Into The WICKED Maze | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

34. Horror

Newt put an arm around my shoulders and without us having to exchange a word, we walked over to his hut where I sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall, and told him about the events in the maze. I still began to tremble when I thought of how narrowly Minho had saved me from death.
While I talked, he listened to me silently, without making a sound, even without nodding his head once or shaking it. When I had finished and looked at him expectantly, because I was beginning to expect a reaction, he blew out his breath loudly and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"Such a klunk," he muttered. "It's just too dangerous out there. And then Nick sends you in there one at a time. Totally suicidal that idea. I'll talk to him, today."
He tried to get up, but I held him.
"Newt, it's no use. The way he's been lately, not even Alby can change his mind about anything."
He sat down next to me again, but I knew that for him the last word had not yet been spoken.
"Then I'll just have to talk to Alby first. Together he'll listen to us."
I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't sure, but it might work that way.
"Let's not talk about it anymore now, okay? I've got a headache. And it won't be long before we all have to gather at the gate to banish Steve."
I said this like it was something normal, yet it was killing me and Newt knew it. Steve had been my runner and I his keeper. Everyone we lost was special, no matter how long they'd been with us. And every time it happened it literally knocked me off my feet.
Newt wanted to put an arm around my shoulders, but I shook my head and lay down. I wanted to close my eyes for a bit before it was a few hours away. He lay down next to me and I snuggled up to him. That helped a little against the images that appeared when I closed my eyes. I imagined all the time what would have happened if Minho hadn't been there. Even though I didn't know what a Griever looked like, I had my own horrible imagination.

I felt someone gently touching me to wake me up. When I opened my eyes, I saw Newt standing bent over me. He must have got up when I had fallen asleep - and I could guess where he had been, too.
Slowly I sat up and noticed that we were not alone in the room. Minho was leaning against the wall next to the door with his arms folded, looking at me with tired eyes. I stood up and walked over to him. Without a word, I hugged him. I was probably the only one who knew exactly how he felt. It was true that by now every keeper had lost one or two of his workers, but it had never happened to any of us under the circumstances it always did.
Our runners didn't just die - they were banished to the maze and thus condemned to death.
We left the hut and I saw Ben, Alex and Jackson jump to their feet just a few metres away. They seemed to have been waiting there for us, for how long I didn't know.
Silently we joined some of the other gladers, including Winston and Fry Pan, and walked to the still open gate through which we had carried Steve just a few hours ago. Nick and Alby arrived with the old familiar sticks, which they handed out to the keepers. Nick looked at Newt quizzically and my suspicions were confirmed, but to my amazement it looked like Newt had prevailed, because now Minho leaned down to me and whispered, "Starting tomorrow we're all going back in there together. We should probably give Jackson and Alex a day off though, otherwise they'll both be gone soon."
I nodded in agreement. Now Alby turned to us.
"It won't be long now. Are you going to get him?" he asked, when we were the only keepers who hadn't been given staffs yet.
So we went and got Steve. Our three remaining runners followed us to the hole where Clint and Jeff were already waiting for us and then made their own way to the gate to take their places.
Minho and I untied him. Steve was still unconscious, which wasn't too strange, it had happened before with Mike. He just needed to wake up soon.
For now, though, we didn't wake him, but carried him as we had a few hours ago. Ben, Jackson and Alex trotted along behind us, like a funeral procession - and it was something like that, wasn't it?
We reached the gladers and put Steve down in front of the gate. Minho knelt beside him and tried to get him conscious, because it was only a matter of minutes before the gate would start to close. Carefully he tapped him against the shoulder and cheek, but there was no response. Only when I shook him did he come to - and was more chipper than expected.
He jumped up and stood on his feet in one leap, knocking me over because I had only been sitting in a crouch. The staffs of the other keepers sprang forward to keep him away from the other gladers, but they did not help us in the least.