[ four ].
CHAPTER FOUR
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    THE GIRL PASSED THE GAP. And perhaps that would be something that the brunette would regret for the rest of her life - so the regret would be short-lived.

    The sprinter stopped once her feet no longer stepped on the stone floor, but the ground beneath her feet was much different, it was a complete contrast to the softness of the snow that used to coat every inch of the Spring.

    Her wide fearful eyes darted to the boys that stood in front of her. They were ogling her like she was some kind of animal, trapped in a cage - a rare specie no doubt. Some boys were shouting, to whom she didn't know; others seemed to speechless to even utter a single word.

Each one of them was different from the other. Their clothing was dirty like it haven't been washed in weeks. She was grateful for the large distance between them as they probably reeked of sweat.

Unexpectedly, a body came crashing down from behind her. The girl embraced herself for the impact of her sore body against the ground...but it never came. To her surprise, the boy from before - that she had completely forgotten about - grabbed her the instant he crashed against her.

At first, she didn't move, to overwhelm to do anything. She didn't even realize once the boy's hands detached from her small trembling form, too engrossed in the crowd that gathered around her.

Who are they? What's happening? Where are my friends? Did they kill them?

The last thought made her skin crawl. Tears started to burn in her eyes, but they were gone as soon as they appear, the heat of the rage that grew within her drying them fully.

In a swift movement, she reached for her machete, only for her hand to grasp air.

Slowly she dropped her arm by her side, her wide eyes following the movement. Her eyes focused on the ground, her mind screaming danger. Her gaze switch upwards, immediately connecting with dark brown ones that stared right into her soul.

"Cazzo..." Shit...

And that's when all the voices filled her ears. Voices she had ignored until this moment, now were the only thing the Sprinter could focus on.

    "What the..."

    "It's a real girl"

    "Man, look at her"

    "Whoa..."

    "No. Shucking. Way."

She didn't comprehend what was happening. Where was she? All in her mind was a blur.

    Who were these people? What did they want? Were they killers sent by the founders to finish us all?

     Her eyes darted to the boy from the maze. He stood near the tall dark skin one - who never once detached his intense stare from her. And it was starting to get on her nerves.

    "Where are they?"

    Her voice came off forage to her own ears. It was harsher than usual, a consequence of being dry. She needed water, but most importantly she needed answers. She needed to understand all of this.

    What had been happening since the moment she woke up in this strange different maze? A maze that seemed to have changed miraculously.

    "Where are my f-friends?" Her trembling voice was muffled by all the chattering around her.

    She tried to look strong, fearless, but she knew that was failing miserably.

Show no weakness, that's the first step to win a fight. The voice of Beth echoed in her head.

The only answers the girl got were a few whispers from the conversations that were happening around her.

    "Who are you?"

    The tall dark-skinned boy took a small step forward. His face void of expression.

    The Sprinter barely acknowledged his question, too focused finding a reasonable explanation for her friends not being the ones that "welcomed" her once she passed the walls. But her mind came out blank.

    Where are they hiding? If these boys had entered the Spring through the maze, wouldn't her friends have time to hide? Were they tied in someplace?

There was no blood on the boys' clothes, at least not that she could notice, so her friends were alive.

    They had to be.

"Where did you came from?"

Again the Sprinter ignored the "leader". It was like her mind was on autopilot mode, if they didn't give her any information about her friends, her brain would ignore their words.

    For the first time, the girl's attention moved to her surroundings instead of the crowd. The girl could only see much as her small form prevent her from completely taking observing what she thought to be the Spring. What she saw made her knees almost buckled, a view impossible to even imagine.

Spring as finally arrived at the Spring, she thought.

The pine trees had disappeared and were replaced with round tall trees. Rosalind couldn't recall the last time that she had seen so much green in one place. A high structure made of wood that resembled a tour of a castle stood to the left side.

    It was like a switch had been finally turn and that the shocking true was revealed.

    This isn't the Spring. No...this is impossible. This can't be real.

"Minho?"

The unexpected change in the conversation brought the girl back from her racing thoughts. Her eyes darted to the boy from the maze - Minho. He was already staring at her, catching her by surprise. His gaze never left hers as he spoke,

"I don't know who this shank is. I was running back to the glade when I hear screaming. I went to see what it was and then I found her."

He spoke nonchalantly - arms crossed - as if he was just describing the weather, but the girl could see in his dark brown eyes that he was far from calm. A bit freaked out even.

"What where you doin' in the maze?" Her head snapped to a tall blond boy, his voice filled with a very familiar accent.

She was sick of hearing them talk. Hadn't she left her machete in the maze - fault of that Minho boy - she would already have a hostage with the sharp weapon against his throat and her questions being answered.

"Okay, listen. In case you haven't noticed I'm not gonna answer any of your questions until you answer mine" Her voice was demanding with no place for further negotiation. The girl kept reminding herself that she had to think rationally. The want of running away from these people and go find her friends was becoming unbearable. The Sprinter didn't know how much time she could act like this sane calm person that didn't wish to cut their heads off.

A boy to her left laughed dryly, her head immediately snapping in his direction, "Really? I don't think you understand that you are one girl against all of us. So I think you should start talking."

She glared at the rude boy. "Where. Are. My. Friends."

   The built boy advanced on her, anger in his eyes, his finger pointed at her. "Look here, girl — "

     "Gally calm down..." the boy with the accent said with a warning tone as he took a few steps towards the two teens that stood inches apart, glares on their faces.

    "If she doesn't talk — "

    "What? What are you gonna do, huh? Torture me? Kill me like you did to my friends?" Her voice raised with each word to the point that she was nearly yelling.

    Pure confusion invades each one of the boy's expressions.

"She is clearly insane" the boy - Gally - said with a shake of his head, his eyebrows raised as he gave an exasperation look to the blonde boy.

"If you killed them...I will rip your heads off" Her eyes were filled with tears as they bore into Gally's eyes. Rosalind sanity seemed to be slowly slipping away, nothing make sense anymore.

    The emotions clear in her voice made him consider for a second that the girl might not be insane. But she could be dangerous, they couldn't trust her.

Gally wasn't the only one to take notice of the girl's obvious distress. And some of them started to feel pity for her, even if they didn't know exactly why.

    "Can you tell me your name?"

    Such a simple question took the girl completely of guard. She blinked a few times, her tears still very noticeable before her gaze turned to the "accent boy".

    "Rosalind"