𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒 - 𝘚𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘊𝘏 𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘚

1 ~ 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨

Lottie

 I was in a tiny, drabby cell in the basements of WICKED. The cell looked just as a cell would be expected to look; an uncomfortable little cot in the corner, a toilet, a sink, and a rickety chair. The walls were damp and covered in mold, and the floors were cold cement. The smell was putrid – it smelled like something had died.

The front wall of the cell had been replaced by bars. It was funny, really: I began this life in the Box, surrounded by bars, and it was going to end that way, too. Or so I assumed.

I had been fed only once, and it was barely able to be called a meal, since it was just a lump of bread and a cup of murky water. I hardly got any sleep, due to the scratchy cot and my own intrusive thoughts.

WICKED woke me up early the next morning and forced me out of my cell. They took me up many sets of stairs, and down many white hallways, and into a room, which was also white. I had grown to hate the color – it was the color I associated with WICKED.

I was seated in a chair, and in walked two women that I recognized immediately. Chancellor Ava Paige was first. She looked far less flustered today; with her hair swept up with not a strand out of place and freshly ironed clothes.

Teresa was second. The first thing I noticed was that her eyes were still a shocking blue, and that her hair was still pitch black. She did look a little uncomfortable, though, so I gained some pleasure in that.

"What am I doing here?" I snapped. "Where are the others?"

"Now, there's no reason to take that tone with us," said the Chancellor gently.

"Of course there is!" I spat. "You put me and my friends into the Maze."

"From what I understand, you remember enough to know that you wanted to go into the Maze yourself. Or did you not see that in the Changing?"

"I wanted to go in with my memories to help the others escape!" I exclaimed. "Which I wouldn't have had to do if you hadn't put them in in the first place."

"But we needed that research," the Chancellor said patiently, making me angrier with her calm voice. "You must understand this. We gained so much from Phase One, and I'm sure Phase Two will be just as successful-"

"Phase Two?" I shrieked. "Phase Two? There's going to be a Phase Two?" There was a telltale silence, and I swelled with rage. "Where are my friends." I demanded.

"That information is not for you to know-" the Chancellor began, but Teresa cut her off.

"Why shouldn't she?" Teresa spoke up. "Why shouldn't she know? She won't be with them anyway."

"What? What do you mean?" I said.

Chancellor Paige sighed. "Your friends are at another WICKED facility. They believe that they have been rescued, but little do they know, they will be starting Phase Two in a week-"

"What?" I gasped. "You - you're giving them a false sense of security... then thrusting them back into danger, is that it?"

"Yes." The Chancellor said, not even trying to sugarcoat it. I made an inhuman sound, going to leap out of my chair, but found that I was bound to it. I made another outraged noise.

"I need you to listen." The Chancellor said, voice still dripping with that disgusting patience.

"Like hell I will," I snarled.

"You have no choice," said the Chancellor, and went on with her explanation. "We noticed how much the Changing allowed you to remember. It was too much, obviously. Our whole faculty was in a panic. Our plans had been disrupted, and we had to rush many Variables. In the end, everything seemed to work out. But what we need from you is how you managed to remember that much – how you managed to fight back."

"I'm not giving you anything," I said firmly, feeling slightly accomplished after hearing that I had sent the whole organization into disarray.

The Chancellor sighed. "I was afraid of that. Tell me, Charlotte – is there anything we can do to make you compliant?"

"Let my friends go," I said immediately, and I heard a scoff from the corner. Teresa stepped forward; her face hard and pale.

"Your friends," she sneered. "They are all you care about; all you ever cared about. Can't you see? This is bigger than you, and bigger than them. The entire world is at stake. This is about the greater good-"

"I don't give a shuck about the greater good!" I exploded. "I want my friends back!" I realized then that I sounded a bit like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but I didn't care much.

"Is there anything else that might make you happier?" The Chancellor looked slightly desperate. I hesitated, and thought. I did want to know one more thing:

"Why did you have to kill Gally?"

The Chancellor looked relieved to have a question she could answer. "It didn't have to be Gally. He was just the one who volunteered. We just needed some more intense brain stimulation from the ones of you who were left, since we didn't get enough from your time in the Maze, and having you choose who should die worked perfectly."

"You disgust me," I said in a low voice, staring at the ground. "I will never give you anything ever again. Ever." 

"Then we will have to resign to other methods."

"What does that mean? What are you going to do to me?" I asked, panicking a bit now.

"It means that we're going to have to test you," Teresa said coldly. "Without your consent. And believe me, I doubt it will be a pleasant experience."

She and Chancellor Paige left the room, and the man who had brought me here came in again; this time with another. One of them held me so that I couldn't escape while the other untied me from the chair. Then they dragged me out of the room.

"I can walk, you know," I snapped, and they set me on the ground, yet not letting go of my arms. They led me through WICKED's facility, and from the look of the place, I wasn't very surprised that these people had built the Maze; they practically lived in one themselves.

In yet another white room, the men strapped me to a chair. The room was empty except for another chair and a table, which had a row of knives laid out carefully on it. I froze – there was only one reason there would be knives in this room, and, like Teresa said, I doubted it would be pleasant.

Chancellor Paige entered the room and occupied the other chair. The men stayed in the room, right next to the knife table. "Now are you willing to give me what I want?" she asked, nodding at the knives. I grit my teeth.

"No," I spat. "I'm not giving you anything."

The Chancellor sniffed. "We'll see."

She nodded at one of the men. He reached slowly for a knife on the table; it was small, but sharp. He traced the tip with his fingertips, almost lovingly. I felt a shiver down my spine. The man picked up the knife. "Where?" he grunted.

"Oh, let's see," said the Chancellor, looking like she was enjoying this a lot more than she should. "Just a little sting for now."

The man moved so quickly; his arm was a blur. It swung at my face before I even had time to move. I felt an immediate stinging sensation on my left cheek, and then the warm liquid dripping down my face and onto my shirt. I hissed between my teeth, closing my eyes for a second.

"How about now? You know, next time it might not be so gentle. How did you remember?"

"Has it occurred to you that even I don't know?" I growled.

"I don't believe you," said the Chancellor, and gave another nod to the man. "This could go on for minutes. Or days. Your choice," she informed me as the man lifted an even bigger knife and slashed it across my arm. I bit my lip, but it didn't stop me from making a small whimper of pain. I glowered as the Chancellor smiled in satisfaction.

The blood seeped through my shirt, joining the stains of mud and blood and Griever slime that were already there. All of them were from WICKED. 

A/N

First Chapter! Thank you for reading this sequel! Make sure you vote if you liked it!

- 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭