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TWO MONTHS BEFORE ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
ılı.lıllıılı.ıllı ᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ; ( EVERYTHING I WANTED billie eilish )
Nick's knees scraped against the rough, sandy cement as he landed in the Maze. Gasping for breath, he blinked rapidly with wide, panicked eyes. It wasn't until the doors clicked shut behind him that he fully registered what he had just done.
Shaking himself out of his daze, he frantically searched for the young boy who had gotten himself separated from the others. His gaze fell upon Mason, who collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. "Why?" the boy managed to choke out between heavy breaths, looking up at Nick with sadness and disappointment. "You shouldn't have come in here for me."
"I couldn't let you die," Nick responded, crawling over to the exhausted boy.
"It's too late for that," Mason replied, turning away from Nick's desperate attempts to help him.
"No, no," Nick insisted, trying to pick up Mason only to be pushed away. "Mason, please— We're going to survive, okay?"
"It's too late," Mason's voice grew angry.
"Look, I know we're stuck in the Maze, bu—"
"It's not about the Maze!" the young boy growled, lifting his pant leg to reveal black veins snaking their way up from a Griever sting. Tears welled up in Nick's eyes as he saw the mark of death on the young boy. He didn't know what to say or do to offer hope or comfort. In the end, any words would be useless lies. His heart twisted in pain and helplessness as he knew he'd have to watch Mason's condition worsen as the night went on.
So he stayed quiet as he gently scooped the boy up in his arms. "What are you doing?" Mason protested weakly as he tried to wiggle out of Nick's grasp.
"We're in this together," Nick said firmly, locking eyes with the boy he was carrying.
"No..."
"Yes," Nick interrupted, "Now tell me what happened and I'll put you down." Mason reluctantly nodded and Nick carefully placed him back on the ground, catching him as he stumbled back a little.
The two boys began to walk into the Maze together, Nick pushing down his fear and forcing himself to be brave as they walked through the twisting corridors. Mason followed behind as quickly as he could, his body weakened by exhaustion and the spreading infection.
