Sacrifice

Chapter Forty-Four

Eight Years Ago 

Claire sat alone in her room. This wasn't unusual, in fact, it was how she spent most of her days. She ate her meals alone in her room, and would have her weekly check ups in here as well. She did leave her room for class, which was just her and her tutor. Claire hadn't interacted with anyone her age since she was brought to WCKD. 

It wasn't so bad. She had three full meals a day, fresh clothes, her own room to sleep in, and she was protected from the dangerous outside world. The school work also kept her mind active so she was never too bored. But that didn't stop the loneliness. Overtime, she got used to dealing with it, it just became part of her normal routine. 

Today, however, wasn't a normal day. 

Today, she was going to a special meeting. She had no idea what the meeting was about, all she knew was that there was going to be another girl her age there. Apparently the doctors had been watching Claire and this girl since they arrived at WCKD, claiming they could be special. 

Dr. Kim was the one who came to collect Claire. 

Dr. Kim had been Claire's primary doctor since she was six-years-old and knew her better than any of the other doctors here. So when she walked in and found Claire picking at her breakfast, she knew instantly that the little girl was feeling nervous about today. 

"Are you sure you can't eat anymore?" Kim asked. Claire shook her head. "Alright, if you get hungry later, I can try and sneak you something. Right now we have to get going." 

Claire followed Dr. Kim out of the room. Despite the little food she ate, her stomach still churned.  She was more nervous to meet this other girl than to find out what the meeting was about. She was ten-years-old and had very little experience on interacting with kids her own age. Would this other girl be mean? Would she be shy, friendly, not interested in her at all? The only thing Claire knew about this other girl was that her name was Rachel. 

The last time she had a real friend was her brother- 

Don't think about him, she snapped at herself. 

WCKD had told Claire to forget about her past, even her old name, and she had done her best to. She had forgotten the names of the kids that used to live in her neighborhood, she could no longer recall the house she hid out in with her family, and she could barely remember the plots of her favorite stories. Even her parent's faces had become blurry over time whenever she tried to picture them. 

But she couldn't forget Tony. She remembered his kind smile, his messy black hair, his green eyes that matched hers, the way he would read stories to her. 

She had to be careful with her thoughts around the doctors, even Dr. Kim. If they found out she was still holding onto pieces of her past...

Kim led Claire to a room with a long table. Claire stood up a little straighter, realizing this was a room where a lot of important things happened. There were already two doctors and a girl with long brown hair standing on the other side of the room. The girl's expression looked bored, but her grey eyes lit up once she saw Claire. Since the doctors were too wrapped up in their conversations, the girl walked over to Claire. 

"You must be Claire. I'm Rachel." 

"Hi," Claire replied timidly. 

"Don't worry, I don't bite." 

Claire smiled, she liked Rachel almost instantly. The brunette girl had a warm, welcoming presence that melted Claire's nerves almost instantly. 

"Rachel, come have a seat," one of the male doctors instructed, gesturing to a seat on the other side of the table.