but literally ground. I was outside.
     "What the- HEY!"  Before I could ask anything, the two grabbed me by my arms and pulled me up. "Darren! Ezra! Let me go or-" I looked at one of the boys, it wasn't my brother, they both weren't. I hadn't seen either of them ever before in my entire life.
     "Who are you? Where am I?" The two didn't answer me, they just looked at each other for a short moment before one of them spoke up.
     "To Alby." The boy who spoke decided. I think he had black hair, but it was too dark to see. The other one nodded in agreement, not doubting the other boy's idea. That's when they started dragging me with them.
     "What? Alby? Who's that? Where are you taking me? Let me go!" I started resisting, I tried to wiggle my arms free, I placed my heels in the earth while still screaming at them to let me go. It wasn't working, they were stronger than me. Of course they were, two boys from that size? I didn't stand a chance.
     Then I remembered something I learned at school and dropped myself to the ground. One of the boys let go of my arm so he wouldn't get pulled down with me. The other one lost his balance. Quickly, I grabbed his leg and pulled him down. Which also forced him to let go of my other arm. Not losing another second, I crawled up and started running in the opposite direction from the one they had tried to drag me to.
     "HEY! Come back!" One of them yelled after me, but I ignored him. I did look back, though. One of them was already running after me while the other was running in the opposite direction. They're never gonna get me. I'm faster. I thought while I kept running. Stupid. I should've looked ahead, because when I turned back, I couldn't stop anymore and ran into a wall at full speed. 
     The only thing I was able to do was protecting my head with my arms, resulting in a burning pain in my left one. I didn't have time to care, though, I had to get away. I jumped up and started running again, alongside the wall. It was difficult to see ahead in the dark. But the moment there was a gap in the wall, I would take it. I just needed to find one. Only I didn't. I reached the end of the wall, it was a corner, the wall just went on in another direction.
     Panic started to take over, realizing the situation I was in. While looking around, I saw the boy still coming after me, he was catching up. Realizing that following the wall probably wasn't going to work, I ran to the only other place I saw where I could hide. A forest.
     I reached it pretty fast. Turned out it wasn't really a big forest and most of the trees looked dead, but I had to find a place to hide, so I kept running until I found a tree that seemed firm enough to hold me. It was a big tree, and I kept climbing for as far as I thought the branches could hold me.  
    Eventually, I sat down on one of the branches close to the center of the tree. My heart was pounding, I could feel the adrenaline mixed with panic burning in my body. Okay Cally, calm down, calm down... OW! For Gods sake! That's not going to work! I need to find a way out! Where the hell am I?
     I got ripped out of my thoughts when I heard voices. Subconsciously, I held in my breath as I looked down, hoping that I would be able to see anything from so far up in the dark. Fortunately, I did. It were two guys, I guessed. I still couldn't make out a lot, but I heard the voices.
     "Are you sure?" One asked the other.
     "Yes, I'm sure. It was a girl, she was lying on the ground, we woke her and that Shank ran off!" It was the guy that hadn't run after me. The one with what I thought had been black hair.
     "Okay. We'll find her. She can't get away now anyway. She must be here somewhere. Go get Alby and Newt. I'll continue to look for her." One of the guys ran away, but the other one was still standing there. He was looking around, don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look up. I chanted inside my head. The moment he ran away, I started breathing again.
     Okay. Let's think. I thought to myself, trying to get everything in order. They're looking for me. It's a good thing most people don't look up while looking for someone. Anyway, I need to orientate myself. There are walls around me, but I'm outside so there has to be a way out. The dark is a problem. I can't see a lot and it's possible those guys know this place better than me. So, I need to wait until the sun comes up. I wouldn't have the darkness to give me cover, but at least I can see where I am heading... Wait....
     I looked down at myself, I was still wearing the clothes I had been wearing when I fell asleep. Including my beg. I opened it and looked inside. Everything was there. My water, keys, mp3, extra bag, phone, and most importantly, at the moment, my pocket knife. I took out the knife and clicked it to my belt. This way I can defend myself if it's ever going to get that far. I so hope it won't though....
     I sat in that tree for hours,  I couldn't sleep. Not that I tried. Sleeping on a branch this high up? If I fell off of it, it would hurt. A lot. The whole night, I could hear people walk around. Sometimes, they would pass by the tree, but none of them were smart enough to look up.
     Finally, the sun started to rise. At least, there was sunlight, but I couldn't see a sun. Weird... well, come to think of it, I didn't see any stars even though there weren't any clouds, wait? Were there clouds? I already can't remember... what the hell is this place anyway... Something started to click inside my brain. I didn't know what exactly yet, but there was something about this place that felt familiar. Like I knew this place or I had been here before.
     "I'm tellin' ya, we're not gonna find that bloody girl! I don't think there even is one." Another boy walked by, talking loud enough for me to hear. This one seemed to have a British accent. Something I would've found attractive if I hadn't been scared for my life right now.
     "Gally said they-"
     "That Shank is messin' with us! This doesn't make any sense. We've looked everywhere, there is no girl and there never was." I couldn't hear more of the conversation because they kept walking, but the words of the guy with the accent had given me some hope. They thought I wasn't really there, which was good for me so I could escape easier.
     A few minutes later, I hadn't seen or heard anyone, so I decided it was a good time to climb down and try to find a way out of here. Wherever 'here' is anyway.
     I started to climb down, I wasn't a very good climber, never was. But it went okay. When I reached the ground, I decided to ditch my shirt, wearing just my black tank-top. It was purple and stood out way too much, especially since the purple streaks in my hair were already doing enough standing out on their own. I had dyed strings of my brown hair a deep purple, I loved it, but at the moment, it was inconvenient. I hid my shirt under some leaves and started sneaking to the edge of the forest.
     It was still a little dark, but there was enough light for me to see my environment. I saw a field, on the other side of the field there were... animals... what? Animals? Where am I? Quickly, I shook my head. This wasn't the place nor time to ask myself that question. I could see another wall, it was covered in some kind of plant. Of course! I could just climb the wall!  Yes, I know, maybe not the idea of the year, but it was better than aimlessly running around. I looked around one more time, I didn't see anyone near me. There was someone by the animals, and I could see two people walking with their back turned towards me.
     It's now or never. I thought to myself when I started running. It was a far run, but I had to make it. Unfortunately, someone saw me.
     "Hey! There! The girl! Catch her!"
     I started running faster, I never knew I could run that fast, but being scared for my life may have something to do with it. As I reached the wall, I jumped up, grabbed the thic strings of ivy, and started climbing.
     "No! Stop! Get off of it! It's not safe!" One of them shouted at me, but I didn't listen. Of course they would say that. They're trying to catch me, well no freaking way.
     That was when I heard a loud squeaking noise combined with rambling. The wall started to shake, and then it moved. I started to panic again, I tried to hold on, but couldn't and fell to the ground.
     "Son of a bitch..." I mumbled, rubbing my head and looking up to the giant wall that had started to move. I couldn't stop staring at the enormous piece of stone that kept inching to the sides, slowly revealing a long, dark hallway, with more walls covered in ivy. When the walls stopped moving, the deafening noice went away with it. I couldn't pull my eyes away from the hallway that seemed to grow darker with the second, an airly feeling creeping up on me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
     "Are ya okay?" My heart jumped when I heard a voice from way too close for my liking. The guys had caught up to me and were now surrounding me. There were about seven, but I could see more coming. I glanced into the hallway that just appeared behind me, I knew I should just take off into it, wherever it went should be better than here. But an irrational fear had taken over my body, I didn't know what to do. Seeing no other way out, I jumped up and pulled my knife from my belt. Some of the boys took a step back, except for two. The two that had been the last guys to pass by my hiding tree.
     "Put the knife down." One told me, an Asian guy with dark, spiked up hair. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, showing his biceps. He's definitely stronger than me. Was the first thing that crossed my mind.
     "No freaking way, Pretty Boy. Now back up. I'm leaving." I said, hoping my voice sounded far more intimidating to them then it did to me.
     "Calm down, Greenie. You can't leave, it's-" the other one, with long sandy blond hair started, but I cut him short.
     "Don't call me that and don't tell me what I can't do!" Good one Cally, you almost sound like a ten-year-old.
     "Okay, just put the bloody knife down." The blonde one continued. "We're not gonna hurt ya."     
     "Not happening." In stood my ground. At that point some other boys had joint us. One of the two who had woken me and another one, his skin was dark with really short, black hair. The one woth darker skin got closer to me so I turned to him, my knife in front of me. "Stay back!" I shouted at the guy, not wanting any of them to get any closer. He did as I said with his hands in the air, as a gesture that he wasn't going to hurt me.
     "You need to calm down, Greenie." He said.
     "Alby don't..." the blonde one said as the dark guy, who apparently was Alby, started to slowly walk towards me.
     Wait... Alby... My mind had started to put it together. Things clicked in my brain and the realization made me giving myself a mental face-palm.
     "Of course!" I exclaimed, "that took me long enough! Way too long, actually." Now the guys looked at me with confusion."You're Alby-" I said while gesturing at him with the point of my knife. "-You are Gally." I continued while pointing at the black haired guy who had woken me. "That makes you," I turned to the blonde one who had a British accent. "Issac- no, wait... Issac Newton... you're Newt! And you!" I pointed at the Asian guy. "You... the Asian Runner... ow what was his name... Mickey... no no, Misha. No that's not it..."
     "Minho." He stated, a mixture of confusion and suspicion in his voice.
     "OW! Of course! I knew that. Anyway it doesn't matter. I'm dreaming. Ow, thank God! I thought I got kidnapped or something." I lowered my knife and took another good look around. That's why I thought it looked familiar. I'm in the Glade.
     The realization that I was dreaming had calmed me down entirely. I had seen The Maze Runner as a movie when it came out and had literally just started reading the first book, it was only logical that my subconscious had made me dream about it. The only thing that was off was how realistic it was. But then again, it had happened many times before that I didn't realize I was dreaming inside a dream and though a flying head and fire breathing cats were entirely normal. 
     "You'r not dreaming." Alby said, looking at me as if I was crazy.
     "Of course I am." I stated. "How else is this possible? I mean, the Glade? That's not real. I'm dreaming for sure."
     "How do you know you're in the Glade? We didn't-"
     "Like I said. I'm dreaming. I shouldn't have started reading. This dream is absurdly realistic. I like it though. Never knew I would be able to dream like this."
     "She's crazy." I heard Gally say, not bothering to lower his voice so I wouldn't hear him.
     "Yeah, I'm crazy, completely bonkers. But let's be real, Gally. All the best people are." I said as I turned to him. He backed up, for a moment I didn't get why, but then I saw the knife I was pointing with. "Ow, sorry. Let me just- put this back before I stab someone's eye out. Probably my own." While I said it I put it back in it's little holster.
     "Since you already know our names." Minho started. "Mind to tell yours?"
     "Ow yeah, my name's Callidora, Callidora Noble." I said with a bow. "But call me Cally."
     "You know your last name?" One of the boys I didn't know the names of asked me.
     "Yep, I just told you, didn't I?" The boys who had gathered around me started mumbling to each other.
     "Shut it, Shanks!" Alby called out. Everyone stopped talking. "I call a Gathering. Minho, get the others. Newt, stay with us. Everyone else. Get to work!" The group of people thinned out until it was just Alby, Newt and I.
     This is weird. I've never dreamed like this. If I didn't know better I would say it was real. But then again, I'm in the Glade, so it's most definitely a dream. When I looked up at Alby and Newt I realized they were staring at me. "Sorry, did you ask something?"
     "Do you remember more?" Alby asked, he was clearly getting annoyed.
     Not seeing the point in lying, I answered honestly. "Yep, what do you wanne know?"
     "What's your age?" Newt asked me.
     "17. Was born on July 21st."
    The two guys looked at each other, I could swear they were communicating silently. "Let's go." The blonde guy said, turning to me. The two had apparently reached a silent conclusion. "We need to get ya to the Gathering." Alby started walking first,  I doubted a second, not knowing if I was supposed to follow first. Newt noticed my hesitation and nodded after his friend, which was enough for me to know I needed to follow Alby, so I did. Newt followed me, making sure I didn't run off again.