𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 | Gally | BOOK 2

Chapter Three

I was hoping I would feel more accomplished after my escape. I'm not sure what I had been expecting to greet me on the other side of those doors, but I didn't think very far ahead. A concrete wall stood a few feet in front of me and continued down either side without anything else in sight as far as I could see.

For a moment, a feeling that's followed me for years made it's way into the forefront of my conscious. It was the same sort of feeling I'd get in the maze. Not the bubbling anxiety or constant fear of grievers, but that moment of isolation. When you realize if you make a wrong turn, it could mean life or death. The chance of never seeing the tranquility of the grassy glade or running into the arms of the boy you loved most was a very real possibility. But this time it was real. No matter which direction I chose, I was bound to run into something that probably won't want me there.

I thought about the few times I'd actually been inside the maze. I tried to decide which way to go based on what I would have done back then, yet, did I ever really have a choice? I was too busy being chased by grievers or running after Gally to...I didn't feel like thinking about it. It was all too fresh in my memory, although it could have happened weeks, or months ago.

I decided to go right. The halls were cold from the enclosure of the cement. The continuous train tracks of long ceiling lights led me down the hall. My footsteps were surprisingly quite but my feet were growing sore from the hard floor that my thin support-less hospital slippers barely protected me from. It was quiet, the loudest thing in the room was the humming and drumming of vents above me. Every now and then a loud thud would come from above.

I kept walking but seemed to be getting no where. I fingered the doctor's card in my hand, feeling the grooves of the numbers and running my thumb along the side. A loud inhale of a suctioned door came from not too far in front, then slammed almost immediately after. I froze, unsure of whether I stay in place or start running the other way. I waited and listened as the sound of squishy sneakers faded away. Cautiously, I inched forward until the grey metal door came into view.

I checked back behind me before scurrying up to it. There was no padlock or anything on it, just a regular knob. An opaque reflection of the lights above came off of it's icy surface. I stood up on my sore toes a bit and peeked through small glass square that looked into the room. There was another WICKED employee hunched over a counter in the corner of the room. There were a few blue curtains drawn back, showing more child patients sleeping only by the drugs they've been given. The third curtain, furthest to the back of the room had been pulled forward. I wondered who had been hiding back there, or if there was anything at all. The employee finished up whatever WICKED related project they'd been doing and slowly turned back. I ducked below the window, hoping they hadn't seen anything.

Something about that room had reminded me of what Thomas told us, once he finally remembered. If he were here would he recognize any of the operations that I had witnessed? Would he feel an attachment to the place where we'd grown up, and were inevitably going to die? I hoped he'd forgotten. I liked the Thomas I knew in the Glade. Like Newt had said that day they all ran into the maze; we're not the same people we were before. We never knew that version of us.

The more I thought about my friends, my brothers, and the place I was forced to call home for so long, the more my heart grew heavy. We hadn't been very affectionate in the maze, but all I wanted was for Newt or any one of them to embrace me. Most of all I needed Gally, but I couldn't dwell on him if I wanted to survive. I coudln't break down in the middle of a WICKED facility. I wouldn't let them see me like that.

In that moment I needed Newt's guidance, Minho's wit, I was willing to scarf down a whole tub of Frypan's stew if it meant I could see them. I would do absolutely anything. Newt wouldn't want me to sit here. I could imagine his face in front of mine. His scruffy blonde hair falling just above his eyes that were filled with compassion and care. He would remind me what I'm capable of, and say something that could motivate an entire room.

I had no idea where they were. I wondered if they knew where I was, or if they were looking for me. All I could hope for in that moment was that they were safe and far away from this place. It wasn't safe to stay in one place for too long. I stayed below the visibility of the window and crouched past until I felt it was safe. I didn't think there was really any other place I could go. It was strange. I felt like I was waiting at the top of a blank page, waiting for the next chapter to be written. There was nothing I could do, I was waiting helplessly in the dark. I tried my best to appreciate that I had woken up, but it was hard to convince yourself to be grateful to WICKED for anything.

I continued a bit further until I reached something I didn't quite expect to see. A part of me thought this hallway might continue on for eternity. Two more large doors waited for me at the end of the hall. There weren't any door handles on them, they must've been sliding doors that disappeared into the width of the wall when they opened. Unlike the other doors I had met, these ones had thin, tall strips of glass in the middle. Except they were blurry, anything behind the door was basically unidentifiable, except for the light that shone through.

To the right, another keypad sat, waiting for someone to swipe their card. I drew the one I had out of my pocket and hovered it over the keypad. It responded with a satisfying little beep and both doors flew open in perfect synchronisation.