Into the Maze

Chapter 14

(I am so sorry I haven't updated for awhile!! Other ideas for stories have been rolling around in my head and it has been hard to concentrate! Plus, where's the fun without the suspense!?😉 Enjoy, and thanks for reading!)
"Minho!" The dream was still there, etched into her mind, but it was fading fast. She needed to tell him what They wanted them to know.
Then, he was there, leaning over her, worry in his voice.  "What is it Jackie?"
She pulled her knees up to her chest, confused as to why she felt so afraid from this one dream- no, message. A message she had to deliver.
"Ava... Ava Paige. The second test subject will be arriving soon... I was the first..." she looked into his eyes which mirrored her confusion. She mumbled the rest weakly, "she wanted you to know."
Five minutes later, Alby and Newt were there, both looking as confused as we both felt.
"What are we going to do about it?!" Minho began to pace.
Alby shrugged, then looked at Jackie, who was standing a few feet away, silent, partially lit up by the dying embers of the fire.
"Have you ever heard of Ava Paige?"
She thought for a second. "No."
"I have." Alby's head snapped around to look at Newt, who was standing, tense, his arms crossed.
"What do you remember?"
"Not much. She... she made me forget." Newt shifted uncomfortably.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Did he mean what she thought he did?
"Ava Paige is a creator."
Silence.
"I'll kill her." It was Minho, who had paused his pacing to cross his arms.
"Shut your mouth, Minho," Alby said quietly.
"I mean it!"
Alby let out an exasperated sigh and turned quickly around to face Jackie again. "Do you remember anything else about this dream?"
"No... its gone. Just gone from my memory."
"She said that it was Ava Paige, and that Jackie was the first test subject, and that the second one was arriving soon," Minho rattled it off once again.
"Did you know you were a test subject?" Alby met her eyes.
"No." She shook her head. "I had no idea."
Alby stared thoughtfully into the embers. "You should get some sleep," he finally said.
"No!" Jackie's voice choked up as she almost screamed it. If this Ava Paige really was a creator like Newt said, then she wanted as much distance, mental and physical, between this stranger and herself as possible.
The three boys all looked at her.
"I... I don't want her to come back," she choked. She sank down on her knees, looking at her folded hands. After a few minutes, she looked up, and saw that Alby was gone. Newt and Minho were both watching her thoughtfully.
"What does it mean?" She asked shakily.
Minho shook his head, and Newt said, "I dunno, Jackie. Rest now."
"No!" Why couldn't they understand!? "If I fall asleep, Ava Paige comes back! Don't let me fall asleep no matter what!"
"Jackie, I-"
"Promise me, Newt."
"I... I promise."
That night there was to be no sleep for Jackie. She curled into a ball against the log where she had been sleeping earlier and stared deep into the fire, trying desperately to keep her mind awake. Newt sat on one side of her, struggling to keep awake, shifting his position every few minutes to prevent dozing off.
Minho paced the ring by the fire, alert.
Neither of them would have let her fall asleep even if she tried, but by the time the sun peeked over the the top of the maze, all three of them were half-asleep anyways. Just as she was wearily stretching for the fiftieth time, a commotion from the Gathering area made her look over to see James trotting in her direction.
"Don't tell anyone. Especially not him." Minho's voice was low, and she nodded.
"Sleep well?" Asked James cheerfully, plopping down next to her.
"Oh yeah." She locked eyes with Minho, and a small smile flickered across his face.
That's when the alarm went off.
Everything seemed to go on slow motion. James's leap of surprise, Newt's small, strangled cry, Minho's jump into action, running past all three of them to find Alby. Newt was quick on the uptake, limping after Minho, shouting orders to the other Gladers, who were confused. It had only been two weeks since Ben had arrived. James, as was his custom when the alarm rang, had vanished from her side, leaving her alone, dizzy, her head swirling.
For the first time, the dream of the night before came back to her. You are the first test subject. The next test will be arriving soon.
She realized finally what Ava Paige had meant. She realized that whoever was in that Box right now was the other test subject. And she was the first.
She began to run. She sprinted through the Glade, her maze-hardened muscles quick to react. She did not stop until she reached the Box, the first Glader there besides Minho, who barely glanced up when she stopped next to him. "It's-"
"I know, Jackie. The other test subject. Picked that up for myself."
The alarm stopped. A silence filled the Glade, then a click as, just beneath their feet, the Box stopped moving. Minho said, "help me, Greenie?"
She nodded and bent down to slide aside the metal grating, glad to have something to do with her hands.
When the dark interior of the box was exposed, she didn't hesitate, but dropped into the depths without a word. And nobody questioned her.
She landed on a crate, the stench of the Box reminding her of her first day of confusion, making her shudder. She looked into the darkness, eyes itching to find the Greenie.
She stepped off the crate and felt metal grating beneath her boot. It was then that she heard a sniffle. She spun in the darkness, and saw a form huddled in the corner.
"Hey." She took a step forward, and a coil of rope flew at her head. The figure on the floor drew back even more, as if to say, one step closer and it's a knife instead of rope.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." She slid her foot forward, and the small person on the floor tensed, ready to attack.
"Let me help you." She held out her hand, and after a few seconds, another hand slipped into it.
It was a smaller hand, not worn like her own, but thin and delicate. She pulled the small, shadowy figure to its feet and found herself looking into a pair of hazel eyes. They were large and scared, the same confusion as she felt on her first day apparent in them.
She looked past the eyes, huge in a freckled face, and saw that the new Greenie was wearing a forest green tank top and long cargo pants which were much too big for them.
She looked back into the face, and realized what she had missed. Sticking out from both sides of the Greenie's head were two mousey-brown braids, tied with string, short and soft.
"I'm Ellie," she said in a small voice.
Their new Greenie was a girl.