"I'm telling you, it felt way too real to be just a dream! It felt familiar, like I'd experienced it before!"
••••••••••••••••••••

"Em, you have to run!"

"No way, I'm not leaving you!"

"Emmy, the guards are coming and if you don't leave now, they'll get you too!"

"Thomas, no! They're gonna put you in the maze! I can't let them put you in that hellhole alone!"

"I won't be alone, I'll have you. I don't care what those bastards do to me, I won't forget about you!"

"You're my brother, Tommy! I can't leave you, it'll kill me!"

"I can't let them get you, Emmy! I need you to run as fast as you can back to your room and don't be seen!"

"Thomas—."

"No, Em! Promise me that you won't follow me into that maze!"

"Tom—."

"Promise me!"

"I promise..."

"Good, now run!"

I shot up in my hammock, my chest heaving and sweat beading down my forehead.

Running a hand through my tangled hair, I surveyed my surroundings. The other girls were still fast asleep inside the large tent and the sky was still dark.

"Another nightmare?"

I snap my head to the right to see Sonya leaning against a post, looking down at me with sad eyes.

"Yeah." I sighed with a nod, running a hand over my sleep deprived face. "The boy that I keep seeing is apparently my twin brother."

"Wow." The blonde replied in shock, both eyebrows raised.

I simply nodded in agreement, my mind reeling. Hope sparked in my heart at the possibility that I could have actual blood related, living family outside of this damn maze.

"Emmy...." Sonya sighed sadly, having seen the look in my eyes. "Don't get your hopes up, for all we know these dreams are just that. Dreams."

"Sonya, I'm telling you, it felt way too real to be just a dream! It felt familiar, like I'd experienced it before!" I argued, determined not to let go of the hope that I wasn't as alone as I felt.

"Emmy, even if these are memories resurfacing," She sighed, pursing her lips. "There's a likelihood that Thomas is dead or doesn't even remember you."

"He wouldn't forget, he promised that he wouldn't." I said to myself, violently shaking my head.

Neither of us spoke for a moment, Sonya just looked at me sadly and I kept my gaze on the ground.

"Come on, let's take a walk to clear your head. We've still got two hours before everyone wakes up." The older blonde girl told me with a small smile.

I nodded and returned the gesture, before putting on my snow boots and throwing on my jacket.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Around mid-afternoon, I was just returning from the daily run in the maze. My bow in hand, as myself and two other runners jogged back into the main area.

I grinned, fist-bumping Joan as we walked into the mapping room and started recording the day's route. As I was putting my gear back into the runners' shed, when Sonya ran up to me.

"Hey, Emmy! Ximena wants to talk to you."

"Yeah, sure thing." I agreed, before waving goodbye to the other runners and following Sonya towards the main meeting tent. "Do you know what she wants to talk to me about?"

"A new Snowflake showed up in the box today, while you guys were gone." The blonde told me, a nervous expression on her face.

"But didn't May just came up in the box two days ago?" I asked curiously with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, but that's not the only weird thing about this Snowflake..." She trailed off, sending me a nervous glance.

"What? Does she have all of her memories? Are we finally going to get some answers around here?" I asked hopefully, a smile growing on my face.

"No, they don't have their memories." The second in command told me with a sigh, killing my good mood. I should have known that the bastards that put us here wouldn't make this that easy.

"But Emmy, the weird thing isn't that the Snowflake came early." She continued insistently, before pausing for a moment. "It's that the Snowflake isn't a girl."

"I'm sorry, what the fuck?" I asked my friend in astonishment.

"Emmy, that's not all." Sonya told me with a sigh and a serious expression.

"Of course it's not." I grumbled with a huff. "Those pricks can't cut us a break can they?"

"What else?" I asked the blonde, mentally preparing myself for whatever the hell I was about to hear.

"There was a note with him." She told me slowly, before telling me what the note said.

"What the hell do they mean by 'last one ever'?!" I asked in frustration and slight fear.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to bet that this is only the beginning of a whole new shit show."