The Maze Runner (Thomas X Reader)

Chapter 9: Back In

That strange girl made me uneasy. I never had thought that another girl like me would come up. What's weirder, though, is that she came up twice this month. And that note ran shivers down my spine. 

She's the last one. EVER.

The people who put us here are testing us. I had a feeling. After we saw that girl show up, the boys brought her to the medic tent with Clint and Jeff. They laid her down and she hadn't woken up for hours.

"What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?" Newt asked as we crowded around her bed.

"Hey man, I got my job the same way you did," Jeff commented.

I turned to see Thomas watching her closely trying to think of a reason as to why she knows his name.

Newt noticed, "Don't you recognize her?"

"No," he responded.

"Really? Because she seemed to recognize you," Newt retorted.

"What about the note?" I asked breaking the conversation up.

"We'll worry about the note later," Newt responded.

"I think you should worry about it now," Thomas said watching Newt's eyes.

"We've got enough to deal with at the moment," Newt said crossing his arms with a cold look towards Thomas.

"He's right, Newt," Minho spoke up.

We all paused and laid our eyes on Jeff. He left his hands at his sides and sighed.

"If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?" Jeff asked.

"No one said that," Newt responded, "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody's gotta have some answers around here,"

Thomas mumbled and turned around leaving the tent hastily.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Back into the maze," he responded as he left.

I sighed and ran after him. I swung the door open and speed-walked my way to him.

"Thomas," I said as I got to him and faced him, "What's wrong with you? We just got out and now you want back in?"

He sighed and looked me in the eyes, "You said that no one has ever seen a griever and lived to tell about it, right? Y/n, now we have one. Aren't you at least a little curious?"

I shrugged. I was slightly curious but more afraid. "Not really,"

He moved past me but I quickly stopped him laying my hand on his chest. I felt his heart pound and then I dropped my hand to my side giving into whatever Thomas was thinking.

"So, what's the plan? You're not doing this by yourself,"

"Are the other runners out yet?" he asked.

"The other runners quit this morning. Minho told me. After Alby got stung, they're not in any hurry to get back out there," I responded, "But why are you?"

"I think it's time we find out what we're really up against," he replied watching my eyes for approval.

I sighed, "All right. But I won't let you go back out there alone. Meet me in the woods in half-an-hour,"

As I walked away to gather some friends to help me and Thomas, I couldn't help but think about him. I was beginning to admire him. He's so eager and ready for anything, it seems. He was very determined. In the Glade we don't have as much determination as he does. That's what I liked. I'll admit, he was beginning to grow on me.

After about a half-an-hour of finding people, I finally made it back into the woods to see Thomas waiting patiently. I brought Frypan, Winston, and Zart. Thomas agreed and we all ran back into the maze. I led them back to the spot and once we got there, it reeked of an awful rotting smell. We all circled around the wall to see the griever's claws and insides mushed out on the stone floor.

"That's disgusting," Zart commented.

"There's something in there," Thomas spoke.

"You mean, besides a griever pancake?" Frypan said.

As we leaned in and looked closer, we saw a tiny red light blinking from within the griever. I stepped closer and saw a shiny metal. I got too close for Zart apparently.

"Whoa, Y/n, what're you doing?" Zart asked nervously.

"Just... hang on," I said.

I was insane for trying this, but it was worth a shot. I reached my hand into the crevice and tried to find the red light. My hand was swishing around in guts and slime. Once I hit a nerve, The leg moved and I was pulled back my Thomas. His hands pulled me close to his chest and his heart was beating quickly. Realizing that we were extremely close, he let go of my arms but remained close just in case.

"I thought you said it was dead," Frypan complained.

"Was it reflex?" Zart suggested.

"You hope," Winston replied.

Thomas stepped out from behind me and walked up to the leg that reflexed.

"Maybe we can all try and pull it out," he said.

We all gathered around the leg and picked it up. Thomas counted to three, and we all yanked it out. We heard it slide out of it's socket and squish on the ground. We fell back once we pulled it out. All of us unhanded the leg and Thomas reached down to me once he stood. I took his hand and he pulled me up.

"You alright?" he asked.

I nodded feeling a slight increase in my heartbeat. I was flattered.

Once I stood, I walked over to it and reached down towards the red light. It was inside an organ, but I couldn't tell which one. I heard a low beeping tone as slime dripped off of it. I held it up and reached my hand into the organ. I got a grasp, and pulled out the metal cylinder. As I pulled it out, a loud suction noise was heard and a gallon of slime spilled out. The boys groaned in disgust and I gagged. I looked away for a moment to catch my breath, and then turned back to the metal beeping cylinder. I looked over it to see a red number 7 on it.

"What the hell is that?" Thomas asked quietly.

I saw bolded black letters labeled as W.C.K.D.

"Interesting," I mumbled.

"Okay, whatever it is, can we take this back to the Glade? Because I don't wanna meet this guy's friends," Frypan said.

"He's right," I responded, "Let's get back,"