Fight for your memories.
The good and the bad.
They're all important,
They mean everything.
The next day I woke up to Jeff shoving me.
"You're late," He said hands on his hips looking down at me. I rolled onto my side and looked at him through squinted eyes.
"Good morning to you too." I Groaned getting up from where I slept in the sleeping bag. I dig through my things until I found my sweater like shirt and slipped it over my head. I started toward the stairs to the med-jacks area but Jeff started the other way.
"You can get something to eat. I'm not that cruel." He said walked toward the kitchen. I was still half asleep as I gathered my food. Jeff grabbed a few things and we took a seat. The kitchen was quiet and almost empty. A few other Gladers and Frypan's men were the only others there. One of those few Gladers happened to be none other than Newt. He took a seat beside me a little closer than normal.
"What are you two doing up so early?" He said with a smile.
"Lots of work to do, all thanks to Gally." Complained Jeff as he finished off some food. Newt managed a laugh as he ran one hand through his hair. I turned to see his cheek heavily bruised no doubt from the fighting of the previous night. When he noticed I was looking at him he turned and smirked, one eyebrow raised.
"What happened to your cheek," I said quickly even though I already knew.
"Same thing that happened to everyone else." He laughed.
"You're all a bunch of shanks. Getting yourselves beaten and making my day harder." Ranted Jeff he pointed around with his long hands making his point more pronounced. I just watched him with amusement. He finished off his food then stood up quick.
"Speaking of jobs, we should head to ours. Go deal with the bloodied up boys we left their last night." I nodded and stood.
When we got there Jeff wasted no time to work on the boy from the previous night with the very bloody nose.
He pulled the bandage from around the boys nose. Inspected the large purple and yellow bruises that went all the way to his eyes. The boy complained and pulled away as Jeff ruffly felt the nose.
"Yeah, it's broken. Like I thought. Good news is the swelling went down." He said with a half-hearted fake smile and stood up.
"Can you look at the kid with the hands, I'll take this nose or well lack of nose," He said with a laughed. I looked at him totally shocked by his comment with the boy standing right there.
"That's my kind of humor. Accept it or move on." He said just missing a sassy finger snap. He went to gather some bandages from the spot where they were normally piled. I smiled at the boy who held his bandaged hand out in front of him. Made my way over there to take care of him. Slowly I unwrapped it and saw a partly clear partly yellow fluid leaked all over the bandages.
"I never asked how this happened?" I said getting something to clean the wound.
"Let's just say I was being a dumb shank and got to close to the fire," He said wincing as I cleaned the exposed skin. I grabbed a few gaze to place over the exposes blister that had pretty much ripped open and loose skin hung on his hand over a red and pink flesh. I started to wrap it up again and he questioned me.
"Aren't you going to get rid of the extra skin?"
"No, it's better to leave it and allow there to be something protecting the skin underneath while it heals. It's a large blister so once it's healed a little more come back and I'll clip the extra skin." I said tying it in place. He thanked me then hurried back to work, I recognized the boy from the fields. Jeff has given the boy something for the pain he had been complaining about since we had gotten there and sent him on his way. Others slowly made their way in throughout the day. Admitting their injuries hurt a little more than they'd like. Mostly sprained ankles or wrists a few bruised ribs. We were sending boys in and out all day. To my surprise, even Gally came in.
"Ah, there he is. I was starting to think you'd never come in." Teased Jeff who was still wrapping the ankle of someone else.
"I didn't need to come you know. Alby made me."
"And why'd he do that?" I asked putting away some things before walking over to him.
"I complained once about begin sore. He's an uptight Shunk-face." He said crossing his arms over his chest still standing near the door.
"Well come sit down, tell me what's bothering you," I said. He rolled his eyes and took a seat on one of the cots.
"It's nothing, just that my chest hurts," He said trying to hide a wince as he sat down.
"Lift up your shirt." I said and with a sigh he complied. There along his rib cage were many purple and red bruises. His skin a sold bruise all along the left side. I touched the area and he winced and swore under his berth.
"You've likely bruised a couple ribs maybe even broken one. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wrap your rib cage in bandage to keep things in place. That's going to hurt." I said and he let go of his shirt. He looked unimpressed but didn't say otherwise as I gathered the bandage. He winces when I began wrapping his side and he tried to hide how much it hurt. When I finished he straightened himself and didn't say anything.
"Is there anything else bothering you?" I asked when he didn't get up to leave. He shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." He stood up and started for the door.
"What about that cut on your arm?" I asked seeing the poorly wrapped wound on his forearm.
"It's nothing. I've taken care of it." He said brushing me off.
"Well that cloth doesn't look particularly clean, it could get infected," I warned.
"I'm fine," He said again seeming as though he wanted nothing more than to be rid of me.
"Sit down Gally." I said and he turned around and looked surprised I dare spoke to him that way. When he didn't say anything and didn't come back in Jeff spoke.
"Just sit down Gally. She's helping you." Gally then sat down on the cot and I unwrapped his arm. The cut was on the underside of the wound and he probably couldn't see that it has rubble in it. I grabbed some water a cloth and the burning liquid that stopped infection. I cleaned out his wound wrapped it properly and allowed him on his way. Even got as much as a thank you. By the time the other were finishing with work we had cleared most of the boys. Jeff and I now sat talking to one another on while sitting on the cots. Things were finally quiet but like always it didn't stay that way. Suddenly there was shouting from outside. Surprised I got up and went to the window to see a crowd of boys gathering by one of the doors to the maze. My mind immediately jumped to the worst and I couldn't stop myself from sprinting out of the room. I jumped down the stairs two, three at a time and nearly had a thought to jump the railing near the bottom. But given my history, it would end poorly. Jeff wasn't far behind me. Out onto the field, I saw the crowd getting bigger everyone just stand shouting. When I finally broke the line of boys I saw what was happening. Minho wasn't far away and he was dragging Ben with him. I was about to run in to help him when someone suddenly caught my arm. I turned and saw Newt with a firm grip. I shot him a confused look.
"Can't go in the maze, remember? It's against the rules." I nodded after realizing he was right. I stood next to him and grabbed his arm. The doors would be closeting any minute now.
"Was he stung?" I asked in more of a whisper to Newt than anyone else.
"I don't know," He told me taking my worried hand in his. I felt the rumble of the walls and my heart speed up faster than I thought possible. He was close, so close. The alarm went off and then they started to rumble shut.
"Come on Minho, You can make it!" Shouted Alby and suddenly all the others started shouting too. I couldn't find my voice, my heart racing in my ear. Minho was probably one of my closest friend next to Chuck, like an annoying older brother. I grip Newt's hand so hard it must have hurt. The walls were getting closer and closer to closing, he was only meters away. Then once he reached the thick point where the doors met, the boys wasted no time and grabbed him dragging him and Ben inside. Seconds later the rumbled to a close. There were shouts and cheers as the boys were dragged in. Jeff jumped forward to help Ben who seemed sickly. I took a moment to take the breath, I didn't realize I had been holding. I looked up at Newt who shared the exact same look of relief that I did. Jeff called me and I pulled my hand free of Newts and went to help. I knelt down by Ben who was just looking blankly at the sky. His skin all sweaty.
"What happened? Was he stung?" Jeff asked Minho.
"No, he just started freaking out. Then like spaced out." I tried asking Ben if he could hear me, or if he way okay and he didn't say anything. I asked him to follow my finger as I moved it back and forth in front of his eyes, he didn't.
"I think he's in shock." Said Jeff.
"He's not responding and is very tense. Seems like it."
"Newt, Minho, help us get him to homestead." Barked Jeff and without flutter, the boys jumped to help Ben. Jeff and I were on their heels until we got to homestead. Jeff injected Ben with some herbs that should help calm him down. The two of us took turns watching and waiting for him to come out of it. Jeff had gone and it was my shift, I sat there and tossed a ball of the bandage in the air. Bored as ever when I heard something. At first, I mistook it for Ben's loud berthing but then I heard he was saying something. I learned cautiously closer and made out the airy words.
"W.I.C.K.E.D is good." Was all he muttered. I sat there confused thinking I had seen or heard the word somewhere else. I was thinking running it over in my mind and the answer was on the tip of my tongue. Suddenly my train of thought was broken when Minho walked into the room and greeted me.
"What's up?" he asked as the threw himself down on one of the empty cots.
"Nothing," I answered standing up and putting away the ball of bandage.
"Hey toss me that." He said as I wrapped it's grey-white bandage tighter around it. I looked at him confused and threw the bandage to him. He did what I had been and tossed it around. For the next little while, we tossed the ball back and forth and discussed idle things. Then Ben spoke again. Minho stopped before he tossed the ball again and leaned in to heard what he was saying as I had.
"What did he say?" I asked
"W.I.C.K.E.D is good." He said confused. "That's what's written on the walls in the maze." He said looking down at his fellow runner.
"I knew I recognized it," I said proudly
"It's all over the maze. Each letter means something, world in something, kill zone, something-something. I can't quite remember it all."
"That sounds cheery," I said as the bandage ball was thrown to me.
"I'll take a look when I got out tomorrow."
"Let me come with you." Minho nearly fell off the cot when I said that the ball flew right past him.
"I don't know if you remember but, we got in major trouble last time. And I doubt they'll be so nice the second time around." He said picked and the ball up from the floor.
"What if we asked this time? Came up with a real legitimate reason for you to take me." He laughed and tossed the ball up into the air before batting it to me.
"Not happening. No way. Not only did Alby chew me out but Newt put me through the ringer. I take you out there again and he'll be looking for blood." I sighed holding onto the ball a little longer not throwing it back.
"Just think about it," I said thinking as I turned the ball around in my hands.
"I will if you toss the ball back." He said and with a smile, I threw the makeshift ball of bandages. It wasn't long after that that Jeff came and sent me to my sleeping area for the night. I walked down the rickety stairs with Minho and questioned where Chuck had been. He told me the boy had spent his time after dinner with Newt and went to bed early. I hadn't really pictured Chuck as friends with anyone else besides Minho and myself. I suppose I had forgotten he was here before I was.
I made my way to the sleeping area and Minho said he was going to get something to eat before he went back upstairs to his own room. Keepers has more privileges than the rest of us. I settled down into my bed but what Ben had said rolled around in my mind. W.I.C.K.E.D is good. What did that mean?
There not!
They've been lying to us for years!
We need to end this before it's too late.
(Y/N), W.I.C.K.E.D is not good.
I woke up in the homestead on one of the cots in the sick room. I fell asleep there after Jeff had woken me to watch over Ben for the rest night. I hadn't slept much and when I was woken by Jeff I was less than pleased to take watch. Life as a Med-Jack might have been less work than that of a track-hoe but it had more responsibility. I got up and stretched my sore limbs from having slept on them and straightened out the bed. I combed my fingers through my tangled hair. I walked over to Ben to see how he was doing, to my surprise he was asleep. He must have come out of shock and fallen asleep. I felt his forehead and it was normal. I stepped away and walked to the window and the words ran through my head again.
W.I.C.K.E.D is not good.
What did that mean? I saw Minho jogging toward the kitchen headed for breakfast likely before he headed into the maze. I watched Jeff as he came toward the building and I wasted no time before running from the room.
"Where are you going?" Jeff asked me as he grabbed my arm.
"I need to go talk to Minho. Ben's asleep, I'll be back soon." I said and he let go of my arm and threw both hands up into the air as he ran walked into Homestead. I ran into the kitchen and saw Minho as he sat down at a table, I ran over and jumped into the seat across from him.
"What's your rush?" He asked confused as he shoved food into his mouth.
"I need you to take me into the maze again." He didn't look surprised just annoyed.
"I thought we talk about this?"
"And we agreed you'd think about it."
"You're crazy. I'm can't just break the rules and take you into the maze again. Otherwise, we'll both be thrown off the cliff."
"Okay, but Alby should be up. Let's talk to him."
"How are you going to convince him? He already made it very clear you can't go back in."
"Well, you don't have a partner and..." I paused thinking about the dream.
"And?"
"And I think I know who put us here." He stopped eating and stared at me with wide eyes.
"Did you just say what I think you said." I didn't say anything just looked at him.
"Who?"
"I can't be sure, not until I go onto the maze again." He ran a hand through his hair.
"Fine, let's go talk to Alby."
Relieved and desperate for answers I sprung up and waited for him to do the same. He stuffed some food into his mouth then we headed out. Alby was nowhere in sight so we headed to the mapping room. Sure enough, he was in there arguing with Gally. When we walked in they stopped looked at us then Gally walked out nearly shoving me to get past.
"What's his problem?" I asked walking deeper into the room. Alby just closed his eyes and shrugged.
"I wish I could tell you. Why are you two here?" He asked looking unimpressed. I looked to Minho who just looked at me and shrugged. With a sigh, I turned and looked to Alby. As he walked across the room.
"I think I can find out who put us here." He stopped mid stride and turned very slowly to look at me.
"What?" He asked. I had never seen anyone look so serious ever. This was no joking matter and for him and the others, it must have struck deep.
"I need to go in the maze again. There's this-" he put a hand up to cut me off.
"Stop right there Greenie. You know just as well as I do we can't do that. There's more than one person who would lose their minds if I let you go out there."
"Name one."
"I can name three. Chuck, Newt and Jeff. Believe it or not but you're liked around here."
"Might be because she's the only girl." Said Minho who finally chimed in. I shot him an annoyed glare then turned back to Alby.
"But common, Alby. Minho doesn't have a partner, I've been in there before and can have his back. With everything that's been happening with the grivers lately, he could use an extra pair of eyes out there. Please, I just want to see one thing and prove or disprove an idea. We won't be out for long at all." He looked down and sighed then looked to Minho who then took a turn to speak.
"She's not wrong." He said with a sigh.
"We could say I'm going in as Minho's medical rep because he wasn't feeling well and was too stubborn to not go." I offered with a smile.
"You know I'm actually feeling kind of dizzy today. Every since the fight at the bonfire." He said and Alby only smiled at his persistence.
"Fine. That's what we'll tell people. But only tell them if they see you. Otherwise, no one finds out."
"Deal," I said and Minho nodded and agreed to the same. We waited in the room for a little longer when suddenly,
"What are you still doing here? Go before the others find out." He said quite sternly and without further hesitation, Minho and I left the room and headed for the storage shed. He tossed me the same pack as last time. Said he has just thrown it in there, knife and everything. It was still layered with dried blood. We jogged out to the door to the maze and looked around for a second before heading in.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Minho asked me as I adjusted the pack.
"Of course. I'm smart so don't worry."
"You don't have to be smart, you just gotta be fast." He said and we took off into the maze. After a while, Minho put an arm out to stop me. We had been out there all day, stopped once around noon, and had been running for a while.
"Here, the lettering thing." He said pointing up to the vine-covered wall. I stepped forward panting with burning lungs. This is what I was there for. I pulled back the curtain of vines and watched as the words carved into the bleak grey stone became visible.
World
In
Catastrophe
Killzone
Experiment
Department
The words engraved on my mind. Something about them felt familiar, this was the answer the one I was seeking.
"Creepy huh?" Minho asked breaking my gaze of awe at the wall.
"This is it. This is what I was looking for." I said stepping back and looking at my dark haired friend.
"So what you think this, W.I.C.K.E.D put us here?" I nodded several times.
"I can't be sure but I think so. It's written on the walls. The ones that keep us here I bet if we look hard enough it's on things places too."
"Okay, but why would they put us here." I pointed back up at the wall.
"World in catastrophe," I quoted "That doesn't sound very good. My first guess would be for our protection but, killzone and experiment, don't sound like this has the best of intentions."
"Alright but what about what Ben said? The whole, W.I.C.K.E.D is good.?" He asked confused
"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this." He nodded and stared up at the wall again. Wondering at the big grey letters and the mysterious meaning behind them.
"Okay, let's head back. This isn't rock solid but it's something, more than we've had in a long time." I nodded and we started into a jog again back toward the Glade. A couple minutes in we heard a noise and stopped. A noise I had heard many time before. My heart stopped at the terrifying sound. I lost all breath and my leg were glued in place. Minho grabbed my arm and pulled me forward because I couldn't will myself to move. We took off running and I couldn't berth, air caught in my lungs.
"Once we're close enough to the Glade it will stop chasing us." He shouted through panicked berthing. We weren't nearly close enough to the glad to make it back. The sound of the mechanical monster was getting closer. As we ran through the maze of stone I heard the noise shift from behind us to in front. I grabbed a handful of Minho's sweaty shirt and pulled him to stop.
"What are you doing!" He shouted looking crazed and worried.
"It's isn't behind us anymore!" I shouted barely able to speak as I fought for breath. But when we stopped and listen there was a single clicking noise then it stopped. It was dead quiet the only thing we could hear was our panting.
"Is it gone?" I asked looking around scared.
"I think so." He said. We started back for the maze my heart rate starting to calm. Then before I knew what was happening Minho was on the ground, pinned there by something huge. He was shouting and screaming.
"(Y/N)! Help me!" He shouted, "Get this thing off me!" Studded in the moment I looked around. I grabbed a piece of rubble I saw and tossed it as hard as I could at the thing. It shrieked and let go of Minho who then scrambled to his feet. The monstrous mass slugged toward me.
"Go left then right!" He shouted and without think, I did as he said and took off running down a long hall of stone. The Griver was close behind me I heard its metallic claws scraping the stone. I barely made the turn left sliding and pushing myself up from the ground quick and running the direction I had been told. I wasn't sure where I would lead me but the sound of the monster was all I could hear. Suddenly I was joined by Minho on my right. He easily outran me. I didn't know where we were going but I didn't care the Griver followed and was getting farther behind us. Then the sound almost faded away. Minho started to slow down but I kept running.
"It's not gone," I said and grabbed his sleeve to keep him going. I felt fear each time there was a small shift of rubble or dirt, my heart pounding in my chest. Minho had slowed a little together with the fear the running was becoming too much. I had finally managed to catch up to him as we were getting closer to the Glad when I heard the clicking again and as we came up on the corner it grew louder. I shoved Minho forward as the giant body of fat and metal lashed out at him. Metal arms brushed past Minho and pinned me down; the Grivers heavily squishy body crushed me. It was hard to breathe and I couldn't move. I was shouting and kicked feeling for anything I could get hold of. I pulled and tugged at the metal arms pinning me down as the thing yowled in my face. It brought up its large needle tail and I fear slowly petrify me. I fought it and as the thing lifted to hit me I rolled out of the way the sharp needle slashed into the ground beside me. I scrambled to my feet and the thing lashed out at me again, this time, grazing my leg. It had scratched me but not infected me. I ran to Minho who had been shouting and throwing things in an attempt to aid me. The two of us took off running and it wasn't until we were out of the section and back to the main maze outside the Glade that we finally dared to slow down. We stopped and I nearly dropped to the ground. Berthing so hard it hurt; clinging tightly to the wall to keep myself upright.
"Are you okay!" Minho asked panicked.
"Fine." Was all I could say as I tried to catch a normal heart rate.
"I am never coming back in here again!" I shouted loudly standing up fully. Minho laughed and we began walking.
"You saved my butt back there." He said gently and I looked over at him and for the first time I saw a look of true meaning in his eyes. "Thanks." He said and it was the first sincere thing he'd probably ever said to me.
"You're welcome." I said bring a hand up to my head feeling dizzy. I put a hand to the nearest wall to steady myself, things were getting blurry. I heard something from Minho but I couldn't make it out. An overpowering ringing filled my ears. The next thing I knew I felt the hard impact of the cold ground.