Lost

4

All the girls lean in as you take a deep breath and begin to explain. You tell them everything-well, minus the near death experiences, or the stuff with Gally, or the part about your memories— ok, so you leave out a lot. But you do tell them about getting stuck in the Glade and living with the boys for around three months.

They all sit in stunned silence after you explain. You could tell a lot of them didn't believe you, but you don't care.

"Okay, my turn to ask the questions", you say, and they look up.

"First: how did you escape? I saw the Springs and it was... there was nothing left", you shudder at the memory of your home burning, the bodies of your friends littering the ground.

"The Cliff. We had to jump off. There was a spot where the Grievers came from but it was hidden with illusion tech", Miyoko explains.

So that's why you didn't die when you jumped. You were supposed to all along. What are the chances?

"It was hella scary though. Trusting our lives in the hands of this crazy stick", Harriet chuckles, messing up Miyoko's hair, which provokes her to shove Harriet back jokingly.

"Yeah well this crazy stick saved your butt!" They bicker back and forth for a while until Harriet tackles Miyoko and they start wrestling. You shake your head with a chuckle and proceed.

"Okay, question number two. How long have you been here?"

"Just under a month I think", Sonya answers surely.

You nod. The rat man said you'd been out for about three weeks, and they escaped right before you jumped, so that checks out.

"Question number four, who was that boy in the cafeteria? He said he knew you—well, he said he knew the girls from 'Group B' , which I assume is you"

The room goes silent. You wait patiently for them to answer your question.

"That's Aris. Him and Rachel were best friends. He arrived right around the time you disappeared", one of the girls explains and you freeze. A maze full of girls, suddenly a boy arrives... a maze full of boys, suddenly a girl arrives. That means the mazes are more connected then you thought.

"What day exactly did Aris show up?", you ask hurriedly, running over to corner where a few pieces of chipped concrete fell off the wall.

"Uhm... about a month? I think it was around 43 days?"

You scrawl on the wall with the pebble, leaving white streaks across the wall. You were unconscious in the maze for 2 days, and unconscious for 2 days in the glade. Then you were there for a day, and knocked out by Gally for another day or two. That's six days...

You keep adding days, trying to remember what specifically happened that day, but for some reason most of the memories are fuzzy. You can't really remember much.

The girls stare at you like your crazy— you can't blame them though. You're squatting in a corner scribbling seemingly random tics on the wall while muttering nonsense to yourself—you look like a straight up whacko.

But after much calculation and headache, you know for sure that Aris and Teresa arrived in each maze on the same day, like clockwork.

You stand up quickly and turn to face the girls who look at you with concerned expressions.

"Do you have any idea why we're here?"

They all shrug and shake their heads, exchanging mutters. Clearly none of them have any clue why you're here, but you have a feeling it's not good.

Newts POV

I stare into her eyes and she shows no sign of recognition. It's too painful for me; wether it's a sick joke or she genuinely can't remember me- it makes no difference.

I turn and storm out of the cafeteria, the doors slamming loudly behind me. But I only make it a few meters until guards start swarming me. They slap their batons against their palms threateningly as they approach, but I'm too hurt right now to really care. I'll let them beat me till I numb because at least it's something to feel other then heartache.

But the guards only get a couple, practically painless, hits before a ravaged man stops them. His hands are coated with grime and his face is oddly rat like, especially his mouth with his little buck teeth, which he fully exposes when he smiles at me. I return his glance with a grimace.

"A5...", he mumbles, so quiet I barely hear him, "follow me", he smiles and turns swiftly, walking away. I stand there in confusion as the rat-man gets farther and farther away, not stopping for me. One of the guards pokes me in the back with his baton, gesturing for me to follow. Begrudgingly, I do.

I follow the man down the halls, the weaving maze of corridors that seems impossible to navigate. But the man struts effortlessly, having memorized this place like the back of his hand.

We come to a stop in front of a large, stainless steel door with a frosted glass window. The man enters, and is immediately engulfed in the stream of scientists in white lab coats, clipboards in hand. I try to maneuver around them, getting body checked in all directions and receiving many dark glares as I pass.

When I reach the man again, he's standing beside a long table with strange pieces of technology sitting atop it. Colourful wires burst out in all directions, creating a thick spider web around the metal devices. I stroke my finger across the smooth, dome shaped metal.

"What is this?", I ask, and the man turns. When he sees the thing I'm gesturing to, he smiles and walks up to it, admiring it like it was his own child.

"This, son"—I cringe when he calls me that—"is a very special machine that we've been working on for quite a while".

He taps a button that I didn't notice, and the metal orb blossoms, revealing multiple little chips. The chips were metallic, with a translucent finish, making them see through. I'm able to see all the little wires running through it.

"What does it do?"

He smiles even wider, as if he was waiting for me to ask that, "this is a neuro-transmitter. It monitors and filters people's thoughts and actions, and can... alter, them".

I process that for a moment. Filter and alter peoples thoughts and actions... that kinda sounds like...

"Mind control?", I whisper in shock.

"Essentially, yes", he continues walking away, and I hesitate for a moment.

These people have access to mind control, which would shift people's grip on reality... kinda like....

I gasp when the pieces fall into place.

Y/N.

Word Count: 1137

A/N— ha... so... Uhm... yeah. I'm sorry. I was camping and I ran out of data and I was hanging out with my friends cuz I only see them like once a year.... So yea. I have excuses :)

Sorry again. I swear I'm trying to update more, I'm really trying! Thank you all for being so patient and thanks for all the support. Keep commenting and shit cuz it makes me happy

Thanks!

—A3