The Inventor

Chapter Fifty Six; "Who wants to go first?"

     Shards of cold pierced into your skin, sucking the air out of your lungs for a few moments until you fell through the ceiling and landed. Your feet slipped out from under you, falling on your back with a huff.

     Within a few seconds, Minho came crashing down too, making you groan when he landed on your stomach.

     "Get off me damnit!" You yelled, "Shucking hell man! Newt?!"

     "Right here," Newt said, helping you and Minho to your feet.

     "Chuck?!" You called next, walking around the dead grievers to scan over the group. Thomas and Teresa were alive, Chuck beside them.

     He ran to you, hugging around the waist, you sat down right there on the ground to embrace him.

     "You didn't jump after me," He muttered.

     "There were problems I had to take care of," You replied, pulling away to survey if he was injured, "But you did great, little man! You saved us all!"

     "What am I? Chop liver?" Thomas grumbled.

     You set a glade on him, "Yes, your chop liver, I'm talking to the hero, here. So, back up off the moment."

     "Where are the others?" Teresa asked.

     "Dead," Newt said dully, "Around half of them."

     Thomas's pride seemed to be diminished by that, the joy of success ebbing away. If you could even call it a success, too many were killed for it to be that.

     "There's still half of us alive, no one got stung. We have to worry about the people living right now so we don't all end up dead too," Minho announced, standing up straighter.

     "Let's go," Newt said, "Now, it's too late to go back."

     You stood, grasping Chuck's hand, "I'm going to take a guess and say the dark pitch black tunnel is our way out."

     "It opened after we put the code in," Thomas said, "Who wants to go first?"

     No one responded for a while until Minho raised his hand in response.

     "I'll give it a go," He shrugged, "Feel free to follow when you feel like."

     With the sarcastic remark, he ducked into the tunnel and was swallowed by the dark in less than three steps. You looked nervously after him.

     There seemed to be a running thing with people under heavy guilt and grief, they were careless with their life. You didn't particularly want Minho to make a wrong move and die, you only have so many gladers alive now. Any more dead and it would be hard to fight whatever comes next.

     "We'll go," You offered, "Chuck, stay behind me, good that?"

     "Good that," He confirmed.

     "I'll shout back if something happens," You nodded to Thomas and Newt, then carefully made your way into the tunnel.

     Your hand held Chucks tight, the other skimming the walls. Nothing was visible, like the light had been sucked from the tunnel directly. Even when the lighter was flicked on, it only illuminated your palm.

     "You okay, Chuck?" You asked.

     "It's really freaking dark," He said back.

     "I don't know if any light could even-"

     You felt yourself pull away from the walls when a shrill scream echoed down the halls. Minho, not pained, but surprised.

     Chuck immediately began to run forward, as if he wanted to help but you held him back, keeping him still.

     "What's going on?" You heard Frypan shout.

     "Minho?!" You called, "You good?!"

     There was no reply.

     "I don't think he's good," Frypan commented.

     "Yeah, thanks for that," You muttered, "Little man, do not move a muscle, stay right here."

     You got on your hands and knees, slowly crawling along the floor, each movement was hard on your knees. After a few minutes of moving forward, patting at the floor before each step you felt a sharp incline, a slipper goop coating your hand from where it pressed on the slide.

     The air smelt damp and old, making you have the urge to hurl.

     "It's a slide!" You announced, "Come on Chuck! Walk forward slowly!"

     You heard the small footsteps of Chuck, you stuck your arm out, stopping him from moving further.

     "Is that you?" He asked.

     "Yeah, it's me," You took his arm and pulled him into a sitting position, "Let Newt and Thomas know there's a slide, Frypan!"

     "Good that!" He called back.

     "A slide? Like a playground type?" Chuck said.

     "Sort of," You replied, pulling Chuck close to your side, "I'll be right beside you. Ready?"

     "I guess," He said, uncertain.

     "Here we go," You muttered, pushing off from the slide and pulling Chuck with you into the endless, nauseating incline.