Shadow of the Maze | Maze Runner [1]

TWENTY-ONE

[ ELECTRA ]

❧

Through the dizzying commotion of the Council Hall, Frypan was the first to speak, "What's that supposed to mean? How could you have possibly helped create the Maze?"

When the other Keepers heard his question, they tuned in to listen to the conversation.

Thomas shuffled on his feet. "Well... Teresa and I were smart—"

"Teresa worked with them too?" one of the Keepers blurted out, and Thomas sent the boy a glare.

"Just listen to what I have to say, and then you can ask questions." Thomas' tone was harsh, and the Keeper nodded submissively. "Okay. It all might be part of their Variables but she and I have this... gift that made us valuable when creating this place. We... uh— we can speak telepathically."

Someone coughed in the room, but nobody asked any questions. Electra tilted her head at Thomas. She'd known he and Teresa had a telepathic connection, but she hadn't known they'd had their gift before the Maze. It made sense that they had, and she wondered just how long they'd had their connection, and maybe if they'd simply just always had it.

But their telepathy couldn't be natural, could it? If it was, then it was bordering magical power territory, and that simply couldn't be possible. Electra couldn't remember the outside world, but she was sure superpowers couldn't possibly exist. Advanced technology, however, obviously did exist considering the intricate Maze she lived in. Which meant the Creators probably consciously gifted both Thomas and Teresa with their telepathy.

Why them? Why not her? She thought herself to be smarter than them, but she'd been ditched in a Maze while they were able to speak to each other in their minds.

Thomas continued speaking after a drawn-out awkward silence, "But listen to me. They forced us to help. I don't know how or why, but they did. Maybe it was to see if we could gain your trust despite having been a part of them. Maybe we were meant all along to be the ones to reveal how to escape. Whatever the reason, with your Maps we figured out the code and we need to use it now."

Electra wished she was standing at the front of the room so she would've been able to see all of the Keepers' expressions to Thomas's confession. But, none of them outwardly projected anger towards the Greenie, which shocked her.

"I'm sorry, I really am." Thomas began apologizing but Electra groaned before cutting him off.

"Save your apologies till after we escape, Thomas. Just tell us your plan."

A couple of the Keepers looked back at her, and she returned their glances, causing them to quickly turn back around in their chairs. Thomas kept eye contact with her for a few seconds, before she gave him the tiniest nod, urging him to reveal his plan.

Thomas nodded a couple of times. "As I said, I've been getting vague memories in chunks ever since the Changing. They were sort of like puzzle pieces, and I couldn't quite figure out where everything fit.

"I got a memory of a computer station where we need to enter the code we deciphered. The code will open for us to get out of the Maze. And, ever since finding the Griever device, I knew our escape had to be located somewhere near the Cliff, but Electra said the computer station couldn't possibly be in the Cliff hallway, nor could it be anywhere she's ever been before, which is essentially almost the entire Maze."

"Almost? Where hasn't she been?" Minho asked, but Electra was already catching on to what Thomas was suggesting.

"Electra mentioned that we're better off risking our own deaths, and this plan— it's almost suicide. The Grievers will come after us whenever we try to do it. All of them. The final test."