𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓾𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓷 - [EDITING]

Chapter Nineteen - Addy

I've never been so happy while plummeting to certain doom. I lean against the strong shoulder of my boyfriend- the word sends shivers of delight down my spine- and stare into the darkness above me. What would I give if we could always be this close? I wonder to myself. With his arm draped over my shoulder and my head resting on his chest...

"You think we're getting near the bottom?" Newt asks, stroking my dark chocolate hair.

I cringe. I don't want to think about where we're going. "I'm not sure. We've been going for ages. I don't really want to make it to the end."

"Yeah," Newt agrees. "Me either."

But our wishes go unfulfilled. With a jerking boom, the Box stops. I cover my ears as a screeching, grating sound of metal on metal bounces through the chamber. Light begins to spill into the Box as one of the walls slides open like a door. A few sparks fly and then it opens completely, filling my eyes with blinding light compared to the darkness of the Box.

A shield my eyes and look out, getting a strong sense of deja vu from the first time I came out of the Box. Newt squeezes my other hand.

When my eyes finally adjust, I see three figures standing front and center, as well as a fourth in the back of the room. Two woman, one with vibrant red hair and the other black haired, and a man. All wearing white lab coats over their clothes. The woman in the back has on a light gray pantsuit and her platinum hair pulled back in a tight bun behind her head.

"You've brought a friend," the dark women observes. She doesn't seem too happy about it, but I only entwine my fingers with Newt's tighter.

"What do you want from me?" I cast suspicious glances between the three doctors.

To my surprise, none of them speak. Instead, the woman in the back steps forward. "You were a mistake, Ada. You weren't meant to go into their Maze," she jabs a finger towards Newt, "but your brother earned our trust and snuck you into his."

"Why?" I still haven't left the Box but Newt and I are both on our feet.

"That is the question, isn't it?" The woman steps closer until she's almost inside the Box. "We weren't able to ask him unfortunately. He doesn't remember. It's too late now. Why don't you two come out? My friend would like to speak with you properly."

I don't want to move, but Newt makes me brave and together we step out into the room. It's filled with boxes of supplies and a single rolling surgery bed, the indentation of a body still melded into the mattress. As I explore my surroundings with my eyes, the doctors take their place all around us. There's no way for us to escape if we tried, but I know it will be best to go along with what they tell us to.

"I'm Chancellor Ava Paige," the blonde woman says as she leads us through a door and into an eerily familiar hallway. "Ada, your friend, he goes by Newt, correct?"

"Yes," Newt answers. "And her name is Addy."

"If you say so," Chancellor Paige complies.

"Where are you taking us?" I demand.

"Like I said," the Chancellor says, "I have a friend, Janson, who'd like to speak with you. Just to warn you, I'm not sure he's in a very good mood."

She leads us through a door into what looks like an interrogation room. "I'm afraid we only have one chair for you. We weren't expecting a second guest." Her words are bitter, but deep inside, further than I can see, the chancellor was trying her hardest not to care about the kids. "He'll be in shortly." With that, Ava Paige turns on her stiletto heels and shuts the door behind her.

I sigh and nod her head towards the chair. "You can sit," I say simply.

Newt shakes his blond mop. "You take. It wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to make you stand."