Survive Till Dusk (The Maze Runner)

Chapter 31 // Thoughts & Thuds

The three girls woke up, past noon, with an ache in their bones. They were still as tired as ever, despite the long rest. Not only had the physicality of the previous day taken it's toll on their bodies, but the process of grief had been draining them emotionally, even haunting them in their dreams — all but Robin, who somehow was still oblivious to Newt's absence. 

She had been so occupied with Minho being back, that the thought of Newt missing from the group hadn't crossed her mind. So many occurances from earlier bounced through her train of thought in disarray — most prevalent amongst them: her encounter with her ex-boyfriend, who she thought was dead. 

The little girl from the bus, she thought. That was his sister. Ria. The name rung through her mind with all the other emotions. She hadn't seen the girl since she was a mere 4 years old. Wow. The world was crazy. But she didn't have much more time to think about it — or anything else. 

Only when Brenda came to call Minho for a checkup on his vitals, did Robin have time to think about it — for a few minutes. Minho and Robin spent their time, from late midday until near dusk, distracting each other from the world around them. They mainly just laid on top of the bed, her head on his chest, breathing in harmony with an occasional sentence spoken every now and then. Not a word was uttered about what he went through inside the city walls, however. Robin knew he'd tell her about his experience and feelings once he was ready. 

Scarlett, on the other hand, was thinking — overthinking — quite a lot. She had wanted to make amends with Thomas as soon as possible, but under these circumstances that whole situation moved to the back of her mind. She had found an old bouncy ball underneath the bean bag she had slept on and had chosen to play with it. The continuous rhythmic thuds the dirty toy gave off, as she threw it against the wall over and over, helped her focus on drowning out her own thoughts. 

Across the day, Brenda and Jorge took care of the kids; checking up on each of them as they woke up, to make sure they had all left the wild ride unscathed. 

After Brenda came to fetch Thomas for a checkup, he had decided to stay over at the other building, talking to Frypan and sharing a little message he had found deep down in his pocket — in the glass bottle necklace Newt had given him. For the time being, his absence was alright by Scarlett. It was also fine by Alex, who was still extremely upset, wanting to be left alone. 

Gally only briefly made himself noticeable when he came over to the smaller complex to let Robin know that the kids they had rescued were doing fine. Whilst doing so, he had brought over a bundle of carrots, an old can of beans and some dry, crumbly bread for the girls and Minho to consume. 

Although Alex's stomach grumbled like the rest, she kindly refused anything, declining the need for food when Gally came knocking at her door. 

"I'm fine, thanks," she managed to say politely through the locked door, simulating a smile in her tone, as she stared holes into the ceiling. 

She had spent most of her time on the sofa she had claimed the previous night. Ever since she woke up, she had wondered how she was even able to fall asleep in the first place — after all that had happened. Her mind was consumed with the thought of Newt. She was, indeed, glad that the rest of her friends were all doing fine and that Minho was back, but she felt despair in the fact that the universe could be so cruel as to take someone kind and good-natured, like Newt, away from them — away from her. 

What made her even angrier was that Thomas hadn't told her, when he clearly knew that Newt had been infected for quite some time. And the fact that she couldn't do anything about it made everything worse — maybe she was mad at herself too, above it all. Her mind was filled with thoughts, memories, and a constant rush of emotions, keeping her preoccupied, while she alternated between the sofa, the floor, and pacing around the small room, for what seemed like ages, yet seconds at the same time. 

At one point, Alex left the room. Unlatching the door, she trudged to the bathroom across the hall. Although she tried to hold it in, her bladder signaled to her that it was urgent to go. 

Once Alex had left the bathroom, all she could hear was the loud clanking of an object bouncing against metal. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Do you mind?" she scolded, scratching the top of her head.

Scarlett — startled by the sudden appearance of her friend — turned around, failing to catch the ball she had flung at the wall as it narrowly missed her and bounced down the hall in a few flimsy flops. 

"Oh, hey Alex," she ignored her friend's previous comment; just happy that Alex had stepped out of that room. 

Alex tried to shoot the girl a small smile, but completely missed the mark, not getting much further than maintaining the solemn look on her face. 

"You okay?" Scarlett tried again. She knew Alex was far from okay at the time, but wanted to make sure her friend knew she cared, in case she did want to talk about anything. 

Alex didn't know what to respond, gawking at her friend. 

"Well, um..." It was getting a bit umcomfortable for Scarlett — her typically more reserved self kicking in. "I hope you don't mind if I-" A door clicked open. Robin came out of the room on the far end of the entrance —  Minho followed like a stray dog. The four of them exchanged glances. 

"So... Minho and I were just wondering," Robin broke the silence. "When're Vince 'n' Johnson 'n'  the other bunch coming to pick us up again?" No response. "Anyone know?" she reinforced her question, dragging out the "o". 

Scarlett shook her head no. Alex shrugged.

"Oook," Robin grimaced. "Why're you all being so weird? You good?" 

Alex didn't want to answer that one, debating whether she should head back into her little abode. Scarlett shuddered at the stream of thoughts she had been able to repress throughout the past few hours. Wait... did Robin not know about... she wasn't there... does that mean...

"I'm gonna take a little breather," Scarlett mumbled out into the room, not really having a target audience. Subsequently, she stumbled out the door —  flushed.  

As Scarlett left, Minho excused himself for a bathroom break with a weak kiss to Robin's cheek, leaving the two girls alone. 

Alex felt bad for her snippy responses. She knew her friends hadn't done anything wrong, but she just couldn't shake the clashing of her innermost feelings. Surely, if I try to say anymore, I'll snap completely, she thought. Meanwhile, with a wandering eye and much to her entertainment, Robin had noticed the bouncy ball at the end of the hallway. 

Whilst Robin went to retrieve the discarded ball, Alex decided to look outside for a piece of serenity. She turned around, walking to the small round window — the only source of natural light in the entrance room. As she looked outside, she could see Scarlett, a few meters out, sitting with her back against the other building and glancing out at the sinking sun to her left. And then, suddenly, there he was — coming out of the side door of the metal structure and stopping in front of Scarlett. 

With that, her emotions finally overflowed. Unfortunately, her friends were about to be in for a spoiled treat.  

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