Steel and Stone [The Maze Runner (Scorch Trials) Fanfiction]

Bound and Determined

I blink awake, only to find myself lying on the floor of an abandoned building, my head propped up on my backpack. Kay, somehow still with me, is curled in a ball on my chest, her tiny paws resting beneath her head. Smiling, I sit up and pet her, as I survey the building around me.

I'm starting to think I'm alone, that is until I catch sight of him, standing in the doorway, staring nervously out into the street. My hands instantly clench into fists, balling at my side.  I grit my teeth, keeping as silent as I can. Despite my best efforts to keep him from realizing I'm awake, he turns around, looking incredibly shocked.

"Skylar?!" Minho says, running towards me. I scoot backwards, trying to keep as far away from him as possible.

"Get away from me." I hiss angrily, placing Kay on the ground behind me.

"Sky?" He asks, stopping in his tracks a few feet in front of me.

"I remember a lot." I say honestly, trying to fight the urge to punch him in his perfect face.

"And?" He says cautiously, looking unsure as he takes a tentative step forwards.

"And I hate you." I growl, my head whipping back and forth unnaturally,  as I battle myself.

"Sky what's wrong?" He asks, as my entire body starts to tremble.

"Nothing at all." I sneer, my eyes overflowing with tears as I realize I'm losing the battle. I stand, and unwillingly, begin walking towards him. He looks confused but doesn't move, no matter how much I wish he would. Instead he lets me walk towards him, standing and just watching me move. 

"I hate you!" I scream again, slapping him with an open palm. The side of his face grows red in the shape of my hand, his eyes pooling with tears. His tears give me what I need to fight it temporarily, and I put my hand back to his face, gently this time, and press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry." I whimper, my entire body shaking uncontrollably by now. "I'm sorry."

"Sky? What are you doing?" He asks, and I can hear the fear in his voice, for the first time I've ever seen, he is truly terrified, and it hurts like nothing I've ever felt. Suddenly it pushes back, and I tackle him to the ground, my knife slipping into my hand before I know what I'm doing.

"No!" I scream, forcing myself to roll off of him, my hand jerking violently in protest. Minho jumps back to his feet, terrified and confused as he watches me writhing on the ground. The tip of the knife digs into my leg as I struggle, trying to keep control of myself. I'm losing the battle, it's too strong, I can't control it.

"I'm so sorry." I say, tears streaming down my face. "Please don't let me do this." And with that I stop fighting.

Get up. We circle the room, watching each other carefully as we walk in a circle. The target talks to me, telling me to fight it. I don't understand. I want to fight him. He won't let me. Suddenly, I sprint across the room, springing and knocking him to the floor.

I have him pinned. My knife pressed tightly against his throat. I'm sobbing uncontrollably, though I don't know why. This is what I've wanted.

"Got you." I hiss, pressing the knife just hard enough to draw blood. Then the target does something strange. He smiles, even though tears stream down his face.

"I love you Skylar." He says, reaching out and brushing a tear off of my face. Why is he not fighting? Who is Skylar? My grip falters. Questions filling my mind. No. Finish target that is all. I retighten my grip, growling in agony. My brain pulses with the most intense pain imaginable.

Kill him and it will stop, a voice says in my head. I can barely breath now, my entire body convulses with pain. I shriek in annoyance. why can't I stop this?

"It's ok Sky, it not you, it's not your fault." He says looking up at me. his eyes break something.

"Help me." I whisper, though it's not really me. Suddenly, my left hand grabs my right, roughly pulling the knife out of it.  Before I can stop it, my mutinous left hand throws the knife across the room. I hiss in aggravation, deciding between keeping him here and retrieving the knife. My pause is just enough, he finally fights back, throwing me off of him.

I fly across the room, slamming my head on the concrete floor.

The jolt from the floor gives me room to fight, and I fight it hard. Hard enough to control it long enough to talk.

"Please." I beg, my eyes clearing as Minho picks himself up off the floor, blood trickling down his neck. "Tie me up."

"Sky no." He says, realizing that I have -at least temporary- control of myself. He starts to come towards me, and I let him, forcing myself to stay on the ground. "I'm not going to do that to you."

"Minho!" I scream angry at him for refusing me this. If I hurt him... "You have to! it's–"

"Ahhh!!" I scream, feeling it taking back over with a surge of pain. I push it back down, trembling. "It's WICKED they're controlling me."

"Skylar, I'm not tying you up. you can fight it." James' words reverberate in my brain. They can't control you, not like everyone else. You're the only one strong enough. Ha guess he was wrong. Though the fact that I'm able to fight it at all surprises me.

"Minho please." I whisper my voice dropping. "I don't want to do this."

"Sky, I'm not leaving you." He answers running a finger across my cheek. My hands are pressed to the ground firmly behind me, in an attempt to keep from choking him.

"I'm not asking you to l..l...leave me." I say, barely able to get the words out of my mouth. "Just t..t...tie m..me up until I.. I.. Know how many."

He finally obeys, a sad looks on his face as he ties me to a column in the center of the room. "I hate this." He says, as the final loop goes around my wrists. "If something happens, you'll be defenseless."

"Just......Do....It." I say breathlessly, each word a laborious chore. It is getting harder and harder to control.

"Please fight it."

"What do you think I've been doing." I hiss, surprised at the power behind the words. "If I hadn't you would be dead by no..." I'm slipping back into it, I can feel it taking over.

"The others will be back soon, then we can decide what to do, they went looking for Thomas and Brenda." He says, rambling on as he refuses to let me slip into unconsciousness. "They got separated in the explosion. And Jorg–"

"No matter what I say" I growl, cutting him off. "Don't you dare untie me no matter what unless I can tell you how many."

"But Sky..."

"Promise me!" I hiss, the insanity working its way slowly back to the surface.

"I promise." He says finally, pushing a stray piece of hair out of my face. "I promise."

"Good." I say with a smile, finally letting go of the pain and letting the other side take over, I can feel myself passing out. "Oh and don't trust..."