Gladiolus ~ The Maze Runner

2~3: Your Friendly Neighborhood Idiots Who Are Magnets for Death

(that's a long title wowzers. also- i did not proofread this LOL sorry not sorry)

I'm going to curb stomp the Ratman if I ever get my hands on that stupid fuck.

At the moment, I'm strapped down on a very uncomfortable table and hooked up to an IV while doctors on the other side of a glass window monitor me. A tight metal brace surrounds my torso, and a wired contraption encircles my head. Weird sticky patches are placed all over me randomly, attached to more wires. I think this thing is essentially designed to send me into psychosis.

I was trapped in multiple simulations where I was either running or fighting for my life. At the time, I thought I was really reliving these scenarios, but when the doctors took breaks, I was horrified to realize that I was simply not in control of my mind.

The doctors seemed to enjoy putting me in situations where I was forced to relive parts of the Maze, Grievers, and many more horrors. They must have grown bored, however, because they transitioned from controlling my mind to controlling the rest of my body.

Right now, they were suffocating me. I assumed that the brace around my entire torso was to thank for that. Part of me wishes to know how these machines worked, but the other part of me did not want to know whatsoever.

In simplest terms, I could not breathe.

Remember when I said that suffocation was one of my greatest fears? Clearly these guys figured that out and used it to their advantage.

I think I blacked out a couple of times. I also vomited. But no tears. Now, this shit hurts like a motherfucker, but I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of crying. I also don't think I have the physical capacity to cry either because when you lose the ability to breathe, your brain shuts down and breathing is the only thing you can focus on. So, I wasn't focused on tears.

The session they were currently putting me through was probably the most brutal one yet. I'm sitting there choking when I suddenly hear a huge thump. I couldn't look around to see what was going on, but I heard shouting and screaming follow.

What the hell is going on?

The machine suddenly shuts down and I go limp, gasping for breath, as I hear the door slam open, and two pairs of footsteps come bursting into the room. With the door open, I hear sirens going off outside the testing area.

"Holy shit," comes a voice. Minho.

"C'mon, let's get all of this off her," commands the other voice. Thomas.

I want to speak, but I still can't breathe, so I just keep gasping for air. I know, it's pathetic. Sue me.

I feel the patches being ripped off, the IV withdrawn carefully, the head piece removed and thrown to the side, and finally, Thomas pops open the terrible brace and slides me out of it.

"Hey baby," Thomas says gently. "Are you okay? We gotta go right now. Can you walk?"

I nod sluggishly but collapse into both boys like a limp noodle. This is fucking embarrassing.

"I got her," Thomas says to Minho, and he picks me up carefully. "What the hell did they do to you?" he murmurs.

"Teresa," is all I can muster. "Get..."

"Newt and Fry got her," he replies. More shouting comes from outside.

"C'mon, Minho, let's go," Thomas says, and they take off. I'm extremely disoriented, but I can vaguely register that we've made it out of the med bay and off down the hallway.

"There it is! C'mon!" I hear Thomas shouting to the others. Thomas skids to a stop and reaches into his pocket.

"Let me take her," I hear Minho say.