Marooned | Maze Runner | Minho

8. 𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝒢𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝑀𝑜𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒶𝓉𝑜𝓇

Viya sat up in her bed with a groan. Every morning she woke up to the sound of the doors shaking open. She had gotten used to the sound of the maze changing and grievers screeching at night, but for some reason she could never ignore the doors and go back to sleep.

Maybe it was because she still associated them with being a runner, or maybe it was because they reminded her of getting banished. She tried not to think about it.

She tried not to think about a lot of things, like the glade, Minho, the maze, grievers. She tried hard to focus her thoughts on the present, but when she'd lay down at night those thoughts always seemed to resurface.

Viya got to her feet, she shuffled over to her pile of food and opened a granola bar and slowly started to eat.

It was supply day today, so before she went out to run she had to go collect her things. The deliveries were the one true representation of time. Viya glanced towards the wall next to the door. She had started to carve a line into the wall after she made it back in the evening. She was able to roughly estimate how long she had been in here by remembering the deliveries. It probably wasn't accurate, but it was close enough.

At times she found the wall depressing, as if it was taunting her. But it also gave her hope, because it showed her that she had done it before so she could do it again.
Viya creeped out the door, looking both ways before she fully exited. She walked the familiar path to the hole, backpack in hand.

It wasn't a long walk by any means, but if you didn't know the path well enough you'd certainly get lost. There were many twists and turns, and many forks that led to dead ends, one didn't have to question why no one bothered coming this way, there was nothing significant. Well, except for Viya's lifeline.

She reached the hole and opened the hatch casually. Inside there was the usual food and water, but at the back was the special item she had requested. A medium sized first aid kit was shoved into the small box, and Viya had to tug on it before it finally came out.

It wasn't that she needed the kit now, but it was one of those things that was useful to have on hand.

Viya opened the first aid kit and glanced inside. There was gauze, tap, tweezers, a small pair of scissors, bandaids, bandages, disinfectant wipes, a vial of griever serum, and a bottle of alcohol solution with cotton pads.

It was all the basics, and Viya could imagine what all the items could be useful for. Safe to say she was happy with her request.

Viya stuffed her items into the backpack and she started to walk back.

Her plan was to drop her stuff off at her abode, then she'd head out running. And it was all going well until she turned one of the final corners.

She wasn't paying much attention as she walked, she had no reason to. Grievers were never out in the day and runners had never come this way before.

But, to her surprise, a mechanical griever loomed over her. At first they both were stunned to see each other, but it didn't take long for Viya to bolt past it towards her hideout. The griever didn't move for a second, as if it was waiting for permission to, but fifteen seconds later it booted to life and started chasing after Viya.

The girl panted as she skidded around corners, she hadn't ran like this in weeks, and it was obvious.

The griever was slowly catching up as she was in the final stretch. The griever used the straight path to its advantage and started to gain speed. Viya fell onto the floor of her room and as she looked back she watched as the griever tried to use its longest claw to get her.

She pushed herself back into the corner as she caught her breath. What would she had done if she'd gotten caught? Die? Was that her only option?

Maybe death is what was right for her. What was there to live for in the maze? And after all, there was a reason she was banished.

And even if Viya never acknowledged it, she still knew what she did. And it was an invisible weight that she'd always have to carry.

It occurred to Viya in that moment the severity of her situation, the maze wasn't going to allow her to make mistakes, even if they were as minor as not checking a corner before she turned it. If she wanted to live she'd have to be careful, it was the only option.

Viya had once protected herself with plans, but there were only so many things that you can plan for. Maybe she'd have to build walls.

If she'd build her walls strong enough, at least they'd protect her. Maybe that's why the maze had so many indestructible walls, for protection.

She'd never abandon her preparations, but maybe one form of protection just wasn't enough.

No, two wasn't enough either.

If she wanted to survive and defy those who had wronged her, she'd need more. She needed to be strong, the strongest, the fastest, the best.

She had to be the best if she wanted to live.

It was the only way.

—-----

Thomas and Teresa both worked independently on their own computers. Teresa was tinkering with the glade mechanics, and Thomas was watching the cameras.

The door clicked open as Dr.Ava Paige entered the room.

"How is she doing?" The doctor asked.

The teens looked up, they didn't have to think about who Paige was asking about.

"She's doing fine as far as we can tell." Thomas answered.

"You should see the killzone patterns!" Teresa said excitedly.

Ms.Paige walked over to Teresa's computer, the young girl quickly pulled up Viyas patterns.

Ava studied the chart.

"Those are higher than the ones in the safe zone." Ava concluded.

"By a lot too."
"I have to say, you two sure had a good idea with her getting stung." Paige complimented.

Thomas looked down, an odd feeling of guilt plaguing him. "Well, we didn't intend for her to get banished."
"It all worked out though, I'd even say it was better than our original idea." Teresa countered.

"I have one question though," The doctor said. "Who do you plan to be the trigger? Because it certainly can't be Viya anymore."
The teens looked at each other, they had thought briefly on who would make the best candidate, but they had never agreed on a solid candidate.

"We were going to look back on the final test scores and go from there."
"Hm." Ava said. "Alright, come find me when you make your decision." Dr.Paige walked out, the door shutting behind her.