Chapter 7

"Before all of this, before the maze, before the tests, we were all in school together." Face explained. "We were paired up for optimal learning. You and me."

"How old were we?"

"Just kids. I used to sound like you because we were from the same program."

"What?"

She sighed, trying to find a way to explain that didn't sound as insane as it was. "When the virus broke out, a whole generation was almost lost. Most people couldn't handle the change, and they died. Some people, the healthy ones who weren't infected were all placed together in 'living programs'. Our parents were survivors from the same country. Because they had that in common, they were friends. People used to do that: connect due to something they have in common."

"We're related?" a jolt went through Newt.

"No. My parents were friends with your parents. Focus Newt." She smiled. "You always had trouble focusing. So did I, but for a different reason."

"What reason was that?" Newt frowned.

"My brain works different. Of course it didn't help that you're so adorable." She said and Newt gasped, shocked by her honesty. She waved it off. "I see the truth in others, I choose to speak it too. I don't lie. It's called…"

"Radical honesty." He finished her sentence; curious as to how he knew that.

"Hey you remembered that." She stared at him. "That thing you said this morning about not needing 'magic', you've said that to me before. That's why I thought you can remember too."

"I'm sorry." Newt wished he could remember her. She shook her head, dismissing his apology.

"Why didn't we end up in the same maze?" Newt suddenly wondered.

"When the trials started, they changed everything."

They were quiet for a while. The wind started to calm down a bit.

"I was pulled from your faction because I was different." She finally said. "My brain doesn't work like anyone else's. I see things that others can't, I can calculate faster, I don't forget anything and I can read people and manipulate them. I was dangerous to them. And my only weakness was you. That's why they moved me."

"We can never talk about this again, okay?" she said after a while.

"Right." He snapped out of a trance. "Yeah, right. Death warrant and all that."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're getting cold?" Newt asked.

"It's getting late."

She stood slowly, allowing him to react and stand up with her. Once up, the veil pulled them together and Newt wrapped his arms around her, warming her.

"I've missed you." She whispered. Newt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to remember anything but came up blank.

"I…" he tried but didn't know what to say to her.

"Don't. No. Don't worry about it. Remembering is my problem, not yours." She stood back quickly and pulled the covering apart, loosely wrapping it around herself in an attempt to redo the outfit she had on before. Her quick action gave Newt whiplash.

After she was satisfied with her outfit, they set off back to the manor. The wind had died down and they ran in silence. By the time they reached the building, several other kids were clearing sand off the landing and loading things into the building.

Once inside, they saw Patrick and his boys talking in a group. Thomas stood from his seat and Patrick discharged the group.

"Hey, Moron!" Face called and Patrick turned to her. She grabbed his shirt and pushed him against a crate. "You sent a newbie into the basement alone without confirmation of my whereabouts?"

Patrick laughed, amused that she was manhandling him. Some of the boys tried to pull her off him but Patrick shook his head and motioned for them to leave her.

"He's a pretty smart kid, I knew he'd be fine."

"You're an ass!" she shoved him again. "He could have died, or been bitten. He would not have made my list, I swear Patrick he would have been on yours. And I would have come here and killed you."

"You're cute when you're mad." Patrick snickered. She shoved him again, harder this time, winding him. Newt touched her shoulder trying to pull her away but she let go of Patrick and rounded on Newt.

"You can go now." She said with acid. "You're not my problem anymore. Go play with your friends."

Newt stepped away as if she'd struck him, she turned and walked away alone. Thomas walked over to Newt and shrugged.

"She doesn't like you either, does she?" Thomas joked. Newt's confusion cleared.

"No, she doesn't." Newt said and rolled his eyes. "Girls are weird."

The alarm went off a bit later when they were all starting to gather in the cafeteria. All of the new kids gathered at their table and chattered about their day. The ones who had stayed behind talked about processing the gathered goods from the previous day and kitchen duty. The raiders talked about the things they had managed to get. Thomas and Newt listened to the others talk while they looked around the room for Face.

She eventually showed up on the other side of the room. She walked to an empty table and sat down facing the map wall.

After staring at her unmoving figure for a long time, Thomas stood and headed towards Face.

"You okay?" Thomas asked when he sat down next to her. She flinched.

"I'm fine." She answered automatically.

"Rough day?"

"Patrick almost got you killed."

"Not to mention being forced to spend the day with Newt." Thomas joked but then added. "He's a great guy, Face. Just give him a chance." She stared at him for a second.

"I guess so." She shook her head and stood up. She grabbed a marker off the floor and walked along the wall. Thomas followed.

The entire wall was covered in a drawn map of the city. From far it looked like a work of art. Moved and shattered buildings were wiped out but remained like ghosts behind new drawings. Close up, Thomas could see words and names scribbled in several places like symbols.

Face walked past the map towards a long list of names that reminded Thomas of the list they had in the Maze. She stopped and drew a line through James. Then after a while of just staring at the name, she wrote her own name next to the line. With a sigh, she looked up at Thomas and noticed his frown.

"James was the boy that attacked you today. He was lost to us when he was outside after lock down. I killed him today." She explained.

Thomas looked at the other names, her name was written next to a few scratched out names. Her name was also written bellow another name, but was erased and stood faded against the rest. Thomas touched the trace of her name.

"I was outside once." She answered his unasked question. "With Patrick." She rolled her eyes.

"That's why you get to do whatever you want." Thomas mused.

Face grabbed a ladder in the corner and walked with it to the map. She climbed to the Golden Hall and wrote something in the margins of the picture: Daniel.

"I want to get out of here, Thomas." She whispered as she scanned the map and names.

"Patrick said there is nowhere to go. We would die out there."

"We're already dying in here." She mumbled.