All That We Are | NEWT (tst)

Three | ALLEGIANCES

Day One

Ada shivered as she leant back against the hard chair, the chill of the metal at her spine doing little to ease the cold that seeped into her bones.

The tiny room they had shoved her in was freezing, lit up only by a single bulb above the steel table in front of her, and the cold air was harsh on her exposed arms. Everything was grey, and cold, and lifeless, and she despised it.

There was a camera on the wall. Tucked away in the upper right corner. She had spotted it immediately, the slow blinking red that reminded her all too much of the beady eyes of the beetle blades that had haunted the glade.

The door swung open after fifteen minutes, and her head snapped up from where she had been toying with the edge of her gloves as Janson stepped into the room, a strained half smile quirking his lips.

"Sorry about that," he said mildly as he removed his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair opposite her. It was identical to her own, and squeaked when he sat down on it. "There was an unexpected delay. Didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"It's fine," Ada said simply, not sure what else to respond with. She tried to relax, to unstiffen her shoulders, but the way Janson's eyes tracked her movements told her he knew just how uncomfortable she was.

"This'll only be quick. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I know you must hate getting dragged away from your friends again."

"It's not my favourite hobby," Ada confirmed, "so if we could maybe keep the separation to a minimum from now on it would be appreciated."

Janson chuckled dryly and shook his head. "I see they've bandaged you up. Good. I was just hoping to have a chat in private, that's all, away from the others. I've already spoken to Thomas."

"I can't imagine he had anything interesting to say."

"You'd be surprised." Janson rapped his knuckles against the desk, the low thud echoing in the small space. "But now I'd like to talk to you."

"About what, exactly?"

He looked at her carefully for a moment, as if considering every micro expression that flitted over her face. His voice was cold and calculating when he spoke. "You were the first in the maze, I believe. And the only girl, too. That must have been awfully frightening. I don't mean to drag up the bad memories, so I'll keep this brief. What do you remember about WICKED?"

Ada blinked, taken aback by the question, trying not to let the confusion that swamped her show too much on her face. She was being filmed, and Janson was staring at her intently, and clearly they were looking for something. She just didn't know what, and until she did she was determined to keep her cards as close to her chest as possible.

"The only thing I know about WICKED is that they put us in the maze, and that you killed them." She said after a heavy beat of silence. "I assume that was your men, who shot up the lab? It was the same masks and guns." When he didn't respond, Ada leant back in her chair. "I don't know anything about WICKED."

"We know that your friend Thomas worked with them," Janson said. He was trying to spark some sort of a reaction, to get a rise out of her, and Ada had no idea why. "That he helped put you in the maze. And yet I don't see any hatred for him, not even after everything he did to your friends. To you. You'll forgive me for wondering if the sentiment extends to the rest of the organisation."

"It doesn't." Ada said immediately, leaving no room for argument in her tone. "Thomas doesn't remember what he did, just like I don't remember my life before the maze. It wouldn't be fair to hold it against him, especially since he helped get us out of that place."