LIMERENCE ﹐ the maze runner.

19

The strawberry-blonde haired girl was hiding in the basement with her mother, older brother, and frightened younger sister. She was holding a gun so hard that her knuckles turned white.

They could hear the WICKED guards upstairs and their frustrated grumbles as they searched for the children.

The girl knew that if they were found, they would be taken to the WICKED compound for trials to find a cure to the Flare. That much her father had told her before he died.

She let out a shaky breath as she heard the guards start to make their way down the old, creaky stairs that led to the basement.

Her mother gently tapped her on the shoulder, and the girl looked up at her.

The mother smiled sadly, maybe to reassure her daughter, then took the gun from her daughter.

"Freeze!"a guard yelled as he reached the basement. "Hand over the children!"

The mother stood up, and started shooting.

She hit one guard, who fell over backwards, dead.

Another guard ran up, and shot the woman in the stomach.

"Mom!"the strawberry blonde yelled as she scrambled over to the dying woman. "No, Mom! Stay with me! Okay? Just hang on! Please, Mom!"

The woman ran a finger over the girl's cheek. "Zoey, I-"The woman struggled for breath as the girl cried,"Mom! No!"

But her mother was gone.

"Please, Mom, wake up! Wake up!"the girl cried.

The guard picked up the screaming girl as she loudly protested. "No! No! Oh my God, Mom!"

The guard pretended not to hear her.

❀✿❀

The girl sat in a strange chair, its various built-in instruments pressing into her legs and back. Wireless sensors were attached to her temples, neck, wrists, the crooks of her elbows and her chest.

A man sat in a chair opposite her, watching her, probably collecting data for WICKED.

"I'm sorry, Clara. We don't want to do this, but you've left us no choice,"the man said.

"My name's not Clara, it's Zoey!"the girl yelled.

"Don't move,"the man said, then leaned forwards towards Clara.

Suddenly, the girl felt a sharp pain below her chin.

She let out a slight scream and yelled,"Stop! Stop, please!"

"Don't worry,"the man said nonchalantly. "It's a pain simulator. It'll eventually dissolve and get washed out of your system. Now, calm down."

"What the hell are you doing?"she spat.

"All you need to do is tell me your name, Clara."

"That's not my name, asshole!"she screamed. "My name's Zoey, it always has been, always will be!"

Pain. That's all Clara could feel.

"Stop it! Stop it!"she yelled.

"What's your name?"the man shouted.

"Zoey!"the girl yelled stubbornly.

"No, you little shit!"the main shouted.