We Lay Strangers

Chapter 7

Carter slid into her seat, unnoticed. She placed a plate of food on the table, staring down at the steam rising from the meal. It swirled in the air, disappearing once it had floated high enough. She picked at the food, glancing around the cafeteria.

People chattered merrily around her, sitting amidst their families of friends. The general excitement of the chance of moving on from this place permeated the room.

The end of the table shifted.

Carter looked over. 7 boys cautiously sat down at the end of the table, looking around them. They spread down the table, the last of them landing next to Carter. 

He was average height, dark mocha skin with close cut hair. He smiled at Carter when he sat down.

They muttered among themselves, and Carter turned back to picking at her meal. The group of boys that sat behind her greeted them, readily answering their questions and singing this places praises. Carter scoffed.

This place was a prison.

"What's your name?"

Carter looked up from her dinner. The boy sat next to her was smiling at her again. 

"Carter." She said.

"Frypan." He greeted.

Carter quirked an eyebrow. "Your actual name is Frypan?"

He shrugged. "Well, Siggy, really, but nobody calls me that."

"Okay, Frypan." Carter said. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled again. "Thanks. This place is pretty great, huh? How long have you been here?"

Carter picked at her food. "Oh, you know... a while."

He nodded. "We just got here. It's really nice, compared to the Glade."

"Is that what you called it?" Carter asked. 

"Yeah... what do you guys do here doing the day?" Frypan asked. 

Carter shrugged. "It depends really. I wouldnt know... I kind of just stay in my dorm."

"Oh... well, what about your Maze?"

Carter looked up. "It was nice, until the end. There were only ten of us, so-"

"Only ten?" Frypan jutted in. 

"Yeah, how many did you get?"

"Over 50." He responded.

Over 50? Her eyes widened. "Christ. Thats a lot."

"I had to deal with them all." Frypan continued. "They were constantly raiding my kitchen, even after a meal."

"You were a cook?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, did you have a cook?" 

"No, we just took turns making dinner every night." Carter said. "We didnt really have enough people for a cook."

"Oh. What did you do then?" He asked.

"I was a second in command of sorts, I guess." Carter shrugged. 

"We had one of those too, he's sitting over there." Frypan gestured to a tall blonde boy near the end of the table. "That's Newt."

Carter glanced down. He was talking to another boy, a muscular Asian kid. They seemed secretive... almost worried.

"Did you guys have Grievers?" Frypan drew Carter's attention back to their conversation.

"Grievers?... Oh! Stalkers, yeah we had those." Carter said. "Big slimy things that tried to kill you?"

"Yeah." Frypan shuddered. "Im glad they're gone."

"I hated those things." Carter said. She hated them even more now that she knew WCKD had created them. 

"What about your maze?" Frypan asked. "What was that like?"

"Big, confusing, covered in ivy." Carter said. "I dont know how Kenny and Amelia ran it every day."

"Wait, Amelia? You had girls and guys?" Frypan quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Carter said. "I take it you were all guys?"

"One girl. Teresa." Frypan said. "She triggered the ending. It was rough, making it out of the maze. At one point, I wasnt sure if I was going to make it."

Carter looked up. Marie, dangling by her pack from a Stalkers claws. She was hacking at its arms with her knife. The thing waved her around in the air before tossing her over the side.

Victorie shouted.

"... and poor Jeff, when Minho went down, Minho's sitting down there with Newt..."

  A Stalker stabbed Amelia through the middle, and she crumpled to the ground, dropping her spear.   

"... so Thomas, he's down there too, rallied all the boys, and Gally didnt even try to stop him..."

  Ham, Ore and the Stalker tumbled down into the abyss.  

"... and boys I'd known for ages, the Grievers just..."

Ernie grunted.

Blood trickled out of his mouth as the Stalker stabbed him through the heart.

"... and Chuck, poor Chuck, we had just made it out..."

  The Stalker reared up, stabbing Victorie as well. She slumped to the ground, landing next to Ernie.   

"... Gally's dead now too, Minho stabbed him as he shot Chuck..."

Kenny's eyes were filled with fear when the Stalkers pulled him back out into the maze.

"... it helps to talk about it some, you know? Carter?"

Carter snapped back to reality, quickly grabbing her plate and getting out of her seat. Her chair scraped against the floor.

"You alright?" Frypan asked.

Carter forced a smile. "Yeah, I just... forgot something. In my dorm. I'll catch you later?"

"Oh, sure." Frypan smiled. 

Carter sped away, dumping the rest of her meal in the trash. When a commotion started behind her, she didnt look back, slipping out of the cafeteria and into the dim hallway.

Left turn, pass three halls, right turn keep going to the end and around the corner.

Carter came to stop at the end of the hallway, at a large window. Moonlight and lights posted outside illuminated the desert. Sand swirled in the wind, tracing beautiful patterns in the sky. 

Carter leaned her forehead against the glass, looking out into the night.

Sometimes, when it was all too much to handle, she dreamed of breaking the glass and flying out into the night, running away and getting lost in the sand.

But then she would remind herself of the Cranks, and the possibility of starvation. No, she was better off here, where everything was certain. She wasnt going to just throw everything away because she couldnt handle some demons.

Tears dripped down onto the floor.