The Deadliest Generation: The Maze Of Monsters

Teresa

Minho paused for a moment, thinking deeply, then said, "We have to go back that way to get to our section. Let's just watch it for a while, then if it comes after us, we'll run back to the Glade." He took another look, then quickly looked over his shoulder. "Crap! It's gone! Come on!"

Minho didn't wait for a response, didn't see the look of horror Thomas had just felt widen his own eyes. Minho took off running in the direction where he'd seen the Griever.

Though, his instincts told him not to, Thomas followed.

He sprinted down the long corridor after Minho, turned left, then right. At every turn, they slowed so the Keeper could look around the corner first. Each time he whispered back to Thomas that he'd seen the tail end of the Griever disappearing around the next turn. This went on for ten minutes, until they came to the long hallway that ended at the Cliff, where beyond lay nothing but a lifeless sky. The Griever was charging towards that sky. 

Minho stood up so abruptly Thomas almost ran him over. Then Thomas stared in shock as up ahead the Griever dug in with it's spikes and spun forward right up to the Cliffs edge, then off, into the grey abyss. The creature disappeared from sight, a shadow swallowed by more shadow.

Minho and Thomas shared a quick look, before dashing to the Cliff edge, Minho ahead of Thomas and stopping short just in time.

"That settles it," Minho said.

Thomas stood next to him on the edge of the Cliff, staring down at the grey nothingness below them. There was no sign of anything, to the right, to the left, downward, upward or ahead, for as he could see. Nothing but a wall of blankness. 

"Settles what?" Thomas asked.

"We've seen it three times now? Something's up."

"Yeah." Thomas knew what he meant, but waited for him to explain anyway. 

"That dead Griever I found- it ran this way, and we never saw it come back or go deeper into the Maze. Then those shuck faces we tricked into jumping past us."

"Tricked?" Thomas said. "Maybe it wasn't such a trick."

Minho looked over at him, contemplative. "Hmm. Anyway, then this." He pointed out at the abyss, "Not much doubt any more- somehow the Grievers can leave the Maze this way. Looks like magic, but, then again, so does the sun vanishing this morning."

"If they can leave this way," Thomas added, continuing Minho's line of reasoning, "so could we." A thrill of excitement shot through. 

Minho laughed. "There's your death wish again. Wanna just hang out with the Grievers and have tea with them?"

Thomas felt his hopes drop. 

"Got any better ideas?" 

"One thing at a shuckin' time Greenie. Let's get some rocks and test this place out. There has to be some kind of hidden exit."

Thomas helped Minho as as they scrabbled around the corners and the crannies of the Maze, picking up as many loose stones as possible. They got more by simply pulling apart the cracks in the walls with their fingers and spilled chunks of gravel onto the ground. When they finally had a sizable pile, they messily stacked them up beside the Cliff edge and took a seat, Minho lazily (and kind of dangerously) let his legs dangle over the ledge. 

Minho pulled out his notepad and pencil, and placed them on the ground beside him. "All right, we've gotta take notes, good notes too, so memorize it in that shuck head of yours. If there's some kind of optical illusion hiding an exit from this place, I don't want to be the one who screws up when the first shank tries to jump into it."