This is a Maze Runner + for KING & COUNTRY story.
Mallory wakes up to a whole new world. A giant, unsolvable Maze with a group of boys, plus one other girl. One of the Gladers finds a bag that has the new girl's name on it. There are some clues ins...
Everyone gathered at the new seating area that the builders constructed. The main group sat together, as always.
"Here we are. It's amazing to think that we were in this position one year ago celebrating our arrival to this island. I say this in the same breath as I did last time. We've come a long way together. We still remain grateful to the ones who have sacrificed a lot to make this place possible for you all. Once again, here's to the ones who couldn't be here. Here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you, it's for all of us. Tonight, we celebrate one year of freedom and prosperity." Vince preached.
Everyone stood up as they clapped, cheered, and smiled. Once they settled down, Vince gestured for Joel and Luke to come forward. Then, it was only the two of them were standing in front of the crowd of people.
"Good evening, everyone. We would like to do something special in honor of the one year celebration." Luke said.
"We have prepared a brand new song, just for this special occasion to remind us that even our world was turned upside down, we can still keep going because someone is always looking out for all of us." Joel explained.
They took a second to prepare themselves, then started singing.
J: Dare to imagine Dare to believe in A true love that gave us A brand new beginning
J&L: No room for a king No celebration and no ceremony In that little town no, nobody would think This is the story of the coming glory
J&L: Can you hear the prayers that people prayed? Can you see the skies begin to break? When Heaven and Earth were face-to-face Oh, how the world forever changed
J&L: For God is with us Oh God is with us Oh
It was in that moment that Mallory realized that this was the song that she overheard her dad and uncle singing the other night.
L: All in the moment All in an instant The body was broken And it was finished
J&L: So let us begin The celebration and the ceremony There's silence on Earth but the Heavens are roarin' Tellin' the story of the coming glory
J: Can you feel your heart begin to race? Can you see the tide begin to change? With all of our futures rearranged The world will never be the same
J&L: For God is with us Oh God is with us Oh For God is with us Oh, can you see, oh, can you see (oh) God is with us Oh, can you hear, oh, can you hear (oh) For God is with us
J: Dare to imagine Dare to believe in A true love that gave us A reason for living
At this point, everyone is standing up and singing along. Some people were even holding up their hands in the air.
J&L: Can you feel the hope that's rushin' in? Can you hear the song that's echoin'? Join with the choir as we sing This is where love truly begins
L: For God is with us
J&L: Oh God is with us Oh For God is with us Oh, can you see, oh, can you see (oh) God is with us Oh, can you hear, oh, can you hear (oh) For God is with us
L: Oh, can you see, oh, can you see God is with us
Everyone cheered for them. Mallory and Courtney stepped out of the crowd to go to Joel and Luke. They wrapped their arms around them in pride.
~~~~~~~~~~
After dinner, everyone got into small groups near the beach to send off a paper lantern. They passed a marker around to carefully write the names of those who didn't make it to the Safe Haven on the paper.
After a few moments of silence, one person in each group lit up the square wax and they all let go of their lanterns. Everyone watched as they flew into the night sky. Watching the lanterns fly away felt like a weight was being lifted off their shoulders. Some kids were actually waving and saying goodbye as the lanterns flew off.
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Newt wrapped his arms around Mallory and she leaned up against his chest. He felt tears building up in his eyes, so he blinked to let them roll down his face. A tear landed on Mallory's skin and she looked up to see Newt crying. She was surprised because she had never seen him cry before.
"I wonder where they're gonna go." Newt questioned.
"I don't know, but I guess that's the beauty of it. We don't know where the wind will take them or how far up they'll fly, but they'll travel far in the spirit of our lost ones." Mallory explained.
As soon as the lanterns were far enough away to the point where no one could see them anymore, everyone tucked in for the night.
Joel and Mallory walked back to their hut. As soon as she walked in, Mallory fell back on the bed in exhaustion and let out a long yawn.
"Tired, I see." Joel said.
"Yes, today was a long day. Also, I loved the new song that you and Uncle Luke performed." Mallory explained.
"Thanks, love bug. It was intended to be a surprise and that's why we couldn't tell you the other night." Joel explained.
"Gotcha. Well, I want to get some sleep." Mallory said as she got under the covers.
"I believe that I heard Vince say something about having a day off tomorrow. So, we can sleep in since we're exhausted." Joel explained.
"Awesome, we deserve it." Mallory said.
"Good night." Joel said, then blew out the candle in a lantern.
"Night, Dad. Love you." Mallory said as she nestled underneath the warm covers.
