Subject of the Flame | Maze Runner [2]

TEN

[ ELECTRA ]

❧

Empty gray walls surrounded Electra. A few lonely children's toys scattered the floor, along with a vibrant blue carpet sitting in the middle of the room. She looked at the little boy in front of her. However, she couldn't see his face. Electra reckoned that he had to be around six or seven years old. She narrowed her eyes at him as if to see him more clearly, but she couldn't even register his face.

She turned her head, noticing a metallic mirror. She was unable to see her own reflection but she saw the boy's reflection. He sat with his legs crossed and looked intently toward her. Still, she couldn't get a clear glimpse of his face. She could, however, feel the carpet digging into her knees.

A book was placed into Electra's hands, diverting her attention back to the boy.

"I've been here for about a month and I've read this book three times. Here, you should read it," the boy said. "It might be my favourite book I've ever read."

Electra peered down and ran her fingers along the book title. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. She scrunched her nose, unable to recognize the title.

The book felt odd in her hands. She hadn't held many books in her lifetime, although she knew she could read. Electra couldn't remember why she hadn't had access to reading, but she had a feeling that the reason intertwined with her being placed in this gray room with an unknown boy.

She opened the book but couldn't read any of the words inside. Again, she squinted, trying to see if that would help but it didn't. Electra glanced back at the boy and could sense a smile even though she couldn't see his face.

Electra's eyes flashed open to hear a loud crashing sound. She fell off her bed, frantically looking around in a blaze of panic. She found her knife sitting on a dresser in the back of the room and she snatched it up before turning towards the door where the sound was coming from. A raging headache pounded behind her forehead and she blinked through the pain.

The door popped open a couple of inches and Electra raised her knife in front of her chest. The intruder slid the door open and strode into the room. Electra took a couple of steps forward. When the intruder tripped backwards, raising his hands at his side, she finally recognized him.

"Electra?" Thomas gasped.

"Thomas?"

Minho pushed past Thomas, rushing up to Electra and giving her a big bear hug, "Nice to see you alive."

"You too," Electra said but turned to Thomas. "What the hell happened?"

Minho let go of her, awkwardly shoving his hands in his pockets, "Beats me. One second we were escaping, next second I have the world's worst headache."

Thomas was analyzing the beds in the room and Electra furrowed her brows before copying him. Two dressers sat in the back of the room, along with a closed door to the right. Two sets of bunks beds were arranged on each side of the room, all made except for two. Two? Who else slept in here?

Electra jumped at the flushing of a toilet. Thomas let out a deep breath and used one of the bunks to steady himself. He looked as though he was about to pass out.

"Is Teresa in there?" He pointed to the closed door where Electra presumed a bathroom should be. Wow, at least they gave us a bathroom this time, Electra thought, remembering the bucket in her old room.

"I'd assume so but I literally just woke up. Thanks, by the way. I really appreciated being scared to death as a wake-up call." Electra sat on the bed she'd woken up in. "What's the plan? Do you know where we are?"