Lost Brother (The Maze Runner)

Eight Years

Year 233

     "Kalhari, they'll be here in about fifteen minutes. You know what to do." My supervisor says, popping her head in the doorway of my office.

     "Yeah, I know. I'll be there." My eyes flit back to my computer screen as she leaves. It's been a whole month since I started working here, and I find myself wondering as to why I agreed to come here, why I chose to wear a jacket emblazoned with the name of an organization I had come to hate, almost hourly. I log out of my desktop, grab my clipboard of observational forms to be filled, lock the door to my office behind me, and start down the hallway, recalling the events that led me here.

     I'd just gone to buy some vegetables from the local market with my aunt's ration cards. In the years after Minho was taken, she's raised me like I was her own child. Times had gotten hard though, as if they hadn't been already, and money was short. I worked odd jobs around the city that would hire me to help as much as possible, but it still wasn't near enough. I'd just picked up one of the cabbages from the vendor's cart when something sterling white caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I turned to get a better view, nearly dropping the vegetable in my hands when I read those six cursed letters I'd hoped for the rest of my life to never see again. WICKED. There were two of them standing there, a man and a woman, in those same white lab coats that continued to haunt my dreams. Their eyes locked with mine, and I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

     "Excuse me, miss?" The vendor asked, bringing my attention back to him. "Would you like to buy that?"

     "Oh, yes, sorry." I reached into my bag and handed him the ration card and a few crumpled bills that I could find. I peeked back over my shoulder to find the two scientists gone.

     He frowned as he took the items from me. "Just the card is enough, miss. You do know that, right?"

     "Yeah, I do," I replied with a small smile despite my increasing panic. "I know it's really hard right now to make any money, so it's my tip to you."

     "Oh, thank you then. I appreciate it. Have a good day!"

     "You too!" I waved as I left.

     I walked as fast as I could away from the stall, weaving through the center of the crowd as best as I could. If they were still here, they would ambush me with so many other people around. That was my hope at least.

     I'd made it almost completely out of the market when I felt a hand firmly grab my shoulder, forcing me to stop. My heart hammered in my chest as I turned around, praying to any God who happened to be out there that it wasn't who I was imagining. A man with mousy brown hair met my eyes. "You're the Lee girl, right?" My eyes couldn't help but drift down to the pocket of his all to familiar lab coat, finding those same six letters again.

     "Yes," I answered, swallowing down my fear as best I could.

     "I know you know who we are. We have an offer that will allow you to see your brother again. We'll pay you as well." The woman he was with earlier was nowhere in sight. It seemed like they'd split up to hunt me down.

     "What does it involve?"

     "Counseling."

     I step into the control room silently, taking my usual seat towards the back. Usually, there aren't as many people here, but today is the day the subjects come back from the Scorch. I hate referring to them as subjects with my entire being, but I have to fit in with the work atmosphere here.