Abused ≫ Newt [2]

Chapter 17.

Newt slid down the wall with a loud wail, pressing his face hard against the stone that shielded him from Emily.
She was gone. Again. She just... left.
His breaths were coming in quick, ragged gasps, his mind spinning. Barely able to focus on anything that was going on around him.
His ankle ached from the awkward position he had put it in, but the pain was nothing compared to the feeling he felt in his chest. As if his heart were being ripped right out of his chest. It was almost unbearable. He buried his face into his knees, hoping that doing so would at least calm his nerves just a little bit.
It did not.
All around him, Gladers stared at the closed doors with wide eyes and gaping mouths. An eerie silence hung over the darkening Glade. Gally was pacing back and forth- something that he had been doing a lot lately. He was murmuring something inaudible under his breath, his eyebrows scrunched as if in deep thought. Some of the boys were looking at Newt. A few of them whispered amongst themselves, while others just stared in silence. Newt knew that they were thinking the same thought that was running through his own mind:
This pathetic piece of klunk was their new leader?
He was not fit to lead these boys. He was not ready for such authority. He could barely handle being the second-in-command.
Perhaps he could pass the honor on to Gally. The Builder seemed a lot more fit to lead these boys. They respected him- feared him, maybe. Hell, at least he had two good working ankles.
Newt could barely defend himself, let alone fifty-something other guys. And now, with Emily gone... he was useless.
He suddenly stood up, pushing his thoughts of insecurity to the back of his mind, for now. He was the leader, now. He had to stop being a snot-blowing baby and do what he had to do.
"They would not want us worrying about them like this," his voice shook as his spoke- no sign of authority in it what-so-ever. "Minho is strong. Hell, he is the best Runner we've got. He will figure something out- he has to. And as for Emily, we all know she has a survived a night in the Maze before. Who says she can't do it again?" He broke off for a moment, staring at his shoes as realization flooded over him. Perhaps what he had just said was true. Maybe they really could survive this. "We are not helpin' anyone by just sitting around mopin'. We need to get our bloody asses up and do somethin'. The best we can do is sleep it off, and hope for the best."
He had a hard time convincing himself that it was the right thing to do, but the others seemed convinced enough. Most of them immediately turned around and began heading towards the Homestead, while others hesitated, staring at the towering walls in front of them with sorrow in their eyes before following their friends.
Newt turned and faced the door, disobeying his own orders when he let a single tear fall from his eye.
I'm sorry, Newt. I'm so sorry...
He closed his eyes as he heard her voice in his mind. It was only his imagination; that's all it could be. Here he was, going completely insane because he lost the girl he loved to the Maze, once again.
Though he called back out to her. Hoping that somehow, some way, she would be able to hear his words.
I can't believe you did that, Emily. How could you be so stupid? How could you leave me...
He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a deep, shaky breath.
I love you so much, my princess.
"Newt?"
Newt jumped as a voice brought him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Chuck standing not too far behind him. The young boy shuffled his feet, played with his fingers as if he were wanting to say something, though he was not sure if he were aloud to or not.
"What is it, Chuck?" Newt tried to make his voice sound strong, as if he had not been crying only moments before. Unfortunately, however, he failed miserably.
"Do you-" Chuck paused, quickly wiping a tear from his cheek before continuing. "Emily's survived a night before. Do you think they will make it?"
Newt pursed his lips and thought for a moment. No matter how much he wanted to make the poor kid feel better, he did not want to lie to him.
"I don't know, Chuck," he said quietly. He turned to face the stone walls once more, bringing his bottom lip in between his teeth. "I don't know."

+

-Emily-

She did not dare to breath as she stared in horror at the glowing, sluggish creature sniffing around below her. She was scared that if she breathed- even the slightest intake of a breath- that it would alert the Griever of their hiding spot. It already suspected something; she could tell by the way it sniffed around the ground right beneath them. And the slightest sound would alert its outstanding senses of where they were.
Beside her, Thomas struggled to keep ahold of Alby. The vines of ivy that held them against the wall were beginning to wear, and they would not hold forever. If the Griever did not leave soon, the vines would end up snapping, and they would fall right into the monster's snapping jaws.
She could not even begin the explain the amount of fear she felt at that moment. It was not just her life that was on the line, it was Thomas's and Alby's as well. Two people that cared deeply about, hanging by a vine fifty feet from the ground, right above a humongous, man-eating creature. And she did not even want to think about Minho. By now, the Maze was probably crawling with Grievers. If he had not already ran into one, it was only a matter of time until he did.
She just hoped that, if he were to die tonight, his death would be quick, painless.
Her bones ached, her muscles screaming from exhaustion from hanging on to the damn ivy for so long. The Griever stood still, looking around as if it were teasing them. It would move a couple a feet at a time, only to turn around and move back to its original position. She had a feeling it knew exactly where they were. That it was only teasing them before it went in for the kill.
She dared to look back down at the Griever- feeling as if she had to keep an eye on the thing in order for her to feel somewhat safer. Seeing it now, memories flashed through her already jumbled mind. The night Newt showed her the Griever through the window, to the night she came face to face with one of the hideous, mechanical monsters. Seeing the thing through a three inch thick piece of glass was nothing compared to seeing it up close and personal. It was as if all of her nightmares has come together to form one thing, and it all came crashing back to her like a tidal wave.
She could not even imagine how Thomas felt. The poor kid has barely been there for a week, and he had already found himself in a life-and-death situation. A situation most other boys had not been in, in the two years they had lived in the Glade.
Thomas's eyes were wide, shining in the faint light illuminating from the moon. He closed his eyes for a moment, scrunched his eyebrows together as if he were thinking of being in a happier place.
Emily looked down once more. The Griever had stopped pacing and was standing in front of the wall, directly below them. It made a sort of hissing sound, followed by a low, mechanical whirring. Its many spikes popped out of its blubery body, only to sink back in moments later. One of its many appendages- with a sort of claw on the end of it-straightened in the air. The metal claw clapsed and unclapsed, whirling around the monster as if it had a mind of its own.
Please, just go away.
Please.
Emily did not dare to move, knowing that even the slightest movement would alert the Griever of their position. The lights from the creature shone all over the place, causing eerie shadows to dance along the dark stone walls. The lights flashed past them many times, blinding her with their brightness. Then, without any warning what-so-ever, they turned off.
The world was plunged into darkness. Silence hung over the Maze- the Griever had stopped making noises all together. If only it were not for the disgusting smell of burning oil, Emily would have assumed the Griever had left. Maybe it turned off.
She was completely blind in the sudden darkness. Her eyes refused to adjust, leaving her skin prickling with fear that the monster was slowly creeping up on them. Stalking them like some hopeless prey.
That's all they were. The Griever's prey. It was all a game for the monster- it found only complete pleasure in ripping kids to shreds.
Emily tried to think of something- anything that she did during her night in the Maze. Anything that would help them get out of the situation. If only they were loose, within reach of a few good stones. Then she could chuck the rocks, disorient the Griever.
But, of course, they had to be tied to a wall, fifty feet above the ground.
Emily barely breathed, taking quick, small breaths through her nose. Her lungs ached from lack of air, practically screaming for her to breath normally. But she didn't. The Griever could hear every little sound, see any little movement. Breathing would give them away.
Sweat dropped into her eye, and she longed to wipe away the salter liquid. She was terrified, to the point where she was sure she was about to go insane.
Still nothing happened. No movement, no sound what-so-ever. Seconds turned into minutes, and she began to feel impatient. She began to think that, maybe, the Griever really was turned off. Maybe they could make a run for it...
But, almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, there was a bright flash of light, and with a loud hiss, the Griever roared back to life. Whirring and clicking, it stared up the wall, directly at Emily.
And then it began to do something she could not even imagine such a thing being capable of doing:
It started to climb the wall.

Whatever fear she felt before that moment, it had tripled. She stood still for a moment, frozen as she fought to process exactly what was happening.
The Griever's legs dug into the stone, a loud crack echoing throughout the Maze every time it took a step. Its spikes and some of its appendages stuck into the stone, most likely for support as the creature slowly made its way up the wall. Two beams of light shone directly towards them, focusing of both her and Thomas.
This time, they did not move away. It was as if they were glued on the target, like a laser for a missile getting ready to shoot.
Any feeling of hope Emily had felt, it was gone now.
She looked over at Thomas, who was staring back at her with the same amount of fear in his eyes that she felt running through her veins.
"We have to go," His voice rose above the booming noises of the Griever. "I'll distract it away from you and Alby! Just go!"
Emily stared at him for a moment. Did he really expect her to just leave him?
"I'm not leaving you."
"Quit being all heroic and save your ass before you're ripped to shreds!"
She knew there was no point in arguing. The Griever was half way to them. It was almost a matter of time before one of its appendages could reach up and grab them. She had to run.
She swung her arm to the side, grabbing a vine about three feet away from her. Wrapping it tightly around her wrist, she pulled herself towards it. She heard the angry roars of the Griever as it pulled itself up the wall after Thomas.
She had never admired someone more than she did him in that moment. He was risking his life for the little chance of saving hers.
Emily focused back on her objective: getting to the Maze floor safely. She reached for another vine, grabbing it with both her hands and yanking herself towards it. She shuffled her body as far as the plant would allow her, then reached for yet another one. She gradually made her way away from the Griever and down the stone wall.
She was halfway to the ground when she turned to look in Thomas's direction. He was leading the Griever down the opposite side of the wall, away from her and Alby. The monster was right on his tail, and he had to dodge its claw several times.
Emily let herself drop several feet, her bare knees scraping against the rough stone. She let out a kiss of pain, clenching her teeth, but she kept on going.
On the next vine, she let herself slide down several more feet. She was only about ten feet from the ground now. Red hot pain flared up both her arms, her palms burning with raw skin. But she kept going until her feet touched the cracked floor.
She hopped down, loosing her balance and stumbling into the wall. Down the corridor, Thomas was on the ground as well. He was shouting something inaudible above the Griever's screeches, flailing his arms back and forth as he led the thing down the corridor.
Little did he know, it was a dead end.
Moments later, his back hit the stone. Emily watched, wide-eyes and terrified, as the Griever slowly stalked its way towards him.
There was only one thing she could think of doing. She knew Thomas would hate her for doing so, but she had no choice. She screamed out, her voice echoing off the towering walls.
"Hey! Slime-ball, over here!"
Immediately, the Griever stopped moving. It turned to look at her, its blinding white lights focused directly on her. It began running towards her at full speed, its feet digging into the cracked stone with every step.
Emily turned and ran, adrenaline pumping through her veins, being her only source of energy at that point.
"Run, Emily!"
Thomas's panicked voice filled her ears, only making her push faster. Up ahead, the only opening began closing with a loud grinding noise. She could loose the monster through there, if only she was fast enough.
She dared to turn around, only to see the Griever only feet away from catching her.
"Thomas, get out of here!" she screamed. Hoping that, just this one time, push his stubbornness aside and listen to her. She didn't stick around to find out, however. The section was closing at an incredible pace, and it was only a matter of seconds before the gap was too small for her to fit through. The stone brushed against her as she ran through. The walls were pressing against her body, making her feel as if she were about to be squashed into a pancake.
She slid through the tiny gap just in time. Not even a second after she stepped into the new section, the walls slammed shut with a deafening boom. The Griever's frustrated wail rose above all over sounds of the Maze, sending shivers up Emily's spine.
She was safe. But for how long?

+

This chapter didn't come out as good as I wanted it to... but oh well xD
I can't wait to start writing the next few chapters though. They're gonna be so packed with action and some cute moments in it here and there aw I can't waittttt :D