I Promise | The Maze Runner

Chapter 4: Memories ✔️

We all stayed quiet, not daring to say anything.

~~~~~

"Maddie!"

The door to the room is thrown open and a boy about 14 runs in. He has dark brown hair and matching eyes. He runs in and grabs my shoulders, making me face him.

"They're gonna send you in if you don't get out of here now." He says, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I can't!" I say, pulling him into a hug. "I can't leave without you."

"I'm your older brother, it's my job to protect you." The boy says, looking me in the eyes.

"But you're helping them!" I say, looking at the boy. "You're helping WICKED!"

"I have to." He says, tears in his eyes. "I have to protect you."

"But I work with them too." I whisper.

"I know, we have to, if we don't they'll kill us." He says, holding onto me. "You need to get out of here."

The door opens again and 3 guards with WICKED labeled on the front of their uniforms walk in. 2 of them grab me by the arms and another grabs the boy, holding him back.

"Maddie!" He yells, fighting the guard. "No!"

~~~~~

I look up as the door to the room is opened and a man walks in. He looks around at all of us, sitting on the floor covered in blood, dirt, sweat, tears, and grass.

"Guess the kid was right." The man mumbles, pulling a walkie talkie out of his belt.

I stand up, taking my knife and pointing it towards him. "Who are you?!"

"Edmund Carter." He says, before glancing around the room again. He stops at one of the girls, staring at her. I follow his look to Toby.

She looks up at Edmund, a look of confusion on her face. "Ed?" She asks after a second. She gets up and walks over to the man, pulling him into a hug. All the other girls and Aris watch, confused and curious.

"What happened to you kids?" Edmund finally asks, slightly pulling away from Toby to look around the room again. All of us stay quiet, not knowing if we should trust him. "Well, I'm guessing you wanna get outta here and somewhere safe. I can only take 3 of you right now, but I can get more guys to come get you." He says after a few seconds of silence.

"Guys, you can trust him." Toby speaks up. "He's not lying." 

That convinces most of us. "Since you trust him the most you should probably go." Kat speaks up, looking at Toby. "Harriet, Sonya. You go too."

"But, Kat! You and Spencer should go." Harriet says, looking at the two of us.

"I'm in charge. I say you go." Kat says, giving Harriet a look saying not to argue. Harriet sighs, giving in.

"I'll call my guys. I promise we'll get all of you safe." Edmund says, looking towards Harriet and Sonya as they make their way towards him.

"Who do you work with?" I ask.

"The Right Arm. We've been trying to fight WICKED since they took all of you kids." Edmund replies.

A few minutes after Edmund left with Toby, Harriet, and Sonya, the door opens again and men with guns run in. Each of the men grab each of us and lead us out of the lab into the open, out of the maze. 

Out of that hell-hole.

I look around, getting my first sight of the world, or for as long as I can remember first sight. The world is now a sandy wasteland. No green grass or water. Not a single tree in the hundred miles I can see. A hot sun beating down on the world. Sand whips around, getting in my eyes and mouth. The man holding me, pulls me into a helicopter. The door closes after the man gets in behind me. All of us are now safe.

The man pulls his mask off to look at us. "Everything's gonna change now."

-----

The helicopter lands and the man opens the door before getting out. All of us follow, getting off and back out into the sandy desert. A huge building is in front of us with a set of huge doors sliding opening. The man leads us in and when we're all in, the doors slide closed once again.

A man walks up to us. "Welcome. You can call me Mr. Janson." He says before starting to turn. "Follow me." He starts walking away. I glance at Kat before following him, everybody following me. "I run this place. For us it's a sanctuary. Safe from the horrors of the outside world. You should all think of it as a way-station. Kind of a...home between homes."

"Does that mean you're taking us home?" Pip asks, a little bit of hope in her voice.

"A home of sorts. Sadly, there won't be much left of where you came from. But we do have a place for you, a refuge outside the Scorch. Where WICKED will never find you again. How does that sound? Now, let's say the world out there is in a precarious situation and we're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, that also makes you a target. As by, no doubt, you've noticed." Janson continues as he walks up to a door before using a key card to unlock and open it. "Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives. First thing's first...let's do something about that smell."