GHOSTING

CHAPTER ONE: AWAKENED

ESTHER shielded her eyes from the wreckage she'd created, several hours prior, she would have never imagined herself committing such a crime.

But she had.

And they would know it was her.

Hoping to escape without being caught- despite the fact she knew it wasn't likely- she rushed away from the ruins and through the closest entrance, inside, she saw only one subject, and it was a girl.

She'd yet to introduce herself to this one but didn't bother with introductions as she had far more important matters to attend to, like making sure she got out of the damned facility alive.

That was going to be a problem all on its own.

Esther rushed past the girl and around the corner skidding to a stop as she passed the elevator, that was where she needed to go. Quickly stepping inside, she pushed the button to the third floor and waited as the doors slid closed and the cab began to ascend, why wouldn't it go faster? Were they doing it on purpose? Were they going to be waiting outside for her?

She didn't have time to try and find answers for any of her questions, they would have to wait.

The elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors slid open, upon the sight of no faces, she bolted out and down the hall quick to avoid the majority of the cameras, one person on one camera wouldn't be enough for them to find.

That would take hours.

She stopped at her door reaching out and twisting the handle, she softly smiled to herself once she'd noticed it was unlocked before stepping inside and cracking it closed behind her. She would only need a few things, a pack, water and some of the food she'd stashed away over the past two weeks, along with some clean clothes.

Earlier that day, she'd stuffed all of her things into the pack one of the girls had wanted to throw away, it was the only thing she had that would serve the purpose she needed it for.

A click sounded behind her as she picked up the bag, turning around, she could see Janson standing in the doorway with that infamous smile of his that everyone claimed resembled a rat, right then, she saw the resemblance.

"Esther, Chancellor Paige has requested to speak with you." she met his gaze, his nervous but steady gaze, it made her uncomfortable to be the thing he was focused on, peeking past him, she could see two guards waiting with their launchers rested on their waists, "what's with the security?" he glanced over his shoulder giving a slight shake of his head, "The Chancellor insisted, now, I think it's time we head over to see her." thickly swallowing her worry, she followed him out into the hall.

The two guards took position behind her while Janson led the small group back down the hall and towards the elevator, she watched as he pushed the buttons she'd known for years waiting for them to step inside before he entered behind them to remain at the front of the group.

"Janson, do you know why she wants to talk to me?" he shook his head looking up at the dial overhead to check how much further they had till they reached the second floor, it would only take a few more moments, Esther knew that much, "just something about a job for you." he replied casting a quick glance at the glass frame of his watch.

He was anxious.

There was something going on.

And while she was sure it had something to do with the bomb she'd detonated, she chose to believe they hadn't caught on that quickly.

The doors slipped open Janson stepping out and off to the side to wait for Esther and the two guards before returning to his place at the front of the group. Walking in silence- except for the sounds of their shoes hitting the ground and their hushed whispers of breathing fanning out into the hall- another set of guards stood outside the room Esther had only entered a few times, the last time she'd dared to venture inside she'd seen a brunette boy and girl sitting side by side while they exchanged looks every few minutes.

Janson dismissed the guards at the entrance watching as they disappeared down the hall before he held his key card up allowing the scanner enough time to run over the barcode on his badge before prompting him to place his hand on the second scanner, looking over her shoulder, Esther wondered how far she would get if she simply bolted.

It wouldn't be far with the guards right behind her, she dismissed the thought and breezed through the entrance Janson hot on her tail. The doors closed behind them- courtesy of the guards- and she was left to stare at the brunette boy and the Chancellor, while she'd expected Ava, she hadn't expected the boy.

Ignoring him, she focused her gaze on the Chancellor, "you asked to see me?" she nodded her head gesturing for the girl to come closer, she cautiously crossed the room making sure she took a good look at her surroundings.

Ava placed a hand on the girls shoulder her face remaining neutral as she flinched beneath the contact, "as you know Esther, we've been sending the subjects into the maze for quite some time now, and I have a new project for you." she paused coaxing a smile onto her lips, "I think you'll find it.... interesting."

Esther furrowed her eyebrows watching as the womans gaze flicked to something behind her, before she had the opportunity to turn around and identify what exactly it was, something sharp and cold was plunged into the base of her neck, flailing to try and escape from the object, she found herself unable to do so as she was set on the cold tile.

She could feel the sedative dancing across her nerves and rushing through her body, everything was slowly going numb and her vision was giving way to blurry images. Above her, she watched as the brunette female stepped into view, she should've known better than to think the boy was on his own, every time she'd seen them in the halls or in the dining hall they'd been together.

Janson came into view beside the girl along with the brunette boy, the girl looked to him before turning away from his gaze, almost as if she was ashamed. Janson gestured to her as her eyes closed the rest fading into the dark behind her eyelids, she sat there for a while waiting for something, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Not until her eyes opened once more and gave way to blurry images again, "Thomas, I thought you said you figured out how to bypass it." he roughly shrugged his shoulders, "it should've worked, I don't know why it's not taking." Teresa shook her head pulling off her gloves to rub her temples, turning away from the boy she caught sight of Esthers eyes cracking open and let them drop to her side.

"Get another sedative." she spoke her voice low so she wouldn't alarm the girl, "what? Wh-"

"Now!" she interrupted obviously fed up with the boy questioning her, she was supposed to be the calmer of the two, the one with more patience and a level-headed conscious, it seemed she was none of those things at that moment.

She felt a sharp prick in her forearm and attempted to lift her head to see what it was, "Thomas, I need you to try again." he shook his head, "I'm telling you, it's not going to work. If I try to do it a second time it could cause severe damag-"

"THOMAS!" she shouted cutting him off, his mouth stilled as he watched her, "do the damn procedure again, I don't care if it causes damage. The Chancellor wants her in the trials, so that's where she's going."

He limply nodded his head moving across the room to wheel the small monitor over, Esther let her hand drop off the edge of the procedure table the limb dangling as she tried to reach out for the boy, she could tell he didn't want this any more than she did.

He took a step back watching her arm with careful eyes, he didn't want to set Teresa off again, the sedative she'd given the girl moments before seemed to finally be working, her eyelids growing heavy as she struggled to keep them open. The last thing she saw was Thomas lifting the metal tray at her bedside and raising it over his head.

Thomas didn't know what had gotten into him as he lifted the metal tray overhead and swung it at Teresa's head, he wouldn't perform the procedure, he wouldn't risk her safety.

Slipping his hands beneath the girl's small frame, he hefted her up into his arms and made way for the door glancing over his shoulder to make sure Teresa was still on the ground from his startling attack, pushing out into the white hallway he glanced in either direction before he went to the left towards the nearest elevator on the floor.

For one of the first times since he'd been there, it seemed the halls were empty, it seemed wrong. And he could tell something was off about it.

Aware he wouldn't have much time, he rushed into the cab and elbowed the button to the seventh level beneath what served as their basement, if he was quick, he could get her in the box and get her sent down before anyone had time to stop him. In the back of his head, a small voice screamed for him to stop, it yelled at him, claiming that what he was doing was selfish and that he needed to go back and start the procedure as Teresa had ordered.

He ignored the voice and impatiently adjusted the girl in his arms, while he'd hardly known the girl- whose name he'd been told was Esther- he knew it was wrong to do what they were doing to her, or anyone for that matter.

Sacrificing someone else's life just so they could find a cure that wouldn't be ready to be widely distributed across the globe for at least a decade, killing the few for the many, wasn't something he was willing to do. He wanted everyone to live, and as long as he had a say, he was going to make sure they lost as little as possible.

Starting with Esther.

In a way, she was the beginning. The beginning of a magnificent rebellion within WICKEDS own facility, something they wouldn't be able to stop until it was too late.

The doors slid open and Thomas stepped out, he quickly glanced down the hall to make sure it was clear before he crossed the white tile and kicked the door open, he had ten minutes at most before Teresa got up, figured out what he was doing, and alerted The Chancellor who would, in turn, send the guards and Janson to stop him.

He strode across the room as quickly as possible setting the girl down beside the small entrance of the box so he could pull back on the metal covering, once that was out of the way he carefully picked her up once more and slipped her through the opening feet first in hopes of avoiding any fatal damage to her head.

A red light flashed overhead and he listened as the alarm sounded throughout the room seconds later; Teresa was up.

Making sure she was in a position that wouldn't send her faceplanting once the ascent began, he closed the metal covering and took a step back eyeing the control panel, after a few seconds of hesitation eating away at him, he took a step forward.

The door swung inward as Ava entered both Janson and Teresa trailing behind her, "Thomas, step away from the panel." she spoke her voice soft and lulling, he shook his head taking a step closer, Janson raised his gun aiming it at the boys clothed shoulder, Ava shook her head and gestured for him to lower it.

"Thomas, think about what you're doing." she continued taking a small step closer, "I already have." and with that, he slammed his hand against the red button.

GHOSTING

CHAPTER ONE: AWAKENED