Deserted at Dawn (The Maze Runner)

Chapter 2 // A Brutal Reunion

*Scarlett's P.O.V.*

I woke up in a dark room, the air was pleasantly cool. Wait...why was I in here? I climbed to my feet and took in my surroundings. I looked at the opening, covered by wooden bars, wondering where I was and how I got here. The only things I could recall, were that I was 16, my name, and my friends; Alex and Robin. All my other memories lingered just out of reach.

"Hey," a cheery voice interrupted me from my deep thoughts. I snapped to attention immediately. Standing on the other side of the bars, stood a boy. He looked to be around the same age as me. He had shaggy, dirty-blond hair and his voice was thick with an odd accent. He squatted down and eyed me.

"Who are you? And where am I," I asked quietly.

"The name's Newt and this," he paused, gesturing at the area behind him, "is the Glade." He fumbled with the lock on the door, and opened it. He reached out his hand for me to grab. I looked at his hand and then back at him, not sure whether to take it or not.

"Come on, I don't bite." A few chuckles came from behind him. I rolled my eyes and clambered out of the cell, not bothering to take his hand. Other than Newt, there were three boys standing around, and another crouched at an identical cell door.

I didn't plan on sticking around for too long. The boy had taken a few steps away from me. He started pointing out certain buildings, but I didn't pay attention. The forest, only two dozen feet away from me, had caught my attention. I smiled to myself; it was the perfect escape route. Newt had turned his back to me, assuming I would follow him. I took the chance and bolted to the woods.

There was a loud crack, and a few shouts followed my escape. I had almost made it into the woods when the boys realized that I had made a run for it. Newt made a weak attempt to follow me, but gave up as soon as I had made it past the first line of trees.

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Robin and Scarlett ran into the forest, trying to get as much distance between themselves and the boys as possible. Robin heard footsteps. She slowed down just enough to not trip over her own feet, and scanned the forest. She couldn't see where they were coming from, but she thought it strange that there were only footsteps from one person. She had seen multiple stunned kids by the cells. Robin trained her focus back on running, dodging branches, and jumping over fallen trees.

Scarlett also heard footsteps. Whose were they? The footsteps were coming closer, but she didn't turn around to look, afraid that Newt was going to catch up to her. The crunching of twigs breaking under feet filled the air. Scarlett let out a scream when someone thudded into her. She fell down, but quickly scrambled to her feet. The other person was still lying on the ground, groaning. She wore a blood soaked bandage which had started to unravel. Scarlett realized it was Robin when she finally looked up. Strangely, there was confusion in her green eyes. Glad to see her, Scarlett ignored it.

"Holy crap Robin, you almost gave me a heart attack back there. Don't ever do that again," she paused for effect and lowered her voice, "like ever. But on a more serious note, thank goodness that we found each other. I don't know how we got out of that labyrinth, or how we got here, but it's good to finally see a familiar face." Scarlett plopped down onto the leafy forest floor, to catch her breath. She fumbled with her belt a bit, but quickly stopped when she noticed that her two daggers were gone.

"Well, all we have to do is find Alex, and get the hell out of here. Although, that might prove to be a bit more of a challenge since we have no clue where to..." Scarlett's voice trailed off as she looked up. Her friend was hunched over, as if she planned to run away at any moment. Scarlett snapped to attention. She jumped to her feet and took a step towards Robin. She flinched and jerked back.

"What? What's wrong?" Robin stared back quizzically, like the words coming out of Scarlett's mouth were the first ones which she had ever heard.

"Who are you, and who's Alex?"

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*Robin's P.O.V.* 

It was one of the strangest things I had gone through since getting in this place. The girl in front of me was babbling on and on as if I knew her, as if she were my friend. But odder than that was the fact that she was a girl, just like me. It was actually the reason why I hadn't run. What I had seen through the door in my cell were boys, and only boys.

"Who are you, and who's Alex," I asked. The girl seemed baffled by the question. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a shout. "Scarlett", the voice shouted again. I assumed it was the name of the girl, because she broke away from our stare-off immediately.

I couldn't see the person shouting her name, but apparently the person could see us. The voice sounded feminine, and was getting nearer and nearer. I whirled around, trying to find the owner of the voice. I looked over to the brunette standing next to me. She was looking up at the crowns of the trees looming far above us. It dawned upon me that the owner of the voice was not moving by foot, but through the trees. The tree tops were so tightly packed together, that it wasn't surprising how fast the voice was moving towards us. The call for Scarlett sounded very close this time, too close. I panicked. I still couldn't lay my eyes on the owner of the voice. I grabbed the girl next to me, wrapped my arm around her neck and the other around her torso, trying to restrain her arms as best as I could. The voice died out.

"Come out slowly and don't try anything stupid." The voice didn't show itself. I turned in a slow circle; the girl squirmed in my tight grip, but astoundingly wasn't fighting back anymore. Suddenly there was a quiet thump behind me. A hand grabbed me from the back and started to chock me. I let go of the girl I was holding onto, and she fell to the ground. I clawed at the arm that was cutting of my oxygen supply. In an effort to weaken my assailant, I kicked back with my foot. My heel connected with a leg. The voice howled and pushed me away. I fell face-first down a steep slope. I tumbled; branches sticking out of the ground ripped my clothes, and tore up my skin. My head smacked the ground over and over and over again. When I finally reached the bottom of the slope, I couldn't stop. I had too much momentum. I whacked my head against a boulder, and searing pain burst through my head. My vision flashed white, but I could still hear leaves rustle above me. Silence and then thunderous sound of dozens of footsteps filled my ears as my conscience started to slip away.

They were coming to take me again.

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