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

43. Sheer horror

I gasped and had to control myself not to break out the scrambled eggs again. Immediately I jerked Chuck around, pressed his head against my neck - for he was already that big after all - and squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my face into his curls. Hot tears of horror made their way into my eyes and I felt myself sobbing chokingly as the boy clutched at my back.
All around us was complete chaos, gladers shouting something to each other, Alby calling Newt's name over and over, everyone running around in confusion. I didn't know what to do, didn't dare open my eyes because I was far too scared to see Nick's body.
- Or what was left of it. Because what Alby, Winston and Zart had pulled up had only been half of him. The legs were simply missing, as if they had been cut off. Now I remembered what a strange noise I had heard and I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up again at the thought of what that noise had been.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes and saw that everyone who had been standing with us had disappeared into the crowd. Newt had to be with Alby, Minho and Fry Pan were probably trying to help somehow. A few metres away from us, Tim, my runner, was on his knees, vomiting incessantly. Normally I would have gone to him and helped him, but Chuck was more important and besides, Tim wasn't the only one throwing up either.
I looked for a way out of the situation, but I was shaking far too much to think clearly. Chuck had to get out of here, that much was clear, but I felt unable to walk through the screaming and vomiting gladers.
Suddenly someone wrapped his arms around me and pushed us in front of him. At first I didn't know who it was, but then it became clear.
Gally was leading us through the gladers and kept yelling at someone to get out of the way. I kept looking down at the ground, Chuck tight in my arms, letting my best friend lead me away from the chaos and confusion.
It wasn't until we entered a cabin I recognised as Gally's that I looked up again. Chuck was still clinging to me and I now began to stroke his back soothingly as I looked up at Gally, tears still running down my cheeks.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He just nodded and then gestured to his bed. I gently pushed Chuck towards it and gestured for him to sit down. The boy lay down and curled up into a ball. I sat down next to him and continued stroking his back. The bed shook slightly because he was sobbing more and more now.
Gally sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him gratefully and closed my eyes. No one spoke, we just sat and waited for Chuck to calm down.
Eventually the boy fell asleep, completely exhausted by what had happened, and I stopped petting him. Instead, I turned to Gally and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face against his shoulder and trying to breathe as calmly as possible.
We sat like that for what felt like an eternity, I didn't know what we were waiting for or what would happen next, until someone knocked on the door.
Minho came in, saw the sleeping Chuck and motioned for us to come out with him. Quietly we got up and followed him. Outside the hut I looked around and could see that the commotion around the box had dissipated. Alby was squatting there in front of something lying on the floor and Newt was standing behind him with his shoulders slumped and his head down.
I could imagine what was lying there in the grass and wondered why they hadn't taken Nick away. But Minho answered that question the next moment.
"Alby wants you to build Nick a coffin, Gally," he began in a strained voice. He sounded as if he too had been crying.
"Why don't we just bury him like everyone else?" asked Gally coldly.
"Alby doesn't want you to build any coffin. He wants a coffin made of glass on top. He wants you to use all the glass we have. I should tell you that. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
With those words, he wanted to turn and leave, but I held him so that he had to turn back to me.
"Are you okay, Minho?" I asked cautiously.
He nodded, but the next moment I saw tears running down his cheeks. I took him in my arms.
"Did you see it, Anna? Did you see what they did to him?" he asked, sniffling as he pressed his face against my shoulder.
"Yes, I saw it. I know what they did," I whispered, stroking his back.
When he had calmed down a bit and Gally had gone off to round up his builders to get the coffin ready quickly, I asked the question that was closest to my heart.
"How is Newt?" I looked over at him again, still standing behind the kneeling Alby.
Minho shrugged and wiped his face with his arm.
"He was with Alby the whole time. I haven't been able to talk to him yet. But he looks pretty banged up."
I wanted nothing more than to go up to him and give him a hug, but I just couldn't go near Nick - not yet. So I stayed with Minho and we found a place away, near the forest.
It wasn't long before our runners joined us. No one said a word and we just sat together, each with our own thoughts. Tim was still pale, but he was no longer vomiting. Ben sat next to Minho and patted him on the shoulder now and then, but didn't say anything either.
The silence left by Nick's death was almost unbearable.