teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

2.8

    everything was red. florence's hands, the white tile she knelt on, violet's coat—everything.

    the blood was sticky, seeping into her fingers and flooding beneath her nails as she cradled the woman in her arms. the moment the bullet arced through the air, violet was gone, leaving only a gaping hole in her chest.

    florence had collapsed, the guards' grips finally loosening as soon as it was clear violet was dead. her memories were foggy, shrouded in pure despair, but she recalled the cold tile pressing against her hands and knees as she had dragged herself in a weak crawl to her aunt's body.

    she didn't scream, not after that first, piercing scream that harmonized with the shot of janson's gun. now, she was only left with silent, heart wrenching sobs, cradling violet's lifeless form. she couldn't summon a single thought, let alone a sound.

    florence felt sick as she held that woman, hugging her tightly to her chest as a mother would to her child. she looked as though she was trying to protect her, but it was too late for that. there was nothing she could do, not anymore.

    it was janson that broke that silence first, his footsteps echoing across the room. toe to heel, toe to heel, a twisted repetition of sounds. "well," his voice cut, deep and sharp, and florence shuddered. "the truest tragedies are the ones that could've been avoided, aren't they?"

    her heart stopped at those words, something akin to anger crawling up her throat. her eyes laid frozen on violet's face, pale and lifeless, while she tried to process his words. "you don't get to say that."

    the voice that came from florence was unfamiliar to her, deep and full of a hatred she'd never known before. but, even so, she didn't find herself shying away from it. oh, no, she found herself embracing it.

    her eyes flicked up and away from the ground, just barely meeting janson's gaze from beneath her eyebrows. "you have no right saying that."

    janson didn't falter, though, not after having prepared for this moment. he merely smiled down at the girl, hands folded in front of him in a mockery of manners. "i have every right saying that," he corrected, cocking his head just slightly. "this wouldn't be your first avoidable death, would it? i mean, there was nick—you could've saved him if you hadn't been so careless and preoccupied, we both know—then alby, then chuck, now violet, and although you don't remember it, there was your brother as well."

    something snapped at that strain of sickening memories. "you're an awful man, you know that?" she declared, teeth grit together as she fought the urge to look away from him. the sight of his face made her stomach twist, but she refused to cower under his gaze. he didn't deserve her fear. "how is it that the only thing you're good at is destroying and murdering?"

    he laughed again, somehow more bitter in the way it traveled to her ears. "is that what you think i do? is that what violet told you?" he shook his head, taking a step towards her just before he leaned down, their noses practically touching as he looked her deep in the eyes. "i am no murderer, you are. i did not kill nick, the grievers are coded to react, and that was on him. it was you who failed to save him, just as you failed to save alby, and chuck, and violet."

    "and grey?" the words felt useless in her throat, but she wasn't going to back down, not until she found all the information she needed.

    his face broke into a grin that made her want to punch him, but she held back. if she attacked, she would never get an answer.

    "i don't think you want to know the answer to that, darling," he purred, voice quiet as he reached a hand up to grab her chin, balaing her face softly between his index finger and thumb. "but, i also don't think you'll ever stop being a bother until you get the answer you want, so, listen closely when i tell you this, florence."

    her breath caught in her throat the moment his tale began.

    "you are not supposed to be alive. you never were supposed to even make it to the maze trials. you aren't just a mistake in the experiment, you're a mistake because you survived."

and all at once her expression of neutrality was gone with just three sentences. "what do you mean?"

"oh, i think you know what i mean, girl. you know exactly what i mean, i can see it in your eyes, and you're just trying to deny it, but we both know it's true." he dropped her face, standing himself back up and giving himself the high ground as he cast his disgusted eyes on the top of her head.

"your brother wasn't the curious one, child, you were. in all honesty, i wish it hadn't been grey with you that night as you scrambled through the corridors. i knew for a fact you would be there, and i knew for a fact there was a big chance that you would run right past where i stationed my men. but, your brother was a good kid, and he jumped in front of that bullet, that bullet i'd planned for you."

florence's heart dropped.

"but, i guess it all works out. i got to watch you go through hell for three years, and now i get to kill you."

florence shook her head once, then twice, then kept going until she felt dizzy. "no," she argued dumbly. "no, that's not right." she swallowed, but her mouth was dry. "no, no, no..."

she felt her chest grow heavy, felt as the world began to slip away from her in a haze, felt as her breaths became even more rapid with each moment that passed. she wanted to hurl everywhere, wanted to curl up and die, wanted to get up and fight, but she couldn't. she felt... she felt frozen.

but janson had other plans and other worries aside from her little panic attack. it was his voice that tempted her to look up again and stop shaking her head, meeting his eyes through her blurred tears. "don't believe me?" he baited her, and she gaped in astonishment. then, she watched in shock as he reached down towards her, his hand outstretched towards the pocket of her pants, until he pulled away with her syringe in hand—the cure, the memory un-wiper.

without another word, no more than just another cruel smile, the world faded to black as soon as janson stuck that needle into her neck.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

sorry it's such a short chapter, but i feel like recently i've released pretty long chapters. the next one is a solid length, though, so don't worry.

please leave a comment or vote if you would be so kind! thank you all for reading!