teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

1.21

after what seemed like her third day in a row participating in extreme sports, florence decided that she hated running. sweat dappled across her skin, glistening in the rare patches of sunlight they passed through, although the maze walls seemed to doa good job at keeping the shade constant.

sammy jogged beside her, chuck having left the two of them to run with thomas instead. every single time chuck picked thomas over her, a part of her heart crumpled in betrayal, but it was short-lived. chuck deserved a boy he could call his big brother, a boy who would do anything to protect him.

every few minutes, thomas would shout a new direction from the front of the group, and before flo knew it, she was whipping herself round to turn right. oftentimes, she was glad sammy held her hand, because in her daze filled with her own thoughts running wild, some of which happened to be a load of curse words at her exhausted legs, she nearly ran into the walls. on multiple occasions, if she might add.

florence was appalled at the sight of the maze, appalled that the maze looked even more different the deeper she went. when she'd entered with the exploratory crew last time, it hadn't been a far distance, but now... now she realized she was even luckier to not be a runner.

her heart tinged at the thought of her life as a medjack in the glade, at her life spent messing around with clint and jeff, all while taking care of the boys around her. it was exhausting being one of the only competent members of the glade, but it was also so rewarding, one of the prime examples being sammy.

without her role as medjack, sammy and her never would've gained the trust and relationship they had now. sure, they were naturally drawn together considering he was a young boy and she was the one female of the glade, the one girl who could offer love and care and guidance, but she also earned his respect when she did care for him. she earned his love when she loved him back, placing a bandaid on each one of his scrapes and cuts, or giving him a knowing smile every time he came in with new worries of different diseases and pathogens that could be infecting his body.

she squeezed sammy's hand a little bit tighter at that, looking down to survey the boy. his face was pinched, focused on the path ahead of them. sweat trickled down his forehead as well, his breaths heavy and fast as he tried to stay on his feet.

florence frowned at the sight, the gears beginning to turn in her head, but it seemed somebody else was on the same page as her.

antony took a larger leap to catch up with them, surprising florence as he found himself on the other side of sammy. "you tired, big guy?" he asked, his breath shallower than usual. it seemed this run, this escape, was taking a toll on everyone.

florence raised her brows as sammy shook away florence's hand. "yeah," he admitted, voice quiet through his exhaustion. his shoulders sagged ever so slightly, feet beginning to drag on the ground.

antony grabbed sammy, his hands wrapping around the small boy's waist as he picked him up and lifted him over his head so that sammy's legs rested on his chest. sammy settled, allowing himself to get comfortable from his new spot perched on antony's shoulders. "better, bud?"

sammy nodded, leaning forward to rest his chin on the top of antony's head. "mhm," he hummed, the effort to speak even seeming too much at this point.

"i would've," florence spoke up quietly, catching antony's eyes. she cleared her throat, shaking her injured arm. "i would've helped him, but—"

antony's laughter interrupted her. when antony caught sight of her flustered and surprised expression, he tried to soothe himself. "sorry," he quieted down. "sorry, sorry, it's just—i'm not judging you, florence. i'm not questioning your ability to care for this kid, trust me."