Questions // Mazerunner

26-In which we go to the Cliffs

"Hey." A voice woke Maddy and she opened her bleary eyes. "Hey MadGirl." Newts face slowly came into focus above her. "You awake?"

"I am now," she grumbled, rolling back over to face the other boys sleeping forms. Newt danced back round in front of her with spritely energy. "Come on," he whined, pulling on her arm. Maddy laughed and pushed herself off the hammock as Newt pulled her forwards.

"Wait." Newt stopped suddenly, and Maddy nearly went careering into him. "Do you-" he paused, trying to find the right words. "Do you want to go in the maze? To look at the way out?"

Maddy's eyes widened and her mouth fell open a little. "In," she stopped, trying to gather her thoughts, "In the maze? Newt people have died out there." The boy looked down, concentrating on his hands and the grass rather than the girl in front of him.
"I know."

Maddy pulled him into a hug, and, reluctantly he hugged her back. But it felt odd, and awkward after all the weeks and days she had ignored him. Odd, to be so close to the girl who had been his best friend. Odd, to have his arms round the person who might still be his best friend, if they could do this. But most of all, it felt odd for Newt to have her arms wrapped around his body. The girl he loved, so close to him that he could hear her beating heart, her every breath.
And it was the memory of her saying 'maybe one day' that kept him going.

"Please. Just an hour?" He whispered lightly in her ear. She pulled back and looked at him. "But- but-," The look on his face, the hope in his eyes, him.

"One hour only. And if anyone finds out, I'll feed you to the grievers."
He just laughed and pulled her into the maze behind him.

Her feet met with hard concrete, pounding with every step, the footsteps patting a drumbeat against the unmovable solidarity of the thick stone. As they rounded a corner, Newt running ably in front, with Maddy just staying behind, her fingers brushed the wall.

A shock ran through her, tiny, but big enough to notice. The walls were so cold, so hard, that she began to feel smaller and smaller as if she were falling. Her thoughts crowded her mind as they ran.

Not long after, Newt stopped. "Welcome to the Cliff," he announced, and with that he stepped backwards, revealing to her a space.

A space in the wall. She walked forwards, each step slow and deliberate, almost echoing in the maze, as if beckoning for the grievers, for the end of the misery to come. She reached the edge, and looked down.

Clouds. And grey. Nothing else. Just grey, on and on, monotonously. She looked back at Newt, who came to join her. "It's not there yet, but it could be the way out." Maddy could only nod.

They stood on the cliff, Newt's hair ruffling in the breeze, Maddy's cheeks red from the wind, and silence filled the tiny gap between them. Each stood in solidarity, but near each other, needing something, someone, to lean on.

And then Maddy took Newt's hand in her own. It was cold, and thin from the lack of food, but so was her own. Why wasn't he eating? She wondered. What was he worried about?

"Shall we go back?" Newt tuned to face away from the cliff. "Okay," Maddy offered in reply, and they set off.

On their way back, Maddy noticed a gap in the ivy, rectangular, climbing the walls length, but didn't think to ask. The maze was a mystery and they only needed to get out. Extra details were insignificant.

When they returned back, nobody ever found out where they'd been. Some reckoned they were making up for lost time. Some thought they were doing odd jobs. A few even reckoned it was something more... intimate. But nobody ever guessed what they really did.

Not till it was far too late.

A/N Hiyee thank you for 1.2k Every time I look at it I think it's some kind of magical dream. Also this is 4th if you type in 'mazerunner' on the searchy thing WOW this is all down to you lot and i am eternally grateful to you :)
-Katie 👽