I Promise | The Maze Runner

Chapter 5: A 'Safe' Place ✔️

I step into the warm water of the shower. I take a deep breath as the water soaks into my skin, washing off all the blood, dirt, and sweat from the past 3 years.

~~~~~

I walk up to the woman. "Dr. Paige? I completed the maze."

Dr. Ava Paige looks down at the young 10-year old. "Very well, Spencer. Show me what you made."

I hold up the miniature scale for her to look at. She looks at it for a minute before giving me a small nod. "It looks good. I want the building of the mazes to start immediately." 

"Um, Dr. Paige?" My voice says.

She looks down at me again. "Yes?"

Her calm voice sends a small shiver down my spine. "I was just tinkering and...I made this." I hold out the beetle in my hand.

She looks at it for a second before taking it. "Well? What is it?"

"It's a beetle. I read all about it in the books from the library. I decided to make one. And this one I put a camera on it. I was thinking we could put it in the mazes. We can keep an eye on the subjects!" I say, obviously excited about it.

"A beetle?" Dr. Paige says to herself, examining the small bug. "Amazing." She puts the beetle back in my small hand. "You really are a genius Spencer!"

~~~~~

-----

Janson sits across from me at the table. "I won't take too much of your time. Just want to ask a few questions." I nod and he continues. "What do you remember about WICKED?"

I look at him for a few seconds. "When we were in the maze all the supplies we got had WICKED labeled on it. I remember...my brother and I used to work for them." I look down at my hands, biting my lip.

"You worked for them?" Janson asks.

"That's all I remember." I say in a quiet voice.

"Do you know what the Right Arm is?" Janson asks.

"I've heard the name." I say, remembering Edmund. "Somebody took three of our girls after we left the maze."

Janson looks surprised. "Which girls?"

"Harriet, Sonya, and Toby."

Janson nods. "That'll be all."

-----

I walk into the cafeteria. A big room with tables and chairs all around. All the girls and Aris are sitting at a table, a group of boys is at another table, and a group of more girls is at another table. I walk over and sit down next to Aris.

"It feel so good to be clean." Rachel says with a small smile.

"Yeah, it does." I agree quietly.

Where are Toby, Harriet, and Sonya? I look around the cafeteria, looking for them.

"Spencer, we weren't the only maze." Luna says. I look over at her as my name was said. "These other kids were in their own mazes."

Janson walks into the room. "Good evening, gentleman, ladies." He says, looking around the room. "When I call your name please stand and we'll escort you to the eastern wing where your new lives are about to begin." Janson looks down at his clipboard.

"Micah, Jake, Leah..."

"Where are they going?" Luna asks a boy I didn't realise was sitting with us.

"Somewhere safe." The boy replies, listening to Janson.

"...and Marie." Janson puts his clipboard down. "That will be all. But don't get discouraged, we can only take a few at a time."

-----

"Kathrine, Marian, Leo, Luna, Sam, Helen, Elizabeth, Rachel, Carter, and Walter." Janson looks up from his clipboard. "That's all for today."

Kat looks over at me. "Take care of everybody...especially Pip." She says before standing up with Luna, Helen, Liz, and Rachel before following them over to the line.

Pip scoots next to me and wraps an arm around me. "Are we ever going to see them again?" She asks in a low voice.

"I hope so, I really hope so."

We got here yesterday and Kat already left. It just leaves Pip, Aris, Jane, Susan, Juliet, and myself. Even though there's only 6 of us, we still got split into 3 different bunk rooms. I'm with Pip; Aris in his own because he's a boy; Jane, Susan, and Juliet are in the other.

-----

I sit down next to Pip and Aris. Jane got called to go to a 'new home' yesterday and Susan and Juliet hang out with some girls from another maze, leaving Pip, Aris, and myself to be alone.

"This doesn't seem right." I say, thinking aloud.

"I know, Spencer." Aris says, annoyed, rolling his eyes. "You've told us for the past two weeks." I glance over at him, who's inspecting a piece of cornbread.

"I'm gonna get a water." I mumble, standing up before walking over to the counter to get a cup of water. I pick it up and start walking back towards the table when I run into somebody, spilling all the water over my shirt. "Really?!" I ask, looking up at who I ran into.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- I wasn't watching where I was going- I'm sorry." A boy about my age with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes says with a thick accent. 

Janson walks out with his clipboard. "Alright, you know how this works. When I call your name, rise in an orderly fashion and goin my colleges where they will escort you to the eastern wing where you will start your new life." He looks down at his clipboard. "Conner, Evangeline, Justin..."

"Sorry, but...what's happening?" The blonde boy says, glancing at Janson.

"You must be from the new group." He nods so I continue. "When he calls your name, he'll bring you to a 'safe' place where you get to start your 'new life'. But I wouldn't trust him."

"Why?" The boy asks with curiosity. 

"I just don't trust him." I say, looking back at Janson.

"...Franklin, Abigail, and Pippi."

Without another word to the blonde I make my way towards our table, sitting next to Pip. She looks over at me. "It'll be okay." I say, giving her a hug.

She stands up and walks over to the other kids before following them through the door. I look back at Aris with a sigh. "Will you stop looking at that cornbread?!"

"Teresa!?" 

I look over to see a boy with dark hair and dark brown eyes quickly walking towards the doors Pip just went through. "Teresa!?" He repeats. Two guards push him back. They have a conversation I can't hear and the boy turns around, walking back towards his table. He glances at me and Aris. 

The boy from my memory...