Into The Maze Runner

Alone

I walk out of the Homestead, not sure where to go. Wherever I'd tried to head to, I'd still be trapped inside this place. There was no escape. So I start hyperventilating, feeling claustrophobic inside The glade. My breathing gets faster as I run to the farthest and most peaceful point I can find. So I go in the deep forest of the Deadheads. I run, and run. I feel the branches of the trees hitting my already scraped arms, and listen to the crunch of the leaves and grass on the floor as I step on them. I go a bit further until my sore body gives up on me and I fall having no control over myself. I feel as my limbs hit the pasture and mud of the floor. I couldn't bring myself to move one bit, since instead of letting my body rest from the experience in the maze, I brought it to the limit once again by running.
So I stay there, in the dirty floor.
And then, I begin bawling.
I let everything out.
I tried to act really brave these few days. I worked on the jobs they told me to. I didn't ask much questions so I wouldn't bother. I told them about my dreams. I observed and tried to adapt to this place.
But it's all just too much.
The people I thought I could trust, hid the biggest secret ever. And it is most likely that there's still so much stuff they know that I don't. Still, they think I'm the one that's suspicious? For fucks sake I don't remember anything.
What the hell are we doing here? Nothing makes sense. What type of purpose do the creators had to the point that it brought them to trap various people in a cruel place like this? What brought them to send me, even though they promised Theresa was the last one?
My view turns blurry from all the tears falling out of my eyes, and all I see is the misty silhouette of trees and branches of all types of green.
I pray that no one comes and tries to find me, because the last thing I wanna do is be with any of them. And not because I'm mad. I'm just drained, and I don't want them to see me in this state.
I get lost in my thoughts for what seem like ten minutes until I bring myself to sit up. I rub my red puffy eyes from crying with my hand but end up making it worse because now my face is covered with mud. I blink the soil away. Then I take a look around.
Awesome.
I only see trees in every direction that seem to go endlessly.
And I didn't care to put attention nor remember to what direction I went into the Deadheads. But I convince myself that it'll be easier to find my way out in comparison to the maze, so I sigh and get up to head back to the central area of The glade.
As I shake and remove all the dust and soil from my clothes, I start walking and end up going to my North. I begin to wonder what is it gonna be like when I reach The glade and meet everybody again, so I get nervous and get the feeling of nausea.
I run once again and rest my arm on the log of a tree, thinking I'm about to vomit, but the feeling immediately goes away when I look down to what I have in front.
The... graveyard.
I gulp.
I never really thought my first time seeing this place was going to be alone. It felt almost wrong being here. Was this also breaking the rules? They never mentioned something about not coming here.
I take a deep breath and crouch down in front of the tombstones.
I sigh.
I never knew these boys, but it made my heart shrink. We all are around the same age here in The glade. So that means they had a whole life in front of them. And yet, they died. What was it like for Newt, Alby, and the rest, to be present when they passed away? I can't imagine it.
I stare at each tombstone for a minute, trying to emit my compassion for them even though they're not here anymore. However, when I reach the number 12, I see something strange. It's not exactly made of stone. It almost looks like it's open.
I frown.
Curious, I stand up confused and walk closer to it. The moment I notice it's glass, and see the body inside it, I feel how my soul leaves my body.
I drop to the ground and kneel down.
It's a half of a body.
"We can't leave through the hole of The box" - A wooden sign says next to it.
So they tried escaping there before, and it didn't work out. And this poor guy had to sacrifice himself to figure it out. Was it that necessary to exhibit his remains to the open just to reach the gladers a lesson? Jesus.
I stand up and proceed to use dirt, branches, and leaves, to cover the body.
After I'm done, I take one last look to all the tombstones. I put my hand over one to say goodbye, but as soon as I get in contact with it, flashes of images flood my brain.
-
Me, in a ventilation duct.
Me, spying on The creators team.
The creators team watching through a wall of TVs some sort of footage.
Analyzing, studying, talking.
Then my vision gets clearer and I see what the footage is about.
Us. The glade. From various angles.
In one specific TV, the camera points to the graveyard. I see some of the guys burying their friends.
-
And then it all goes away. The images stop.
I stand up and blink rapidly.
Memories? Visions? What the hell are these things that I'm having? I look down to the tombstone I specifically touched and notice that it doesn't have a name on the lapid. I get closer to take a look and it seems like the name was there but it dissipated over time. Probably due to wind, soil, and erosion. I rub my temples confused and overwhelmed.
I decide once again to go back with everyone, and try to put this away for a moment. I've had enough exhausting thinking already.
I walk for a few minutes until I finally find the way out of the Deadheads. I notice the outstanding light and warmth of the campfires from far away, and the smell of food too. I look up to the sky and notice how dark it got. I sigh relieved that it's rest time. I decide sleep over food, so I don't go over to have dinner with the rest and rather I head to my sleeping bag, walking in a zombie way due to my exhaustion. Before I'm even able to look for the puffy, curly hair, of Chuck over the crowd so I can identify my sleeping place...
—SHUCKFACE!—Gally screams, walking in a fast pace towards me. I turn around carelessly.
—Hm?—I ask with sleepy eyes, my tiredness hitting me like a train just now.
—I thought Thomas interruption was enough disrespect, but escaping just when we were about to decide your punishment? Who do you think you are?— he asks with a vein on his forehead and crosses his arms.
Oh, right. I had a lot of stuff in my head that I forgot the punishment. I think about apologizing but Mr. angry keeps talking.
—It is done. You're going to be inside the Slammer for undetermined time, until your little teammates finally decide how many days. Asshole Newt kept trying to shut down the idea, but you start tonight— he says, now actually waiting a response from me.
But I can't come up with one since the mention of Newt made me feel a small pain on my chest. God if I start thinking about him I'm gonna collapse again.
I nod slowly, not even knowing what was The slammer and just agreeing so we can get over it already.
Gally frowns since I don't say anything rude back and so he just points with his head for me to follow him. As we walk to the farm, I wonder where are Newt, Thomas, Minho and the rest. I get a little mad and hurt over the fact that they didn't care enough to check up on me before the day ended but then I remember to myself, why would they?
We reach to the farthest point of the farm, and between it and the North wall, there is it.
The slammer, or whatever Gally called it.
It was a cube of decaying stone with a barred window.
Basically, something they probably used as a jail.
Gally opens the wooden door with the rusty lock, and I go in without hesitation.
He scoffs angrily and shuts the door by slamming it. I look around the microscopic room for exactly 2 seconds, since there's nothing interesting to wander about. Just a wobbly chair that I was absolutely not going to sit in. I rest my back on the stone, and watch as Gally starts locking the door.
—Hey, Gally?— I say, in an unexpected raspy voice.
—What do you want?—I see how he sides eye me through the barred window.
I clear my throat
—It must've been hard for you and the rest to... hurry the others, wasn't it?— I gulp— I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you went through that.
Retrospecting back to the flashes and the images of the footage of them I saw earlier, and remembering their broken faces looking down to their dead friends creates a shiver down my spine. I had to say this to him, whether he liked me or not. I couldn't stop thinking about it since I saw the graveyard.
He finishes locking the door.
—You have no right to even mention that— he says while making eye contact with me, emotionless. Then he hits his fist on the door, breathes in roughly, and leaves.
I sigh.
I slide down the wall of stone until I end up sitting down. I look out through the small window to the night sky for a few seconds until I lay completely on the musty, cold floor.
I feel how my body demands to close my eyelids.
And so, I immediately fall asleep.