Antidote: A Maze Runner Fanfiction

c h a p t e r . o n e

He spoke to me before the world fell apart.

"Hey, are you awake?"

I blinked a few times, trying to remember where I was. I was surrounded by darkness and suddenly I remembered the box, tiny and cramped and trapped, on my way to the Maze-

Memories of the escape came flooding back to me. Bunk beds, dressers, and a tiny bit of light filtering through the grate on the door sent relief flooding through my body. I was safe.

My eyes scanned the dormitory; there was little movement from around me, just the gurgly snores from a room filled with sleeping boys. Newt was awake beside me.

I turned to look at him. His head was already turned to face me, a strange expression on it. "You okay?" he whispered.

I frowned. No, not really. How could we be? "I guess. What's up?"

"Just thinking. All the things we've heard about the outside world - Alby's Changing, Thomas', yours. The weird things you saw. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

I'd almost forgotten the horrific visions my Griever sting had brought about. Looking at Newt and seeing a zombie in his place...

"Guess I'd tried not to think about it. I don't know. We don't even know what those visions meant."

"No," he agreed, although he didn't meet my eyes. He seemed far from comforted.

The lights in the room came up suddenly, eliciting groans from waking Gladers. I had no idea what kind of time it was, but our lie-in seemed to be over. Boys began clambering out of their bunks groggily, all squinting eyes and messy bedheads.

Newt climbed out and I made to follow. My body still felt rigid, and movement felt like wading through tar. Newt gave me a hand as Minho dropped onto the floor beside him from above, having vaulted off his top bunk.

"I have never had a better night's sleep in my life," he said, both arms above his head as he stretched. "I feel like shucking royalty."

"I'm glad someone's feeling positive. I feel like a sack of klunk," Winston called from across the room. "Making us wake up on their terms. At least in the Glade I could just wake up to the sun."

"Or Griever screams," Minho countered, making everyone grimace. "Yeah, slim it, shank. I don't wanna think about that place one more second."

"Where do we go now?" someone called out.

"Yeah, are they coming to get us, or...?" Frypan wondered. As if on cue, the bedroom door swung open. We all turned to see who was on the other side, but surprisingly... it was no-one.

Minho stepped forward and peered down the corridor, a confused frown on his face. The large steel door stayed wide open, impossibly. "I guess we go out," he said.

Gingerly, Thomas stepped forward, past Minho, and proceeded out of the room. I was hesitant - everyone was - but it seemed we had little choice. We began to follow Thomas.

As I moved to leave the room, close behind Minho, I found myself a little lopsided to compensate for the insane stiffness in my side and leg. I was limping, still.

"Can anyone even remember where to go?" Teresa asked.

"We don't even know where we're trying to get to," I replied with a frown. This building seemed pretty big, but it was a lot of corridors and not a lot of actual rooms.

We finally came to a more open space, like some kind of main courtyard. We still hadn't come across a single rescuer. Not even the hint of one - the place was freakishly quiet.