❝ 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 ❞
▬▬ Chapter 02
• . ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳💧

Madison lay sprawled on the bottom bunk, halfheartedly staring at the ceiling in the dimly lit room she shared with Evie. Sleep refused to cooperate, and neither did her brain, which had decided to replay every awful moment from the past week like it was her own personal horror show. The Maze. The losses. The endless loop of guilt. If there had been anything she could've done, maybe—just maybe—she could've changed things. But no, here she was, trapped in her own head, drowning in what-ifs.

Then, as if the universe was bored with her suffering, the silence was shattered by a loud, ominous creak from the vent beneath her bed. Startled, she shot upright, eyes darting to the noise.

"Aries?" Madison hissed under her breath, recognition snapping into place as a figure emerged from the shadows.

Aries' face appeared in the vent, a shadow in the dark. "Is Evie asleep?"

"Yeah, she passed out a while ago. Why?" Madison replied, her curiosity piqued despite the exhaustion clouding her thoughts.

"Good. Don't wake her," he whispered, clearly in a hurry. "Follow me."

"Uh, okay?" Madison said, eyebrow raised. She was half-suspicious and half-hoping this wouldn't end with her getting caught sneaking around like some sort of Glade rebel.

Her heart raced in the darkness as she crawled through the narrow vent. "Where the hell are you taking me, Aries?" she asked after a few minutes of crawling in silence.

"Shh!" Aries hissed, but the urgency in his tone made her grit her teeth in annoyance. "Just follow me. We're almost there."

"Don't 'shh' me," Madison shot back, rolling her eyes even though she knew it was useless. "What is this, some secret vent-club meeting?"

After a few more minutes, Aries stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait here. I need to grab something. Don't move."

"What the hell, Aries—" Madison started, but before she could finish, Aries had disappeared into the darkness, leaving her fuming in the cramped space.

"Great. Just great," Madison muttered, her mind already spinning a dozen theories of why he was dragging her around like this.

Her impatience was practically bursting at the seams as the minutes dragged on. It was like being stuck in a nightmare where time was moving in slow motion. Finally, Aries returned, but he wasn't alone. The familiar face of a brunette boy appeared, and for a second, Madison felt like she'd seen him before.

Aries, clearly excited about his little "secret mission," whispered, "Look."

Madison glared at him, annoyed. "What the hell, Aries? Why are we here?"

"Just look!" he urged, almost frantic.

Madison's eyes flicked over to the boy, who was giving her an equally confused look. "What are we—"

But before he could finish his sentence, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, and a woman in uniform came into view, holding a clipboard and scanning her keycard.

Madison's heart skipped a beat when her eyes landed on the clipboard. There, in neat letters, was Evie's name with tomorrow's date beside it. Panic spread like wildfire in her chest.

Before she could process it, several people walked past them, pushing what appeared to be bodies—dead bodies.

"What the hell was that?" the boy next to her whispered, his voice shaking with disbelief.

"They bring in new ones every night," Aries explained, his voice grim. "Like clockwork."

"And what do they do with them?" the boy asked, his tone trembling.

"I don't know." Aries' voice dropped, and his face grew dark. "This is as far as I've ever gotten. The vents don't go through that section. But once they go through that door... they don't come back out."

Madison's stomach turned as she processed the reality of what Aries had just said. She turned to him, her face pale with shock. "I—I should've believed you. I thought you were crazy. But... Evie's name was on that list."

Aries looked at her, his eyes filled with sympathy. "I know. It's not just you. We've all been kept in the dark."

But Madison's mind was spinning, her thoughts running a mile a minute. "We need a plan. We need to get out of here," she muttered.

Aries nodded, but before he could say anything, Madison turned to the boy. "What's your name?"

"Thomas," he replied, his voice steadying as he looked at her.

"Madison," she said curtly, though there was a slight edge in her voice, unsure of whether she should trust him yet.

They spent a few more moments in tense silence, before Aries motioned for them to go. "Come on. We need to move before someone notices we're gone."

But just as they started to leave, the boy called out to them. "Why show me all this?"

Aries gave him a pointed look. "Maybe the others will listen to you. There's something really messed up going on here, and I know you see it too."

Madison didn't have time to respond as she followed Aries, the weight of what they'd just discovered bearing down on her.

Back in her room, Madison wasted no time in waking up Evie, shaking her shoulder urgently. "Evie! Wake up!"

"What?!" Evie groaned, clearly disoriented.

"Get up. We need to talk. Now," Madison demanded, her voice tense with urgency.

Evie blinked at her, confused but obedient. "Okay, okay! What is it?"

"I went into the vents. Aries wasn't lying. There were bodies. Dead bodies. And Evie—your name was on the list. You're on the list for tomorrow."

Evie's eyes widened, her face draining of color. "What? What do you mean?"

Madison's heart pounded in her chest. "I'm not sure, but we need to get out. Now."

The two girls huddled with Aries, the plan taking shape as they spoke in hushed voices.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Janson walked in, clipboard in hand, calling out names.

"Alice, Berry, Walt, Edgar... Evie." He didn't even look up from his list, oblivious to the shock that hit Madison like a punch to the gut.

Madison's mind went blank. Without thinking, she grabbed a glass from the table and smashed it across Evie's face.

"AH!" Evie screamed, her hands flying to her face in pain.

In the chaos, Madison jumped over the table, throwing herself on top of Evie to muffle her cries. She whispered urgently in her ear, "I'm so sorry."

Evie grit her teeth, fighting through the pain, "It's fine. We need to get out of here."

"What the hell!" Janson screamed, rushing toward them. "Get them out of here!" He gestured toward the guards.

Madison was yanked up and dragged away, but not before she locked eyes with Thomas.

The brief exchange was enough. They had a plan.

Back in her room, Madison muttered under her breath, "Come on, Aries. Let's move."

The vent creaked open, and Aries slid in. "Well, that was a show," he said with a smirk. "Let's go."

Madison crawled through the vents, feeling a strange tension build as they moved. She knew that whatever happened next, things were about to get a lot more complicated.

As they reached their destination, Madison's eyes fell on Minho, who stood in the corner with the other boys. He looked at her like she was some kind of wild card. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, his tone sharp.

Madison smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. "I could ask you the same thing. Got a problem with it?"

Minho raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I do. But you'll figure that out soon enough."

Madison's lips twisted into a wicked grin. "Oh, I'm sure I will."

But deep down, she knew the tension between them was far from over.

AUTHORS NOTE;

Thank you so much for reading! This chapter was an intense one, with the stakes higher than ever. Madison's inner turmoil and the group's growing tension continue to build, and I really wanted to highlight her defiance and sassy attitude in this one. I also wanted to amp up the tension between her and Minho—because let's be real, they have that kind of dynamic. I hope you felt the urgency of the situation as they uncover more about what's really going on in this place.

I also really wanted to show the characters starting to form bonds, like Madison and Thomas beginning to understand each other's pain, and the group working together despite their differences. Things are getting darker and more dangerous, but that's what makes these characters so amazing—fighting for each other even when everything seems hopeless.

I'm so excited to see where this goes! Stay tuned for more, and as always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Love you all!