Marooned | Maze Runner | Minho

11. 𝒜 𝒯𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝐹𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅.

Viya sat in her room on a makeshift chair she had made. She had used old water bottles and cans to make the base, then wrapped it in the thickest vines she could find. At first she didn't trust it, to be fair it was wobbly and sunk down when you sat in it, but the idea of chair grew on her and now she uses it daily. It's weird that a homemade chair could change someone's lifestyle so much, but being able to sit on a chair rather than the floor to eat was humanizing.

Viya continued to stare at the object she had received on that week's supply drop. She had asked for 'Light', she hadn't specified what she wanted, but she wasn't expecting what she got.

She had expected a flashlight, or maybe a candle. But instead she received an ancient looking oil lamp. And she wasn't sure how it worked. It couldn't be too hard, right?
Truthfully, it wasn't just the lamp Viya received, her request had been general enough that to her delight she had received what looked like to be everything she'd need. There was the actual lamp, some oil, and then some matches.

Viya picked up the lamp and twirled it in her hands, of course they didn't add any instructions.

As Viya let her mind attempt to work out how the lamp worked, she couldn't help but think of the blond boy.

"I hope he's okay..." She muttered.

Viya had gone back after the doors had closed last night to see if the boy was found, and luckily he wasn't there anymore.

"I don't know why he'd do it. He gets to live in the Glade, they have everything." Viya said bitterly.
She was jealous. She'd never admit it, but she missed the security of the glade.

"I think his leg was definitely broken...I mean the way it was bent was so..." A shiver ran down Viya's spine as she thought about it. "With all the supplies in the Glade, he has to be okay." She concluded, trying to convince herself he was okay.

The boy was the first person she had ever truly interacted with since she had been banished, and it made her uncomfortable, yet at the same time she yearned for more.

Viya fiddled with the lamp, and eventually she noticed some writing that was printed onto it.

'For oil only' It read.

Viya spun it around one last time before she realized she could unscrew the top. Inside was a small container, which she concluded was meant for the oil. Viya carefully opened the oil and poured it in, she didn't want any of it to spill.

She stopped when the lamp was half full, she then screwed on the top.

"Do I just light it now?" She asked herself. "Better to do it later, I don't want to waste any matches."

Viya gently set the lamp down.

And no matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake the boy from her mind, it's like he had a permanent place there, and he was refusing to move.

—-----

Viya had been in the pit for fifteen hours, at first she tried yelling, but eventually her voice got sore and she realized it was no use.

When Minho had returned that evening, he was not expecting the news he had heard. Jax had wanted to have the keeper meeting as soon as Minho had gotten back, but they had decided to leave it for today.

Now Minho was heading towards homestead, his heart beating out of his chest. He had to save Viya.

As Minho entered the room, the first thing he noticed was how the normal chatter before meetings wasn't there. Instead, all the keepers were gathered around, either staring off into space or hanging their heads down low. It was only Jax who kept his head up high. Alby was by Jax's side, but the boy usually stayed quiet during gatherings, only because Jax had told him that he should watch rather than do.