Aris had no idea whether he was dreaming or hallucinating, as the unending time stretched on. But a blur of images with faces and voice echoed through his dreams--or memories. He struggled to and managed to witness a few of them, but most of it vanished as soon as it t materialized. However, there was a particular one he remembered too well.
He was sprawled out on a sheet. People were murmuring incoherently, then their voices became a little clearer as time passed.
"Are you ready for your inspection, Chancellor?" a male voice questioned.
"Yes," a female voice answered curtly.
Footsteps drew closer. Aris felt his fingers close around the mattress, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. The footsteps paused, then resumed, continuously. His breaths became more and more uneven as the footsteps became closer to his spot.
"Subject B1..." the woman was murmuring.
"Yes, well, look here. His killzone activity was very, very positive," the man was saying. He struggled to sit up, but the blinding light caused his eyes to squint into a shaft, enough to see two girls and a boy lying in cots near him, and he was very sure there were other people as well. "We should send him up to the Maze."
"I know, but....he's vital to the cure. He's essential and important," the woman said. "And he's one of us, unlike the other subjects, not to mention he helped us out quite a bit with the Maze If we were to test him, must be somewhere within WICKED's headquarters, not underground, either. That's far too risky."
"But look here!" the man said with insistent, leaning over enough for him to see the badge on his lab coat, WICKED. "We have to do this, no matter what, Chancellor. If we could examine those patterns, we might have a cure developed within a year or two. And all lives would be preserved, the subjects don't need to be tested anymore
"That's true," agreed the woman. "But I fear there's something off, suspicious about A2's plot we must be aware of. What if....he's trying to fish them out? He knows the maze rather well." She sounded defeated and anxious, and Aris sat up a little bit more to see the woman, to recognize her, but her face was a blur. "You know that B1 isn't like A1, he's not that eager to a cure."
"Well, we can eliminate some of his memories...." the man was saying.
"A1's memories are already most gone, she won't remember too much. Remember, we're shipping them into a space full of opposite genders. That could trigger some unnecessities." The woman sounded so anxious, she might need a therapist sooner or later, Aris was certain of that.
"Well, okay. Just eliminate some of his memories, ensure that most will fade, except A1. That way, he won't even know the way out for a while," the man said. A few buttons clicked around. "But still...he's important, so we'll send up as many medications as he needs. think that does it. But once he's in the Spring for a while, let him restore most of his memories of the Maze, so he can be their way out. Because he is the key to the exit."
There was more beeping, more buttons. The two people discussed back and forth, as they clicked several buttons near his bed. Soon enough, he could barely witness his childhood memories before he was taken in by them, faded instantaneously.
***
Aris finally opened his eyes. He'd seen a glimpse of his memory. He'd figured a way out, as memories returned to him. Fear coursed through him at the possibilities, and he looked around, only to realize he was in a room, newly designed cabin.
"Sonya?" he asked hoarsely.
Sonya stepped into the room. "What's going on?" he said.
"I don't know," Sonya responded. "The second you were pricked and blacked out, all of the Shades retreated. You've been out for a month, we've been redesigning everything." She knelt next to him. "You all right?"
Aris coughed. "A month?" he said. "Why am I still alive?"
"You were in a coma, just like when you first arrived, murmuring this and that," Sonya said. "Strangely, we've never seen that in girls who were pricked. I swear, I thought you were deceased, but you still had breathing, so we kept you alive by feeding you."
Aris nodded. "I think I know a way out," he said. "Hurry, before those memories fade. We will be fleeing maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. Either way, we need a meeting regarding my memories." He swallowed hard, awaiting his friend's reaction.
"Okay, then." Sonya pecked him gently on the lips, then took off further into the Spring.
You all right? Rachel called to him.
Just feeling exhausted and nauseated, still, he said. He swallowed hard, swinging his legs to the side of bed and set off to the bathroom. He felt like he was in a state of shock, he'd worked for them once, to the point where they didn't want to risk their lives. He felt remorse wrack him.
He strode out of his cabin and stepped towards the band of girls who were already the Decision Tree and inside the Igloo. Clenching his fists, he sat down on the chair Harriet had used when she first spoke. What if they accused him of designing the Maze? He swore he wouldn't mention Rachel, given that she had no idea of who she was before, that would only add more to the guilt.
Once everyone settled down, he cleared his throat. "When I had gone through the Transformation, I remember quite a bit, but most of them are fading." He paused. "But I remember enough from my previous memory, right before I woke up. People who set us into the Maze are called WICKED, an organization. They're designing a cure for some sort of virus that plagued the world."
"But what's the point?" a girl blurted.
Aris lifted his hand to silence her. "I'm almost there. The reason we're in the Maze and Spring, is that they are all testing us. Because this virus is in the brain, they're inspecting us, because we're--well, at least Rachel and I are immune to this virus. The killzone as menacing as it sounds, is a spot where the virus affects the brain. But all of us are immune, or at least most of us."
"What are the symptoms?" another girl questioned.
"In my dream--or memory, someone said that people will go insane if they can't discover a cure. So, the Shades and those who were pricked, something in the Shades are related, maybe. As far as I can tell, most cities are in ruins outside the Maze right now." Aris drew a breath. "But now, WICKED wants us to flee the Maze, to complete the blueprint, I guess, and we'll be free. But before this--" He took another intake of the breath. Should he inform them? Panic set in. "I designed the Maze."
The deathly silence settled over them. He felt his heart thumping, his hands trembling. What could he say in defense? "I don't know why I did," he said gently, "but whatever is the reason, I'm willing to assist everyone in fleeing." Everyone looked at him.
"You're completely blameless," Harriet spoke up. "You might have been forced to do it."
"Forced to do it?" a girl screamed. Aris figured she was Beth's friend. "No! He put us inside of the Maze!"
Aris opened his mouth to defend himself, then clamped it shut. Harriet spoke up again. "You shut up, Jessie. He didn't do it willingly. He was set into the Maze, just like all of us, shipped here in that dark, wood Box. Now that he's restored his memories, we need to flee."
What's going on? Aris thought numbly. Harriet had been the first one to brand him as a threat when he first arrived. He remained quiet, as Harriet told everyone that they needed to flee tomorrow night, earning a combination of cheers and groans and asked who wanted to, ignoring those who refused.
After Harriet jotted down who wanted to make the run, she dismissed everyone, and spun around, Aris still gawking at her. "Why'd you do it?" he said quietly.
Harriet took an intake of a sharp breath. "There's been so many things happening. First, you arrived, and I would've sworn, everyone, even me, is highly suspicious. But I've never seen someone so intrigued by the thought of being a Skater and then, inspecting those Walls each day. You did everything you could." She hung her head. "I'm sorry for the disrust I felt when you first emerged from the Box, but I swear to you, I'm on your side."
Aris nodded and Harriet set off to the Spring.
***
After the meeting, Harriet summoned another conference and ordered everyone to begin packing, they were going to escape into the Maze tomorrow morning right after they'd had full night's rest. Aris settled into his bed, feeling fear course through him and swallowed hard. He knew they were going to flee, but he didn't think it was tonight.
A knock drew his attention to the door and was glad that it was Rachel. She plopped down next to him. "We're going to do it tomorrow morning," she said in a soft voice.
"Yeah," he agreed. "We're on."
"Game on?"
He drew her into an embrace. "Game on." Game on, indeed. Ironically, it should be, dangerous game on.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
