𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞.

11| Again

Someone knocked loudly on my door, jolting me awake. My heart raced as I glanced over at Teresa, still fast asleep. Groaning, I dragged myself to the door.

"Seriously, again?" I muttered as I opened it. Minho stood there, grinning.

"Sorry, hear me out. Me and Thomas are going into the Maze," he said. "Again..." I sighed.

"Shh, let me finish! So, I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

"Are you crazy?"

"Yeah, so? You know that," he shot back with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, sure," I scoffed, closing the door behind me. I grabbed my gear and headed outside, where they were already waiting.

"Really," Thomas said, his tone flat. Oh, great, here we go again.

"Please," I shot back, not in the mood for more of his attitude.

"Her? Out of all people?" Thomas glanced at Minho.

"Well, everyone else decided they didn't want to be a Runner anymore, and I want to see if this Griever device actually does any work. "

As the massive Maze doors creaked open, the three of us readied ourselves. Minho cracked his knuckles, the grin on his face making it clear he was ready to run.

"We're really doing this?" I asked, glancing between them.

"What else?" Minho replied, already dashing in.

I followed quickly, Thomas lagged behind a bit, and I focused on staying close to Minho, though I wasn't entirely sure where he was leading us.

We'd been running for what felt like forever—almost like years. The Maze, despite being a living nightmare, had its moments where it almost looked... peaceful. But that didn't change the fact that it was hell.

We finally reached Section 7, our pace slowing as we stopped, shifting into a walk.

"That's strange," Minho muttered.

"What?" Thomas asked, looking around.

"Seven's not supposed to be open for another week."

"What the hell is this place?" Thomas questioned.

I chimed in, "We call them the Blades."

Thomas didn't respond, didn't even glance my way. His eyes were locked on something. There it was—a shirt, stained with blood. Oh no, please don't tell me that's...

"It's Ben's, isn't it?" Thomas said quietly as Minho picked it up.

"Yeah," Minho whispered, the sadness was clear in his voice.. "A Griever must've dragged him down here."

Suddenly, a strange sound filled the air, like something powering up. We all froze, tension tightening around us.

Thomas turned to Minho, grabbing his shoulder roughly. "Whoa, hey!" Minho exclaimed, surprised. But Thomas wasn't paying attention to that—he pulled out the Griever device. It was beeping, the sound growing louder.

"I think it's showing us the way," Thomas said, eyes narrowed as he studied the device. He glanced back at both of us—or maybe just at Minho.

Without another word, they began walking, and I followed close behind. Somehow, Thomas seemed to know exactly where we were headed.

The noise was strange—a clicking, beeping sound that sent shivers down my spine. I wasn't sure this was safe, but we kept moving forward. We entered an area I had never seen before, a narrow bridge that led toward what looked like a wall with door, but something about it felt... different.