"This whole place is a Maze." Beth said darkly, her grin vanishing. "We're at the centre."
Lise was speechless. A maze? How? Beth couldn't possibly be serious, yet her usual smile was non-existent, replaced by a thin line. In her short period of time knowing her, Beth had never once stopped smiling - even when Harriet and her were fiercely arguing - except for now. She was as serious as the grave.
"That's the only thing we can think of." Beth continued, setting off at a brisk pace towards the forest in the distance, bordering the thick grey walls. Lise stumbled after her, straining her ears as Beth spoke on, her hurried speech keeping pace with her stride. "I mean, why else would we be put in the middle of a shucking grey square?"
"Do you know what's outside those walls?" Lise questioned in a small voice, her tone wavering.
Beth scoffed, rolling her grey eyes. "Course, toss. I went out to see for myself. I'm tellin' you, it's a maze, with twisting walls and everything."
They walked on in silence, Lise keeping pace slightly behind Beth so that she could observe the girl's body language. She was rigid, her broad shoulders tense and her movement jerky and stiff. Even though her movements were off, Beth's stride was fast, and She was powering her way through the thick field with an ease only one with much experience could project. Lise trudged behind her tour guide, forcing her heavy legs to propel her onwards toward the curtain of black trees.
As they reached the forest, Beth turned sharply to the right and continued her soldier's march, barely casting a glance backwards to check if Lise was in tow. She was, but only just. Lise had stumbled after Beth, tripping over a loose root and face-planting into the hard, infertile soil. Lise had let out a long sigh, and hauled herself to her feet, staring enviously at Beth, who always knew exactly where to step on their invisible path.
The silence became far too loud for Lise, and she found herself grasping at strings of conversation, trying to drown out the blood rushing past her ears.
"You really know your way around here." Lise commented drily, wincing as long blades of grass scraped at her legs, leaving sore-looking scratch marks.
Beth snorted at Lise's bitter tone, slowing her pace to walk by her side. "Course I do, shank."
Lise breathed heavily, her lower ribcage and thighs burning. "How come?"
Beth smiled again, shifting her gaze from Lise's red face to the blue sky stretching out ahead of them. "I've been here awhile - learned the trade."
Lise waited patiently, taking the opportunity to catch her breath while Beth had a moment for herself. Beth let out a withheld breath, and wiped an inch of grime off her forehead. Lise looked at the older girl, willing her to speak.
"Look, Greenie." Beth said, still looking out into the distance, her eyes fixated on the sky. "You're the fourth of us. We're the only ones here - me, you, Harriet, and Sonya. I've been here two months. Harriet's been three and Sonya's only been here for one. You got that, stick?"
Lise nodded, stumbling to stay at Beth's side.
"Harriet won't tell me what it was like the first month. Heck, I don't know how she survived alone for so long." Beth paused, letting Lise contemplate the case of Harriet.
Harriet, alone, scared, without any memories. Harriet, surviving for a month in a completely barren land, with nothing. Lise felt a surge of sympathy; she had been alone in the thing during her journey to the Glade, and she had almost gone insane. How could Harriet have done it, being alone with her thoughts for so long? She had nobody to pull her out of the thing; there was nobody to give her a tour of the Glade and nobody to distract her from her terrifying thoughts. If Harriet was anything, she was unbelievably strong.
"But then I came along." Beth spoke up again, drawing Lise's thoughts back to the girl with disgusting hair. "And Harriet's eyes were filled with shucking hope! She looked so happy; she had found somebody." Beth's voice dropped to a hiss. "Then I had to shucking ruin everything. Now Sonya's her second in command."
Lise waited, but Beth didn't continue. She was biting her lip, slowing her walk as they reached their destination.
They were at one of the four walls, and it was even more menacing and ominous up close. The stone was grey and faded with age, yet upon touch it was cool and smooth, with no alcoves or jagged lines carved into the cold surface. They were so giant and seemed to be as connected to the ground below as much as how they reached into the sky above.
"How did you get out?" Lise whispered in awe, the whole encompass of her body shaking as she surveyed the walls rooted into the ground with an almost childlike wonder.
"Duh." Beth rolled her eyes, a smug smirk adorning her arrogant features. "We just wait for the walls to move."
Beth didn't give Lise a moment to react, launching into a happy cry as a young girl pushed herself off the wall.
Lise started. She hadn't seen the girl.
The girl was petite, and wore oversized faded grey clothing that melted into the stone walls from which she had been leaning against. Her hair was a gentle blond, and the thick curling locks were pulled back into a loose knot at the nape of her neck. She had doll-like features, with a delicate nose, round blue eyes with long golden eyelashes and thin lips curved downwards into a frown.
"Lise," Beth introduced cheerily, not the least bit perturbed. "This is Sonya. Sonya, meet Lise."
Sonya bent her head in greeting, and pursed her lips.
"She doesn't talk much." Beth hissed sideways. "She's been jacked up since she remembered her brother."
"She has a brother?" Lise said enviously, casting Sonya a long glance. Sonya remembered her brother, a family member who she must have loved dearly while Lise gets stuck with a grotesque bleeding man in her memory. Sonya could remember something about her past - anything - and yet she still had the capacity to look like she'd sucked the juice off a whole lemon.
"I know you're talkin' about Newt." Sonya said in an accent foreign to Lise. It wasn't unpleasant, but added to the long list of things she didn't know about the Glade.
"Sorry, Sonya." Beth said apologetically, grinning sheepishly as Sonya folded her arms and glared at the two of them.
"Who's Newt?" Lise piped up, watching as Sonya's expression softened to a wide-eyed glassy stare, longing etched into every curve of her round face.
"He's my brother." She said sadly. There was a prolonged pause. Recovering, Sonya snorted bitterly. "I bet he was a bloody wanker. I can't remember nothing 'bout him though."
"He must've been a great person, even so." Lise said quietly. Sonya was lucky, at least she knew she had a family. At least she remembered something.
Sonya extended a hand to Lise, stretching out her long clean fingers. Lise shook it tentatively, a connection forming within her chest as she felt Sonya's warm hand.
"Thanks." She smiled softly. "You're okay, Greenie."
A large growl rung out in the formerly silent Glade. Both the girls looked at Beth, who raised her hands in meek surrender, a blush spreading across her oily cheeks.
"You got me." She sighed. "I'm starving."
Sonya let out a small laugh. "Let's go get some food then, ya bloody nob."
Lise laughed along, and stumbled after the two girls already setting off back in the direction of the small shack, a wisp of smoke rising in the distance.