Boxes [The Maze Runner ~ Newt] [BOOK 1]

Yeah

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Do you see anything?"

Marie gathered a few Gladers to help her make observations and test out the Box a few days after Joe had arrived. Her team consisted of Newt, Ty, Nick, and Ricky from the Bloodhouse. The four of them surrounded the pit with their arms crossed, a certain uneasy feeling hanging over them as Marie peered in and shone her flashlight all around the Box's shaft.

"Not really," Marie grunted as she pulled her upper body out of the pit. "It's like a black hole down there."

Newt was given the job to write down everything Marie noticed about the pit during her tests. He sat near one corner of the pit and scribbled down every word she spoke to the small group of Gladers. He looked up at the girl to see her shining the flashlight in the shaft once more and couldn't help but smirk watching how serious she looked. It wasn't until Marie turned to him that his smile faded away.

"Are you getting this?"

The blond boy hastily nodded. "Yeah, black hole, got it."

Ty glanced over at Newt and gave him a smug look to which the blond boy whispered, "Shut up."

"Ricky," Marie turned to the lanky brown-haired boy, "do you have those rocks I asked for?"

With sudden urgency, Ricky pulled a few rocks out of his cargo pants pockets and tossed one of them to Marie. She swiftly caught it before standing up and leaning over the pit and hanging her hand in the air. Her brown eyes darted up and looked at each one of the boys standing before her as she spoke in a clear voice.

"I'm gonna drop the rock in here to estimate how deep it goes," Marie explained. She immediately turned to Ty. "Pay attention to your watch. Tell me when to drop it and time how long it takes for it to reach the bottom."

Ty brought his wrist up and stared at his watch. "Okay... go!"

And with that, Marie dropped the rock into the pit. Everyone leaned in to see the stone disappear in the endless darkness. After a few seconds, they were expecting to hear a small thud at the bottom of the pit. They all exchanged looks of confusion as the rock continued falling. It was Ty who interfered with the silence as he broke away from his watch.

"I don't think rocks are supposed to take 20 plus seconds to fall," the Cook muttered.

"That's just weird," Newt murmured. "Do you think it's still falling?"

"I-I don't know," Marie stammered. "I thought it would have reached the bottom a long time ago."

"Maybe it is a black hole after all," Nick said to himself.

Marie gave Ricky a look, making him toss another rock over towards her. As soon as she caught it, she immediately chucked it down the shaft and patiently waited once more. She thought that maybe the velocity and angle of her throw would make the rock fall quicker or even make contact with one of the metal walls, but it didn't make any difference. They found themselves waiting longer than they did on their first try and let out a collected sigh.

"I think it's safe to conclude that this thing is either bottomless or a passageway to hell."

"This is not the time for jokes, Ty," Marie groaned as she sat down on the wet grass and rubbed her temples.

"Honestly, Marie," Ricky spoke up, "how do you expect us to leave through the Box if you don't even know where it leads?"

"That's why we're here, Ricky!" The girl's shrill voice brought chills up everyone's spines. Marie sighed and hung her head, giving herself a moment to relax as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I've just been stressed over this. Why don't you guys get back to work, we can do this again tomorrow."