Subject of the Flame | Maze Runner [2]

EIGHTEEN

[ ELECTRA ]

❧

Thomas didn't stop running. The Gladers followed him as best as they could as the boy sprinted across the cracked floor, but Electra and Minho tore ahead from the pack as Thomas sped up.

How could he be so stupid? Electra wanted to catch up to him just so that she could smack him across the head. Not only had he insisted on going into the shack alone to meet the mystery girl, but then he ran off without muttering a single word to the Gladers. Stupid. Stupid boy.

For all they knew, maybe Thomas had gotten information from the girl and no longer needed the Gladers. Now he was desperately running away from them to save his own life. Something inside Electra told her that wasn't true. So, she tried to run faster, wanting to catch up with him. But Thomas was quick. Whatever he'd seen inside the shack had given him a boost of adrenaline that Electra didn't have.

At some point, maybe two or three hours after he'd bolted off, Thomas collapsed onto the sandy floor. The boy coughed on all fours, gasping for air. Electra and Minho caught up to him first.

"Are you okay?" Minho asked, placing his hands on his knees and swallowing huge gasps of air.

"Are you crazy?" Electra raised her hands at her sides. "Thomas, that was the single stupidest thing you've ever done, and you've done too many stupid things to count!"

"Sorry..." was all Thomas could choke out, which only made Electra angrier.

"Hey, dude? Look at those shanks back there, okay? The ones struggling to keep up with you." She pointed to the mass of shadows moving in the far-off distance; the rest of the Gladers had fallen behind in their chase. "We're all dehydrated, tired and scared. And this sprint of yours could've very well put any of their lives in danger."

Her speech surprised her. Since when had she cared about the safety of the other Gladers? They obviously didn't care about hers, considering how they'd insulted and argued with her about her tattoo earlier. Still, the fact that a couple of Gladers had already died, and after witnessing the horrific metal ball incident, she didn't want to see any more death.

Minho knelt next to Thomas, slowly shaking his head. "How could you do that? How could you just come out of there and take off like that? Without explaining anything? Since when is that how we do things? You slinthead," he let out a sigh before falling onto his butt.

"Sorry," Thomas repeated, but this time continued. "It was kinda traumatizing."

Tension was released from Electra's deep frown. Her shoulders dropped, and she let out a breath that'd been trapped in her lungs. What could he have seen in that tiny shack that could've been that bad? A part of Electra wished it'd been her that had gone into the shed instead of him. Whatever it had been, she probably would have handled it.

When she noticed her softening demeanour, Electra shook her head. What was she thinking? Did she really care about Thomas that much? Since when?

The other Gladers had finally caught up with them, and most of them fell to the floor, grasping their chests while wheezing. A few of them looked green, while others looked positively annoyed at Thomas.

"Traumatizing?" Minho asked. "Who did you see in there? What did they say?"

"It was... it was Teresa," Thomas said, although his voice was low.

A few of the Gladers gasped, while others called him a liar. Electra, on the other hand, felt a part of herself boil. She hadn't properly seen the girl since their first day after escaping the Maze. Why hadn't Teresa been dropped into the Scorch Trials like the rest of them? Why was she standing in some random shack, obviously undisturbed by the elements? Electra remembered her flowing black hair. She'd looked clean.