Born Again

Chapter one

Thomas was holding a gun. He had it pressed against another boy's head. The boy was begging him to shoot but Thomas didn't want to.

He didn't understand why. The boy already looked halfway to death, but still Thomas refused.

"Kill me!" The boy screamed.

"I can't," Thomas answered.

He started screaming again and Thomas shut his eyes, not wanting to see the crazed look on the other boy's face.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the woods. Everything was calm but he knew something bad was about to happen.

On instinct, he turned around, not even surprised to see a different boy standing there. He was mad.

Thomas wanted to run but he couldn't.

"Hey, Ben, right?" Thomas spoke against his will. "I don't think we ever . . . are you okay?"

That's when the boy lunged, knocking Thomas to the ground. He grabbed his shirt, spit spraying as he spoke.

"You did this to me! It's your fault!"

Thomas screamed in pain as the boy's nails dug into his flesh.

~~~

Thomas sat up, gasping for air. It was just a dream. Or one of those dreams.

For as long as he could remember, he'd been having strange dreams that predicted the future in strange ways. The first time he realized was when their president, John Anderson, died from a mysterious disease and Ava Paige took over. Only weeks before the incident, Thomas had a similar—though much more violent—dream.

There was more. Like the time when he was six years old and met a girl named Teresa. He told her that they were best friends in his dream but she just looked at him and told him he was weird. They stayed friends but Thomas never pointed out how similar their conversations in real life were to his dreams.

Also, let's just say when his dad left because of anger issues, Thomas wasn't surprised in the least.

What did surprise him is when Mom talked to him one evening, telling him he'd be going to public school.

"What's wrong with homeschooling?" Thomas asked that night.

"Nothing," Mom answered. "I just got promoted so I won't be home to teach you. Besides, you need more friends than just Teresa and Chuck."

Oh yeah, Chuck. Thomas loved that kid more than anything, though it was hard to look at him sometimes. In his dreams, the pudgy boy died. Once, was with a knife and the second time was with a gun. Both were equally terrible. Thomas tried not to think about how Chuck almost at the age that had happened.

"I'll make friends," Thomas promised. "Just please let me stay homeschooled. It's so much better than normal school."

"You've never been to public school," Mom noted. "How would you know?"

She made a good point.

That's why Thomas was awake at six in the morning (ugh), getting ready to go to school (double ugh), and make some "friends" (triple ugh).

Sighing, Thomas finished stuffing his new backpack and walked out the door. The school was only a few blocks away so it didn't take long for him to get there.

Upon arriving, Thomas stared at the wall surrounding the compound. It was made out of old stone, ivy grown over it, just like in his dreams. He shook off his unease, walking through the crowd and up the steps.

When he reached the top, he paused and looked back. He wasn't sure why, but it felt right.

As soon as he did, an Asian kid, about his age, ran through the gates and collapsed to the floor. He was breathing heavily otherwise Thomas would've thought he was unconscious.

Thomas smiled. He remembered this kid. He was the funny, sarcastic one. A bit annoying but also Thomas' favorite. He also remembered the boy running out of the Maze and collapsing. In the dream, Thomas went over to check on him so that's what he did now.

   "Hey, you okay?" Thomas asked, crouching down.

   "Yeah, I'm fine," the boy said between breathes. He looked up. "Who the klunk are you?"

   Oh yes. Thomas remembered the strange slang the people in his dreams used. Shuck, klunk, slinthead, shuckface. It was quite funny but people gave him strange looks when he used it. He just told them it was a homeschool thing.

   "Hey, kid," the boy snapped his fingers in front of Thomas' face. "Jeez, man. Focus. Look, if you don't wanna tell me that's cool but could you at least get me some water?"

   Thomas stood up, surprised. That's not how it'd happened in his dream. Of course, it was never completely accurate but he still expected the dark skinned boy to show up.

   "Um, yeah," Thomas said hesitantly. "I'll be right back."

   He ran inside, coming back a few minutes later with the cup of water. The Asian boy gulped it all in one sitting.

   He gasped contently. "Thanks." He glared pointedly at Thomas. "Now, you gonna tell me who you are or not?" His words sounded threatening but his voice had a tinge of amusement. As if it was funny Thomas hadn't bothered to introduce himself yet.

   "I'm Thomas," he answered. "I'm new here. You?"

   "Minho," the boy replied, leaning back on his hands.

   Thomas nodded, checking his watch. He still had a few minutes before class started. He sat down next to Minho.

   "So, Minho," Thomas started, very curious to know the answer to his next question. "Why were you running?"