Strange Atmosphere | Aris Jones [1]

14 || Discoveries and Arguments

Rachel was gone the next morning when I woke up, which didn't surprise me. But what did catch me off guard was that Lillie actually talked. After trying for over a month, she finally said some words. It wasn't a lot to her response, but it was a start.

When we went to get breakfast, I quickly got my food and sat down beside Lillie. I looked around, making sure that we were alone. "So..."

She looked down at her food. "So..."

"You talked last night," I blurted out.

"Glad you noticed, Piper," she stated.

"It just...I was caught off guard, Lillie," I admitted. "I've been here for over a month and you finally said something to me. I'm happy that you trust me enough to finally engage in a conversation with me."

She looked up and gave me a small smile. "It's weird, though, finally talking after not saying anything for so long. It feels good. I'm glad that you didn't force me to talk to you in the time that we've known each other. Everyone else did and it just made me want to keep my sticking mouth shut even more."

I grinned, nodding my head. "Well, thank you for trusting me and also for listening to my rants. I know they were annoying."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, most of them were."

So we chatted until breakfast was over, then we did our usual patrolling around the Glen for the rest of the morning. Then, Emily came by, needing Lillie for a favor, so our small talk was over for now. After eating lunch, then continuing my patrol all through the afternoon by myself, I decided to go check on Harriet. I was hoping that she was a little bit better than yesterday, but I had a feeling that she would still be stable. Sure enough, when I saw her upstairs, she was fast asleep. I sighed in disappointment, staring down at Harriet.

"She's been asleep all morning," someone said behind me, making me jump a little.

I turned around and saw that it was Aris. "When do you think she'll wake up?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "No idea."

"Where's Gwyneth and Amelia?"

"They went to get her some more water." He paused, then spoke up again. "My name is--"

"Aris," I cut him off. "Rachel told me. I'm--"

"Piper," he finished for me. "Rachel told me." I let out a small grin in response. "I-I want to apologize about yesterday, about reacting the way I did when I first saw you."

"You mean, when you threw a chair at me?" I clarified.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously and awkwardly. "Yeah, that."

"Well, I forgive you," I told him. "When I first got here, I slapped Beth."

He smiled. "I bet she deserved it, with the way she treats everyone around here."

"You get used to it," I said. "Just ignore her and you'll be fine."

He nodded his head. "Thanks for the advice."

All of a sudden, the sounds of rumbling came from outside. I widened my eyes. "The Maze," I whispered. I turned towards Aris. "I'll see you later. Nice to properly meet you." With that, I quickly waved at him, then rushed out, practically skipping over stairs and running towards the Doors like everyone else. "What's going on?" I asked Sonya.

"I have no idea," she replied. "It's coming from inside the Maze."

"I hope Rachel and Maeve are okay," I stated.

We waited a few minutes, which really felt like an hour. The time was moving slowly and the two Runners were still out there. I didn't want them to get stuck in the Maze again. They were able to survive it once, but that didn't guarantee that they would be able to do it again.