The Beginning of the End // The Maze Runner // Newt

// Chapter 17 //

Athena froze, her blood running cold. She turned around slowly, hearing the fear in the speaker's voice. It was Gally.

"Gally?" Thomas tried to move forward towards him, but Teresa stopped him.

"He's been stung."

Gally's eyes were dark, almost black, and his skin was sallow. His chin quivered slightly and his breaths were shallow and rapid, like he was trying to stop himself from crying. He dropped a Key he must have gotten from one of the other Grievers, and it hit the floor with a clang.

"We can't leave." He trembled.

"We did, Gally, we're out." Thomas did his best to try and calm him down, but Athena knew it wasn't going to end well. Gally never did like Thomas. "We're free."

"Free? You think we're free out there?" Gally's face contorted as he began to sob between his words. "No. There's no escape from this place." He lifted his right arm and aimed it towards Thomas, the gun in his hand shaking as tears glistened in his eyes.

"Listen, Gally, you're not thinking straight. You're not." Thomas continued to try to reason with him, but it didn't seem to be changing his mind, "But we can help you. Just put down the gun, okay?"

"I belong to the Maze."

"Put down the gun."

"We all do."

Time slowed down as Gally's finger squeezed the trigger. Minho acted immediately, throwing his spear and hitting the stung boy square in the chest. He took a few deep breaths, gasping for air as he slowly collapsed to the floor.

A faint wheezing came from next to Athena and a moment later Chuck faintly called out for Thomas, dropping to the floor. The young boy's breathing was strained and the wound flowered blood on his chest.

"Look at me, look at me, look at me. Shit, look at me, Chuck. You're gonna be alright."

"Thomas, Thomas." Chuck said between laboured breaths, stopping the boy's scrambling words and pulled out a blood-stained carving which he handed to Thomas.

"No, Chuck, you're gonna give it to them yourself, remember? I told you that." Athena recalled the conversation she had accidentally heard. This is what they were talking about.

"Take it." Chuck managed to make out. "Thank you. Thank you." The last word escaped his lips and then his final breath left him, lifeless.

Athena didn't know what to do. Chuck may as well have been her younger brother with how much she cared for him. Sure, she only knew him for a month, but it was one of the best months hanging out with such a sweet and innocent boy.

He deserved better. He deserved better than to be shot by someone that was once their friend.

A mixture of sad and angry tears escaped her eyes and her knees shook beneath her as she mourned the loss of one of the best people she had the great fortune of knowing.

For a moment, pure rage took over her and she had the great urge to break something, to hurt someone, but the only person deserving of that wrath was already dead. She turned to look at Gally as he lay alone only a metre and a half away from them, not one person shedding a tear for him.

Athena thought she might do something insane like pummel his corpse from how angry she was at him for taking Chuck's life, but as soon as she laid eyes on him, the anger turned to pity.

Gally was never liked very much by any of the Gladers and by the end of it, he had no friends. The last thing he did was take a sweet, innocent life and whatever faced him in whatever came next for him in whatever afterlife there was, if there even was one, would give him exactly what he deserved.

Even through all the pity and hatred Athena harboured, there was still something in the bundle of emotions that she didn't expect to feel for him. Grief.

Somewhere deep down, Athena mourned Gally, for whatever reason, she did not know. Perhaps it was because they were friends once upon a time. It felt like it had been years since they had left the Glade, but in reality, it had only been about half a day.

She turned, tearing her gaze from the two bodies in front of her and sobbed into Newt's chest. She could feel the shaky breaths he was taking as he, too, cried. His hand rubbed small circles on her back to comfort her, holding her carefully so as not to hurt her injured arm. His chin rested on her head as he shed a tear for the loss of two friends, one old, one new.

Athena didn't even notice when people in dark suits came, grabbing the Gladers and dragging them away from the Maze. Almost completely numb from all the emotions, she didn't budge until Newt pulled away from the hug and took her hand instead, pulling her along gently as the armed men hurried them out of the compound.

As soon as they left the corridor, a wave of hot air washed over them and Athena gasped. A helicopter was not too far away and they were running towards it. She could feel her feet moving, carrying her over the sand even though it was difficult to get a good grip on it, but she wasn't even thinking about doing it, everything happening on instinct.

Newt had to help her climb in because of her arm, then she sat down next to a pile of rope and leant back against a soft pile of mesh so there would be enough space for the rest of the Gladers to cram themselves into the fairly small space. Once everyone was in, an older guy, one of the people that got them out of there, climbed in with them and somebody closed the door from the outside, sealing them into the small cabin area.

"You guys alright?" He yelled to be heard over the sound of the helicopter's blades whirring rhythmically above them. "Don't worry, you're safe now." He reassured them before turning to look out of the window. Athena was uncertain whether or not she could trust him, but what else could she do? They didn't have much of a choice.

As the helicopter lifted itself off the ground and into the air, everybody crowded around the windows to take a look at the prison they had been confined in for so long. From above, they got a perfect bird's eye view of the Maze, all the winding corridors and odd mechanics trapped between the walls that let them move around at night, the large sectors, the Glade.

The centre of the Maze, their safe haven for so long. They were finally leaving it. For Good.

Smoke still billowed out into the air from the catastrophe of the previous night, but the trees were still green and fresh as they always were. Perhaps they were designed that way, just like everything else the Maze offered seemed to be.

The helicopter turned and flew away, leaving the Maze far behind, fading into the distance. Everyone sat back down again, all in shock of the events that had unfolded. So many of them were dead and they were now left with people they don't even know.

Tears leaked from Athena's eyes. Now that everything had stopped and settled, there was nothing else she could think about except for what had happened and the pain that remained in her forearm. She thought about the report, what the woman, Ava Paige told them, what happened to the world.

Newt sat back down next to her and took her hand gently, weaving his fingers between her own. It was the perfect comfort. She relaxed slightly and rested her head on his shoulder, exhausted.

They were free. They were free. They were free.

She repeated those words over and over again like a mantra to ward off anything that could turn the tables.

They. Were. Free.