Daedalus

Running is Wicked

I'm thinking of setting a deadline? Maybe I'll update every other week. Thoughts? I also went back and changed the leader to Nick, who died before Thomas arrived. ('Let this half shank be a warning to you all')

I don't know what we're doing,

Don't know what we've done

But the fire is coming

So I think we should run

-Run, Daughter
∆ ∆ ∆

Cara was just about ready to shoot the birds roosting somewhere above her. They woke her up at an ungodly hour, and refused to let her go back to sleep. They were driving her crazy! Luckily for them, Leo showed up with a cup of coffee (Danny introduced it to her when she was in the slammer - she was now addicted.)

After consuming the blessed beverage, she tidied up her hair, straightened her clothes and made her way to the mess hall, where the rest of the Runners were waiting. She swiped a pancake from the table and grabbed a few sandwiches and a bottle of water for her lunch. Minho jogged up to her with a small backpack-harness thing and a pair of silvery running shoes, both of which she took gratefully. She shoved the food in the backpack and tied her shoes quickly, wondering why they looked so worn, and who had worn them before her.

"Okay! So, as you know, the she-bean has been sorted into our group." Minho announced. "However, as we already have a runner for each section, we'll have to double up. Any volunteers?"

Newt and a tall, blonde kid stepped forward (she thought he was called Ben). Minho grinned at her and sent her over to Ben ("Newt needs to stop hogging all the greenies." Ben informed her with a smirk.

"Slim it shank" Newt muttered grumpily.)

Minho took her to the weapons room (hidden underneath the map room-she wondered how a bunch of teenaged boys had managed to make an underground hidey hole without any of the other Gladers noticing), where she picked the biggest knife she could find-and then promptly dropped it.

It landed inches from her foot. Maybe I should start with something smaller, she thought. She started rifling through the smaller blades, and settled on a pair that looked like they were meant to be strapped to her forearms. They were too advanced for them to have been created in the Glade, so she assumed whoever had sent them up here had sent them up one month. It was a good thing too, because if she had chosen anything else, she probably would have ended up stabbing herself.

Cara found herself wandering over to the ranged weapons section, even though she didn't know what half of them did, and she'd probably end up shooting herself in the face if she attempted to figure out what they could do. Her gaze was drawn to a somewhat dusty quiver and the discarded bow beside it. 'I wonder...' she thought.'Ah, shuck it.' she thought. It wasn't like anyone was using it. Besides, what was the worst thing that could happen?

Muscle memory was an amazing thing, Cara soon discovered. When she placed an arrow and pulled the string back, she placed her limbs in positions that just felt right. She took a breath....and released. Bullseye. How on earth had she managed that? She managed to destroy everything she touched! She shook off the shock and tried again. And again. And again. Every time it was the same result. She stalked up to the target-which was looking more and more like a porcupine with every projectile she she threw at it-and retrieved the weapons. She had wasted enough time already.

Thankfully, Ben was patiently waiting for her.

"You ready greenie?" She nodded. "Then let's go!" He thankfully didn't comment on the weapons she'd chosen. (That earned him several brownie points in her book-that and the fact that he seemed to be crushing on Leo)

In the Maze there were massive signs proclaiming that it was property of the 'World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department' - and strangely, they looked familiar. She wondered if they were the creators. ("They've been here since forever. It's best if you just ignore them, greenie")

Running wasn't so difficult, but waking up the day after was hellish. Her limbs felt like the slightest touch would make them shatter. When she complained about it to Ben, he laughed and told her to stretch once she got back to the Glade. Surprisingly, it worked. She woke up the next day feeling refreshed and cramp free. But that night she did something she'd never done before: she dreamed.

∆ ∆ ∆

"Em, don't do this. You're going to be caught!" A boy, about a year younger than her, protested.

"Tom, I can't just leave them there to die!" She responded. "They're human beings! Not lab rats!"

"I want to help as much as you do, but this is too much! They'll find out-please Emily, I don't want to lose my friend."

"I have to do something!" She glanced down at the precious syringes clutched in her hand. "I can't act like you and Reese. It kills me to watch them suffer-and they all know it."

"You don't have to do this alone. We can help!"

Hesitantly, she nodded, span on her heel and

-fell off the hammock. Ouch. Cara tried to push herself up, but her foot was still caught in her makeshift bed, and she only managed to flip herself over onto her back. She could see quite a few things she'd never noticed before from that angle, such as some deformed mushrooms close by, a bush weighed down with poisonous looking berries, a silvery bug bot- wait, what?

The thing regarded her with a red-tinted gaze, eyes shuttering like cameras. Slowly, Cara reached for a mushroom, praying to whatever God was listening that it wasn't toxic, and chucked it at the mechanical spy (because that's what it had to be used for), which scampered away pretty quickly. When she finally disentangled herself, she made her way to the kitchen. But she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her...

∆ ∆ ∆

Wow. Much ending. Very awkward. Sorry this took so long. But hey, it's here now! And you should check out From Another Eye by PoinlessDaydreamer if you like Gally, and When Oblivion is Calling Out Your Name by Arno_Dorkian if you want to see more of Ben and Leo. All of our stories are connected, and will eventually line up. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and goodbye!