Chapter 1: Awakening.
The blearing of the alarms, reverberating within the small compacted elevator, awakened the girl from the unconscious state she was in previously. She peered into the blackness, confusion filtering through her face, as she observed the transportation in that moment. The metal scraped against the walls, adding to the annoying symphony of the ear-splintering pandemonium of the alarm alerting them to something the girl couldn't decipher in that moment. The rattling made her head pound and her stomach to turn queasy as the motion flickered through her as she sat.
The aluminium crate that was transporting them to somewhere was box shaped in size allowing them little room to move beside the other objects occupying the space around them. Wooden crates sat piled above one another against one wall, while bags of food sat piled in the other, leaving the girls no room to move or stand as the box continued to barrel upwards.
Blake thought through many possibilities and scenarios as the crate continued to move, to the unknown destination. Her name was easy enough to remember but anything after that felt like liquid, there but not quite able to grasp as she desperately yearned for answers. Answers as to where they were going and who they could potentially be meeting, all possibilities more dangerous and awful as the list went on. She rifled through her brain eagerly searching for answers to the situation they were currently in. Where were they? Where were they headed? All these questions surfaced in her head as she glanced around the box, there was no door, no available exit that she could decipher, there was an opening at the top but was too far for her to push while standing. Which meant there only option was to wait it out and face whatever awaited them at their destination.
She glanced at the girl before her, innocently sleeping against the wail of the siren and the groan of the crate beneath them. Memories resurfaced as recognition developed and she remembered the girl before her was her twin sister. Blake couldn't decipher why she knew so much about her sister and what she was like, yet, everything else was simply a blur.
Adeline looked innocent as she slept peacefully against a bag of food without a care in the world, appearing like sleeping beauty, she looked that innocent. Blake wasn't surprised though; her sister was one to see the good in everyone and never noticed the dangers lurking beneath. This little trip to must seem like simple excursion to a better place for her, but Blake knew better, she never trusted anyone, apart from her sister. Even though they were twins, they were no-where alike. Adeline was the nice, innocent one but Blake she was the bitch and she was proud of it.
Suddenly, the box suspending them up lulled to a stop, cutting the alarm of abruptly. Silence settled over them like a blanket and dread swarmed in her guts, making her wonder what was going on. Adeline stirred from her sleep chamber and snapped her eyes open in alarm, as she peered at her sister in worry. That was another difference between them, Adeline was a scardy cat but Blake she was a warrior, who fought her own battles.
The sound of scraping metal trilled through the space as the lid above them opened and light glared through the gap, making the girls squint in pain. The sunlight came all at once - not a steady dawn or a trickle of rays. It came like the switching on of search lights from a chopper, violent and harsh. Blake brought her hand over her still closed eyes to shield them from the unwelcome intruder. The image of two figures came into view at the gap fully opened revealing the rescuers of their crate prison, Blake peered at the two boys through her fingers, as she stood before her sister, protecting her from harm if things went south.
"What the?" The sound of a British accent travelled down to their position and Adeline peered at the speaker in curiosity. Blake just framed her face in an unreadable expression. The above them was the same age as the girls, yet one was muscular in size with skin the colour of chocolate and wise trusting eyes. The other was skinny in size and had a more lankier build, his hair was a shaggy daffodil colour and his bored down at them hickory coloured awe.
"Let's get them up. Clear the stuff from the box and we'll figure this out." The coloured boy ordered into air, leader roll settling over him as he regained himself from the shock, obviously two girls weren't something that was normal to them. At the mention of the word 'them' more faces emerged over the hole, curiosity masking there features as they stared at the girls in shock horror. Blake folded her arms in anger, showing she wasn't scared from the beady eyes baring down at her, but Adeline shyed back a little with anxiety.
The two boys that had opened the grate earlier, jumped down into the hole, both branding ropes in their hands.
"Don't you dare touch us." She snarled as she grabbed her sister's hand in protection as she glared at the leader before her, but the boy didn't flinch, her just simply offered her a pitiful smile at her, making Blake's angel boil with rage.
"Look, I understand this is all new to you and you have no right to trust us, but please let us help you and your sister. And we'll explain everything to you. Good that?" She hated the fact he was talking to her in an annoyingly patronising manner but she reigned in her response, realising that not co-operating could land them in serious trouble and there was no way she was gonna put her sister in such danger. The boys awaited their response, letting them know there was no rush and everything that was going to happen would be on their terms.
"Fine, but if you lay a wrong hand on my sister, Ill rip your throat out." She growled, but the coloured boy just nodded to the boy beside him and he gently tied the rope around her sister, then with gentle precision she was lifted safely out of the box and onto solid ground.
"You are a feisty one but don't worry we won't harm you or your sister. I'm Alby and welcome to the Glade." He extended his hand in invitation and she reluctantly shook in acceptance, she had no idea what the Glade was and where they were. Yet, it seemed the place belonged to him, which meant they were residing in his territory, so she had no choice but to cooperate, if she wanted her sister to stay safe. Once Alby had acknowledged her cooperation he extended the rope for her to take, but Blake refused, there was no way she was gonna get pulled out a cage by a group of boys. She could take care of herself, so she walked to the wall of the grate and began to climb, upwards she went before she used the strength in her biceps to pull herself up and over the ledge into the open.
"Jesus Christ." A smug voice, filtered over to her, one she hadn't heard before and she glanced up and towards the direction of the voice. Her eyes sought out the owner of the voice, her brain registering a boy of Korean descendant, he was good-looking with a toned and muscled build, he smiled at her with a smug expression as he noticed her staring and she pulled away quickly on instinct. He was good-looking but that didn't necessarily make him a good guy.
The summer breeze was quite refreshing as it blew through her hair and flowed through her clothes. The smell of evergreen trees and bloomed, pollenated flowers leaked into her nostrils, making her sniff inwardly at the joys of summer smells eased her. The sun rays baked the meadow in a peaceful glow, making the livestock graze merrily in their paddocks and the trees sway to the soft breeze of summer. Wooden buildings were erected in one side of the meadow, showing the life of the residences there, but the most shocking view of all was the towering stone walls locking the meadow like a prison, what was beyond those walls Blake wasn't sure.
"What the shuck is this!" Another boy snarled, as he stormed between the group of boys before he stopped before Blake, anger plastered over his face. This boy before her was much stern looking, a big nose obscuring the majority of his face. His hair was a dirty blonde and his eyebrows were a thick walnut colour, Blake thought her could've been attractive if his face was scowled over in anger.
"Gally." Alby warned from beside her and her sister, after clambering up from the hole and regaining himself as leader once more. Yet, the boy, Gally didn't back down and he continued to loom over Blake with menace. Adeline scooted back a few steps in alarm but Blake kept her feet planted firmly to the ground as she stared back in defiance.
"No Alby! We've never had a girl come up from the box before, let alone two." He snapped towards Alby, spit flying from him mouth as anger rifled through his words, before he snapped his focus back to Blake. "What the hell are you two up to?"
"How the fuck would I know, dumbass? We're just as clueless as you are." She snarled back, anger lacing through her words as she glared up at the boy in challenge. A few of the boys in the surrounding circle shock their head in surprise, obviously not expecting the girl to snap back. Gally must've realised this to and he stepped forward, looming over the girl more this time. He got ready to snap something back before he was pulled from behind by two unknown boys, Alby ordering at him to leave.
"Gally leave now, you're not helping matters. Let me and Newt deal with this ok?" He ordered, Gally reacting to his words by shrugging out of the boys hold and storming of in the direction of the wooden buildings. Alby's dismissal seemed to spur on some of the others, as they wandered of in different directions, obviously growing bored with the situation and knew they probably wouldn't be allowed into the conversation anyway. Which left the sister's in the hands of Alby and the boy she assumed was Newt.
"Sorry about that Gally can be abit of a loose cannon, I'm Newt by the way. Welcome to the Glade." The British boy declared, offering his hand out towards Adeline, the boy seemed like a nice enough boy so she let the action go. If he was deadly, Blake assumed she could take him down easily enough anyway, and besides, she thought, if they were going to kill them surely, they would've done it already. Yet, they were still alive, which meant, maybe these boys weren't the enemies after all.
"Adeline, nice to meet you. And this is my twin sister Blake. As you can tell she's a bit of a firecracker herself." She trilled out a laugh as she shook her hand with Newt's, the action making her eyes twinkle slightly. Blake rolled her eyes at the action; her sister was always so trusting.
"Where the hell, are we?" She uttered glancing between the boys and breaking the moment between her sister and the British boy. They already called this place the Glade, but it didn't exactly explain a lot.
"This is the Glade and out there beyond the walls is the maze, but your forbidden from going in there. Access is along permitted to a select few. I'll explain everything further within the tour tomorrow morning but for now, let's go get you something to eat and a place for you to sleep." Blake wondered why the maze was off-limits, maybe they were hiding the exit, hoping to trap them in this prison forever. Yet, Blake didn't question him on it, Adeline was safe for the moment and besides, she was in no fit state for any running or escaping at the moment. So, let it go, and reluctantly followed after the leader and his assistant towards the wooden complex over the field.
...
Once the four of them had entered of the threshold of the room Alby had named the 'kitchen's'. Inside was a makeshift cafeteria, the room lined with wooden tables that seated the group of boys as they ate and chatted away to each other.
At the back was a counter, containing the food that was being served that evening, with a door leading to, what Blake assumed was the kitchen itself. The conversation lulled to a close as the twins stepped into the line of sight of the group, the boys observing them in awe, drinking in their appearances.
Thankfully Gally was nowhere to be seen, Blake wasn't sure she wanted another showdown with him again just yet.
"Girls this is Frypan, Frypan these are the new greenies." Alby spoke as he introduced them to the boy that Blake concluded as the cook. The boy was pudgy and was the same shade of chocolate as Alby. The boy looked a few years younger them, maybe 15 or so, but he seemed confident with his trade, so Blake didn't judge. However, he ears perked at the nickname greenie and she glared over at the boy with menace.
"Don't you dare call me that. My name's Blake and that's final." She ordered, with less venom then she would've liked, but the girls were on unsteady ground and she didn't wanna give them any ammunition to kill them or something relatively along those lines.
"Blake come on it's fine. Let it go, it's just a nickname." Adeline countered, as she placed her hand on her arm, anchoring her from saying something stupid. Adeline's orders were the only one's she followed, her sister was the only one she listened to.
"It's fine Adeline, Blake it is then." Alby smiled as he spoke to them professionally, showing them the boys weren't the enemy and that girls, could be one of them, regardless of how long it took. Newt placed four bowels of pasta onto a tray and walked over to an empty table to resume their conversation. Blake wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation, they had no idea where they were, who this people really were and what the hell was going on. Since arriving up in the box the only information they'd received was that they were in a glade surrounded by a maze. That was it.
With all this thoughts and questions hanging over them, Adeline continued to treat the boys as if they were old friends, smiling at them with kindness and showing just how accepting she was to the whole situation. Like Blake said, Adeline was too trusting for her own good. Yet, Blake she wasn't ready to let these boys in until she was absolutely certain they weren't out for their blood.
"Look I know this is strange for you all and you're probably asking yourselves a million question's. But everyone in this room has been in exactly the same position as you have, it may not seem like it now but everything will work out fine, it's just gonna take so time. So just trust us, please?" Newt explained to the girls, Adeline smiled obviously believing the British boys words, but Blake wasn't so sure. How did they know this wasn't a ploy to get the girls to trust them? The boys before them glanced between the two girls, gauging their reactions, anticipating their next move. Blake sighed a little, knowing that the best choice for them both was to co-operate and take every day as it came. Maybe Newt was right, maybe the group was all in this together, surviving the shit situation they were put in, just like the twins now had to do. So maybe Blake, should let it go, let down her walls a little and accept the kindness the boys were giving them.
"Fine, Adeline likes you lot already and I guess I could try and at least be civil. So, I'll co-operate. Ok?" She mumbled as she observed the boys one by one, she hated to admit it but maybe this was for the better and plus Adeline seemed like she enjoyed the presence of these boys and Blake was gonna mess that up for her sister. So, she was gonna be civil and she was gonna figure out what the hell was going on.
"Hello hello." The Korean boy interrupted as he slumped down in the seat next to Blake and offered his hand in welcome. "hey beautiful, I'm Minho and you are?" He grinned as he held his hand in the air, waiting for Blake to shake it. Reluctantly, she extended her hand and shook it, making the boy's ego to sky rocket with the action.
"I'm Blake and this is my sister Adeline." She said as she introduced her sister, at the mention of her name she waved from over her shoulder towards Minho with a smile, which he returned.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Adeline trilled politely, making Minho smile again at the grisliness of her voice.
"Why can't you be as nice as your sister Blake?" Newt laughed, making the others laugh also at his question. Blake however, didn't particularly like being laughed at she frowned at the boys in annoyance.
"Because I don't trust any of you. Because your strangers. If you lot haven't noticed the only thing we know about you are your names. How could you possibly expect me to act like my best friends when I know nothing about you lot. You lot could be a group of mass murders for all we know. So, excuse me for being on my guard. But whatever, I'm gonna get some fresh air." She grumbled, as she stood from the bench and exited the building. The night air blew gently through her hair and she sucked in the cool feel of the oxygen as it travelled down her lungs, relieving her from her angered state.
The cool air lowered her flared temperature, dampened her burning cheeks and slowed her pounding heartbeat. The stone walls loomed above her like guard giants, making curiosity well inside her. She knew Alby said the maze was of limits but Blake wasn't one to follow the rules and besides how bad could it actually be?
She glanced around, but the meadow was devoid of all life, which meant she was out of eye shot of any of the boys. With her stealth and the advantage of the darkness, Blake was able to approach one of the open doors undetected and stopped at a standstill at the opening. There wasn't much to look at besides an open stone hallway that branched over in directions that Blake couldn't distinguish from here. Basil green vines laced up the stone walls in certain intervals, patterning the cracked and broken walls with colour. Adding beauty to a derelicked wall.
Blake's curiosity wondered as she continued to observe the hallway before her, it didn't look very dangerous and who know what exits and answer's lay within? Why was she restricted from entering? Were they hiding something? Or were they trying to keep them in? Blake's need for answers increased and the want moved her foot forward on instinct, but just before her foot touched the border between grass and stone. A voice travelled over to her and she stopped.
"I wouldn't do that If I were you." Minho mumbled, she turned, eyebrows raised as she looked at the boy before her. His smug expression was back and his muscled arms were crossed, making his bicep seem larger than normal. Although, he didn't look worried about the fact that she'd nearly entered the maze, which seemed to confuse her thoughts about the whole situation more.
"And why not?" She questioned, eager for answers, hoping he would reveal atleast something about this mysterious situation her and her sister were in.
"Because the maze isn't a place you'd wanna be in at night. And before you contradicted me, believe me when I say no one has survived a night in the maze, no one." He answered mysteriously, revealing nothing of use to her, in fact making things even more confusing for her and producing more questions to formulate in her brain. As she stared at the boy before her recognition flicked through her brain and she watched as the feeling reciprocated through his eyes also. But just as fast as it came the feeling distinguished like a flame, making Blake believe it wasn't even there to begin with.
"Erm by the way, I'd move away from the door if I was you." He advised with a laugh and surprisingly, Blake believed him and she moved away from the door and over towards his side.
"Why what's so dangerous about a doorway?" She laughed sarcastically, as she glanced sideways at him through her lashes. Blake was somehow comfortable in his presence, she wasn't doubting him and second guessing his motives like she had been with the other's. For some reason she felt like she could let her guard down with this guy, something she thought she would never do with someone apart from her sister. Her smirked over at her, making her insides flutter a little, but she squashed them down as she took in the words he spoke next.
"Just watch." He nodded his head towards the entrance, indicating for her to watch as curiosity waved through her. Suddenly, the door let out an almighty groan and the sound of screeching metal cut into the air, splitting her eye drums and causing them to ring. Blake threw her arms up on instinct and covered her ears with her hands as she watched transfixed as the stone walls, defied all laws of physics and pounded to a close. Shutting the outside world out and trapping the meadow and themselves in.
"What the fuck." Blake mumbled in shock as she pulled her hands away from her ears and whipped her head over towards Minho, who was laughing at her reaction from where he stood.
The only thing that filtered through her brain as she stared back over at the doors was,
What the fuck is this place?
BTW: The girl on the left in the cover photo is Blake and on the right is Adeline. I know there meant to be twins but I wasn't able to find one with grey hair and one with brown.