The First Gladers; Into the Scorch

Chapter 12: Melting

To your dismay, the stairs seem to go on as long as the hallway did. You can't even begin to fathom how deep this tunnel must be, nor can you comprehend just how far you've traveled. All you know is you just want this mess to be over.
Oddly enough your wish is granted as you hear Minho yelp in pain from the front of the line. "I found the top of the stairs..." He groans. "It feels like there's some sort of hatch or something." Minho adds.
"Well, open it!" You exclaim.
"No shuck y/n, I was planning on taking a nap, maybe relaxing in a Jacuzzi for a while."
"Will you shut up Minho?" Newt grunts.
"Come on man, just open it." Thomas adds.
"Alright, alright." Minho remarks.
A horrible screeching sound bounces off the walls, shaking your nerves and making you cringe down to your bones.
Suddenly, it's like the sun is right on top of you. Blinding light pours directly into your eyes, searing pain running from your cornea into your brain. Then the heat hits. Twelve times worse than it was before, it washes over you like a wave.
You close your eyes and take an instinctive step backward in an attempt to flee from the horrible burning sensation that pulls on your eyes and stretches your skin. You forgot that you were in the middle of a line of boys on top of a long staircase.
The next thing you know you're tumbling backward, crashing over stairs and friends. Miraculously, you manage to stop your descent before reaching the bottom. You groan in pain, as does the boys around you.
"Shut that thing!" Newt exclaims.
A loud clank followed by complete darkness signifies that Minho followed Newt's orders.
"Man," Minho exclaims, "You guy need to make up your minds... HEY!" You hear him yelp, after what must've been a solid punch in the shoulder from Newt.
"Is everyone ok? I head someone fall." Newt asks, clearly exhausted.
"Yeah, I think we're good." You announce, trying your best to help the other boys up.
"What now?" Fry asks from behind you, "We can't just stay in here forever."
"What if we only open it a crack until our eyes adjust?" Thomas suggests.
"Yeah, alright." Minho agrees, "Everyone cover your eyes!" 
You do as he says, pressing the palms of your hands onto your eyes, yet the light is just as blinding as it was before. The hallway is immediately filled with groans, yet this time no-one falls. Yet the extra heat quickly seeps into the room, giving you the dizzying sensation of melting into the floor.

As your eyes slowly adjust to the painfully bright light, you notice that not only do you feel like you're melting, but the ceiling is actually melting. A large silvery teardrop-shaped glob of goo is dripping precariously from the ceiling. Momentarily forgetting how Adam died, you watch it in fascination. As it drips down it grows to near the size of a head. Yet instead of falling straight down it's like it's being pulled to the side by some sort of magnet.
Before you realize what's going on, the massive drop of ceiling breaks away and flies right toward Winston's head. You hear yourself scream his name, as if trying to warn him. He spins around to face you and all of a sudden it's like the world is moving in slow motion. The silvery goo soars right into his face, latching onto the top of his head at first contact.
Winston howls in pain, reaching his hands up to his head in an attempt to pull the scalding hot goo off his head as it steadily begins to envelop his entire skull.
You take a step forward to help him, but are pushed to the side by Thomas as he rushed to Winston's side.
You watch in horror as Winston continues to scream in agony as he and Thomas struggle to rip the slime from his head. Thomas widens his step, preparing to use all his strength in order to save Winston. He counts to three, then pulls as hard as he can, finally ripping the gel away from Winston's head and tosses it down the stairs.
The goo immediately hardens into a large metallic ball, clanging loudly as it tumbles down the stairs. That's how Adam died. The realization nearly knocks you over. Whatever that was, cut his head clean off.
Suddenly your mind takes you all the way back to the end of your first year in the Maze. The panic in Gally's eyes as he lifted Chris out of the hole the box came from. Only half of Chris's body surfacing.
Your stomach threatens to get rid of the small amount of food you've been able to eat in the past few hours as you steady yourself against the wall.
You assume you must look as bad as you feel because the next thing you know Newt is by your side, his eyes during concern into yours as he is forced to stand very close in the thin, crowded stairway.
"Are you alright?" He asks softly.
You swallow shakily, still struggling to push the image of Chris out of your mind.
"Yeah," You cough, clearing your throat, "Yeah I'm fine. We better get out of here before those things can do any more damage." You add, glancing toward Winston's now-charred head. Welts and bumps the size of quarters have already formed on his severely burned head. Even Thomas's hands are burned from grabbing the molten goo.
All the other boys prepare to start the adventure into the scorching heat, but Newt stays put, knowing you all too well. He knows something is seriously bothering you, the depth of his concern is evident in his eyes. He smiles sadly, wrapping you in his arms without asking any further questions.

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23