Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

ONE | the maze

▬I woke up to sunlight.

I blinked, averting my throbbing eyes from the bright sunlight glaring down at me, jabbing pain into my vision. I held out a hand to shield my eyes and blinked―where the hell was I?

Pain flared in my head and I winced. I tried to sit up and a groan escaped my lips. Why was I hurting so much? 

When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I blinked and glanced around me. I was in a giant courtyard with other people―most of them were lying on the grassy ground, seemingly unconscious while a few others like me were awake, staring around them in a daze.

Where the hell was this place and what was going on?

I stood up slowly and observed my surroundings. A boy with black hair and Asian complexion stood a few feet away from me, looking around.

"What the..." I heard him mutter.

He noticed me and blinked in surprise.

"Who're you?" He asked.

"I―" The words got stuck in my throat.

Who was I? I didn't know. Oh Gods, I didn't know my name. I didn't even know what I looked like!

Panic threatened to consume me, but I tried to push it down.

"What the fuck is this place?" The boy continued muttering. "Why―"

He was interrupted by a groaning. He looked down at his feet, where another boy was stirring to life. He had dark skin and eyes and his arms were ripped with muscles. His eyes flickered open and he sat up.

"Where―?" He blinked.

The Asian boy snorted and stormed elsewhere. He looked just as frustrated as I felt.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The dark-skinned boy stared up at me, looking thoroughly confused.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know," I said. "I just woke up and... and I don't know what the hell's going on."

"Same as me," he grumbled. He got to his feet, cursing as he winced from the effort. He glanced around again, where more people were starting to stir from their unconsciousness. Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute," he said, turning to me. "Why are you the only girl here?"

My eyes widened in surprise. Only girl? What on earth?

I scanned the field, my eyes skimming over each person, and felt my heart drop as I realized the dark-skinned boy was right. I was the only girl in the area. The others were all boys. As if the situation couldn't get any worse.

"I don't know," I repeated. "I don't even remember anything about myself!"

He hung his head.

"Yeah, me too," he said quietly.