Subject Terminated // The Scorch Trials [1]

TWO.

[CHAPTER TWO];

"I heard a whisper on my shoulder
Pretending life is worth the fight."
- The Other Side, WOODKID

"Mom?" Mataya's voice was just above a whisper as the creaking floorboards filled the quiet house. Her bare feet were sliding across the wooden floor skillfully -- so she wasn't to wake her slumbering baby brother. "Mom are you awake?"

Her lips pressed into a tight line as the only sound was her heavy breathing. She was frightened when she woke up to a loud bang and a scream. Mat had sat up from her bed with a startle, quickly scurrying out of her warm, comforting bed before checking to see if her brother was unharmed.

Thankfully he was, and now Mat was on a journey around the spacious house to find the source of the mysterious noise. Her heart was in her throat as she descended down the stairs -- the darkness of the night made her wary of her surroundings.

Since the scorch, they had been locked up in the safe house that her father had built in cases of emergencies -- like the world ending. She hadn't seen the light of day since the scorch happened, and Mat would be lying if she didn't say that she longed for that experience.

For a seven year old, Mataya was exceptionally smart and brave. That made Mataya's mother quiet fearful for many reasons, Ava Paige -- her successful sister -- being one of them. Mataya's mother remembered the long conversations she would have with her sister, from the gecko, Ava Paige wanted to change the world.

WICKED was created when the scorch hit, Ava had shown a particular interest in Mataya and her little brother. Mataya's mother would do anything in her power to save her precious kids, despite the constant drinking, and sleeping away the day -- when it came to her kids, it didn't matter how broken down she was, she would protect them with her life.

Mataya wrapped her knit sweater across her body more, her hand clutching the teddy bear tightly in her hand as she felt the cold tile floor send shivers down her fragile, tiny body. Her heart began to pound quickly in her chest as her stomach twisted into knots. A gut wrenching feeling that something terribly wrong was about to happen. She stood in front of the basement door, her hand placing on the cool wood.

"There's nothing to worry about Mat." She mumbled to herself, her hand clutching the soft fabric of the bear tighter -- her knuckles were white as she clutched as tight as she possibly could.

The sound of the creaking wood was enough to alert Mataya's mother. Her broken body was huddled over something Mataya couldn't make out. Her blue eyes widened with fear as her mothers head turned to her.

A scream escaped her cracked lips as she stumbled back at the scene. Her eyes were black as her broken soul, and her veins were prominent enough to see -- black.

Black.

That's how she described it to others.

It's like the darkness of the world was packed into humans as they roamed the earth -- blood hungry and ready to kill.

Mataya's mother hissed and stood up, lunging for the girl. Black liquid stained her shirt where a large tear was visible. She could see the cracked skin full of black oozing liquid. The blackness of the veins spread throughout her body.

The woman lunged for the girl, grabbing her arm forcefully.

Mataya tried to sit up, her eyes snapping open as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. Her eyes blinked multiple times as she tried to register where she was. Everything was upside down, and her head was light headed.