The Lost Glader || A TMR Fanfiction

Chapter 9 || Runner

"Just the person I'm looking for." I looked up to see Minho standing there, arms crossed. "We have work to do." He said and I furrowed my brow confused. "Wha..." Before I could finish, he started walking away. "Come on, no time to waste." He called over his shoulder. I gave Newt a confused look before running after Minho.

"Uh what work do we have to do exactly...?" I asked. "You're going to be a runner tomorrow, I don't want to start late, so we're getting ready tonight." I raised my eyebrows but kept in stride with Minho even though he had much longer legs than me. "Yeah I guess that makes sense." I paused as we kept waking before I finally spoke again.

"You know you're different than the others." I said and he glanced at me. "You don't have to tell me that." He replied and I rolled my eyes as I continued. "What I mean is, everyone else around here has basically dismissed me. Either they believe Gally's crazy story of me working for the creators, or they just don't know what to make of me so they keep their distance. But you, don't even know me, and are already letting me be a runner. Why is that?" I asked.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't believe that you're trying to sabotage is or what that slinthead is saying. I just think you were thrown in here just like the rest of us. You didn't ask to be here. Plus you're determined to get out of here. More than I've seen in anyone, in a long time." I felt myself smile. "Well it's good to have a couple people believe me." I mumbled and Minho waved his hand in dismissal. "The others are just scared." I slowly nodded. "Yeah, it's intimidating being around a pretty girl..." He snorted in response.

Minho opened a door in the back of the Homestead, revealing a pitch black space. "Pretty sure there is something about not following strange guys into dark rooms." I glanced at him as he rolled his eyes before flipping on a light switch, illuminating a stone staircase that lead down into more darkness. I scrunched my eyebrows together. "You all built this yourselves?" I asked, knowing that this wasn't part of our house.

He nodded as he descended the stairs, and after a moment I followed, a step behind him. "All the important equipment is kept down here." Our footsteps echoed on each step and I wondered how large their underground room was.

Minho reached the last step first and flipped on another light switch to expose a wide open space that had to be the full length of the Homestead. "Oh look at that..." I mumbled my eyes scanning the area, but soon they narrowed. "Ok, I don't see any important runner equipment." I said only seeing tools for the gardens, building, and even cooking.

Minho who was already walking towards a door I hadn't noticed before, gestured with a two fingered wave over his shoulder for me to follow. I quickly hopped the last two steps and walked over to where he stood at the door, pulling a key from his pocket. "We don't just let anyone in here. Runners only." He added unlocking the door and opening it before flipping on yet another light switch.

Inside the significantly smaller room,was everything a runner could need. An assortment of neatly arranged backpacks, running shoes, water bottles, and weapons stocked the floor to ceiling shelves. "Not bad." I nodded in approval as I examined the whole room in one quick sweep. "Admit you're impressed." Minho said tossing me a backpack that I caught deftly. "Sure, for a group of guys, it's pretty organized." He scoffed glancing back at me. "There's just no pleasing you. Come on, let's finish in here."

Only a few minutes later, I was already to go into the Maze, with a backpack full of my equipment, and well-fitted running shoes, the only thing left was to get my lunch in the morning and choose a suitable weapon.

"This should work." I said grabbing two identical long knifes(too short to be a sword) with a comfortable grip leather handle. Along with that I found a leather belt knife holster, that would perfectly hold both knives at each leg and also not hinder my running. "Perfect." I said adjusting the leg straps, and Minho gave a nod of approval. "Good, now let's get out of here. We have an early start as always tomorrow."
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Dizziness. That's what I felt, but also, I distinct sense of panic, as if I knew something wasn't right. My eyes fluttered open but all I saw was white, yet everything shifted and moved in unnatural ways. One word popped into my head, drugged. I could feel it weighing heavily on my body, yet I couldn't move a muscle. "Where am I?" I said aloud trying to blink away the shifting patterns.

"Don't worry, you're safe." A woman's voice spoke, sending a chill through my body. I didn't recognize the voice, but somehow I knew she wasn't on my side. I tried to turn my head to where the sound emitted, but a haunting humorless laugh came as I realized I couldn't move. "I'd give up trying, Nicole. The drugs we gave you, paralyze you, among other things. But no need to worry, they'll wear off eventually. Just to keep you calm for the time being."

I closed my eyes, wishing so badly that I could do something. But true to her word, I was indeed paralyzed. "What do you want with me?" I asked, and another haunting laugh rang in my ears. "We have big plans for you."
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I gasped, shooting up in bed, breathing heavily. The feelings of being paralyzed, trapped, vulnerable still lingered even after I realized it was only a dream. I ran my hands through my hair slowly breathing in and out to calm myself. Where were these dreams coming from? And is that all they are, or, possibly memories?

The sound of knocking on my door broke me out of my thoughts, and I stared at it for a long moment before going over to open it. "Come on, we got to..." Minho began talking as soon as I opened the door but stopped and gave me a weird look. "You look like you just saw a ghost." He said and I waved my hand dismissing it. "I'm fine, I'll meet you downstairs." I told him before quickly closing the door again.

I took a few minutes trying to regain my composure, and push the dream out of my mind. But in all honesty, I couldn't get that women's voice out of my head, and what all did she mean.

Minho stood at the front door of the Homestead leaning against the frame, arms crossed. "Doors are opening soon." He tapped his watch for effect and I nodded. "I'm good to go." I replied tightening the straps of my backpack. He gave me an odd look but didn't say anything, which I appreciated, because I was not in the mood for talking.