THE MAZE RUNNER • labyrinth

7 : time's up

thomas went straight back to his room. teresa found him on his way there and asked him where hayley was. he brushed off her questions and told teresa that he wasn't feeling well and he returned to his bed.

he closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts, rolled onto his side, wishing for sleep. everything felt different. he couldn't tell teresa what he was thinking, and almost everyone he knew or cared about was inside the maze.

at least i have hayley, he thought. then he remembered the betrayed look on her face and he realized that he may have lost her too. if she was gone, then he had no one.

what now, more than ever, felt like the right thing to do, was for him to go into the maze. anything to be out of this place, back with his friends, and on to the next stage. anything to get this cure done and done. get to the happy future.

the future, a crank-free world, he and his friends living in paradise.

talk about a load of crap.

he let out a deep breath, and then, despite its being the middle of the day, he fell asleep.

he dreamt of chuck. chuck came in and sat beside thomas on the observation floor, plopping down in his seat with an exaggerated sigh of contentment. "they sent frank in today, which means i only have one month left." the mix of excitement and fear in chuck's eyes always broke thomas's heart a little. he shared as much blame for the fear part as anyone—it'd been his own selfishness having chuck in here so often, seeing some of the bad things that happened inside the maze. but the kid was his brother in every way but blood—without him in his life, thomas would've broken long ago.

"it'll be here before you know it," he said.

"which means," chuck said, "that all of this'll be over before we know it, too."

"yep. you got it."

"just wait until i get to the maze," chuck replied. "i'll liven that place right up." he said it with an enthusiasm that thomas could only guess was genuine but then chuck's face paled and he said, "hayley won't know, will she?"

he knew chuck had a sister, but he never met her. "no," thomas said. "she won't."

"good," chuck said sadly. "it's better that way. if she knew where i was headed she would throw a fit."

chuck and thomas laughed but anyone who heard them would know that they were forced laughs, fake to hide the pain inside.

thomas woke up, drenched in sweat and a fast beating heart. he hadn't thought about that day in so long, but now he wish he would've so he didn't make the mistake of showing hayley the maze because now she hated him. chuck knew she would, which is why he said it was better if she didn't know.

he knew she didn't want to see him but he went to find her anyways. he only had a short time with her, memories intact before they were sent to the maze. he wasn't going to waste it.

he found her in her room. she was laying on her side, staring at the wall with her back to him. "i'm sorry," he said quietly, not knowing what else to say. she didn't move. "hayley, there was nothing i could have done to stop newt from jumping off the maze wall. we can only observe them."

"i don't blame you," she finally said. his heart skipped a beat. "in fact i needed to see that, because now it makes entering the maze less dreadful."

"what do you mean?" he asked.

"i want to go to the maze," she said, sitting up to look at him. "not only for chuck but for the others. i want to help them. i know i won't have my memories but maybe i can help them. i'd rather be there than here, knowing and seeing but unable to do anything is worse than entering the maze."

"i feel the same way," he said.

"then how soon can we leave?" she asked.

"first thing in the morning," a voice came from the door. thomas turned around to find teresa. "we're preparing you tonight. we're not wasting time teaching you telepathy. take her."

a set of guards made their way into her room.

AN:

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