maze through the scorch ~ newt²

CHAPTER FIVE | numb the pain

Rae followed Dr. Janson down the hallway that was on the other side of the doors in the cafeteria. As they walked in silence, Rae was planning. She believed every word Thomas had said. For now, she just had to trust her friends and hold out on her own for a little bit. Like Minho had told her in the Maze, she had to have faith that she'd escape. Maybe even find out the truth.

As they reached the end of the hallway, the passage got thinner until it split, one was going left and the other going right. Janson took a left and opened the door to the first room to let Rae in. At first, she stopped in her tracks, first eyeing the room and then back at Janson. Her eyes trailed down to his side where she noticed an empty leather holster. Why would he need a gun? 

Janson seemed like the guy who could put up a fight, so Rae peered into the room again. To her surprise, the same doctor who had given her supplements this morning was standing in there, waiting. Eventually, the redhead walked in and the doctor closed the door behind her.

"Hello, Rae. Nice to see you again," the doctors said with more spark in his voice than yesterday. "We just need to run a few more tests on you." Rae found it weird that every other doctor had a name tag except this one.

"What other tests?"

"You were in your maze the longest, so we just need to monitor your brain and heart levels for a few days," he replied with so much confidence that Rae would've believed it if she hadn't suspected anything.

"And then after, me and my friends will go to the farm?"

"Yes. So, put this on and then make yourself comfortable on the gurney." 

The doctor handed Rae some scrubs. Rae looked around the room for someplace to change, but she couldn't find anything. "You can just change here," the doctor said, but he didn't leave. Rae didn't know if this was how it worked, so once the doctor turned around, Rae stripped and put on the scrubs, hopping onto the gurney.

As the man typed onto the computer with his back turned, Rae tried to notice the different things on his desk. A metal wire holder was filled with black and blue pens. A stack of files sat in the corner of the desk, their contents almost overflowing its file. But what caught Rae's attention was the giant needle. It wasn't the same as the one she first was injected with. Its contents were yellow, while this ones was clear. 

It had a big needle, one that Rae defintely did not want poked into her body. The plus side was that it was sharp and could be used as a weapon.

The doctor turned around, but he still didn't grab the needle yet. Maybe it wasn't meant for her. He approached the cot. Swiftly, he grabbed onto Rae's wrist, tightly wrapping his bony fingers around it. He yanked it forward while Rae tried to pry his hands off, but he had a strong grip. The redhead felt a leather strap tighten around her wrist and when he finally let go, Rae realized the situation she was in. She thrashed violently in the gurney, but she could go nowhere and had nowhere to go. In another minute, her other wrist was strapped as well.

"What are you doing?" she fretted as the doctor finally took hold of the needle and approached her. "What is that?"

She could almost see a wry smile appear on the doctor's face as he finally replied, "This is to numb the pain."

The man didn't seem fazed as Rae squirmed in her position, trying to avoid the needle; he just picked a spot on Rae's arm and plunged the thin metal into her skin.

In a matter of seconds, Rae's vision blurred as she watched the doctor pull out the needle after injecting her with the clear liquid. He turned around, unbuttoning his lab coat.

"What are you doing?" Rae slurred. Her tongue felt numb when she talked, causing her words to slur.

The doctor loomed over her and whispered in her ear. "Just try and relax."

With that, Rae blacked out.

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