The Other Maze (Group B)

4

The last sentence the girl said caught Eliza's attention. It doesn't rain here. That sentence seemed to echo in her brain.

What does that mean? How come it never rains? She thinks to herself looking up at the sky. Now that the sky was visible, she noticed the sun, or at least that's what she thought it was supposed to be, but it looked a little different.

Why does it look different from what I remember? Eliza wonders. I don't think I've ever seen or heard anything like this.

"Eliza?" Sonya asks pulling her out of her thoughts. "Come on we need to get going."

As they head on to the next task, Eliza suddenly stops and looks down examining her hands.

"What's wrong fishy?" Sonya asks walking back to her.

"Well....." Eliza says hesitantly. "Could you...tell me what I look like?" Eliza asks and Sonya laughs making Eliza look at her.

"Don't worry fishy, it's normal to ask that, all girls do it at some point." She says and Eliza relaxes a little. "Come on, follow me."

Sonya guides Eliza towards a big bowl with water. "I know this isn't the best, but it'll give you an idea of what you look like." Sonya says.

Eliza slowly steps closer to the water and peeks, eventually wanting to see her whole reflection.

She examined her long wavy brown hair and her brown eyes, along with some freckles.

It somehow made her feels better to know what she looked like. It made her get a better idea of who she was even though she couldn't remember anything about her past.

"And how old do you think I am, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sonya laughs again. "You are something else fishy." She says pausing. "I'd say we are the same age, so around fifteen?"

Sonya says and Eliza nods. Most girls looked around that age, the oldest probably being eighteen and the youngest fourteen.

"Let's get going."

They continue in silence until they reach a though looking group of girls.

"Beth!" Sonya says waving her hand. "This is Eliza, take good care of her."

"Fancy that." Beth says.

Now that they are closer, Eliza takes a good look at Beth and admired her hazel eyes, which stand out with her fair skin and long brown hair.

"Well, there's nothing fancy about us fishy." Beth says shaking the dust off her hands. "We are the planners, which means that basically everything you see was built by us. We come up with new ideas and we try to create whatever will help us make this place less like hell."

Eliza looks around the stade and admires their work. This girls are really strong.

                                                          ***

After a few more stops, it's finally time to meet with the Meds. Something that Eliza was eagerly awaiting. 

"Not everyone is allowed in that room." Sonya says pointing to the door. "Only the Meds can enter."

"How come?" Eliza asks.

"You're quite curious aren't you?" Sonya asks. "It's a special room where we keep some special supplies and treat special patients." She says and looks at Eliza, who is looking at her with a spark of interest in her eyes.

Sonya lets out a sigh realizing that her explanation isn't enough and she will have to provide more details.

"Alright fishy, I'll tell you only because I like you." Sonya says slightly shaking her head.

"Do you know what a griever is?" Sonya asks and Eliza nods.

"I caught a glimpse of one this morning." Eliza says surprising Sonya.

"Let me tell you fishy, you are a lucky stick. Most people get attacked by grievers so I'm surprised it didn't attack you."

"Why? What happens?" Eliza asks ignoring what Sonya said, curiosity had taking over the fear of what could have happened.

"Whoever gets stung by a griever, goes through a painful process that we call the revealing."

"The revealing?" Eliza asks. What does that mean? What does it reveal? She wanted to ask more but at the same time she knew the answer. I guess you can't really explain what it is if you haven't gone through it.

"We don't know exactly how it works but we do know that if we don't give you the antidote on time, you will die."

Both of them stay quiet as the information sinks in.

Sonya interrupts the silence by resuming their walk. "Anyway, that's why we have the walls, so the grievers don't come in here."

Is that supposed to be reassuring? Eliza thought to herself. How many people have been stung?

She pushes the emerging questions to the side as they enter the room.

As soon as they step in Eliza gets a strange feeling. She looks at the tools and her brain reaches for a memory. Why does this feel so familiar?

Sammy explains the procedures and what they do, saying that mostly the mappers and the planners came by often, once in a while the cooks.

As they left the room, Eliza fought the strong urge to go back and stay longer. Would I be able to remember if I stay?

During dinner, Eliza's table eats quietly.

"Sonya, can I ask you a question?" Eliza says looking up from her plate.

"I have a feeling you will still ask even if I say no." Sonya says giving her a small smile.

"Why did you show me the maze first of its dangerous?"

Sonya nods and puts her fork down. "We've had some sticks in the past that were too curious about the maze so they didn't exactly follow the rules. From then on we made sure we had no secrets between us, that way everyone knows what we are dealing with and we avoid taking unnecessary risks."

"I see." Eliza says nodding and continues to eat her food.