Wicked Game → Wastelands Prequel

05 → "A BOND"

05 → "A BOND"

[age 15 — a month later]

February

"Miss Adeline, Chancellor Paige requests you to meet her in her office." One of the programmers states as I'm on my way to the observation rooms after breakfast.

"Now?" I question. "Surely this can wait till late morning?"

"Sorry, but orders are orders." The man shrugs, before continuing on. This new order causes me to do a detour in the direction I was heading, to head back where I'd come. As I find my way to the Chancellor's office, I hesitantly knock, earning a response to enter the room. And as I do, I come face to face with Thomas and Teresa.

"Good, you're here." The Chancellor nods my way, ushering me inside. I close the door behind me on the way into the office. The usual smile the Chancellor gives me is replaced with a stern expression as she motions for me to sit down. "Thank - you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with me. Apologies for abruptly interrupting them, but I have some important matters to discuss with you. As I'm sure you know, you are forbidden to have any interaction with the subjects. And I need to stress the importance for this. If you do, you're jeopardizing our process and progress for a cure. Emotions and friendship interrupt your focus in this search for a cure. Now, I would not be stressing all this to you if there wasn't a reason, and that reason is simple. As much as I hate to single one of you out, I'm afraid that Miss Adeline has gone against this."

My heart is racing against my chest, and both Thomas and Teresa's gazes shift to me. I want to hide away from their stares. How long has the Chancellor known about this? If she's known for a while, then she's been planning this talk a however long.

"Miss Adeline, know that now I'm aware of this, your whereabouts are going to be noted by guards who will be at your side many hours of the day." The Chancellor explains. "Do you understand that?" I can only nod. "Very well. The three of you, follow me."

—

Chancellor Paige leads us two girls and Thomas into a small observation room. The three of us are each dressed in the same white outfits that consisted of white pants, white long sleeved shirts and white sneakers. Teresa had her tar black hair pulled back into a low bun, her piercing blue eyes staring ahead of her, walking alongside myself. I, on the other hand, had my dark brown hair cascading over my face, as I had managed to snap my hair tie. We stop before an observation window, which was one - sided, meaning that those inside the room couldn't see us watching them. Inside, is A.D Janson, waiting for us. Twelve boys each stood inside twelve glass cylinders, confusion etched onto their faces, dressed in similar clothing to them. I watch the boys, who are unaware of what is going to happen to them inside that testing room. Us three teenagers, fifteen and sixteen years of age like the others inside the testing room, exchange glances. My hazel eyes land on the familiar faces, until they linger on one boy, who has no idea that I'm even there.

"These glass cylinders are another simulation we have been working on for the last two months." The Chancellor explained. "They are designed to help us see how those immune react to this situation compared to those not. We have gathered the twelve boys being sent up into the Maze the first year and we're going to test their brain patterns in how they react."

We don't allow our eyes to leave the group of boys before them. I keep my eyes locked onto that one boy, before I have to force my eyes away, watching as the woman presses a button and utters a command into a speaker by the window. My eyes shift back to the window, and the five of us watch from the observation window as there's a high - pitched beep, and suddenly the cylinders inside the room begin to fill up with water. The boys watch in horror as the water pools around their feet, rising up at an almost fast pace as it reaches their ankles. Watching as my friends start to pound their hands against the glass, hollering for their attention, their hollers are almost muffled by the glass, my eyes land back on the boy, where the water has just reached his waist. He turns in a circle, looking for a way out, water sloshing against the sides of the glass. He comes to a stop, now smacking his hands against the glass.

"You can't have any emotion toward them, Adeline." Janson states, my eyes glued to the boy. When I turned to the Chancellor, she was already studying my facial expression. Ava Paige wouldn't have let herself say it, but her eyes screamed this is your way of learning that you shouldn't have gotten too attached. I've begun to panic as the water rises further up, almost now to the level of his thoracic cavity of his chest.

"We won't let them come into any harm." The Chancellor states.

I watch as the water continues to rise, ignoring the Chancellor. The water continues to rise and rise, and at this point the water is almost to the point of lapping over their mouths. Soon enough, each of the boys are squeezing their eyes closed, letting the last of the water lap over their heads. The water continues to flow into the metal cylinders, but each boy tries to breathe underwater, keeping their eyes open. Each of them now are smacking their palms against the cylinders, pleading for them to shut the water off. As I watch, anxiety creeps up on me. Soon enough, I come to realise that one of the boys — Gally — is suddenly losing consciousness. Until, a number of them are also beginning to slip away from consciousness. My feet shuffle away from the window, anger burning at my cheeks, and my hand slams against the button of the speaker.

"Adeline, what're you doing?" Teresa quizzes.

"Shut the water off! Now!" I demand into the speaker. The technicians in the control room don't listen to my command. Frustrated, I turns to the Chancellor.

"Adeline, they won't listen to you." She states. "They will only take orders from me."

"Well, tell them to shut it off!" I demand the woman. The woman shakes her head, not being swayed by my command.

"I can't do that —"

"I said to turn it off!" I shrill. "You said nobody would be harmed."

The Chancellor continues to disagree, and I continue to argue back. That is, until the Chancellor gives a sigh of defeat. Her feet shuffle toward the speaker, where she orders for the water to be shut off. As soon as she demands it, the water stops flowing into the cylinders and begins to drain. Each boy drops to their knees as the water drains away, sucking in mouthfuls of air like fish out of water, coughing and spluttering. I don't even think about my next move. I'm on the soles of my feet, shoving open the door to the room without a second thought. I'm there so suddenly, yanking open the one way door to the cylinder that was once filled with water and I don't care about the water that soaks the bottom half of my white pants as I crash to my knees beside the boy. And he clings to me without even a second thought, because that's what a year and a half can do to two teenagers. It forms a bond like this.

A bond where both wouldn't think twice to help or save the other.

"You're okay." I mutter. "You're all OK."

A moment later, two hands lock around my torso, and a low voice reminds me that I am not allowed to talk to these boys again. Two guards hoist me up to my feet, prying Newt and I apart from one another. Newt lets out a hoarse "no!" as we're both being pulled away from each other, and the look on his face breaks my heart.

"No!" I shrill. "No! You can't do this!"

But, my pleads are ignored and before I can scream out Newt's name, the guards have dragged me from the room out into the hallway, tears streaming down my cheeks.