Shattered Love | Scorch Trials

Bonnie

  I sit in a room. Two beds, one desk and a bathroom are all that fill the small space. My legs remain tucked into my chest, chin resting on my knees.

  I've been here for three days. They just moved me to the headquarters to run the experiment now that the Creators have passed. I don't know what they expect me to do. I am only fourteen years old, after all.

  The door slides open, my head jolting up. I've been waiting for the door to open.

  A tall, slim girl stands in the doorway, caramel hair falling just below her ears. She has hazel eyes that look just as lost and scared as me. Her eyes dart around the room, eventually landing on me. Her whole body trembles, shaking like an earthquake.

  Two of Wicked's guards stand behind her, black uniforms and everything. One of their weapons is raised against her head, finger on he trigger.

  They push her inside, she falls to the ground, groaning at the impact.

  They leave and lock the door behind them, only the girl and I remain. Her pale skin is covered with freckles. Her shoulders shake and she tucks her hair behind her ears. She quickly scrambles up and backs away from me, pressing her back against the wall, breathing heavily.

  "Who are you?" I ask her, making my voice soft and welcoming.

  She doesn't answer. Instead, her hands ball into fists next to her and her teeth clench. But she seems harmless.

  "I'm not going to hurt you," I say, standing up and walking over to her. Her eyes are locked on me, carefully watching my every move as I sit down, a couple feet across from her. "My name is Olivia."

  "Why did they bring me here?" Her voice snaps, catching me of guard.

  "I-I don't know. That's what I was gonna ask you." Who is this girl?

  "I can't remember anything." She says, voice quieter this time. She rocks back and forth, whispering things to herself.

  "What? What do you mean?" I ask.

  "I mean I can't remember anything! Nothing, nothing about how I got here or my life or anything! Why can't I remember anything?!" She yells.

  I shake my head. "I honestly don't know. I've never seen them do this before..."

  "Them? Who's them?" She asks, voice catching.

  I sigh. "Look, I don't know much."

  "Then tell me what you do know, please." She whispers the last word, like a scared child.

  "Okay, well like I said, my name's Olivia. And when I was little, my brother and I were taken from our mom and brought to a special facility where we went through all sorts of tests and medical visits. They wanted to use my brother in some sort of experiment, to find a cure for a disease called the Flare." I say. Images and flashbacks of Chuck being ripped away from my arms by the same guards, taken away from me and brought to headquarters. I am in the same building as him but the complex is so large it's impossible to find him. Grief tugs at my heart. All I want is my brother back.

  "Why?" She asks, interrupting my thoughts.
 
  "Apparently we are immune to the Flare. And I assume you are too, and that's why they brought you here." I tell her. She seems to have settled a little, but still shakes.

  "Why'd they take away my memory?" She asks.

  "I am a part of the experiment too. We all are. But, they brought me here to control the experiment. They are gonna put the subjects of the test in a harsh environment and throw challenges at them to test their brain responses. I call them the Variables. It is my job to create and put the Variables into action."

  "What does that have to do with me?"

  "One of the Variables in called the Swipe. Before going into Phase One of the trials, all subjects will have their memories 'swiped.' But, this doesn't make sense because your'e not a subject. I don't know why they put you under the Swipe." I say, furrowing my brow as I try to come up with a reason.

  She clears her throat. "When I woke up, they told me I knew too much. And then they took me here to this room."

  I try my hardest to put the pieces together. "I remember them saying something about someone named Bonnie, who was a risk to the Variables, but I didn't know what it meant-"

  "That's my name." She says.

  "What?"

  "My name is Bonnie. That's the only thing I can remember."

  I say nothing. This is the girl everyone was talking about when I got here. How she was about to destroy everything, ruin the trials. But I don't know what it means.

  "I'm scared. They want me to help you," She says. "But I don't know what to do."

  I smile, try to reassure her. "Don't worry. They won't harm you. You can trust them. You can trust me."

  She returns the smile. "Thanks."

  I crawl over to her and give her a hug, her silent sobs shaking my shoulder.

  "Don't worry. I'll be your friend. We're all in this together."