Chapter Text
THE SOUNDS WERE so loud that the brunette thought her brain would explode. Peeling her eyes open was tough, but she forced herself to do so when the shaking did not stop. She was overwhelmed with darkness and the odd flashing light that passed every couple seconds.
The box wasn't very large. Crates were piled around her, and a cage with what smelt like livestock sat across from her. She could feel the vile substance in her throat begin to rise, maybe even just as quickly as the box, but she swallowed it down before anything could happen.
The box was moving too quickly for her to stand. The girl didn't scream, for she knew no one would hear her over the loud sounds, but she was still panicking. The box showed no signs of slowing down. It was like a rollercoaster; you didn't know how soon the end would come.
When light flooded the box, she was instantly blinded. It almost felt like she was being reborn; shown to the bright hospital lights as a newborn baby with no memories, only a fresh state of mind. It was scary.
A figure stood at the top of the box, looking down at her. She couldn't make out their features, for the sun was too blinding, but she could tell by the broad shoulders that it was a man, or a boy.
The boy sticks his hand out to pull the small girl from the box, but she doesn't move. She feels like she's stuck to the metal floor, in fear and in confusion. How was she here? And why couldn't she remember anything?
Two other figures stood beside the boy with the extended hand. A lanky figure, which she couldn't tell was a boy or a girl, and a taller figure, which she could tell was a boy by his spiky hair.
The boy's hand stayed stretching like that, facing upwards waiting for her to grab on. When she finally did, the boy pulled her up and out of the metal box, letting her drop to the yellowing grass.
Her eyes flicker around the area quickly; there wasn't much to see. A small shack, open fields, a fenced-in area with livestock near a forest and four tall concrete walls.
The brunette looks up at the figure who pulled her out of the box: a tall boy with broad shoulders, an oval face and dark skin, who was obviously the eldest.
Beside him stood the lanky boy with champagne coloured hair, standing smaller than the other two.
The third boy was the spiky-haired figure with tan skin and a smirk that would tease the new girl for days. All three of them looked fairly close to her age.
Her eyes went back to the forest; there was an attraction. She felt like she was being pulled. It was like arms open for a hug, which the girl was ready to fall into.
Glancing over at the three boys who kept their distance from her, the girl takes her chances and pulls herself up to her feet, pushing herself to run. She began to run, but not towards the open concrete doors; towards the forest. The brunette wasn't stupid, the walls were obviously there to keep them in and something else out, and since there was no other place to go she ran there.
She knew she wouldn't get away; the walls surrounding this strange place were everywhere and the only exits she saw weren't where she was headed.
She was close enough to the forest's edge that she thought she would make it, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the spiky-haired boy getting closer. He didn't stop when he reached her and instead rammed into her, sending her crashing towards the group. Pain erupted in her side where they met in contact, but that pain was quickly forgotten when her head hit the ground with a thud. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she could see the spiky-haired boy bending over her, saying something. She couldn't make out what he was saying before her world went dark.
•••
To some people, the maze was scary. To others, intimidating. To Leanne, the maze was a safe-haven. It was where she loved to run off into and just relax. It was the long, dark, endless paths that brought her comfort. It was the sadistic secrets she'd discover running down the dim hallways. The plain cement surrounding her was where she felt most at home.
Some would call her weird. Others, an adrenaline junky. In the end, everyone really just called her crazy.
Of course, being the only girl in a society of boys, she was always viewed as different. Most of the time, it was a good thing. It meant she wasn't as messy, she smelt better than them for sure, and she was more mature. Instead of fighting like the rest of them, she'd think up a solution.
Leanne was charming. She had every single one of the Gladers wrapped around her finger. It wasn't her gorgeous brown hair, or her warm brown eyes, but the fact that she was easy to be around. She was affable, and that was something nice when it came to living in the Glade.
Despite all the good things about her, she had her flaws. When she was mad, you didn't want to get in her way. The brunette was feisty, and you'd only learn that the bad way. She was secretive, not in a rude way, but in a way that she wouldn't share much.
And last but certainly not least, she would always be unpredictable.