The Labyrinth: Chapter Seven


The lights blinked.

Buzzed.

Blinked.

The sound.

An alarm.

Muffled at first.

Gaining traction as the world softened from a harsh white to the colourful surroundings.

I was pressed up against the wall, my heart racing. The alarm now blaring above me.

Left. Right.

I was in a corridor, with no escape unless I picked a direction.

A rope looped itself round my lungs, forcing the air out. I clutched at my chest, the pain doubling me over.

"Check down that corridor!" a deep voice screamed from the left.

Go!

I pushed myself from the wall and darted in the opposite direction. I clambered down the hallway and blindly took a turn, running as fast as I could away from the voice. I steadied myself on the wall as best I could, the world swimming in front of me. I did my best to run in a straight line, but it felt like I was being thrown around wildly. I felt numb and dizzy with a protruding pain in the back of my head.

Keep running.

The wind in me forced itself out quicker. My stomach churned from the disoriented corridor.

I stopped and hurled up a dark black bile onto the white shiny floor. It tinged a copper colour when the light flickered above. I wiped my mouth as best I could.

"She's going to the lift."

I glanced over my shoulder and caught sight of tall shadow and sandy brown hair. I launched myself from the wall again and sprinted to the end of the corridor.

"Stop her! Don't let her in there!"

I turned the corner and slammed into a metallic door that was half-open. Lights flickered in a panel beside the door, numbers racing past as the doors slowly closed.

The area left unprotected.

Footsteps further down the corridor pushed me into the idea.

"Wipe her mind! She's going to ruin the experiment!"

I squeezed myself through the gap and fell forward into an abyss of darkness.

Don't trust anyone.

Don't trust anyone.

Startled would be the word that I would have used. Confused would be the other.

The sandy brown hair. I had seen that variation. The voice too. Nothing made sense. For a dream, it felt very real. The emotions, the breathless. I had no memories, so this clearly wasn't that.

In the end I determined that the previous evening's events had stirred my brain to react in a very violent way. Turning to nightmares instead of trying to soothe me. I rubbed my eyes. Outside the window, the sky was still dark. The inkiness dominating the Glade.

Sleep troubled me. The things I witnessed seeping in and disturbing.

Ben's face burned into my mind at the thought of yesterday. The flashes of my nightmare soon following.

I ran my hands over my head, trying to stop the thoughts from entering. "Stop," I whispered, hoping that that would do something. I had to find out answers. Maybe the Greenie asking them so much wasn't actually the annoying part. When come to face with something so terrible that the few who know won't save you from the misery of not knowing. Then it was clear that I had to seek my answer elsewhere.

There was no point rushing to Chuck, Jeff or even Newt. They would either not give me one or start spreading around the Glade the questions that I sought. (You could guess which one I referred too). That only left me with one option. Not one that I wanted. However Chuck had let it slip when he was telling me a story about the Greenie's experience in the Homestead.

It was the only option. Only one.

Come on. Just go.

I tiptoed out of my room, down the stairs and into the open Glade. When I had gone to bed last night, Newt had offered to stay to keep me company. I had turned him down, partly because I didn't want anyone to talk, but mainly as something told me I needed to be on my own. Clearly it came in handy right now. Less explaining to do.

The next hard part was finding the exact person I wanted to talk too. Out here, in the dark, all the mounds looked exactly the same. A few variations eliminated themselves, but apart from that all the Gladers looked the same under the forgotten moon.

Think. Where would be the place I would sleep if I were him?

Time to search.

Among the mess of the boys, and after a few near misses when a few nearly woke up, I found the person I was looking for. I scrunched my nose in disgust at the thought of what I had to do next. I reconsidered for a second. Maybe it was better not to know the answer. Sometimes finding out would lead to further problems. I don't think I was ready for that disappointment.

Grow up.

I sucked in a deep breath, begged that this didn't go wrong and very quietly woke the boy up. I placed a hand over his mouth the second that his eyes flew open, to stop him from screaming out and waking the others around him. I kept it firmly on when he squirmed under me, trying to free himself.

"Stop moving," I hissed at him. I tried my best to sound firm. There was no backing down.

His eyes widened ever so slightly at the sound of my voice, before he relaxed into a creepy way. Best not to describe, that was one memory I really didn't want to remember. I placed a finger to my lips to motion him to be quiet and slowly moved my hand away from his mouth.

"Whatta do you want?" Gally hissed back. He leant up on his elbows.

I shook my head. "Not here. Come follow."

With that, I rose from his side and left him behind. Half of my hoped that he would stay there on the ground and never follow. It was already a bad idea. It could get so much worse if I wasn't careful.

I headed straight for the Kitchens. It was the first place I could think of. Semi-private. Still in full view of the Glade, but further away that I could talk to him without the interruption of anyone. I scooted past the table and entered the area as far as I would. I made sure that the central part of the Kitchen was firmly in between both me and him.

"What do you want?" Gally demanded. He crossed his arms and stood firm the moment he entered the Kitchen. "If it's gotta do with the Kitchens then I'm the wrong person. But if it's anything else." He winked at me.

I cringed and tried to not physical vomit from the comment. "Listen 'ere," I heard myself say with some confidence. "Any funny business and I'll make sure that you pay."

Gally huffed and moved his shoulders to puff out his chest more. "So, for someone who is mute, they have somewhat of a backbone. What else you hiding?"

"Cut the crap, Gally," I scoffed at him. He was diverting away from the real issue. This was a mistake. "I need to know somethin' and you're the person that I think has the answer."

Gally let his arms go and pointed his finger at me. "This ain't happening. I don't answer questions for anyone." He turned his back to me.

I darted forward and grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him back. As soon as I was certain he wouldn't go and released him and stepped far away from him. "No, you don't understand. It's about the Greenie."

Gally recrossed his arms. He was interested. "What about him? Want tips on how to score him? Again, not interested."

"Oh, you are so irritating," I derided. "Not everything it always about that. Chuck said you had seen him. Before your memory wipe."

Gally shrugged his shoulders, averting his attention to the Glade. "So what? What's that gotta do with you?"

"Well…" I knocked my feet against each other. There was still time to back out. Still time.

Do it.

"Well I think I might have seen him too." This caught his attention. He shuffled on the spot and readjusted himself. Gally didn't want to show that he was interested. Not just yet. That wasn't how he worked.

"You haven't," he dismissed. "Is this some prank? Did Chuck set you up to this?" He inched further with every step. I misjudged him. He wasn't interested. He was annoyed. Very annoyed. I made a mistake of waking him. He spun on his heel and started to search for Chuck.

"No no, stop," I hissed at him. "I'm not lying. It's entirely true. I saw him in a corridor with people with these large black things." I motioned to the size of them. "They were coming after me."

Gally stopped what he was doing and straightened his back. He faced me, now with the attention that I saw a whisper of a moment ago. "So you've seen that place too." He paused for a moment, stroking his chin as he thought about what I said. "You haven't gone through the Changning. How is that possible?"

"I guess it's not an everyday occurrence that someone turns up then immediately falls into a coma for days?" I added, playing on the knowledge that the Greenie was still awake days after his arrival.

"Hmm," Gally hummed. "There's one lying in the Homestead right now. Who you referring too? Why do you want to tell me all about? Surely, you'd run to Newt for all these problems."

"I … uh," I floundered. The words went from me. How could I say that I knew instantly if I went to him that I would be dismissed as being crazy.

"I see." Gally nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "Tryin' to get answers. Well tough luck shank. You ain't gettin' any from me. Thanks for the info though, will be real useful at some point."

Don't let him leave.

"Wait." I lunged after him and forcefully yanked his arm back. Gally hadn't anticipated the strength behind me and stumbled back falling to the ground with a thud. I stumbled away, just getting out of his reach as he swiped an arm to knock me from my feet.

"You dare you do that," he seethed. "I am a Keeper, you show respect."

I involuntarily laughed, surprising myself in the process. "That is something earned, not demanded."

"Good luck with that," Gally sneered.

He attempted to pull himself from the ground when a thought crossed my mind. I lifted my leg and forcefully placed it onto his chest, forcing him to stay where he was. The attempt would be futile, he weighed so much more than me, but it was the action that would speak.

"Tell me what I want to know," I whispered. "And I'll let go."

"No," he wheezed. He grabbed my leg and attempted to force it up, I strained against him trying with all my strength to keep it down. All I had to do was to wait this out. There was only so long he could go against me pushing upwards. I didn't have to wait long. "Fine," he reluctantly growled. "I'll tell ya."

"Good," I said. "What happened to Ben? Why do you and him remember the Greenie from before?"

"It's called the Changing," Gally strained. "Happens when stung by Griever."

"Those things out in the Maze?"

"Yeah. Nasty things with a nasty bite."

"What's that gotta do with anything?" I questioned him.

Gally shuffled under me. I pressed down harder as a warning. You stopped his movement and rested his head back against the floor. "When you get stung," Gally started, "you're given the Grief Serum. It comes from the Creators – that's what we call them, at least. It's with the supplies in the Box every week, always has been. It's a medicine or antidote or something, already inside a medical syringe, ready to use. If you do get the Serum, then your body wigs out and shakes and your skin bubbles and turns a freaky green colour and you vomit all over yourself."

I screwed my face up at the thought of that. It sounded horrific to go through. All that pain and suffering. Ben must have really been suffering from what Gally mentioned.

"You think that's the worst part," Gally commentated. "It's called the Changing cause it brings back memories. Only snippets. But they are memories before of the place. It's like having your whole life laid out in front of you to then it being snatched away as quickly."

Gally sounded angry at the last part. His face screwed in anger and he turned his face to see into the Glade where the others slept. "I saw him. That face was somethin' no one can miss. He was there. Before."

I let me foot of his chest and stepped back as he rose from the ground. He brushed the dirt from his chest then faced me. Darkness swelling in his eyes. He crept closer, a finger pointed straight in my direction. "I ain't talkin' about this no more. You dare even whisper about what happened 'ere and I'll gut you. Banishment or not, I will not let you ruin my reputation."

My eyes widened at the threat. I nodded in agreement, sprinted away from him into the Homestead and too the safety of my bed. All the while trying to stop my body from shaking with terror.

Don't do something like that again. Not until you're ready.