➊ 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 - 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨, ᵗᵐʳ

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕: 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬

SIMON POV

"Evelyn, wait! Are you sure you're okay?" I called after her, jogging to catch up.

Something about her had felt off all morning, her quietness, the way her eyes didn't quite meet mine, the tense set of her jaw. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong..

"I'm alright, don't disturb me."

Her voice had a bite to it. Evelyn could be tough, sarcastic even, but she'd never spoken to me like that before. Not with that... edge.

And then, just moments later, she collapsed.

"Evelyn!" I shouted, sprinting toward her as her body crumpled to the ground.

She lay still, her skin ghostly pale, her lips slightly parted. My heart dropped.

"Evelyn? Come on, say something," I whispered, my voice shaky as I knelt beside her.

No response.

Panic twisted in my stomach as I fumbled for her pulse. Relief hit me when I found it, faint, but steady. At least she was still alive. But what the shuck happened?

I remembered her muttering something about proving herself to Minho. She wanted to be a Runner. Badly. He didn't agree with it. I guess she thought this was her way of convincing him... but fainting mid-run?

If she still wanted to be a Runner after this, I wouldn't know what to think.

After a minute of just kneeling there, watching her unmoving form, I finally gave in to Jeff's rule: If you find someone hurt, bring them to the Med-Jacks.

I scooped her up, ignoring the strange glances from other Gladers as I ran toward the Med-hut. Her limp weight pressed against my chest like a warning.

Before I could even get inside, Alby and Chuck caught up with me.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!" I blurted, defensive without even meaning to be. Maybe it was a habit. Being one of the last three Greenies—me, Evelyn, and Chuck—meant we were usually the ones pulling dumb stunts. But this wasn't one of them.

Jeff rolled his eyes the moment he saw me burst in with Evelyn.

"What happened, man?"

I gently laid her down on the same bed she'd been in just three days ago.

"She was running," I explained, my breath coming in short gasps. "Trying to prove something to Minho. She was acting weird, and then she just collapsed."

"She wasn't even supposed to be out," Clint muttered from behind Jeff. "Wasn't she in the Slammer?"

The room fell quiet. We all looked at Alby for confirmation, but he looked just as surprised as the rest of us.

"She was supposed to be," he said slowly, frowning. Then he turned to Chuck. "Right, Chuck?"

Chuck looked like a deer in headlights. "ShewantedtoprovetoMinhoshecouldbearunnertososhestartedrunningwhenthebelldidandIhelpedhergetoutshecouldbeearly," he blurted.

"What?" we all said at once, squinting at him.

Chuck took a breath and said it properly: "She wanted to prove to Minho she could be a Runner. So she left at the same time as him, and I helped her sneak out early."

Alby crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Why, Chuck? You know the rules."

Chuck's cheeks flushed deep red. "I just wanted to help..."

No one got the chance to respond.

Evelyn's body started to shake violently, her entire frame trembling against the cot. Her face contorted, twisted in terror. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly, as though she were fighting something invisible, and losing.

"What's happening?!" I shouted, stepping back toward her. Clint and I rushed to her side.

"Hold her arm!" Jeff barked.

We pinned her limbs as best we could, trying to keep her from falling off the bed. That's when I noticed something: a bracelet on her wrist. I'd never seen it before.

Then the bed began to quake beneath her. She wasn't breathing, and then suddenly, she was bleeding.

Her nose gushed blood, and a guttural scream tore from her throat. Jeff pulled one eyelid open and we all recoiled.

Her eyes were pure white. No pupils. No irises. Just terrifying, endless white.

"Shuck," Jeff hissed.

"Do something you shanks! You did not become Med-Jack to stay here and act like sticks!" Alby shouted.

We all glared at him but ignored the comment. None of us had ever seen anything like this. Not even close.

Her screams grew louder. Louder than the sound of the blood. Louder than the pounding in my ears. She was crying out, no, wailing in pain.

I didn't know what was happening, but I knew she needed someone.

I leaned down, grabbing her hand tightly in mine. "Evelyn, it's me, Simon. You're safe. You're not alone. Just breathe, okay? I'm right here."

Her body jolted again, but then... her breathing began to slow. Not by much. But just enough that I could feel the difference.

I like to think it was my voice. That maybe, deep down, she knew I was there.

Chuck grabbed her other hand and held it just as tightly. "Don't die, Evelyn! I still have like, twenty pranks I haven't pulled with you yet!"

It didn't sound like much, but I knew Chuck. I knew how much he cared about her. He'd be crushed if she didn't make it.

But Evelyn wasn't going to die. I wouldn't let her.

"She's calming down," Jeff said quietly, checking her vitals again.

She wasn't shaking anymore. The blood flow had stopped. Her skin still looked sickly, but she was breathing evenly now. Still unconscious, but stable.

Whatever just happened, it wasn't from dehydration or pushing too hard. This was something else. Something worse.

"You better figure out what caused that," Alby muttered before storming out of the hut. "I'm gonna find Minho. He must've played a part in this."

He slammed the door open on his way out, just as a few curious Gladers were trying to peek in.

"Demon."

"Weird."

"Creator."

I heard the whispers, felt them slither through the cracks of the Med-hut.

Demon. That was crap. But Creator? Maybe. I didn't know what they did to us before we got here, so that we'd forget everything, but I had a feeling this was one of those consequences.

Jeff didn't send Chuck away, not this time. The kid stayed right by Evelyn's side.

"Is she gonna wake up?" Chuck asked, his voice barely above a whisper, eyes glassy with tears.

I looked down at her pale face, her chest rising and falling so softly.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, she will."

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