ACT I SCENE IX
MANTEIS


SHE STOOD UP FROM THE TABLE, startling Minho and Newt, before running upstairs. Cassandra ignored their calls, Frypan's frightened stare and the pain screaming through her body. Her heart raced as she went back to the room they had been sleeping in the night before and locked the door. Soon after, there was the thunder of footsteps booming up the stairs and down the corridor, then the door shook with their knocks.

"Cassandra! What's wrong?!"

"Wait! Just wait!" she yelled through excruciating pants and turned around as if the voice might just materialise in front of her as a person.

"There's nowhere for you to hide."

It sent her heart jumping to her throat. Maybe she really was insane.

"Who are you?" she asked in a terrified whisper.

"Why are you still alive?"

She shook her head, not knowing whether the mystery voice could hear or see her. It was so clear, like it was speaking right next to her, but all evidence pointed to the contrary. There was no mistaking that something was undeniably wrong with her as she tried to sort her fear into manageable proportions. How and why? Those were the two main questions that burned in her consciousness. Then Newt's words came back to her mind; The Creators. If they could control Nick to strangle himself, could they be able to control her brain into hearing voices as well?

Something familiar constricted her throat and chest at the realisation- searing hot anger that pumped through her veins like gasoline.

"Who are you?" she hissed through clenched teeth, eyes darting around the room in search of a clue. There must be a beetle blade watching her right at that instant.

"Aw, are you trying to be brave?" the voice continued to mock her.

"What do you want from me?" Cassandra snapped. "What's the point of all this?!"

"Cassandra, who are you talking to?" Newt asked through the door but she ignored him.

"You were a mistake," it repeated the same phrase contemptuously over and over again until the voice slowly receded to the back of her mind, like an echo bouncing further away.

The door suddenly burst open loudly as Minho came barrelling through, crashing into her and sending the both of them toppling to the floor in a tangle of limbs. He groaned in pain before grabbing her shoulders.

"Cassie! What are you doing?!" he looked at her, demanding for answers.

She stared back at him in dumb shock. "Did you just break down the door?!" she asked incredulously.

"Cass, who were you talking to?" Newt came limping in and looked about the room as if someone would jump out of the drawers.

"The voice in my head," she replied dryly.

They looked at her carefully, not quite sure if she was being serious. She pushed Minho off her and scrambled to get up. Cassandra walked across the room to open the window in dire need of some fresh air. The Glade looked as normal as it ever did, everyone resuming their daily activities, oblivious to what was happening in that room. She turned back around. Minho had backed away from her to stand next to Newt, who had shut the door as best as he could with a broken handle.

"Cass..." the blonde's voice was hesitant.

"Okay, just listen," she told them anxiously, her heart beating nervously in her chest.

"Okay," Minho nodded, putting on a brave face as if he was going to war.

She refrained from rolling her eyes. "Please don't freak out on me because I'm telling you the absolute truth."

"Right..." Newt encouraged her to continue.

"I..." she swallowed with hesitancy. "I heard a voice in my head."

Newt's eyebrows pulled together into a tight knot in the middle of his forehead and his dark eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to make sense of what she just said. Minho had a look of indiscernible shock on his face, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Her breaths started to come out shallow at their reactions and her voice shook. "I-I can't be crazy. Right? You said it yourself, Newt, the Creators can control us. M-maybe they did... something to me."

Cassandra felt her body start to tremble with fear, shock, paranoia, she wasn't sure which emotion was coursing through her blood but it made the two boys soften their expressions. She inhaled an unsteady breath before speaking again.

"I don't know what's happening," she clarified. "I don't know why I'm different. Maybe it has something to do with my dreams, I think they're memories. If I could remember something-"

"What makes you certain?" Newt interrupted her. "What if they're false memories?"

Her gaze turned to Minho unintentionally and she shook her head. "They can't be..."

"Why are you looking at me?" the boy asked her with uncertainty.

"Because you were in them," she said plainly. "You were in them and we were kids. And ever since I saw you, I knew you."

"We can't be sure," he replied, shaking his head. "Cassie, we don't know what to believe. Everything is shucked up here and we have to think about what those Creators are capable of doing. We already know that they can control us. They put those shucking Grievers in the Maze to terrorise us and this whole shuck place is messed up beyond anything."

"I know, I know..." she nodded and her chest contracted painfully. "But... don't you feel it too?"

He paused and looked at her as her eyes implored him to say yes. She didn't know how to put her feelings into words. Her thoughts would always wander back to him, her gaze always scanning the crowd for his face- like an old habit that wouldn't go away. Didn't he feel that too? Minho shook his head.

"I... I don't know," he let his gaze drop to the floor. "They won't let me remember anything. Not even a tiny hint."

Her heart sunk.

"You're not the only one," Newt said. "But a few have had dreams. They swear they must be memories. And the buggers who went through the Changing. But we're never sure. We can't know. Not now, anyway."

"But Cassie... who was in your head?"

"I don't know either," she frowned. "But she kept saying I was a mistake."

Minho and Newt exchanged quick glances.

"I'm not crazy," she looked up at them despondently. "I swear I'm not. I can't be. I don't know what's happening."

"Cassie, it's alright. Calm down," Minho told her worriedly.

She slumped onto a chair by the bedside, feeling completely drained and miserable. The adrenaline rush had made her forget about the pain in her body and it returned like a cascade. She closed her eyes and tried to think through it. There had to be an explanation for everything that had happened to her so far. She can't be crazy.

The door creaked open, interrupting their thoughts, and they looked up to find a boy entering the room. He was a tall and lanky kid with shaggy brown hair and dull green eyes, as well as the only person she'd seen in the entire Glade who wore glasses. His face looked worn despite his young age, as if he had seen things that were beyond his years. He looked at Newt and Minho before resting his vacant gaze on her.

"Nick?" Newt's face screwed up in confusion.

"Hey, guys," he said in a low lazy voice. "Mind if you get out? I need to talk with the girl."

"Nick, what the hell?" Minho sounded exasperated. "You can't just waltz in here and kick us out. Dude, you've never even spoken to Cassie before."

"It's cool, dude, I can handle myself."

They merely continued staring at him with various expressions ranging from blank, confused and frustrated. The boy didn't seem the least bit perturbed by their reactions.

"Come on, man, just a couple of minutes," Nick shrugged his shoulders casually. "It'll be real quick. You can stand outside the door and eavesdrop or whatever."

"Then what's the point of kicking us out if you're going to let us listen in?" Newt snapped.

He shrugged again. "It's a little crowded in here."

"I am one inch away from breaking your shucking glasses," Minho stated irritably.

"It's fine," Cassandra spoke up. "Just let him have his way."

"Cassie..."

"It's fine," she repeated, looking sharply at them. She couldn't handle another argument if it broke out again.

Minho looked as if he just swallowed something sour, then he sighed and nodded stiffly.

"We'll be right outside this door," he said. "Don't you dare do anything stupid, shuck-face."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n," Nick gave a dull two finger salute.

Newt and Minho shuffled out of the room and made a show of standing by the door with their arms crossed. Nick shut the door in their faces and it stayed close, as if in league with the boy. He then walked towards Cassandra and dragged the other empty chair forwards, turning it around and resting his arms on its back. She stared at him and waited for him to speak.

"I know what you are," he finally said.

"Excuse me?" she asked, unimpressed.

"You're a mistake."

She could hear a little voice laughing inside her head.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Nick finally comes into the picture! I love him honestly even though he can be such a troublemaker sometimes. And yup, the mysterious voice is a telepath and so is Cassie! We're not going to know who it is anytime soon though ;) but Cassie already has enough issues to deal with.

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