Listen ~ The Maze Runner ~ Newt

12 ~ Memories

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Age 9:

"Danielle?" A woman with short blonde hair says to a 9 year old Danielle. "Yes Mummy?" She replies, placing her dolls back on top of the pile. "We have to go somewhere to keep you safe from the Flare and the Cranks, ok? You know how I've been at work a lot, doing something big?" The woman asks, guiding the young Danielle away from her toys. The young girl nods her head, her long brown waves bouncing. "Well, that's because I have been designing a new place that you, and all the other children your age can stay in while we find a way to get rid of the Flare." The woman says, grabbing their coats from the hooks.

Outside, you can hear the screams and shouts of the turning cranks, which makes the woman move a little quicker. "How long will we be staying there?" Danielle asks, letting her mum slip the coat over her arms. "I'm not sure. A while. That's why I need you to be a big girl and leave your toys behind now, because if we don't go now, we might get caught." Danielle bites her lip and nods her head once more, watching her mum slip her own coat on and the two leave the house.

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Age 13:

"You know what they are doing. Don't you?" Another girl, who looks rather similar to Danielle says. "They are finding a cure, aren't they?" The only boy in the group asks, as the 4 children peer through the big glass window that seperated them and the new children. They thought that they were the only 4 children in the facility for the past 3 years so a lot questions were circling their heads. Like why were these new children any different from them? And why were they being kept on the other side of the glass?

"Yes, Thomas. They are finding a cure. But Teresa means what are they doing to them right now." The second girl says. Thomas, Teresa and the other girl turn to look at Danielle, who was watching the children their age through the glass with a sad expression. "What has your mum told you?" Teresa pries, clearly being the one in the group with the most amount of confidence.

Danielle looks to her feet. "They are scanning them to see what their chips say." Danielle whispers, moving away from the glass.

The truth was, Danielle knew there had been other children in the facility for a while now, despite what they had all been told. And when she asked her mother about it, she was told everything.

Teresa, Thomas and the other girl look at Danielle in confusion, not understanding what she was saying. "They were brought here when we were brought here. They have always been kept on that side of the facility because they have different blood to us. Blood that might be immune to the Flare. They are being tested to see how their brains work." Danielle tries to explain, though she knows it doesn't make much sense.

"You know those injections we've been having? Well, they are filled with the stem cells of the other children over there. Our brains have something different to theirs which means that when we are exposed with the semi-immune stem cells our blood works on becoming immune itself. Meaning that in a few years time we could have the cure flowing through our blood."

"That's-" The third girl starts to say, but Danielle's mum comes through the door seperating the children from the others. But she wasn't alone, she had a small boy behind her.

"Danielle, Teresa, Aimee, Thomas." Danielle's mum greets each child, pulling the new boy out from behind her. "Hi Mum." Danielle says, while her friends say, "Hi Mrs Paige." All in chorus.

"Girls, Thomas. This is Elijah. He is going to be helping you make that maze you've been designing. He is going to be staying with us too, so I hope you all become good friends."

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Age 14:

"Newt! You aren't supposed to be here!" Danielle laughs as her 'best friend' runs and engulfs her in a bone crunching hug. But when she realises that the older boy is somewhat crying, her facial expression changes dramatically. "Newt? What's wrong?" She whispers, hugging the boy back.