Fluctuating Beats

Chapter 4: Tradeoff

You awoke with a start. Standing up as quickly as you could, you realised you were in the Centre. The walls, the long grass, the warm sun pressing on your face, the annoying birds chirping. It was everything you remembered it to be. It felt familiar and safe, despite all the bad things that'd happened it still felt like home. Back before you knew the world outside of the Maze existed, a time where everything felt simpler.

You'd wake up, run the Maze with S/n, come back, eat, shower sleep then wake up and do it all again. You loved having a routine, it made you feel mentally sound and safe. Improvising your way through life right now was fun and all but not ideal in the long run.

Suddenly everything went dark and fire erupted from the barn, meeting building, kitchen and map room. Panicked screams and shouts floated to your ears from all directions. You swivelled around looking for the source of the commotion. Through the dark doors into the Maze, you spotted a Griever, thick gloopy yet solid and dangerous.

You watched as two more appeared behind it and roared a piercing screech. They started chasing the girls, little firey dots sprinting here and there trying to avoid the creatures. Some using their fire torches as weapons, others trying to distract their pursuers.

Your heart rate and panic increased as you watched. This must've been the same night the Grievers attacked the Glade.

As quickly as the vision appeared, it changed again. You covered your eyes from the sudden sunlight and saw it was the day after the Grievers attack. Smoke was slowly emanating from the buildings and everything was destroyed.

You knew what'd happen if you walked over to the meeting hall, that's where they'd all hidden and you knew that's where their bodies were so you sprinted away towards the Maze, determinedly keeping calm.

The second your feet were beyond the walls they snapped shut making your jump violently and spin around.

"Well, I'm not going back that way," you muttered turning back to face the Maze.

It was exactly how you remember it. The walls pressing in making you feel as if they'd fall in and crush you any second, that was something you got used too the more you went in. It was darker than it normally was as if you'd been locked out after the doors had shut, but the sun was still high in the sky.

Having no other direction to go in, you started walking forwards. Every step you took echoed through the Maze as if you were wearing Teresa's high heels. Getting impatient, you started jogging around a few of the corners with no real idea of where you were going. Right, left, a double right, left three times. The Maze was exactly how you remembered so you had no problems trying to remember the way.

A sudden scream made you jump, everything was making you jump at the minute. You stopped running, straining your ears trying to figure out where the scream was coming from.

"Y/N, HELP ME. PLEASE HELP ME!"

It was S/n. Without hesitation, you sprinted towards the sound, skidding around the corners and slipping over more than once. You followed the sound of the shouts until you came to a T junction.

Just as you came around the corner you saw the leg of a Griever disappearing around the right corner. You jumped forward after it.

"Y/N!" S/n continued to scream begging for your help.

"I'm coming!" You yelled back following every sign of the Griever you could see. Stretches on the floor, recently cut vines, Griever goo even a few drops of human blood.