Rogue | Group B → The Maze Runner¹

ii.four

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● [ iv . the next day ]

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IT WAS ON the day of Serena's Sending that they found the dead Crawler.

The sun had reached its peak, beads of sweat catching in their eyes as Rogue and Miyoko sprinted through Section Eight. Rogue's breaths came quick and shallow, the memory of Sara encroaching as they neared the Drop.

Their abrupt halt interrupted her unease.

There, sprawled on the ground, was a Crawler. Its insectoid body lay twisted and broken, the segmented limbs laid in unnatural angles. Dark ichor oozed from gaps along its exoskeleton, and its lifeless eyes were dull and vacant.

Rogue felt her heart leap into her throat, a wave of fear crashing over her as she stared at the grotesque figure. Miyoko's hand gripped her arm tightly, both of them frozen in place. The Maze seemed to close in around them, the silence oppressive.

For a moment, Rogue believed it to be alive. But then she noticed the stillness. The Crawler wasn't moving. It wasn't breathing. Slowly, her fear began to drift away, replaced by a cautious curiosity.

'It's dead,' Rogue whispered, more to convince herself than to inform Miyoko. Her heart rate gradually slowed as she took a tentative step forward, her eyes fixed on the Crawler's form.

Miyoko released her grip and nodded, though her face remained pale. 'What do you think happened?' she asked, her voice trembling.

Rogue didn't answer immediately. She knelt beside the creature, examining each limb carefully. She had never seen one up close. 'I don't know,' Rogue finally replied. 'It doesn't look injured.'

She hesitated to touch it, the thought of its cold, chitinous skin repelling her. As she stood, a strange sense of satisfaction began to bubble within her. What if they were all dead? What if they could finally run the Maze without terror?

Rogue turned to Miyoko, a smile spreading across her face. 'Let's bunk,' she said, excitement creeping into her voice. 'Let's bunk and tell everyone as soon as we get back.'
'Really?'
Rogue nodded enthusiastically. 'This is the first thing that's happened in this klank Maze since we found the Drop. Come on, Miyoko - we have to.'
'You're the boss,' Miyoko replied, her arms folded across her chest.

Rogue took one last look at the dead Crawler. Maybe this is what the boy meant. Maybe everything was changing. She turned back, picking up a jog that became a run that became a sprint. Her pace was quickened by the thrill of their discovery, and her exhaustion peaked after an hour and a half of undisturbed running.

She and Miyoko had split up at the Maze entrance, Miyoko tasked with finding Sonya while Rogue made a beeline for Harriet. Rogue rushed into the Glen, a burning in her lungs and a stitch in her side.