Chapter Text
I sprint down the hallway, the dreadful countdown echoing in my ears.
"Five, four, three" I see the entrance to the box and put on a burst of speed, quickly checking over my shoulder for my pursuers. Janson and his crew appear around the corner, pelting towards me, Janson yelling in his handheld.
"Shut the door, shut the Box door". But the door kept closing at the same speed, and I leapt head first into the gap, sliding on my stomach into blackness, and the door clanged shut. Immediately the box started moving, and the shouts of an irate rat man faded into nothing. I was panting heavily from sprinting, but couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I had done it, made it into the Box. My delight was short lived however, as I thought about what I had gotten myself into. I was on my way up into an unsolvable maze, full of teenage boys and half slug, half machine monsters, I mean, what could go wrong. I sigh and lie back on one the large sacks which were scattered around me, settling down for the long ride. Slowly, I begin to drift off, lost in my mind. Suddenly, there is a loud scraping noise, and the Box begins to slow, then finally stop. I take a deep breath as the lid opens and sunlight streams in, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the glare, I stare up without seeing. Then everything comes into focus, and I am staring up at a group of dumbstruck boys.
"Holy shuck, look at her hair, her eyes" One of the boys whispers, and I glare at him.
"It's just hair dude, yours doesn't look the best either" My sharp tongue seemed to surprise them, and a few of them snicker. One of the boys jumps down, landing in front of me, frown creasing his forehead.
"You wanna come out Greenie" And he holds a hand out, obviously wanting to help him up. I look up at him, into his dark eyes, and see that he is tired, so I softly push his hand away, jumping lightly to my feet and stretching. He waits for me to get out, the boys clearing a space around me, looking at me with varying expressions. I ignore them, craning my neck, looking at my surroundings with slight amusement. If only the boys knew what hid behind the massive walls, knew that they were being watched by curious and heartbroken eyes.
"So, Greenie, I'm Alby, welcome to the Glade" I turn back to the boy who had called me Greenie. I had heard the word before, had laughed at it, but it was a bit different being on the receiving end. I frown at him slightly, taking in his appearance. He was tall, maybe '6''0' '6''1', with dark brown skin and a buzz cut. His eyes were dark amber, glinting slightly in the sun. I knew he was taking me in, and I raised my eyebrows as his gaze travelled down. He cleared his throat, a slight blush blooming his cheeks.
"So, you boys want to know my name, or you all just going to ogle me". I smiled around at the gathered boys, my words dripping with sarcasm.
"Umm, you remember it?" Alby looked surprised, even slightly angry.
"It usually takes a couple of days for the shanks to remember, what is it?". I swallow slightly.
"Acadia, you can call me Dia". There is a long pause, a few boys start muttering.
"Okay, Dia, do you remember anything else" I see the boys lean closer, some of them defiantly angry. I decide to lie.
"No, thats it, I remember nothing else" Alby raises his eyebrows, probably seeing through my lie.
"I'll give you the tour, come with me" He takes my elbow and steers me away from the group, telling them all to get back to work. I follow him, shaking his hand off my arm as I go. He leads me over to the rickety building, and plonks down on one of the abandoned benches, patting the wood beside him.
"So, what else can you remember, you were obviously lying before" I sit down and gaze into space, wondering how much I should tell him.
"I remember....things...about outside, about the world, but I don't really want to talk about it, aren't you supposed to be giving me the tour" I feel bad as he stifles a yawn, he must be exhausted, his face slightly drawn with large bags under his eyes.
"True dat, I'll show you around" He pushes himself to his feet, and I slowly rise beside him, my eyes fixed on a figure in the distance. I recognised the long gait immediately, as well as the arrogant way he pushed through the boys, heading straight for us. A bolt of fear shot through me, what if he recognised me. After the last time we met, I really couldn't risk it.
"Umm, Alby, it was great meeting you, and I'm sure this place is awesome, but I have to dash, caio" And with that, before he could move, I sprinted for the Maze door. Shouts erupted behind me, followed by the sound of Alby tearing after me. I opened my gait, letting the adrenaline fuel me as I shot past the groups of shocked boys, a few of them laughing.
"Thats a runner boys" I had almost made it to the exit, when I heard a shout behind me.
"Don't you shucking do it Dia, don't do it!" It was Alby, his voice hoarse, but I kept on going, knowing exactly what I was doing. I had just entered the Maze, and had turned the first corner, when I saw a group of boys up ahead, running straight at me, their faces sweaty and exhausted. I skidded to a halt, almost plowing into the leader, a tall blond guy, who stopped in shock.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" His accent was British, but I ignored him, just spinning on the spot and sprinting back the way I had come. Ignoring their shouts, I sped past the entrance, and was hit by a wall of flesh, plowing into me from the side, and everything went black.