control ⇢ the maze runner / thomas [1] ✓

Chapter One

"When you're out there, you're fighting to survive."

CONTROL,
CHAPTER ONE

THE GRINDING OF metal filled Ruby's ears, an ear splitting sound that set her on edge. She hurriedly scrambled into the corner, gasping for air as she looked around. A smell akin to burning oil met her nose. Where the hell was she? It was so dark down here as whatever she was in, was this a cage?, lurched upward. Ruby felt like she was going to faint, or vomit... whichever happened first. This space was almost too small for her... Ruby pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head in her hands. With no other option, Ruby began to sob. She didn't know where she was or where she was going and she was afraid. Did she even know who she was?

The first memory that Ruby had, that she could remember anyway, would be one of nightmares.

Her metal encasement jerked to a stop and Ruby sat there, panting and crying. Slowly, like it was trying to tease her in some way, the top began to open, beams of sunlight blinding her. Ruby looked up, squinting from the harsh light, and saw faces of every color. She was surrounded by boys. How wonderful, right? "Yo, is that a girl?" Ruby's head snapped towards the direction of the voice, but she couldn't quite make out which boy had said it.

It was clear to see that she was terrified.

One of the boy's hopped down into the box with her, making Ruby jump. He had brown hair, or was it just a dark blonde?, and his ears kind of stuck out a little. There were a few, okay more than a few, freckles scattered across his face. When he had first come down, Ruby thought his eyes were green or grey but now she was sure that they were a beautiful shade of blue. He had sort of thin brows that made him look a bit confused and angry and Ruby found it terribly off putting, but she didn't think he was a bad person...

The boy moved towards her and Ruby crammed herself farther into the corner, staring at him with wide hazel eyes. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." Ruby had been here all of five minutes, and she was already trying his patience. "Ya gotta come out sometime", he continued, holding out his hand. Ruby stared at him for a while longer before slowly placing her hand in his. His hand was much larger than hers, practically engulfing her dainty one, but it was warm and comforting. He pulled her to her feet with ease, staring at her with cold eyes. "I'm Gally", he finally grunted. Without giving her time to answer, he helped her out of the box. That would be the last time that Gally was ever a real gentleman to her. Sure he was never really a cruel boy, but he did tend to be a downright jerk at times. And yet, Ruby still saw him for what he was: a scared boy who deflected his anger.

But this mutual understanding wouldn't come until later.

Because at this moment, her only concern was getting out. And, unfortunately for Gally, that meant catching a knee to the crotch. The boy groaned as he fell down on his knees, covering himself. Without hesitation, Ruby took off running. She had no idea where she was going, but some part of her seemed to know enough. "Hey! Hey, stop! For God's sake, grab her!"

It wasn't hard for someone to catch her. She was weak and tired, and some of them appeared to be strong boys in good health. A pair of arms wrapped around her, lifting her straight up. "Let go!", Ruby shrieked, flailing her arms and legs as best she could. "Put me down!" The boy threw her over his shoulder, grabbing her wrists. Ruby was terrified. She was in some strange place, full of boys who made her uncomfortable. And she was not going down without a fight. Growling like a dog, Ruby sank her teeth into the boy's exposed flesh — right where his neck and shoulder met.

"Ow — you crazy bitch!" The boy yowled in pain, flinging her to the ground. She licked her lips, the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. All of the boys were now staring at her, like she was a crazed animal. Maybe she was.

Ruby felt much smaller than she usually did, though she was quite tall for her age, under the scrutinizing eyes of so many boys. Shaking like a leaf, she curled into a fetal position. There was a brief exchange of words before Gally pulled her up and began to drag her away. "Where are you taking me? No. Let go. No!" Except something made her com. Ruby jerked her arm out of Gally's hold to stare at one of the boys, eyes locked on him like a lioness who had found her prey.

She looked like she had seen a ghost.

His dark hair was cropped short, though it was a bit messy, and his dark brown eyes had a kind look about them. There was a little mole on his cheek, right above his lips. Ruby tilted her head. She felt like she knew this boy... Somewhere, in the back of her brain, a distant memory was forming. This boy... She knew his name. Somehow, she knew him. Toby? Tom? Tobias? Tyler? "Thomas." The word was just barely above a whisper, but it was enough for more than a few of them to catch on.

All the boys turned to stare at the boy, whose thick brows arched in confusion. "You know her?"

The boy, apparently Thomas, stammered over his words as he tried to think of an answer. "I- uh- maybe?" A dark skinned boy said something to Gally, something about a Slammer, and he was once again tugging Ruby away, but Ruby couldn't take her eyes off the boy in front of her.

MAY 7, 2018
EDITED SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
just a reminder if you didn't read
the first draft, that i'm going off
the movie descriptions instead of
the book descriptions, just because
all my books are currently packed
away and i don't have any way to
access the descriptions.