The Lost Glader || A TMR Fanfiction

Chapter 10 || Enter The Maze

We had to rush and eat breakfast and grab our lunches so that we were still at the doors before they opened.  As we stretched in front of the still closed doors, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps quickly approaching and I turned around to see Alby and Newt heading our way. "Oh fantastic..." I mumbled seeing the look on Alby's face.

"Minho, don't tell me that she's a runner now!" He said walking right past me and going to Minho who raised an eyebrow at Alby. "Yeah I am." He said unapologetically. "You know the rules, someone can't be a runner when they just got here. They have to wait months before they're eligible." Minho rolled his eyes in response. "I don't think those rules apply to this situation. She said she was already a runner, so I say why not make her one here too."

I took the chance to look at Newt who had remained quiet as Alby and Minho went back and forth. "Well I agree with Minho." He finally spoke and we all looked at him. Alby's eyes narrowed and he motioned for him to elaborate. "So far, Nicole has given us no reason not to trust her. And like Minho said, she was a runner before. We could use that. It's not fair to make her wait like some other greenie. She is an exception to the rules."

The low rumble of grinding stone, signaled the walls were opening, as we all looked between each other waiting for someone to speak. I eventually sighed. "We have to get out there, I don't need to waste anymore time." Alby groaned but nodded. "Fine, she's exception." "Good that." Minho replied and motioned with his head towards the now fully open doors before he started heading out, without a second glance I followed after him into the maze.

I ran close behind Minho, keeping pace perfectly with him. I focused on my breathing and my steps. I had been doing this a year and half, I knew what I was doing.

I noticed Minho cutting off part of the vines on the wall and tossing it behind him, without slowing down. I couldn't help smile to myself seeing all the parallels of the two Glades and all the things we did.

It didn't take long before my dream that morning drifted back into my mind. I gave up trying to push it away, and began to dwell on it, in an attempt to hopefully remember more, yet very little was clear in the dream.

Imaging myself in the dream, I tried to focus on different areas of the all white room. I recalled the bright light from above me, the barely padded mattress I laid on, but the more I thought, the more I remembered that there was something on the wall. This only caused me to focus harder as the metal plate began to come into a focus, and soon the words printed in big bold letters. W.I.C.K.E.D

Wicked is good. I gasped tripping over myself, hearing the clear sound of that haunting voice in the back of my mind, along with the briefest flash of a woman's face. Before I knew it I was on the cold stone floor staring up at the cloudless blue sky. I groaned, a throbbing in the back of my skull making me squeeze my eyes shut.

I opened my eyes again when I heard footsteps coming towards me, and soon Minho stood over me looking confused. "What just happened?" He demanded looking around as if for the reason I fell. I let out a long breath before sitting up, the pain in my head settling to a mild pulsing. "I just got distracted." I replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible but it wasn't working. "And you just tripped over thin air?" I bit down on my bottom lip not able to think of any way to make this sound good. "Guess I just didn't get much sleep last night."

He rolled his eyes before sitting at one of the walls. "Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to take a break." I scooted over to let myself lean against the opposite wall. As I got my water bottle out, I felt a chill run through my body. What is going on with me?
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As we started running again, I began to get a sense of déjà vu. Each turn we took seemed familiar, and at first I started to suspect we were running in circles, before I realized I knew this layout, because it was one of the same in my own Maze. But something bothered about the whole thing.

"Hey, I think our Maze's our identical." I said to Minho as we took a break for lunch. He looked at me as he took a swig from his water bottle with raised eyebrows. "Are you telling me, that you recognize this Maze pattern?" He asked and I nodded with a shrug of my shoulders. "I have a good memory. But besides that, I know the cycle. Each day that the walls move I already know the course." This again surprised him. "As runners, we have to have good memories, but to completely know the whole thing by now..." I shook my head.

"I didn't bring this up to brag, but if our mazes are truly identical, then this should be the last day before the maze repeats it's pattern." Minho furrowed his brow. "I'm not following..." I sighed thinking for a moment. "The last day I remember before I ended up here, it was the first Maze pattern, and now we're on the last. I thought I was gone through the night, maybe a full day. But if I'm right, I'd have been gone from my Glade almost a month, before I came here."
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Getting back into the Glade later that day, we immediately went to the Map Room, where Minho began to draw out today's pattern, I on the other hand took out the maps from the last 30 days to confirm or deny my theory.

Spreading them out on the table I studied each one carefully before finally sighing and stepping back. Minho looked up at me from where he sat. "Well?" I nodded placing my hands on my hips. "Mazes are identical in pattern and the cycle they go through." He finished his map and labeled it before walking over to me. "So? You've really been gone a month then?" I took a long moment to skim over the maps again before speaking. "Yeah... But that just begs the question. What happened to me in that month?"