Disconnection • Newt • Maze Runner

9 - Screams of Terror

TW: brief mention of self harm, not detailed.

Fear was the only emotion evident on Aspens pale face. He was utterly terrified. He'd been stung by a Griever once, and he wasn't intent on it happening again. There was only one cure left, and seeing as the creatures would likely be rushing into the Glade at any moment now, he could guarantee they would end up needing it.

In addition to the standard fear of your home being invaded by terrifying and monstrous creatures, he was also petrified of getting stung again because of the pain that the Changing caused. There was a time when pain was something Aspen craved, and rather enjoyed. A time which has left him with the scars scattered across his body to prove it. But the pain of the Changing was different. It wasn't so much the physical pain he was nervous about, but rather the mental toll it provided.

Having invasive and devastatingly disgusting thoughts about hurting those you love most, is not easy to endure.

The mortifying screeches of the creatures was growing louder by the second. Aspen clutched Newts hand out of fear, but also craving a sense of comfort which only Newt could provide. The group ran for their lives, rushing towards a place to hide as the Grievers loud and obnoxious screams became loud enough that it was evident they'd entered the Glade. That, and the screams of terror of the fellow Gladers being stung and practically torn apart relentlessly and without remorse.

They managed to make it to a field as they all sat in silence, not the comfortable kind, but the kind where the air is thick with tension and anticipation for the worst, which was yet to come, but inevitable. That was, until, the sound of a Griever and a boys scream broke the silence as they screams of terror filled the air and they began to run once more. Hurried yelps and frantic footsteps were all that could be heard aside from the monstrous screeches of the creatures.

The group of boys, along with Teresa, rushed towards a building in the corner of the Glade, desperately trying to evade being captured and stung by the Grievers.

Newt grasped Aspens wrist as they hurried towards the building, Grievers not far behind, practically picking them off one by one. It was brutal.

They rushed towards the building before locking the doors, essentially locking themselves inside a hole, six feet under.

The Grievers made such little noise, a small prt of Aspen thought perhaps they would leave. That small part was squashed mercilessly as a Griever pulled the main support of the building out from above them. Aspens leg was trapped under the wreckage of the building, Newt frantically pulling him from it before a Grievers limb squirmed its way through, just narrowly missing him. Newt and Aspen being distracted by his near death, failed to catch sight of Chuck until he was being pulled out of the building and nearly stung by a Griever.

Alby went haywire as he swung with all the force he could muster at the beast, even after it released Chuck from its grasp.

Aspens eyes widened as he spotted a Griever closing in on Alby. "Alby!"

"Alby! Watch out!"

The boy was pulled up, Thomas desperately trying to save him before Alby let go of Thomas' hand, accepting his fate. It pained Aspen to watch him go to his inevitable doom, but he was powerless to stop it.

The group exited the building and admired the wreckage of the Glade with sorrow, before Gally rushed over and punched Thomas straight in the face.

He frantically placed all the blame on Thomas, thankfully laying off Aspen.

Aspen glanced over to Thomas, who was holding the stinger of a Griever, aiming it at himself. "Thomas, wait. Thomas!"

The boy stabbed himself.

Aspen awoke from a restless nights sleep, alone beside a tree. He'd slept not out of the desire for rest, but rather out of physical exhaustion. He stood up and pranced over to where he knew Thomas would be, and found Newt, Minho, and Chuck all glancing in to the pit, where Thomas and Teresa were trapped.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck exclaimed, anger lacing its way through his tone, but not at Thomas in particular, rather at the entire situation.

Newt explained that Gally had taken control, given them all an ultimatum, which Aspen had quickly agreed to, though not without knowing he would want to revolt.

Thomas's memory had returned, as he explained what was truly going on, the information which Aspen already had, but had been too reluctant to share out of fear the others would turn on him.

"This place... It's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They'd give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork."

It all clicked in Newts mind. "Sending them up into the Maze?"

Aspen stepped forward, clearing his throat and making his presence known. "Not all of us. Me, Thomas, and Teresa... We worked for them. We were essentially the people sending you up, torturing you, putting you all to certain death."

"No, no. You wouldn't do that." Newt frantically shook his head in disbelief.

"I mean, we watched you guys for years, the entire time you've been here, we were on the other side of it."

Teresa clearly didn't believe that she would do such a thing. She held herself to such as moral high ground that she couldn't possibly believe she would do this.

"But why would they send us up here with them?"

Thomas shook his head, "It doesn't matter."

Aspen scoffed, all eyes floating towards him, as he stood with his arms crossed and furrowed eyebrows, anger bubbling in his chest. "It does matter, actually. Me and Thomas leaked information from the people we worked for, they're called W.C.K.D. But Thomas decided to entangle Teresa, and when we got caught, he threw me under the bus, thinking he could save his ass. But they sent him up here too, didn't work out so well, did it?"

"I'm sorry."

Aspen rolled his eyes.

"Look, none of this matters, any of it. Because the people we were before the Maze, they don't even exist anymore." The English accent lacing through his words was kind, yet his words were quite brutal.

Maybe it was true, for them. But not for Aspen. He was the same exact person he'd been before the Maze. Nothing different. He even had the scars to hold him back.

"These creators took care of that. What does matter, is who we are now, and what we do right now. You went into the Maze and you found a way out."

Thomas stared down at the ground, sorrow evident through his sunken expression. "Yeah, but if i hadn't, Alby would still be alive."

"Maybe. But I know that if he were here he would telling you the exact same thing."

True, except he'd likely do it with a more studious tone than the British boy had.

"Pick your ass up and finish was you started. Because if you do nothing, then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that."

"We gotta get through Gally first."

Easy enough.