Rogue | Group B → The Maze Runner¹

ii.ten

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● [ x . the next morning ]

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ROGUE AWOKE to a weak, lifeless light filtering through her torn curtain. Her first thought was that she must have woken up earlier than usual, that dawn was still an hour away, but the commotion outside suggested otherwise. She looked towards the window, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Gone was the natural pale light of morning — the sky was a dull slab of grey. Rogue jumped to her feet, her heart pounding, and put her hands on the ribbed wooden wall to steady herself. There was no blue, no black, no stars, no purplish fan of a creeping dawn. she glanced down at her watch — it was midday. If not Harriet, the sun should have alerted her awake. But not that day. That day, the sun had disappeared.

She rushed back to the bedside. 'Ada,' she whispered urgently, lightly shaking the girl. 'Ada, wake up.'
Ada stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. 'Mm — what?' she mumbled, sitting up slowly. She could barely lift her head. 'It's too early, Ro,' she said, then paused. She pulled a face. 'What's everyone yelling about?'
Rogue clasped Ada's hands in her own. 'It's not early, Ada. The sun is gone.'

'What?' Ada's eyes finally opened, the last remnants of sleep vanishing. She threw off her blankets and stood, tugging down her sleep shirt as she approached the window. She stared out, her face pale and slack with shock. Rogue came up behind her, placing her hands on Ada's waist and standing on her tiptoes to get another peek. She half expected the sky to have changed back to normal, but it remained an unbroken expanse of grey.

The two of them hurried outside to find most of the Glenners gathered near the entrance to the Box, pointing at the dead sky and talking over each other in a frenzy. The usual hum of activity was absent. Based on the time, breakfast and lunch should have already been served, girls should be working. But Hashslinger wasn't in the Kitchens, and Alejandra wasn't in the Gardens. The disappearance of the sun had thrown everyone into disarray.

Rogue furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of the scene. There had to be some scientifically acceptable reason for what they were witnessing. And whatever it was, it meant one thing to her: the fact that they could no longer see the sun meant they'd probably never seen it in the first place. The sun couldn't just disappear. Their sky had to have been — and still was — entirely artificial. Everything about the Glen was fake, and it was finally dawning.

Rogue had always known the Maze to be man-made. There had to be someone or something behind its creation. The Makers sent them supplies, took their requests, and designed the Crawlers. But lately, it seemed less like a prison and more like a game.

Wally found them, her face pinched with fear, eyes wide and glassy. 'What's going on?' she asked, her voice trembling. Her eyes were glued to the sky. 'It looks like a big grey ceiling. It's lower than the sky, right?'