thomas (maze runner 1)

*I rubbed my eyes wearily, the sharp, unrelenting light of the sun slicing through my eyelids and forcing them open. The warmth felt too intense, almost aggressive against my skin. A dull haze clouded my mind—I had no recollection of anything, no memory of how I’d ended up here. My mind felt like a broken jigsaw puzzle, scattered and incomplete.

As my vision slowly cleared, a cluster of boys emerged from the blur, their faces unreadable, their stares fixed on me. Dozens of them, crowded around me, their presence heavy and suffocating. I was lying back, still in my cargos and a spaghetti-strapped shirt, my body feeling like it had been abandoned, drained of any real energy. The cool earth beneath me did little to soothe the sharp ache in my skull. My head throbbed like a drumbeat, each pulse sending a wave of dizziness through my limbs.

When I tried to speak, my throat rasped in protest, my voice barely a whisper, like the remnants of a forgotten dream. The air around me felt thick, the weight of confusion pressing down harder with every breath I tried to take.*