A Little Hope (TMR Fanfic)COMPLETED

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Alby?" I asked as I creaked open the door to the map room. Alby had asked to see me, although I had no idea what for. When I walked into the map room, my eyes unveiled a mess or wooden chests and paper thrown across the floors. In the centre of the building, there was a large table with, yet again, more paper.
"Alby?" I repeated, wondering across the room, proping the door open behind me.
"Hello." Alby appeared down some stairs in the corner. I jumped at his voice, but smiled when he walked down.
"Hey," I greeted him. "You asked me to talk to you?"
"Yes, please take a seat." Alby pointed to a chair next to the table and I pulled it out. "I asked for Chuck to get you because I wanted to ask some questions."
"Okay, go ahead." I nodded as Alby sat down opposite me.
"Firstly, what do you remember about arriving?" Alby interrogated.
"Um, I remember Teresa. And a lift, rising up into the glade-"
"No, I mean before that." Alby interruped and leaned onto his elbows on the table.
"Nothing, really." I kind of shuffled back a bit, a bit scared of how determined he was.
"Are you sure?" Alby's eyes narrowed.
"Well, I remember pretty much everything all the others would. Like... water. A drowning feeling. And some faces staring at me, but it's blurry. I don't remember..." I closed my eyes, trying to jog my memories and give Alby what he wanted.
"Try." Alby urged me on, frowning and clearing his throat.
I blinked twice leaned on the arm of the chair. "The faces... they're so... white. And I'm standing. Vertical. There are others... not voices... like, squirming. There are others drowning. Someone else... through the... the glass? A boy. Our age, maybe? That's it. It's too blurry, foggy." I said, shaking my head and slumping back in my seat.
"Good that," Alby said, contently. "That's more than we've ever gotten. So thanks. Secondly, what's your name?"
I had forgotten the only people I told my name was Newt and Teresa.
"Riley." I answered, pausing to take a breather. Focusing on my memories was exhausting.
"Riley..." Alby sat back in his chair too and rubbed his chin. "Did you know Ben?"
I shook my head.
"No, you wouldn't, I guess. He got stung and attacked Thomas, before you came. We had to banish him into the maze. See, when you get stung, all you end up saying is 'I remember'."
"I take it as that means they remember?" I asked, sarcastically.
"Most likely, yes. When Ben got stung he said that. But he also said that it was Thomas' fault. And there was one word he'd whisper as we tied him down in the medjack centre."
I leaned in closer, eager to know the word.
"What was it?" I asked.
"It was Riley."

"Why would he say your name?" Newt asked as we walked to dinner.
"I don't know!" I replied, stepping over a large stone. Newt and I were hand-in-hand, so he caught me when I tripped over the rock. I blushed ferociously and straightened up, but Newt just smiled at me. It wasn't a smirk or a grin, but a geniune smile.
"What?" I asked, brushing down my pants.
"You're so pretty." Newt said, not thinking. Then he shook his head quickly, as if he was shaking off the smile, and continued walking.
I was stunned, but I soon followed after him.
We reached dinner and I heard the sound of the maze closing for the night. The screech of crunching stone against stone filled the air, and most of the gladers sitting down covered their ears. Newt went and sat down next to Thomas and Chuck as the noise came to an end. I sat next to Teresa.
"Guys..." Chuck said as we sat down. He raised a shaking finger and pointed to the two walls that had shut. Except they hadn't shut. They had moved, but they hadn't shut the gap completly. All the gladers went manic. Some of the boys stood up and started walking over there, while a few, including Gally, ran over to the map concrete room.
"What the shuck?" Newt whispered and stood up, going after Gally. It was his job as second in command, after all.
"What does that mean?" I asked, almost shouting over the sounds of the gladers speaking.
"I don't know..." Thomas murmured, standing up. Me, Teresa and Chuck did the same as we followed after Thomas as he made his way across the glade and over to the gap where most the gladers were.