Lost in a Maze

Chapter 39: WCKD is good.

"Let's go come on!" Thomas shouted, urging us all forwards. We ran in silence, the only sounds coming from his words of encouragement, the slapping of our feet on concrete, and the rattling of arrows in my quiver.
25 of us.
Corner after corner, corridor after corridor. Newt slipped his hand into mine, maybe he noticed the colour draining from my face as I was brought back to the night I ran these walls alone, rather than colour entering my cheeks.

It felt like hours we had ran for, just wall after wall. Newt was right, I never would have liked running. Felt boring, but strangely gratifying at the thought of danger slipping out at any moment. I don't know, maybe I was going insane. Three sleepless nights in a row did wonders.

Left, right. Right, right, left. Left right.
I lost track eventually.
Thomas allowed two short breaks, for people who didn't run on a regular basis and therefore, weren't as fit as we were. "How's your leg holding up?" I asked Newt on one of them.
He shrugged it off with an, "alright," and not another word was said about it.

"Come on guys, we're so close!" Thomas encouraged, starting to run again. I ran up beside him and Emily, my bow in hand. I had been offered a spear, but my body was covered with hidden knives and my bow was something I knew. Better than a pointy stick.

Low ivy hung from wall to wall, a natural decoration to the grey concrete walls. Looking over my shoulder I saw Teresa running beside Frypan, a large knife in her hand. Half expecting her to stab me in the back, I put an inch in my step, before Thomas warned me to slow down or the others wouldn't be able to keep up.

We slowed down as the walls broke out into a larger area, without any maze corners or corridors. Just a wide space filled with large metal slates. "The Blades." Minho said in my ear as he saw me staring. "Your brother nearly got killed running through these. Let's hope his luck still runs strong eh?" And punching my arm lightly he ran out in front, weaving his way through the tall, thin, metal walls.

"This way!" Thomas shouted, waving his arm and following Minho. As soon as we made it safely through the blades Thomas ran to the wall in front of us, backing against it. We all followed suit, and he looked around the corner of the wall warily. Curiosity getting the better of me, I slid over and took a look for myself.

There was a huge dome of a room, all stone. One long corridor led to a flat stone wall at the bottom which I assumed, opened to be some door. Either sides of the corridor were not walled, but led to a drop. How far the drop fell, I couldn't tell. And prowling in front of the wall at the bottom, was a Griever, chittering and chirping away.

"Is there a Griever?" Chuck asked quietly.

"Yeah," Thomas replied, gaining several "shit"s in return.
"Here," Minho held out the piece they'd taken from the Griever Thomas killed.
The Griever key.
"You take this Chuck. Stay behind us."
Chucks bright face seemed to dampen with worry at the responsibility, but Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, you just stick with Emily. She's got you."

Emily frowned at Thomas slightly. "I want to help Thomas."

"You are helping. I need you to get Chuck across safely, that's what I need from you alright?" Thomas said firmly, waiting for an answer. "We're counting on you to get us out."

"Yeah," She nodded, smiling at Chuck. "Stick with me."

"Once we are through, that should activate and the door will open. We stay close, we stick together, we get through this. We get out now, or we die trying."

The Gladers were all focused on Thomas, listening to every word he said.
"I love you." He leaned over and kissed Emily on the lips for a brief moment, gently hugging her. I felt Newt slip his hand into mine, squeezing it for comfort. I squeezed back, knowing I needed it. But I also needed to be prepared, and so I let go, taking an arrow from my quiver.