Sapphire Stones

Runner's Return!!

I'm gripping Gally's hand tightly in mine, my knuckles turning whiter with each passing moment. 

I'm forcing myself not to cry, holding a river of tears back behind my eyes. 

The sun is going down. The moon is emerging. The doors will be closing any minute.

Still no sign of Ben and Minho.

"Let me go out there." I say, my voice cracking.

"No." Gally, Newt, Chuck, Winston, and Frypan all say at the same time. I grip my hair in my free hand, doing my best to not let anxiety get the best of me.

"Where the hell are they?" One of the Runners mutters from behind me. Whispers full of worry are passed among the Gladers around us as we all sit in anxious anticipation. 

Chuck is wringing his hands together. Newt's constantly running his hands through his hair. Winston's foot is repeatedly tapping on the grass. Frypan's fingers are drumming against his sides. Gally's entire body is tense. Even Bark is walking back and forth beside me in worry for our two absent friends.

I'm doing everything I can to keep myself calm. I try all the anxiety methods I can remember to try to control my mind. Nothing is working. 

Still no Minho.

Still no Ben.

Dust begins kicking up around us. My heart rate increases as my entire body begins to shaking. The wind picks up, blowing dust, leaves, and dirt in our direction.

The doors are beginning their sickeningly slow process to close.

Gally grips my hand even tighter as mutters break out around us. My vision is becoming blurry. My ears are ringing. I can't hear anything except for the rumble that the doors make as they slowly inch closer to one another.

I'm frozen in place, my body trembling as I stand still, feeling completely useless as I just stand and watch the doors closing.

Two of my best friends are going to be trapped in the Maze and there's nothing I can do about it. There's no way for me to save them.

I look around at the Gladers around me. Chuck's silently crying beside me. Frypan's trying to comfort him, but his eyes are also watery with tears. Winston's walking away, Bark and a few other Gladers following close behind. Newt's covering his mouth with both hands, trying desperately to hold back tears.

Suddenly, Chuck's stopped crying. Newt's hands drop, his mouth and eyes wide open. Winston and the other Gladers all turn around as Chuck begins screaming. My head snaps towards the Maze and I see them. 

Minho and Ben, alive and running as fast as they can towards the exit. We're all screaming words of encouragement at them as they run, the gap between the walls growing smaller and smaller by every passing second.

I notice that Ben's supporting Minho, gripping his arms across his shoulder tightly. 

They make it.

Both Runners collapse to the ground right in front of the Maze doors, sweat and grime covering their bodies. But they made it.

The doors to the Maze continue to reach closer to each other until they finally meet, sealing closed for the night.

I collapse beside the two Runners, tears falling down my cheeks and wetting the dirt beneath me.

"Where the fuck were you guys?!" I shout, attacking both boys with hugs. Ben immediately hugs me back, but Minho doesn't. Instead, I feel him wince away from me. I slowly pull away, looking at Ben with concern. "What happened?" I ask softly as Frypan rushes over to the two bous with cups of water.

They both immediately chug their water before Ben responds, Minho staying quiet beside him.

"We were exploring that cave thing today, right?" I nod. "Well, everything was fine and normal. The Grievers weren't out, the Maze was quiet, and everything was calm."

Every single Glader seems to be tuning in now, all of us forming crowds around the Runners.

"Anyways, we finished exploring the cave, then did our normal route. Once we finished that, Minho decided he wanted to check one more thing out inside the cave. So we went back." Ben explains as Clint and Jeff push through the crowd to get to Minho. 

They kneel beside him, checking his bones for any breaks or fractures as Ben contunues.

"Everything was fine. We ran back to the cave with the intention of only staying a few minutes before coming back. Our plan, however, didn't go so well. You know how Grievers sleep during the day, right?"

I nod as I recall the many times that the Runners told me about the so-called Grievers who roam the Maze late at night. No one's ever seen one and lived to tell the tale. That's what Minho told me.

"Well, apparently, that's not always true..." Ben looks over at Minho and realization dawns on me.

"Check for stings." I order the two Medjacks beside Minho.

"We found one in the cave. I think it was looking for any leftovers that the others might have missed. We got out of there as fast as we could, but the Griever chased us. We had to find a way to lose it."

"No stings." Both Medjacks reply to me as the continue looking for breaks and fractures on Minho's body. 

"We ran for hours trying to shake this thing, but no matter what, it didn't seem to want to leave us alone. It chased us for a good two hours."

"So what happened to Minho?" I ask, my voice shaking,

"Holy shit..." I hear Jeff mutter from beside me. I turn around, instantly regretting my choice when I see Minho's stomach. An entire top layer of skin is missing, leaving a portion of his stomach red, raw, and bleeding.

"He tripped and fell. Slid across the concrete floor. His entire shirt ripped, leaving him with that,"

Minho hasn't spoken since they got back. His face is pale, he's extremely sweaty, and I can tell that he's still incredibly thirsty.

"Take him to the Medhut." Alby orders Jeff and I. 

"Ben, you go too. I wanna check and make sure that nothing's wrong with you either." Clint adds.

"Aye, aye, captain." Ben mutters, standing up and starting slowly towards the Medhut. I watch as Bark sprints over to him, happily wagging his tail and grinning. Ben grins back, picking up the dog and carrying him towards their destination. I notice a slight limp in his steps, though nothing else major seems to be wrong.

I help Jeff pick up Minho and start towards the hut, catching Gally's and Newt's eyes before I start walking.

Gally looks relieved as he waves goodbye to me as I leave.

Newt, on the other hand, looks worried, but slightly relieved at the same time. I noticed it as soon as he saw that Minho was hurt. I wonder what's wrong with him...

A/N~ Sorry if this chapter is literal shit. I wrote it at 1 AM, so if that doesn't tell you my sleeping habits, I'm not sure what will...🫢