Behind The Walls: A Maze Runner Fanfic [ABANDONED WIP]

Chapter 14

I walk through the Deadheads on my tiptoes. I look around catiously, the vibe of the mysterious trees, graves, and the dark air around me. I turn my head, looking for Minho. What did I expect? I think. He asked me to meet him in the Deadheads, but the Deadheads is huge. There were tall trees everywhere and spots where I assume the Baggers place the dead bodies. I shudder, thinking about all the innocent Gladers that have died thanks to the grievers. Thanks to the Creators.

I look below me and see a small, greenish brown beetle crawling on the ground. It has letters written sloppily across it's torso. Wicked. I used to see them all the time in the maze, but I never expected to see them in the Glade.

"It's a beetle blade," I hear from behind me. I spin on my heel and turn to see Minho walking briskly towards me. "We usually don't see them here, just in the maze."

"Beetle blade, huh? You guys really have a name for everything, don't you?" I say and smile smugly.

He returns the smirk. He takes another step closer to me before responding, "I guess we do. And, hey, at least we're creative enough to come up with names. What did you call them, and the grievers, huh, Anna?"

"I called them bugs. And the grievers monsters. Because, you know, that's kinda what they are," I say and cross my arms over my chest. He lifts his eyebrows in response. A long, uncomfortable silence is exchanged before I ask, "Why did you want me to come here?"

His dark brown eyes light up while saying, "Right! C'mon, I'll show you."

Minho starts walking in a different direction, and motions for me to follow. A small smile forms on my lips as I quickly catch up to him. He looks around for a moment - as if he was lost - then continues to walk. I turn my head in several different directions, looking at the abundant amount of trees surrounding us. Some part of me feels claustrophobic as the woods seem to be caving in on me. I was not used to things surrounding me tightly. Back in the Maze, everything feels open. Even though I'm surrounded by walls among walls, there's still room to breathe and to run around. Here, I couldn't take a step without a branch smacking into my forehead or stepping on a sharp branch.

After a few more minutes of walking and awkward conversation with Minho, I stop and see something horrific.

Laying on the dirt is a dead man. Not just a dead man - but half of a dead man. His eyes are peeled wide open, its lifelessness staring back at me. Dirt covers him from head to toe, but I can still see the disgusting ashen color of his skin. Bones stick out in various places, the half man looking half skeleton. Chills race up and down my body.

"What did this to him?" I ask gently, my voice soft. Minho looks from me to the corpse on the dirt, then back to me, his eyes filled with sadness. I glance over at the words written on a piece of wood besides him: LET THIS HALF SHANK BE A REMINDER TO YOU THAT YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THROUGH THE BLACK HOLE.

"We tried to get out through the Box. The night that lift went back down, we sent him in it, hoping that it would be the way out. But the shucking machine sliced him right in half," Minho says emotionlessly. I look away from the body and back up at Minho.

"Did you know him, I mean, were you close?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No, not really. But, he was just like the rest of us. They killed him. And we're next on their hit list." Minho emphasizes on the word 'they' and I immediately know who he speaks of. The Creators.

"Do you think it's some sort of punishment? I mean, why would they put a bunch of innocent kids inside a death trap?" I ask. Minho takes a deep breath and shrugs.

"I really don't know. Maybe it is just a giant jailhouse. But either way, what they're doing is sick. Killing off people like this... I hate it," he replies. I bit my bottom lip and nod. He's right. Everything they do - everything they are doing - is evil. Maybe we did something to deserve this - I don't know - but those people are gone. They're murdering innocent teenagers. The people in the lives we lived before the maze are gone - erased from history.

Minho starts to walk away from the dead corpse, and I follow. After swerving through some more trees and, unfortunately, more bodies, we stop at one, large tree. It's probably the largest tree here, a thick trunk, probably around twenty feet tall. I must crank my head back to see the whole tree, and, even though it's just a tree, I find it profoundly beautiful.

Minho's signature smirk starts to spread on his face. "Hope you don't mind climbing trees," he says and grabs a strong branch while pulling himself up. I roll my eyes, but smile. I haven't climbed a tree in years - who knows if I've ever even climbed a tree, but as Minho continues to climb up to the top steathily, I grab a branch. I use my arms to bring myself up and place my foot on a large crevice on the tree. I continue to climb as Minho makes himself comfortable on a large, steady branch. I pant and say up to Minho, "What, is there some sort of magic tree house up here?"

He laughs. "No, just, come on. There's more room on this branch."

I chuckle under my breath and continue to climb, soon reaching Minho. He scoots over, half his body leaning on the branch next to him. I bring myself up and sit on the branch, out of breath. Minho laughs again. "I'm guessing climbing trees isn't really your thing?"

I nod. "I'll stick with running."

He chuckles again. "So," I start and tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "Why did you bring me here?"

Minho smiles. "Look."

He points to something in the sky. I look up and see a variation of vibrant colors from the sunset. Bright pink, pale orange, a light red and a small stream of purple is splayed across the sky. The color seem to mingle together, all in perfect and beautiful harmony. I smile. The bright sun is right in the middle of it all.

"It's beautiful," I say, wishing that I could reach out and touch it, feel the colors between my hands. It's sweet of Minho to think of something like this. I haven't been able to see the sunset like this in a long time. Sure, every day I always see a small bit of pink in the sky, but, due to the large walls, I never get to see it like this. Every time I've seen the sunset, I've never actually see the sun.

Minho genuinely smiles. "Yeah. Yeah it is," he says, "I like to come here at this time of day. It always makes me think of what's out there, you know? If there are people who get to see the sunset like this every night and don't have a bunch of walls to block out the view. Or if there are even any more people out there. What if everyone except us and the creators is dead?"

I smile. "Wow, Minho. That's really deep."

He smirks. "You're right. Damn, I could write a book."

I laugh. While being trapped in the maze for two years, I never laughed much. I never laughed at all. It's nice that the moment I arrived in the Glade there was someone here to make me laugh. In these few days I've been here, no one's been able to make laugh and make me happy like Minho has. And for that I'm grateful.

"This was really sweet of you, Minho. Thanks for bringing me here," I say and turn away from the colors of the sunset and look at Minho. He grins, his eyes bright. His gaze drops to my lips and, for a moment, I think he may kiss me. But, instead, he replies, "No problem."

He looks from me and back to the sunset. "We should probably head back, Frypan's probably got dinner ready."

I nod and mutter, "Yeah, sure." Minho climbs down quickly - without breaking any branches or slipping. I roll my eyes at him. I start to move down myself, grabbing the branches carefully. But, just as I think I will get down with ease, the branch I place my foot and snaps, and I fall from the tree.

I land on my back and wince. Minho looks down at me and raises his eyebrows in concern. "You okay?"

He reaches out his hand and I take it. After he helps pull me up and I begin to dust the dirt and leaves off my clothes. "Yeah I'm fine. Thanks."

He smiles, and I notice how handsome his smile is. So I can't help it when I return the grin.

Every thing he did tonight was really sweet, and kind of adorable. I never imagined Minho being the kind of person to sit and watch a sunset. But I enjoyed it anyway. Minho really is a thoughtful guy. He's also pretty damn hysterical. He's always there to make me laugh. So as the two of us walk silently out of the Deadheads, one thought keeps popping into my mind.

I really wished Minho had kissed me up in the tree.