𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝘄 🆁🅴🅳 - ᴀ ᴍᴀᴢᴇ ʀᴜɴɴᴇʀ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄ

Chapter Fourteen

Sweat beaded on Minho's brow. Thea wasn't trying to kill him anymore, but the state she was in now wasn't much better. The girl thrashed in her restless sleep, screaming and sobbing while fighting invisible monsters. Minho could barely keep a hold of her when she tried to escape the nightmares. He'd resorted to gagging her a while back, partly to keep the Grievers from hearing them like she'd pointed out before, but mostly to silence the agonized wailing. Minho couldn't handle the sound of her pain.

His arms wrapped around her body, shivering even though her skin burned with some sort of infection. She was most certainly not doing well and that was partly his fault. When he'd picked her up after knocking her out the second time, Minho had discovered a fat bump underneath her coily main of hair. Probably from the first time he'd knocked her out today. Shuck, that sounded bad. I mean, Minho reasoned, she was kind of asking for it.

Minho wasn't sure if she'd even live long enough to have the opportunity to experience it, but knowing how she acted before the Changing... let's just say he wasn't exactly excited to see how she'd act after.

Thea jerked in her slumber and Minho nearly dropped her. Her scream was buried in the fabric tied over her mouth, but Minho still heard the dulled howl. She might as well have twisted daggers into his ears.

As it turned out, Minho could navigate the maze while it was changing, though with some difficulty. After getting turned around more than once and cooking up a few Griever pancakes, they finally made it to the Doors. They'd been open for a while, Minho presumed, taking in the sun's position over the giant walls. Anyone that had been expecting, or rather hoping, for their return had given up and gone back to work in the Glade.

Wow, Minho scoffed, thanks guys! I appreciate your confidence in me.

Thea, who'd been still for what felt like no time, arched her back. Her neck lurched back as she wailed in delirious agony, which, by the way, makes a great dramatic entrance. Though Minho's arms begged for relief almost as much as his eyelids, he knew he looked pretty good walking in carrying an unconscious girl and was happy to milk it for all it was worth.

The Gladers' heads turned at the sound and soon enough, Minho had gathered a crowd without saying a word.

"How are you alive?"

"Woah, she looks like a zombie!"

"You can count on Minho to starve innocent Grievers!" Someone clapped his back.

"They're back?"

"We thought you were goners for sure!"

"What happened to you?"

Newt and Alby broke through the swarm of Gladers.

"Get the Medjacks!" Alby ordered. Minho gladly handed his burden over to the other boy.

"You gagged her? Really, Minho? She's not an animal!" Newt said while tearing away the fabric around Thea's mouth.

Minho wiped sweat off his brow and gave Newt an incredulous look. Of course Thea was quiet now! Shivering in Alby's arms like the victim of terrible abuse. For all he knew, she could be faking it to make Minho look bad. He wouldn't put it past her.

"I survive a night in the maze, the first one ever to do so I might add, and that's what you're worried about? No "how'd you do it, Minho?" or "are you alright, Minho?" Not even a, "I'm glad you're not dead, Minho!" No. Instead, you immediately lecture me on how gentlemanly I am?"

"You two, with me," Alby directed, cutting Newt off before he had a chance to reply. "The rest of you, back to work. We'll hold a Gathering later tonight. Gossip all you want until then, but be productive while you do it!"

Minho followed their leader to the Medhut, grumbling about how the unconscious one always gets all the attention, but not the guy who literally allowed her to be that way. Alive, he meant. Not unconscious. Although, that was his fault too...

Minho shook his head and dismissed the thoughts as Clint and Jeff ran to meet them.

"Shuck it all, she's been Stung!" Clint called to his partner. Jeff cursed and ran back to the Medhut, only returning after grabbing a syringe filled with vibrant blue liquid. He stabbed it into Thea's thigh. The good one, luckily.

Thea screamed, startling Alby so badly that he would've dropped her if Minho hadn't swooped in. The girl went rabid. She kicked and thrashed, howling in pain. The other boys each took a limb and carried her the rest of the way to the hut together.

The Gladers wrestled Thea onto the bed and fought against her arms and legs so Jeff could strap them down.

"Don't kill me!" Thea screamed, her eyes were wide open, but black and shone with a glaze that signified she saw nothing or wasn't conscious of it at least. "Get off me! I don't want to kill you! Go away! Stop! Get away from me!"

Minho cast a pointed look at Newt. Petty, but it got the point across.

"I can see why you gagged her!" Newt yelled over the noise.

Minho scoffed and shouted back, "Oh really?"

Clint procured a damp cloth and moved to cool Thea's forehead. With a terrible rip, Thea freed her hand from its binding using sheer force and caught the Medjack's neck in her fingers.

Jeff cursed. The boys all jumped in to help Clint. Minho and Jeff pried her fingers away from the other Medjack's neck while Newt and Alby held her back.

"We have to sedate her!" Jeff shouted. He left the other boys to fight her and plunged a second needle into her thigh. Thea fell still.

After a moment of quiet panting, Clint broke the silence. "The shuck is wrong with her?"

"She got Stung."

Newt glared at Minho. "Well, obviously. That's not what he meant."

Jeff replaced the restraints that she'd broken through while Clint, still unnerved, gathered bandages and shears. While the Medjacks cut through Thea's pants to expose and clean the wound, Alby stepped back to lean against the wall and said, "Minho? Care to explain?"

"Thought you'd never ask."