Whoops here's Book 2. Sorry for the delay! Enjoy!
Her head felt as there were drums lined along her temples and they were competing to see which would cause her head to explode first when Jessica finally began to pull awake from a restless sleep. Everything felt heavy, and she knew her mind was foggy. Her eyes were still closed, and she was lying on some sort of bed.
" 'ssie…"
Muffled words began to float around her, getting less and less distorted as her mind began to stir. She pulled her eyes open slowly, blinking a few times when she saw half of the Gladers crowded around her.
"What you want?" She mumbled groggily, sleep still lacing her voice before she waved at them with uncoordinated limbs, "Back up."
They seemed to sigh in relief, their shoulders sagging though she didn't know why.
"What're you all so worried about anyway?" She asked as she sat up, holding her aching head.
"Everything's gone crazy, Jessie. You were missing when we woke up."
"What?" She asked, fully awake now. So she hadn't been dreaming…
"We woke up about an hour ago" Frypan explained, scratching his forehead in an exhausted manner. "You missed it, crazy buggers everywhere."
"And those people who saved us?" Another Glader piped up from the back of the group, "Dead. All of them. Strung up in the next room over."
Jessica sat there for a moment, trying to take all this in.
"Ay, somebody better go get lover boy before he tears up this whole place." A boy near the door supplied with a smirk, "Since she's up and at em now."
Jessica blinked before rolling her eyes, "Where is Newt? And what do you mean those people are dead?"
"Dead, deceased, no longer breathing," Minho made a flippant motion with his hand around his throat, as if he were slicing it, "Passed on to the other side."
"Why?" She finally settled upon asking.
"Great question, Shank." Thomas quipped, leaning nonchalantly against the bedpost.
"Why're you in such a grouchy mood?" She eyed him, rubbing her temples.
"They took his girlfriend and switched her out with some," Minho gestured around him from beside her bed before settling on an endearment, "kid."
"What do you mean?" She questioned, throwing her legs over the side of the bed, scanning the boys before her and searching for any new faces.
Thomas pointed behind him, "That's Aris."
The boy waved, and Jessica felt guilty about wishing Teresa away. She wouldn't have been so tough if she'd known how upset it would have made Thomas…
"So what now?" She drew her gaze away from the tall tanner boy and directed her question to Minho.
"If you're okay, you should probably get up and get into some real clothes." Minho pointed out, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Jessica's brow furrowed at that, "Why wouldn't I be okay?" She asked, confused.
"I mean you were missing for like an hour." Thomas reminded her in the same tone of voice you use to explain why the sky is blue to a five year old.
Jessica opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the door being flung open. There, standing in the doorway and breathing heavily was Newt, who had a wild look in his eye.
"Where? Where is she?" He limped into the room, looking around wildly, "You said she was in here! Where-"
He stopped short when his eyes landed on Jessica, who sat frozen on the edge of the bed, "Hey," she waved lamely, blinking at him with owlish eyes.
Wordlessly he was next to her bedside and yanking her into his arms in an instant, mumbling angrily underneath his breath.
"Hello to you too Mr. Grouch, I take it you slept well?"
Newt pulled back, holding her at arm's length to give her a once over.
"Are you alright?" He finally gruffed out, staring into her eyes.
"Yeah, my head hurts a little, but I'm fine." She bobbed her head, as if trying to convince herself, "If you hadn't told me I'd been missing I would never have known anything was wrong." She directed at Minho as she was pulled back into a crushing hug, having to stand on her tiptoes and peer over Newts shoulder to see her other friend.
"Good enough for me." Minho concluded, shaking his head at Newt's antics before standing from the bed, motioning for the others to leave.
"Wiat where did you all find your clothes?" She asked their retreating forms, noting their new attire.
"Right there." Thomas nodded to the edge of her bed, where there were two sets of clothes waiting for her.
She wiggled her arms out from beneath Newts grip, giving the group a thumbs up as they closed the door behind them.
"Alright caveman, you gonna talk to me?"
"I'm sick of worrying about losing you." He whispered, his voice thick with emotion, "I want to wake up one day and know without a shadow of a bloody doubt you'll always be there."
Jessica was speechless, the weight behind his words was almost tangible, and all she knew was to wrap her arms around him and hug him close.
They stood there for a few moments, basking in the others embrace before Jessica gently pulled back, looking into his eyes, "You aren't getting rid of me that easily."
"Promise me you aren't going anywhere." His voice was strained, he sounded desperate, as if her words alone were enough to keep him from breaking.
"Newt…" Jessica didn't want to make promises, not when their future was so uncertain.
His expression hardened, "Promise me." He gripped her hands tightly, as if he lost any physical contact with her she'd vanish into thin air.
"I promise." She whispered, "No matter what happens, no matter who tries to split us apart, you and I will always find our way back to each other."
Newt closed his eyes, bringing her hands to his lips and cradling them, relishing the feeling of knowing she was here.
Laughing softly, Jessica tugged her hands away after a moment, "Alright my big softie. Scram so I can get changed."
Newt let a small smile pull at his lips, pulling her close and planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "I'll be in the other room." He told her, walking backwards slowly.
She smirked, "Thank you. I'll be sure to find you."
He held her gaze for a moment longer before really smiling, "Don't make fun of me." He teased back, before sliding out of the room altogether.
Sighing, rubbing her hands where he'd been holding them, she shook her head with a smile of her own.
Before anything else, she dropped to her knees and looked under the bed, sighing contentedly when she saw her bag there, safe where she'd hidden it the night before. She reached for it, flipping it open to find her camera with the pictures snugly inside.
Sliding it back under she then stood and turned to her clothes. They'd given her a seemingly random set of attire, not outfits per se, but different items she could mix and match.
Subconsciously she began inventorying the items, taking note of light brown shorts with a grey tank top accompanied by a green vest, black leggings with a matching black tank top, and jean shorts. Next to those were a multicolored red, black, and white plaid button down shirt with a belt, a pair of socks lay next to them and lastly she noted the boots, pleased that they looked like they would last for years.
She decided on the tan shorts, grey tank top, and denim jacket as shoved the boots on after buckling her belt through the loops of her new shorts. Luckily for her, they'd also left a ponytail holder for her, and she quickly pulled her short hair up, once again frustrated at the hairs that immediately fell to sway next to her face.
Satisfied, she opened the door and joined the others in the room over, where they were all talking anxiously.
"What's going on?" She asked, shuffling next to Newt who was standing next to the door. The other Gladers were huddled in a misshapen circle, talking over each other.
Newt opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Minho.
"What's Jessie's say?" He blurted over the group, and the conversation died as heads turned to her.
Jessica side eyed the group as she turned to face Newt, "What?"
"Here," Newt took her shoulders and turned her back towards him. She stumbled as she was now in the center of the Glader group circle, watching as they all crowded around her.
"What are you doin?" She questioned, turning when she felt Newt brush aside hair off of her shoulder.
He tugged her denim jacket away from her neck, instructing her to hold still as she wiggled around so he could look.
She rolled her eyes, but did so, waiting for… something.
"Group A, subject A… 0?" He read in question, pushing her hair back as he regarded Minho.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, turning and pulling her jacket back in place.
"Thomas," Newt spoke over her, "It says she's the target." And when she glanced at Thomas he seemed as lost as Newt sounded.
"What says I'm the target?" She demanded, grabbing his shoulder to gain his attention, "The target for what?"
"Look." Newt pivoted so his back was facing her, and made a show of pointing to the back of his neck.
There, tatooed on his skin, in inky block letters:
Property of WICKED.
Group A, Subject A5.
The Glue.
"The Glue?" She read, rubbing the spot on her own neck where she assumed a similar tattoo was imprinted. "What's that supposed to be?"
"There's a lot of things we're having trouble figuring out." Minho answered her, and the group mumbled affirmatives.
"Such as?" She motioned for an elaboration, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"Such as what my shuck 'title' means." Thomas huffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
Jessica tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
He shifted, showing his tattooed neck just like the others.
Property of WICKED.
Group A, Subject A2.
To be killed by Group B.
"To be killed?" She read astonished, glancing at everyone to make sure she wasn't imagining the six letter word on the back of her friends neck.
Thomas opened his mouth to reply, no doubt a snarky remark because lately that's all the boy seemed to be able to manage with the disappearance of his telepathic girlfriend, but as he did a shrill alarm screeched throughout the entire building out of nowhere, the sound slicing through all forms of conversation and for a moment Jessica thought the sound had come from Thomas.
The siren caught everyone off guard and the Gladers all faltered, gripping their heads and ducking as if from an invisible force instead of the offending noise.
"Klunk!" Frypan finally shouted in agony, pushing past the stunned others as he fell over his bunk by the door in an attempt to escape the now echo chamber of a room the area had became, with the blaring siren bouncing off the walls of the bunker and directly into their eardrums.
"Is that the-" Minho began before staggering backwards in retaliation from the sound, gripping his head tightly as his sentence was reduced to a groan.
"Greenie alarm?" Jessica finished for him over the screeching, looking from him to Newt and then finally to Thomas.
"I dunno, but let's get out of here!" Frypan exclaimed when the latter failed to reply, shoving himself off the bed in a flailing heap, cringing as he stumbled into the hallway.
The others followed without hesitation, the group circle breaking as they cursed at the noise. Flashing lights accompanied the alarm as they scrambled into the hallway, as if beckoning the Gladers to follow them.
"Does that mean there's a Greenie?" Winston demanded over the siren, the last to stumble out of the room.
"What's a Greenie?" Aris questioned abruptly, confusedly glancing between the teens of Group A. Minho gave him a once over as they sprinted down the hallway, a kind of you're-a-smart-one-aren't-you once over.
They passed multiple rooms, and Jessica didn't know if they were running to find a control room to shut off the horrid noise or running to find the cause of it. She was about to question their motives when Newt pushed himself forward, painfully meeting the three seasoned runner's pace in the front of the group and asking the question on everyone's mind.
"You think this has anything to do with the bodies?"
They rounded a corner and Thomas shrugged as they ran, shouting over the noise. "I guess, not exactly like they could send a Greenie to a safe house!"
Jessica met Newts pace, allowing him to slow a bit and he gave her a grateful nod. They fell behind Thomas and Minho as Jessica called, "So where are the bodies?"
"You said they were dead right?" A glader piped up from behind the pair.
"And how do we shuck that alarm?" Frypan added, staggering up to the group.
Thomas threw his hands in the air, a frustrated noise escaping his throat, "How should I know? Just follow the shucking lights and see where it leads ya!"
Jessica stared at the back of his head as they rounded another corner, and shook her own.
"Light stops up there guys, and I'm pretty sure those doors say 'control room'!" She risked removing her hand from her ear to point ahead of them, wincing as her eardrum was exposed to the onslaught of squealing.
They all barreled through the open doors, eyes flitting around the room. Winston pushed ahead of them, staring down at the long illuminated control panel in front of them.
The others ran about the room, searching for a power box or breaker, anything that could possibly be the cause of the alarm.
"See anything that says 'shuck this dinkin alarm'?" He yelled across the room, scanning the controls in front of him.
Aris skidded to a stop next to him, "There!" He pointed towards a metal switch that was blinking the same yellow as the lights had in the hallway.
"Now, that don't say-" Frypan started from his spot across the room, but Winston ignored him as he quickly flipped the switch.
The alarm ceased mid-squeal, and their ears rang from the sudden silence that filled the bunker.
The Gladers relaxed, sucking in air and groaning from their sore eardrums before one of them straightened, peering around the room.
"Thought y'all said there'd be bodies?" He shouted before blinking in surprise. Jessica laughed as he shook his head, and restated his question in a quieter voice.
The other's straightened as well, and Newt mumbled something under his breath.
"What?" Minho asked, staring at the boy.
"I said, 'How the bloody hell did the bodies disappear?'" Newt repeated loudly, rubbing his temples.
Thomas was the first to inspect the room in a flourish, he pushed himself off his perch on the wall and stormed around the room, scattering files and pencils.
Minho groaned, resting his hands behind his head, "Thomas, calm down. The bodies aren't hiding up under a filing cabinet."
"I don't get it!" He cried as he shoved a stack of papers off a desk, scattering them across the floor, "They were shucked in here!"
"Are you sure?" Jessica questioned, looking to the floor beneath their feet, "I mean I don't see any blood or anything in here."
"I guess they cleaned up before they left." He growled, spinning around and storming out of the room.
"Well it's obvious they didn't just waltz out of here. Someone must've taken them." Aris supplied as Thomas pushed through the doors, and Minho turned to give him a look.
Minho glared at the boy, "Thanks Einstein, you're a huge help." He deadpanned.
No one really knew what to do after that, and as Jessica watched everyone slowly follow after Thomas she shuffled over to Newt.
He glanced up at her before letting his head drop back into his hands, "They were in here." He mumbled.
"I believe you." She assured, lacing her fingers through his hand.
Newt lifted his head up to meet her eyes, "Everything's just so…" He trailed off, passing his free hand through his hair as the last of the teens filed out of the control room.
"I know."
And Jessica did know, everything since the Griever hole had been a blur of confusion. She still didn't fully comprehend that some of them were… gone. And that they were out of the Maze?
She knew if she closed her eyes the memories of the Glade would dance behind her eyelids. If she thought about it just enough, she could see them all around their table. Could smell the burnt wood from their late night bonfires, could hear the wind rustle through the deadheads…
"Shanks!"
They both snapped out of their stupor, the pair oblivious that they had been lost in thought.
Minho was hanging in the doorway, shaking his head in amusement, "C'mon you two, we're forming a plan out here."
The couple glanced at each other, blinking in confusion.
"Klunk you two are lovesick." Minho huffed, shuffling in and ushering the pair out. "C'mon, let's go."
Newt snorted and Jessica playfully smacked Minho on the shoulder, "Bite us. And hey, what are you talkin' about, 'forming a plan'?"
"Get your lovey-dovey butts outside and see for yourself."
Jessica hit him again.
And again, the Gladers had formed a circle, this time in the hallway. Thomas was in the middle, looking like he was just about done with everybody's klunk.
"You call that a plan? Just dinkin' around and waitin' for something to shuck us?" Winston snivelled, throwing his hands in the air.
Thomas shot him a hateful glare, "Listen, it's not exactly like we got anything else to do. The bodies are gone, and there's no way to figure out who took them." He gestured heatedly to the control room where they'd all realized the lack of security cameras, "So if you have any better suggestions on what we should be doing, feel free to share you slint-head!"
Winston's mouth snapped shut, and he clenched his fists at his side while sending Thomas an equally loathing glare. The other Gladers shifted uncomfortably, and when Aris opened his mouth with no doubt a suggestion on what they should be doing, Minho's arm shot out and he gave him a disapproving nod.
Taking away Teresa really must've flipped Thomas' switch, Jessica noted. His temper was short, and as she took in his appearance with his disheveled hair and the purplish bags under his eyes, she realized this Thomas seemed so different from the Thomas she knew in the Maze.
She shook her head when Frypan finally mumbled, "If that's all we're doing then, I'm going to get started." He nudged Winston off in front of him as the pair shuffled off back in the direction they came. "See y'all back at our bunks."
Jessica glanced from Minho to Newt, and the pair sighed. Jessica opened her mouth to comment but Minho shook his head, gesturing for the couple to follow him. As they departed from the group she risked a glance over her shoulder, seeing Thomas talking heatedly to Aris and she winced.
"Poor shank, doesn't know when to leave well enough alone."
Minho snorted, "Ain't that the truth, can't he tell that him breathing is enough to set Thomas off?"
"I don't think that boy has a bloody lick of sense." Newt scoffed, running a hand through his hair.
"Can we talk about Thomas though? He's…" Jessica trailed off, stopping in front of the two boys when they reached the end of the hallway. "Is Teresa leaving really upsetting him that much?" She asked.
Minho shrugged, and Newt sighed.
"I mean, I understand where the shank is coming from. If they took you away from me…" Newt reached for her hand, and she gladly let their fingers intertwine.
Jessica gave him a small smile, letting it grow as Minho gave a huff at the open display, before it turned into a frown. "He's starting to worry me though, you think he'll be okay? Never seen him snap at us like that before."
Minho rolled his eyes, "He'll be fine, just give him his space or whatever." He said offhandedly, shoving his hands in his pockets, the air of nonchalance.
"It's his plan that should have you worried, he just wants us to sit around and wait for something to bloody happen." Newt shook his head, exhaling softly and giving her hand a squeeze.
"I mean, it's not ideal. But maybe he has a point?" Jessica scratched her head, shrugging, "We should rest up, and what if the people who took the bodies come back? I certainly have a few questions for them."
Minho nodded, rocking back on his heels, "Whatever the poor shanks motives, I'm with Jessie on this one." He tugged his hand free from his pocket and pointed at her before continuing,"Relaxing for a couple days can't be that bad of an idea."
Newt gave him a disapproving look, "Sounds like we'll be sitting ducks. Those shanks that took the bodies? I bet they're the reason they were strung up in that room in the first place." He spoke matter of factly, glaring off around the corner as if the people they were talking about were just a breath away, "I don't want to be bloody having a tea party if they decide to show back up."
Minho gave an amused snort, shaking his head, "Whatever you say shank, I'm going to turn in. I'm exhausted." He waved a goodbye before pivoting and strolling down the hallway, as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Jessica turned to Newt, "It can't be that bad of a plan, I mean what could go wrong?"
Newt stared at her, giving her a look that seemed to say, 'Haven't you learned by now? Everything, everything could go wrong.'
...
Plenty of things did go wrong. Or at least one thing going wrong was plenty enough to leave the Gladers' hating their new life outside of the Maze.
That one thing?
No one could find any food, anywhere.
They searched around dinner time, when Frypan offered to cook up some grub. The Gladers' had walked every inch of that safe house, searched every room, every cabinet, anyplace they thought food could be stored.
Nothing, there simply was just no food. There wasn't even a kitchen for kluck's sake, so it was really no wonder how there was no food. But then that brought about slews of questions, "Where'd the pizza come from then?" "They would've had to have stored more food if they were gonna keep us here right?" "What the shuck are we going to do now?"
All of these questions were met with Thomas' short tempered responses, and with everyone getting hungry, Jessica thought some of the boys would start a brawl with the boy just for a sour look sent in their general direction.
So after the first night they decided to wait, the people who killed their saviours were bound to come back. Maybe they'd bring lunch?
The first full day was a joke. They waited expectantly for food to somehow spontaneously appear, someone to show up with extra pizza, anything, but nothing happened. They just waited. Sat there with empty stomachs, bad attitudes, short tempers and waited. It was when the sun started to go down that Jessica's stomach truly began to gnaw at her mind, a constant reminder that they were really being denied food by some outside force.
As if someone had planned this, because surely she thought their saviours would have at least rations stored somewhere, leftover pizza from the first night.
To keep her mind off the nagging of her empty stomach, Jessica had decided to look through her pictures again, gazing fondly at the smiles in the photos. Other than that, she didn't have much to do. She laid back on her bunk, imagining the same words on the surface above her.
Kill WICKED
She sighed, tossing and turning, finding nothing was relieving the ache in her gut.
The second day began slowly, with those who were lucky enough to sleep, waking. Newt had no such luck, she realized, as he instead spent the night staring at the ceiling above him. He poked his head over the side to see Jessie, making sure she was at least breathing. He didn't climb down, and frankly, she couldn't blame him. They were all unbelievably exhausted. Bodies fully drained both physically and mentally.
Thomas was on the bunk on the other side of the room, and he had opted for curling up into a ball, resting his head on the wall. They caught each other's gaze, and they only stared at each other before she looked away.
Newt's stomach suddenly rumbled painfully, and he pressed his hand to it, willing the emptiness to vanish. He sighed, and stuck his hand in his pocket, reassuring his photos were still there.
Stupid WICKED.
All he could think about was how much he hated them, and the ways he would make them pay. His thoughts were cut off by another growl of his stomach. He sighed, and weakly sat up, managing to clamber down his ladder.
If he was going to starve to death, he was going to die next to someone he loved. Jessica hardly moved when he laid down next to her, but he felt the slightest response when he took her hand in his. He glanced to her, as she stared off at nothing and his heart ached.
This was misery. And as the day dragged on their bodies began to shut down, limbs weighing like lead and heads pounding.
Thomas hadn't thought the fifth day could be any worse. Oh how wrong he was. His stomach felt like it was eating away at itself. He whined and rolled weakly onto his side before spotting Jessica. She was lying on her bed, like most of the others, staring at the ceiling. She didn't blink, didn't twitch, didn't move. Sudden fear struck him, and he forced his mouth to work at least for a moment.
"J- jess" He rasped.
For a moment, she didn't moved, and he froze. Then she blinked, once, then twice before she slowly turned her head to him. He sighed, not bothering to reply as he closed his eyes again.
The door opening woke Jessica. Not with a start, her body didn't have enough energy for that, but just enough to open her eyes. She rolled her head sideways to see a small group of boys huddled in the next room over, and she rubbed her eyes, watching them.
They kept grabbing at something, and she blinked again before deciding it was worth investigating. She shakily grabbed the side of the bunk, her hand slipping from Newt's as she stood. She nearly gasped as the room spun, and she clasped the furniture tightly to keep from falling. Stumbling into the room next door, Jessica swore she was hallucinating.
There, in the center of all the gladers was a huge pile of food. From fruits, vegetables, to packets of dried jerky, crackers and sweets.
"Is that real?"
Minho turned to her, an apple in his mouth as he ripped it apart.
He didn't answer, but threw something at her that she caught right in front of her face. An orange. She stared at it, almost afraid that it would vanish if she tried to eat it.
"Go on, shank, you need to eat. We all do." Minho said, grabbing a small package and ripping it open, tossing the apple core behind him.
She slumped to the ground, Minho barely catching her to keep her upright so she was still sitting.
"Here," He abandoned his bag of cashews and instead grabbed the orange out of her hand and peeled it in record time. He shoved it back in her hands, and grabbed a handful of almonds, cramming them into his mouth as fast as he could.
She numbly pulled a slice off of the fruit, the citrus smell enveloping her. She felt like she was dreaming as she put the first slice into her mouth, until the juices were gushing all over her tongue, her taste buds alight with the flavor, then she woke up. The fruit snapped her out of her haze, and suddenly she devoured the orange with a newfound hunger. Her stomach, now having one taste of food after so long, demanded more. The orange was gone in seconds, and she snatched the nearest thing out of the pile, crunching into a pear.
She ate, and ate, and ate. She didn't slow until Minho grabbed her wrist as she reached for her third carrot.
"Slow down. Don't eat too fast." He warned, eyes amusedly glancing between the carrot inches from her mouth to her face.
She huffed, but nodded, knowing he was right. It wouldn't do them any good if they lost everything they ate. She looked back to the room at the boys who were still sleeping, and stood. She grabbed a bag of almonds, and two clusters of grapes before turning to the room, and gently kneeling down next to Newt.
He was sleeping, his chest slowly rising and falling. His hair was messy, though she was sure he wouldn't care. His eyes looked hollow, and she wondered if she looked similar. They all probably did after not eating for five days. She gently took his hand, squeezing it in an attempt to wake him.
"Newt." She muttered, gently shaking his arm.
He mumbled something incoherent, before slowly opening his eyes. She held the grapes in front of him, and for a moment, his eyebrows knitted together as though trying to put together a puzzle.
"Take it." She said gently, placing them in front of him. He propped up on an elbow, grabbing one and hesitantly rolling it in his fingers.
"Eat." She pressed as she tore into a bag of almonds, her mouth watering at the idea of them being covered in salt.
He finally put the grape in his mouth, and she could almost see the life flood back into his eyes.
"Bloody hell." He muttered as he grabbed a fistfull of them and shoved them into his mouth.
She chuckled, watching Minho and a few others following suit, helping the other gladers wake up and eat.
For ten minutes, there was a pure bliss. Eating, draining down water, talking now that they had the energy, it was perfect.
And then Minho had to get curious and go back to the pile of food.
"Guys," He called, drawing out the syllables, staring off at something before gesturing wildly behind him, "you'll want to come see this."
Jessica sighed and stood, trudging to the other room and stopping short when she saw a man sitting in a chair, reading a book as though she wasn't there.
"Who's he?" She whispered to Minho, keeping her eyes locked on the man.
Minho cautiously inched forward, "Dunno. He won't say anything."
"What's goin' on?" Newt came up behind her, hand on her shoulder as he peered over her.
"Not entirely sure." She mumbled as she grabbed an apple slowly from the pile, not letting her gaze leave the man before squinting.
"Hey, ratface!" She shouted, chucking the apple towards him.
To her bewilderment, the fruit bounced back to her before it even reached him, landing on the ground in front of her.
Minho jumped back, whirling around to face the others, "The shuck?"
Jessica stalked forward, putting a hand out and was shocked again as her hand collided with a surface. Smooth, and seemingly invisible. It wasn't glass; it was too clear for that. No matter which angle she looked from, she couldn't seem to find a beginning or end it.
The Gladers pushed passed the pile of food and all gathered around the man, inspecting the invisible shield separating them and the man.
The man in the chair set aside his book, turning towards the group of bewildered teens as if he'd just realized their presence, although his expression remained calm, as if he wasn't shocked to see a bunch of half starved kids tearing apart a giant pile of food in front of him.
"I'm surprised you don't recognize this," He finally spoke, watching on in bemusement as the kids began to tap at the field, watching it ripple from the impact, "It was used to ensure you stayed inside the Maze."
His voice snapped them out of their reverie, and they stared at him in confusion.
"What do you mean it was 'used to ensure we stayed inside the Maze?'" Thomas demanded, pushing forwards,"Who are you?" He marched past the group of confused teens who didn't let the appearance of a strange man keep them from stuffing their faces, although it did draw their attention towards him.
"This field," The man gestured around him, from one end of the room to another, and Jessica's eyes followed the motion as he continued to speak, "It was constructed to prevent you from climbing out of the Maze. At least, high enough to find a way out, or do any real damage." The man drawled, glancing lazily over at Newt.
He stiffened, and Jessica glanced between the pair before stepping in front of him, obscuring him from the ratman's view.
"Well they did a shuck job, seeing as now we're here." She snarked, before glaring, "But that didn't answer Tom's question." She raised a brow at him, hands crossing in front of her.
The man chuckled, uncrossing his legs, "My name is Janson."
Minho stepped forward, glancing at his fellow Gladers as they waited for the man to continue. When Janson just sat there, staring at them expectantly Minho finally scoffed, "And?"
"And?" Janson echoed, staring at them innocently.
"And you show up here unannounced bearing food like buggin' Santa Claus," Winston sneered from the back of the group, "Quit dinkin' around with us, who are you here for and what do you want?"
Jessica watched as the mirth in Janson's expression melted away as the group began to mumble, narrowing her eyes as it was replaced with frustration.
Everyone shifted, observing the sudden change in the mystery man's behaviour.
"I believe we asked you a question." Thomas bit, standing at the front of the group.
"Thomas, Thomas." The man tsked as if Thomas was missing something, before he leant back in his chair, taking on the air of nonchalance, "I'm here to make sure you live."
The whole group spluttered, before Frypan burst out laughing. Jessica snickered, watching confusion flash across the man's face as the whole group began chuckling.
"I'm here to make sure you live." A kid from the back mocked in a pinched voice, making the whole group dissolve into laughter, "That's rich!"
"What kind of klunk is that?" Minho snorted, picking up a banana and peeling it lazily, "Newt, you think we need to make sure we're living?"
Newt smirked, wrapping his arm around Jessica as she leant into him, "I feel pretty bloody alive right now."
The man glowered at them through the glass, or the force field, whatever the rippling thing was, before he stood. The group continued chuckling even as he stomped out of his chair.
Suddenly, a fake smile stretched across his face before he spoke again, "Everyone here is alive yes, because of your will to survive. Remarkable, actually, the survival instincts you've all acquired despite the wipe of your memories." He sniffed, picking at his nails before continuing, "Especially seeing as you're the only survivors out of sixty candidates."
The group quieted, but before they had a chance to question anything he was saying he spoke again, "Candidates, whom as it seems, lacked the drive to survive. To escape, hm? Failures, presumably." He shrugged, letting his gaze drag to each member of the group, "Simply tragic." He smiled.
"You watch your mouth." Someone spoke up from the back, and Jessica glared hard at the mans stupid face, daring him to mock their dead.
"You shouldn't be offended," Ratman mockingly soothed, "They simply didn't possess the drive you do. Weren't worth the efforts and rations wasted upon them."
"Wasted?" Jessica sneered, feeling anger sing in her blood at the insinuation her friends that hadn't made it were merely failures.
"Sixty of you were sent to live in your Glade." Ratman ignored her to continue with his informative monologue. "You are the ones who walked out."
"What do you mean in our Glade?" Minho demanded, throwing the banana peel on the ground.
"If you would allow me to speak, you would understand that time is precious right now, the important questions will be answered as I go on." Ratman huffed, staring down his nose at the brooding teens. "The Maze was the first phase, you have another trial to complete now, your duty to the world, and to yourselves. By stimulating the killzone, we've been able to examine what you are capable of, and how to cure you."
"Cure us?" Newt asked, disregarding Ratman's request that they not interrupt.
"Yes," Ratman drew out the syllables exasperatedly, "save you from the flare."
That caused a hush to fall over the Gladers.
"We have the flare?" Thomas repeated alarmed, his hands flailing for a moment.
"If you follow our instructions, you won't for long." Ratman replied with an annoyed sniff. "We have another step to our plan to save everyone from the Flare, not just you, but the world as well."
"Oh really? You're here to save the world?" Newt inquired disbelievingly, "Like some bloody superhero?"
"Yes, after all, we are WICKED." Ratman said the company name solemnly, spreading his arms as if to showcase, "World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department. Despite what you might believe, we are here not to harm the world, but to save it."
"Oh this guy's buggin nuts." Winston mumbled to Frypan before turning to regard the group, "Guys, he's nuts!"
Jessica raised her eyebrows in the no-shucking-doubt kind of way.
"You'll soon learn, you have to learn what to believe." Ratman seemed to muse as he regarded them before lavishing, "Don't trust your eyes, let alone your mind. They can be easily deceived, which is what we demonstrated with the dead bodies and brick walls you saw."
"You've gotta be kidding me." Frypan grumbled, "We know you mess with our heads. Our lack of memories sorta testifies to that ya shank." He waved his hands in dismissal.
"Exactly." Minho glared, "So what? You just here to mess with our minds till we figure out what's going on with the flare?" He questioned hotly.
"No, we're here to complete the phases to finding a cure." Ratman stated obviously, as if they were supposed to have caught onto that by now, "and you have finished phase one, but now it's time for phase two. It's time for things to get difficult."
"Oh yeah, cause everything's been a breeze so far." Jessica spat at him, resentment dripping from every word.
"Tomorrow, at exactly Six O'Clock in the morning, phase two will begin. There will be a flat trans in this room, it will appear to be a gray wall made of mist. You are to enter into that wall where you will be underground, and you are to find your way to open air." Ratman smiled easily, staring at each and everyone of them before continuing, "From there, you will have two weeks to travel north 100 miles, where the safe haven will be. If you do so within the allotted time, you will all be cured of the flare. If you chose to stay here, and not go through with phase two, you will be eliminated in an…" he pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side as if trying to find the correct words, "unpleasant manner."
Jessica scoffed as Ratman stood, and walked towards the invisible barrier.
"You will have five minutes to go through the Flat Trans tomorrow." He checked his watch as if he were the one catching the trans before his gaze snapped back up to the group, "Don't miss it."
Before he could run into the wall, the entire area fogged up, like a cloud suddenly appeared there, until they couldn't see anything. Then the fog disappeared, along with Ratman, and his chair, and any sign he had ever been there.
"Well," Minho threw his hands in the air, "Shuck me." He glowered.
Jessica stomped forward, right up to where the wall had been, and put her hand up to it, and when she reached forward, her hand fell right through where it should have stopped.
She walked past that, and stood where Ratman was just moments ago, shaking her head.
"I don't get it." She huffed as the Gladers started questioning what had just happened. She whirled around, intending to find Thomas and ask if he knew anything, but instead, all she saw was Newt's shirt.
"Shuck!" She stumbled back, before he caught her. "Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Sorry love," He chuckled half heartedly, "didn't mean to."
"Where's Thomas?" She questioned, peering around him and into the very angry group of Gladers for Thomas' messy mop of hair.
"I dunno, as soon as Shuckface there disappeared, he ran off, Minho not far behind." Newt admitted, scratching his head and following her gaze around the room.
She huffed, kicking the ground beneath her feet where Ratface had been standing not a few moments prior, "So what? We sit around until tomorrow?"
Newt shrugged, "I guess so, it's not like there's any card games or such lying about for us to mess around with."
Jessica snorted, strolling back over to the food pile and up to Frypan, "After we ration this stuff for our not so consensual trip we're headin' out on in the morning," She started, reaching down and scooping up a packet of dried fruit, eyeing it with awe, "We should have a bit left over…" She trailed off, glancing up at him.
"Is that a not so subtle way of telling me you want me to see if I can't whip some of this up into some kinduva feast or somethin." Frypan snarked, picking up a can of protein and examining the label.
"You took the words right outta my mouth Frypan!" Jessica smirked, patting him on the shoulder when he shot her a teasing glare in return.
She shuffled around to the other Gladers, making sure they had things packed up right around the time Thomas and Minho strolled back in, barking orders about rationing the rest of the food to last them for the journey ahead. Jessica mumbled something under her breath about, 'already handling that' before turning on her heel and with help of some of the boys began rationing packets of non perishables to the group for the journey ahead.
"Thanks mom." A boy snickered when Jessica passed him a handful of cashews in the circle that had formed around the pile of food, Minho, Newt and Jessica passing out food while Frypan, Thomas Winston and a few others whose bags were packed began pulling out things to for a meal.
"Shuck it and pack the fruit ya shank," She retorted, rolling her eyes when the boy continued to laugh. The group continued this process until the last of the food was gone, except for the pile Frypan was starting to separate and open for a "meal".
"Alright you buggers," He waved, "I ain't doing all the work, start opening the packages will ya?"
And that's how they all ended up with an armful of items each on their cots, laughing and joking like they were in some sort of summer camp while they opened up different packages.
"So what about that slint-head?" A boy piped up around a mouthful of jerky, "Who does he think he is, marching in here all," he straightened, taking on a serious expression as he folded his hands neatly in his lap before mocking in an extravagant voice, "I'm here to make sure you all live."
The group burst out in laughter, and another spoke saying, "Yeah, I bet a skinny twit like that wouldn't last a day in the Glade."
Affirmatives were thrown about, and Winston chugged the rest of his water before croaking, "A Griever would see him and not even spare him the trouble of eating him."
Jessica smirked beside herself, splitting a peanut and waving Newt over to sit next to her as he strode over with a handful of grapes. "Like those do you?" She teased, snagging one as he sat down. He gasped, lunging to retrieve his stolen food when Jessica popped it in her mouth, grinning like an idiot.
"Oops, did you want that?" She asked cheekily as she chewed the delicious fruit, "Sorry."
He gave her a devilish smirk before leaning in and stealing a kiss, making her eyes widen in surprise.
"Ew you too, get a dinkin room for klunks sake." Minho jeered when he passed their bunk to plop down on his own across from them, throwing a few pistachios at them until the broke apart.
"Get over yourself Minho." Newt smirked, lacing an arm around Jessica's shoulders and she leant into it gratefully, barely containing her grin.
Minho rolled his eyes when Thomas joined him on his bunk, stealing some of his pistachios.
"You alright Thomas?" Jessica questioned, snagging another grape.
He nodded, although there was a far off look in his eyes, as if he was somewhere else. He seemed to snap out of it however, before turning to the group and adding to the slew of insults being thrown at the man who was just in their presence.
"Shanks got a lot of nerve for a rat face."
Ooh's went up around the group, and Newt rolled his eyes. "That the best you got Tommy? That the man looks like a rat?" Thomas scoffed before Newt continued, "We all could have determined that for our bloody selves. Although he acts more like a weasel if you ask me."
A few boys grumbled that that wasn't much better, while others agreed.
"We can all safely say the guy hasn't got anything going for him in the looks department."
Jessica rolled her eyes, looking at her watch, reading 10:48.
"Well I guess we should get some sleep before tomorrow."
The boys groaned, "Really, Jessie? Maybe the last day of our lives and you want to give us a bedtime?"
"No, she's right." Thomas said. "We need to get ready for tomorrow. We don't stand a chance if we're moping around all tired."
Exasperated sighs were drawn out from around the room, followed by a bit of grumbling, but one by one they shuffled into their beds, like instructed. Minho pushing himself off his bed and leant on the wall where the light switch was. He eyed everyone until they were all settled in, before muttering the last encouraging words of night.
"Welp. See you shanks tomorrow."
He flipped the light switch, and everyone was surrounded by darkness.
Jessica blinked at the bunk above her, staring at it, imagining that it was the same one back at the maze. She imagine the words kill WICKED etched into it, a message to herself that she would never forget. She'd been awake for almost an hour now, but she wasn't in a hurry yet. None of the other gladers were up and it was only a little before five. She glanced at her watch, being careful not to wake Newt, reading 4:47. She decided she would wait till five before she woke the boys up. Wow, they were right. She really was a mother hen.
She sighed, burrowing further into Newt's side and looking up. He was still sleeping, his eyebrows scrunched together with his arms wrapped around her. She frowned, knowing there was no way WICKED would let something as good and pure as this last for long. Her stomach turned, reminding her that in almost an hour, they would be in another life or death situation. This small group of kids would be forced once again to do someone else's job and try to fix a mess someone else made.
Her watched beeped, along with several others in the room, signaling they had an hour. Newt stirred next to her, taking a breath as he glanced at his watch, shutting it off. All of the boys in the room started to complain as they woke up, groaning at the early rise.
"Welcome to the last first day of your lives." Minho piped up with a frown.
"What's that supposed to even mean?" Aris grumbled, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes before regarding the other boy, who hadn't even bothered to sit up.
"I dunno, Greenie."
No one spoke much more after that as they all gathered what few belongings they had into their makeshift bags. A few of them ate a couple of fruits for breakfast, attempting to get some kind of wake up call before they left.
They all slowly gathered in the main room, staring at what they assumed was the flat trans. The mist billowing, beckoning them in with grey tendrils of doom.
"Well that just looks like some klunk to me." One of them admitted, running a hand through his hair and shifting his weight. As if he expected the vessel of their death to be more intimidating.
"How does it work?"
"He said just walk through it."
They all grew quiet, hesitating. They were all thinking the same thing: were they really going to do this?
"Well you heard him," Jessica said, nodding to the silver wall. "Through there or lights out."
"How do we know it's not 'lights out' if we go through there?" Frypan demanded, "We know the bugger was crazy, what if he was just spewing a bunch of Klunk ay us?"
"Look, we've got one option right now, and it's through there." Thomas shifted the weight of his pack before pointing to the gray wall.
"Well," Winston clapped his hands together, smiling without joy, "Who wants to go first?"
Everyone's shoes were suddenly interesting, or their fingernails, because for everyone's big talk last night, no one wanted to be the first to go through the wall of mist.
Minho glanced around the group before giving an eye roll and a sigh, "I guess I will, ya buggers." He trudged forward, stopping just before the wall.
He glanced over his shoulder, "See yall in a minute I guess." And with that, Minho disappeared into the gray mist.
Hope you liked it! Reviews are my favorite! Love y'all!