This is a short prologue, chapters will be longer as the story advances.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMR or any of its characters. However, I do own my OC, Rachel.

CHAPTER ONE:

Forgetting

A constant, intense alarm had broken out in the chamber and was soon followed by the agitated sound of footsteps. The young girl ―she was seventeen at most― managed to push her way between some of the scientists and stormed out, her footsteps pealing throughout the bright hallway. The shouts didn't stop as they ran after her and tried to get a hold of the red-haired female, to no avail.

The muscles of her legs burned in weariness, but she increased her pace as adrenaline rushed down her veins and sweat began to cover her pale features. Her green eyes scanned the surroundings as she roamed the passages, but there was nothing but wide walls and cracked tubing. However, she told herself not to stop, to keep running, no matter the circumstances; she was not allowed to give up just yet. Not when she was so close to accomplishing her goal. She had to go back to them, to her family. She needed to tell them the truth, to soothe their weary hearts.

Even though that would mean returning to the Maze and facing the constant danger and the feeling of being trapped once again.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks after rounding the last corner. A metal door stood blocking the way, large enough for two people to walk through at the same time and manage not to even brush against one another. For a minute, she hesitated. If there were people inside that room, her attempts to escape that place would turn out to be useless. And when that possibility crossed her mind, she almost took a step back. The girl wasn't sure if she was ready to face the unknown danger that could be waiting for her at the other side of that door. Fortunately or not, her hesitation faded away when the voices of her captors echoed behind her, louder than ever, signaling that they were getting closer.

Out of habit, the red-haired girl bit her lip before placing both hands on the door and pushing. Much to her suprise, nothing but an impenetrable darkness greeted her. Her lips pursed into a curious, suspicious frown, and she took a cautelous step forward. Nothing happened; no light illuminated the room, and no sound alerted her of the presence of any soul. After coming to the conclusion that she was, indeed, alone, the young girl began to walk forward. She didn't think, not even for a minute, that she was walking straight into their hands, until the floor disappeared, and she found herself falling into the darkest of abysms.

-#-

A surprised scream echoed throughout the dark room ―or cell―, and Thomas could only groan in pain when something landed straight on him. His face slammed on the hard ground as his body collided with it, and soon enough, the iron flavor of the blood flooded his mouth.

"Bloody hell," the something muttered.

It was then that he realized what he thought to be something was, in fact, someone. A girl, to be exact.

She rolled over and stood up from his back, one of her hands clutching her aching head as she did. Then, she glanced around, as though she were trying to figure out where she was, before Thomas came into her sight. The boy was sprawled across the ground of the cell, and his eyes were staring at her as if she had grown three heads. Upon noticing him, realization crashed on her, letting her know that she had finally achieved the first part of her plan.

A slight smirk formed on her lips as she stared down at Thomas, hands placed confidently on her hips.

"Morning, Greenie," she spoke calmly, and her voice echoed throughout the cell, cutting across the silence that had enveloped Thomas since he had woken up. "Name's Riley."

Thomas didn't know what to say and merely continued to stare in utter astonishment at her. Apparently, that wasn't the response Riley was expecting, for she rolled her eyes, and a displeased expression spread across her furrowed features.

"Of all the shanks I could run into, it had to be a bloody thicko."

Her British accent was strong, and the harshness in her words was enough to snap Thomas out of his stupor. He glared at the girl, but didn't make an attempt to stand up. The room he was in was moving fast and loudly; he didn't want to make a fool out of himself by stumbling and falling over. Besides, Riley didn't need to be given more reasons to insult him; she had already made a good first impression.

"Thomas," he finally said, causing a grin to creep on her face.

-#-

Chancellor Ava Paige watched closely the situation before her. The screen showed two people; a boy and a girl. Both of them were very well known in the agency, WICKED, each of them for different reasons that were thoughfully explained in their respective files. Gaze not wavering from the screen, the old woman tapped her chin and listened to the conversation happening between two of their most valuable subjects. Truth be told, the news regarding Riley's getaway had taken the Chancellor by complete surprise, and she hadn't stopped shouting at everyone nearby until the girl had been finally found by one of their surveillance cameras.

"We managed to insert a serum in her system," someone informed from behind, to which Ava Paige smirked evilly.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the blond-haired Chancellor turned on her heels and walked over to her usual chair.

"We've done everything that was in our hands, then."

The man who had given the news to her, Dr. Norman, approached, a slight frown drawn on his face.

"If you'll excuse my curiosity, wouldn't it be best if we took her back?"

Ava Paige furrowed her brows for a second, as though she were pondering the answer. Glancing over to the screen in front of her, she finally gave the scientist the reply he was waiting for.

"She will have an important role. They will see her as the portrait of hope, expectation. However, she will also raise distrust among the community, especially when they discover about her little amnesia."

-#-

Riley was having problems trying to deal with Thomas' anxious movements. He was sitting on the ground, his brown eyes glancing around frenetically. With every cracking noise the cell made, he would tense even more.

"Will you shucking stop?!" she finally snapped, her hands running through her long, red hair as she tried to focus.

She couldn't help but think something was very wrong. An uneasy feeling had settled on the pit of her stomach, and confusion was growing so fast inside her it was beginning to drag another emotion to her mind: panic. As Riley mentally shook her head, she tried to put her thoughts back in order, to focus on the real reason she was there.

But..

Where was there?

"If you ever try to escape, I'll make sure you will forget everything about the Maze," Dr. Norman's voice seemed to echo in her mind as she suddenly remembered their last encounter.

Her eyes looked around frantically, only to be greeted by boxes and tubes. Taking deep breaths in order to calm herself, Riley ignored the frenetic movements of Thomas as he attempted to grip onto something that could help him keep his stance.

Riley massaged her temples, before she suddenly realized something. She was in the Box, which was increasing its speed, and that only meant they were reaching their destination: the Glade. But, it was not possible. The last thing she remembered was… falling. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about that; the sensation of falling was clear to her, yet she couldn't figure out where she was when it happened. And, at the same time, the girl couldn't begin to understand how come she was back in the Box; it just didn't make any sense.

"You will also forget everything about us," Paige had warned.

From her point of view, with no memories at all about the previous events, she had been put in the Box by someone who obviously wasn't any of the Gladers, or else she would be hearing them bragging about having rescued her.

Suddenly, the room came to a halt, consequently stopping her trail of thoughts, before a metallic sound reached her ears. Bright light flooded the cell and glared into her confused, green eyes. For the first time ever, Thomas was quiet next to her, but Riley was paying him no attention at all; she was focused on something else. Familiar voices could be heard as the Gladers talked from above them. Riley squinted through the intense light in order to catch a glimpse of someone or something, which soon proved to be a pointless attempt.

"I can't believe this," someone muttered after some seconds of sudden silence.

Whispers followed then, too many of them to get anything clear.

"Isn't she-"

"No shucking way!"

"Who is it?"

"A girl?"

"But, isn't she-"

Again, after some noisy seconds, silence crashed upon the Glade. However, Riley couldn't bring herself to give a shit about the shock spreading across the Gladers upon seeing her; she was way too immersed into her own concerns. For some reason, she felt like her mind was being absorbed; her memories were leaving her and being replaced by an empty, cold hole.

"Newt!" Someone shouted.

A name.

But it wasn't just a name to Riley, considering the amount of feelings that came with its remembrance. However, the more she thought about him, the less she could picture his face in her mind. His chocolate brown eyes became dull, until they were nothing but blank holes in the face of someone who once meant the world to her.

Someone jumped down from the world that spread above her head and landed directly in front of her, which caused her to immediately drift her attention towards them. A young boy was staring at her, disbelief danced in his chocolate brown gaze, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. She scanned his dirty features, from his blond locks to his thin lips. There was something so familiar about him, something she couldn't quite grasp in her mind.

"And, just for good measure, you will forget everything about him."

An expression of utter desolation and panic crossed his face, and the shadow of distress covered his eyes when she frowned and asked,

"Who are you?"

EDITED: 10/07/2016