Tricked (t.m.r.)

1.24 - Memory

"Now the lot of you keep your mouths shut," I instructed the bus full of people as I slide into the driver's seat to start the engine. "You may only start to scream when the ride gets bumpy. Remember the plan or I'll kill you when I find you."

I tried to sound as casual as possible, but deep down I was quivering in fear and the warmth in my fingers was long gone. No matter how much I tried to wipe my palms on my jeans, cold sweat would still break out. 

"You sure if it's a good idea?" One of the women raised her hand and asked timidly. "What if we get caught before we can even make it through the front door?"

"Then we just have to make sure we don't get caught. Hold on!" I shrugged and stepped onto the accelerator, making the vehicle jumped to life and started to charge forward. 

Guards immediately swarm over us like a hive of bees as no convicts would be sent to another prison in a bus at this hour of the late evening, some yelled for the vehicle to stop whilst the others tried to shoot through the glass at one of us. I didn't have the time or pleasure to check if any of them tried to shoot at the tires of the bus. Passengers who were along in the vehicle with me screamed and cower between the seats, each praying they would be able to leave the gates alive. My breath hitched in my throat when a bullet was fired in my direction, but lodged itself in the glass panel in front of me. It would have hit me straight in the head if it wasn't for the window. 

I felt my gaze hardened and I stepped on the accelerator even more. I had tried to avoid causing any casualties earlier, but now I'm just going to drive through whoever that dares to stay in my path. No mercy. 

"That protective gear over your head's not gonna do jack for you!" I growled as I directed the vehicle to charge at him, he attempted to shoot me a few more times, but the bullets hit different parts of the window, causing cracks to form instead of an opening he was hoping for. There was no time for him to do further damage, and he dodged and rolled to a side before the bus could crush his bones. I cursed and slapped a hand against the sterling, my eyes glanced briefly at the review mirror to glare at the guard. 

"Look out!" A man's voice bellowed, snapping my eyes back on the road. 

A couple of huge oil storage tanks stood in my path and in instinct, I began to turn the wheels as much as I could to the right side in order to avoid colliding into them. If they were the normal-sized oil tanks, I would have no troubles running over them, but these cylindrical ones were different, they were enormous, towering over the bus. There was only one path to go, which is the rocky hills that were next to them. As the bus bumps through the uneven ground, I bit my lip, hoping it wouldn't overturn directly in front of the prison. It would be such a pathetic prison break if that does happen. 

"Woohoo!" I broke into a relief laugh, throwing a fist in the air as I celebrate the bus for jolting back onto all fours once it ran past the rocky ground. "I'm the best person alive right now!"

"Hell yes, you are!" Someone hooted from behind me, a hand reached over to ruffle my hair. 

Flashes of red in the review mirror caught my eye, and I saw that a couple of police vehicles were coming after us. I had to lose them quickly if I want the plan to work. Surprisingly when I turned into an alley, the vehicles took another route and did not follow. I let a free hand slam against a button to open the door and people began to get up from their seats to leave the bus. I hadn't stopped driving but had slowed down so no one would be injured too terribly when they jump off. I heard a few yells of appreciation and merely smiled in response. By the time I reached the end of the alley, I was the only one left on the bus. 

I took a deep breath and began to charge at the line of police, who had begun to shoot at the bus on sight. I was barely able to cover my eyes when the glass in from of me shattered and sent shards of sharp objects flying everywhere. 

"To hell with all of you!" I screeched as I drove past them, colliding into a few vehicles along the way before the bus plummets down into the river stream, toppling over the bridge we were on. The sound of rushing water filled my eyes and brought down a blanket of ice around my body and the screams that came above me became muffled. Aware that I do not have much time left before a new pursuit begins.

~*~

I had promised I would return to the prison once I was finished with the business I have with the world outside of its grey walls initially when I tried to strike a deal with its keepers. I wasn't the least bit surprised when my request was denied without a second thought because who in their right mind would want to return to that stinkhole when they get a taste of freedom?

I returned to the only home I ever known, my grandma's. I only wanted to see that woman one last time before I rot in a room of nothing. I wasn't sure if she had an idea that I was gone, given her state of mind, but I was sure her daughters and their children knew and no doubt they'd welcome me like a plague. 

The old woman laid frail in her bed, with two of her loved ones right beside her. I tried my best to look as emotionless as possible when she didn't recognise who I was, but it broke my heart that the only person in the family who cared about me had wiped me out of her mind completely. 

"The next time you're here, we'll call the police." One of her daughters told me coldly as she shoves me out of the door. A tear slide down my cheek as I l listen to the series of locks and bolts coming from behind me, and wails of anguish cries followed when I was miles away from the place that was home. 

~*~*~*~

He was stirred away from his slumber at the sound of sniffs. 

Newt sat up from his hammock to look over at the source of the noise, noticing the hammock was constantly in motion as its owner tossed and turned in it. The sniffing did not stop and soon he heard a soft cry mixed among them. 

"Rosie," He calls out to her groggily and tries to crane his neck to look at her, but their hammocks were too far away from each other's and he resorted to leave the comfort of his bed to check on her. He wonders the cause of her tears as he limps over her side.

"Oh, Rosie." He sighs when he saw that she was crying in her sleep, and tears had stained around her eyes and cheeks. "It's okay. You're having a nightmare. It's not real." He reaches a hand to stroke her hair to calm her. 

"You're safe with me, wake up Rosie." He whispers to her, noticing she had started to calm down. He almost bit his lips as a punishment to himself when the words left his mouth. He was lying. They were not safe as long as they spend another day trapped in the maze. 

"Newt?" His attention was back on her the second he heard his name. She was looking up at him with a pair of weary and devastated eyes, and Newt was familiar with that look. It was once his when he was certain he would breathe his last breath in the maze. Her eyes fluttered shut, deriving him of her brown orbs. "I had a nightmare." 

She had held onto his hand, and his thumb was stroking her cheek now, feeling her hot tears. 

"You're okay now, I'm here." His words brought a sense of comfort to her, and she could barely remember what the dream was about now. 

"Don't ever leave me, okay?" She sniffs, tightening her grip slightly around his wrist. 

"I won't, I promise. Don't leave me too." She thought she heard the slightest crack in his tone. 

"Pinkie promise." She held up a hand at him. 

He smiled at her, and in that instant, Primrose thought that smile could cure all the horrible life-stealing diseases in the world. Newt tangles his pinkie around hers, "Pinkie promise."