CHAPTER 8:
AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and my replies will be at the end of the chapter! I love y'all and thank you for the support! A lot has happened and the beginning of this chapter will be Dani's POV for the Changing and the rest will be in Frank's POV for the Meeting! Enjoy and please review, follow, and favorite if you like my story! It's very much appreciated!
Dani POV
Deserts. People ravaged with disease. Cranks. Fear. Sun flares. Destruction. Chaos. WICKED. Munies. All these words flashed through Dani's mind after Belle had given her the injection of blue fluid. Dani's thrashing body went still and she could only feel numbness and her mind fading into unconsciousness.
Dani was seated in an old subway car with what looked to be her mother and a boy she didn't look like. Dani looked around 8 years old and the same with the boy. Her mother was crying.
"Don't cry sweeties. I love you both so much. Your father loved you both so much. I know he would be so proud of you if he were still here. And I know he is looking down on you and protecting you. He's in a better place, a safer place. And both of you will be, too. WICKED needs immunes and if you help them you could save everyone. You could save people like your father. Save them from doing something harmful, or self-harmful. Save me. I know I haven't told you, but I am slowly succumbing. I love you both very much, and you might not be able to save me, darlings, but you can save others in the future. I love you so much. Never forget that."
Dani saw people in hazmat suit come collect her younger self and the boy.
"Danielle and Nicholas will be safe with us, ma'am." The people said.
Her memories flashed to her and the boy sitting with a group of others in a lobby. She noticed Liz and a blonde boy holding hands. She saw what looked to be a younger Belle and Frank. Everyone was quiet until a nice older lady walked in the room.
"Hello everyone. My name is Chancellor Ava Page. I hope you had safe travels to our facility. These will be your peers as you train at our headquarters. I wish everyone good luck and you should get to know each other."
When she walked out of the room, the blonde boy and Liz cautiously stood up and introduced themselves. The blonde boy looked around 8 years old and Liz around 6.
"Hullo. I guess we'll go bloody first. My name is Newt and this is my sister Lizzy. I just turned 8 and my sister is 6 years old. We came from London." He spoke with a British accent and they both sat down.
She then noticed the boy next to her stood up and motioned for her to do the same.
"Okay. My name is Nick and I'm 8. This is my step-sister Dani, and she's 7-"
"7 and ½." The younger Dani cut Nick off.
"Right. And we're from New York." Nick finished and sat back down.
"I'm Frankie and this is my best friend Belle. We're both 6 and from Chicago." Said the younger Frank who looked perturbed at the whole 'meet and greet' idea. Dani found her younger self feeling the same way.
Another memory popped up of her getting diagnosed with ADD.
And another with a man who called himself A.D. Janson and resembled an ugly rat.
She saw her step-brother drowning and being placed in the Maze of Group A. She saw the same with Newt and other boys.
She saw girls getting thrown into a separate Maze and people studying.
She then heard a conversation of sending up a third group as her younger self, who was probably around 15, eavesdropped around a corner. She overheard Chancellor Page say Group C. And she heard words like "miracle" and "extras."
Then she felt like she was drowning.
Frank POV
Everyone was gathered in the House for the Meeting that Liz called.
Frank could tell Liz was stressed out from being thrust into the leader position.
"Okay." Liz yelled, but nobody quieted.
"I SAID BLOODY OKAY. NOW EVERYONE SHUT YOUR BLOODY HOLES SO I CAN START THE MEETING!" Liz screamed, which scared everyone and they all fell silent.
Frank was shocked, as with everyone else. Liz was never the yelling type. She always tried to calm everyone down, and rarely raised her voice. Liz must have been really stressed.
"Thank you. I now call this Meeting to order. First thing on the agenda is Dani's 'bite.' We know the Beast pricked her and we can't afford anyone else going bloody crazy like she did. She was thrashing and yelling and we all know how it looked. To prevent that from happening to anyone else, I propose we make sure everyone, but Runners of course, stay at least 50 feet from the Doors at all times. If you are caught close to the bloody Doors, you will have to serve 2 days in Jail as punishment. That's my suggestion. Keepers, you may proceed with yours."
After going through all the Keepers, all of them agreed with Liz except for Max, who wanted to not have the rule at all, but he was outnumbered.
Liz spoke up again. "Okay, that's decided. The new rule will be in effect starting now. And Link, since your job is about keeping records, you can keep tabs on the Doors and who goes near them."
Link nodded.
"Okay. That's all I have for now. Do any of the Keepers wish to bring up a new matter?"
Frank saw Maddie raise her hand.
Liz nodded for her to speak and Maddie rose from her chair.
"Okay. Today I ran further than Benji and I have gone before. I found a new section of the maze. There was a number 4 on the wall and the corridors were larger. So, I think we're closer to an exit. And, I nominate to have the Newbie be a Runner."
At that everyone's expressions changed from shock to outrage. Everyone was yelling that the Frank shouldn't be one because she was just the Newbie. But Maddie spoke up in her defense.
"I almost got lost today and I would not be here if it weren't for the Newbie. She was smart, fast, and careful. All good qualities for a Runner." And she sat back down.
Liz wore a smirk, like she knew that was going to happen.
"Okay. I second that motion. Therefore, starting from tomorrow, Frank, you are officially a Runner. Meeting dismissed." Liz said and everyone filed out of the House except for Liz, Maddie, and Frank.
"Thank you guys! I really wanted to be a Runner!" Frank exclaimed excitedly.
"No problem. I know how much you bloody wanted it." Liz replied with a smile and she walked out of the House to go to sleep in her normal spot by the Farm under the stars.
"Thank you for saving my life. Making you a Runner was the least I could do." Maddie said.
"You're welcome. And that is more than enough, thank you." Frank replied with a smile.
"Alright, then. You might want to hit the sack because you're going to have a big day ahead of you because I need to train you for the Maze." Maddie said as she started to head for the doors of the House.
Frank noticed that Max and Janey must have finished the House's fourth wall and roof since Frank had gotten to the Haven. She must have not seen it before since she rarely paid attention.
"Okay. Goodnight Maddie."
"Night, Newbie. See you early in the morning."
And Frank smiled. A genuine smile for the first time as she walked to her spot by the Forest. She was finally a Runner. Finally, she had a purpose. And the ability to fulfill her destiny.
AN: I'll try to update as soon as I can, so it maybe that I update on Monday? At least I'll try to. And if you have suggestions, remember to review or PM me! I like when I get feedback so I can know what I did well on and what I need to improve on! Thanks!
Scarlett the second: Thank you! I hope I did Maddie's POV how you imagined it! And I hope you liked Maddie during the Meeting!
Theevilsquiddancer: I hope you don't eat my soul (: and I made sure Liz said bloody a lot since Newt does! I hope you liked the chapter!
AsgardianGrizzly: Thank you for all your support! And I hope you enjoyed Dani's memories during the Changing! And I made sure to include Nick!
Mazerunnerlover2002: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last!
Stargazer-Dreamcatcher01: Thank you! You'll have to wait and see how Dani will turn out after she wakes up! And I'm glad you notice how the characters are so different, and that's a thanks to all the different and wonderful OC submissions I received!