Marooned | Maze Runner | Minho

29. 𝑅𝑒𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒𝒹.

Viya was back in the maze. She hadn't enjoyed her day off as much as she thought she would. She liked running, it was something that let her turn her brain off, and most days, that was what she needed.

She was much more careful than she usually was, she made her footsteps as quiet as possible, and made sure to listen to any sound that would echo through the maze.

She was heading over to section seven today, she hadn't been over there in a while, and she also wanted to see a newer environment, not that any section felt that different from the last.

She entered section seven, she could see the Blades up ahead, but she decided to turn left instead. The Blades had nothing special for Viya to see, it was just an open area with metal sticks dotted around. She preferred the side hallways, they were very narrow, and some areas had vines so thick that she had to cut her way through them. She had always been drawn to the corridors of section seven, she couldn't help but feel that they were hiding something. Something important.

As Viya stalked through the hallways, she kept her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Ever since her experience with the voice in her head, she had been itching to get out of the maze. If she was hearing voices, she clearly needed to get out of this place. An easier solution would've been Viya going back to the Glade and getting some much needed socializing. But when had Viya ever taken the easy route?

Viya stopped as she looked up at the long entanglement of ivy in front of her. She couldn't see through the bundle of vines, and the greenery stretched as high as she could see.

"I guess I really only have one choice..." Via muttered as she pulled out Minho's griever knife.

The long machete had proven to be helpful in these types of situations.

Viya swung the weapon over her shoulder and brought it down onto the vines. She slashed and sliced through the thick vines, but after five minutes of continuous hacking, she saw no change in the vines. She had cut so many down, yet it almost seemed as if it had gotten thicker.

Viya went to slash the ivy again, when a rumble shook the floor. At first, Viya didn't pay any attention to it. This wasn't the first time the maze had randomly started to shake. But when the ground did it again...and again, getting more intense each time, Viya knew something was up.

Viya looked around, she was about to turn around when another shake rippled through the ground, it was so intense that Viya could see the actual walls shaking and rocks fell from the walls. Viya started to run the way she had come, dodging falling rocks, but the hallway was so narrow that it was a minefield.

She continued to run as fast as she could, desperate to get out of there and back to her room–back to Watcher.

More and more rocks continued to fall from the sky, Viya could see the end of the hallway, and she was almost there when the most aggressive rumble shook the ground. Viya fell to the ground, her black locks falling in front of her face.

Her heart was racing and her breathing was heavy, she had to get out of there.

Viya was about to get back on her feet when a large rock came falling down. She quickly rolled to the side, narrowly missing the boulder.

She scrambled up, she glanced down at her scraped up knees and saw little rocks were buried in her scrapes and cuts. But Viya didn't have time to worry about that, she had to get to safety first.

Viya ran forwards, and as she exited the narrow hallway, out of the corner of her eye she saw Minho and another boy panting on the ground. Viya's eyes involuntarily narrowed out of hatred. What was he doing here?

...Did he have something to do with this?

—-----

Teresa could feel the eyes on her as she walked through the glade towards the kitchen for her lunch. She couldn't help but become self conscious and she awkwardly rubbed her arms as she walked, she had the overwhelming urge to hide.

She eventually reached the kitchens.

"Can I have some um..." Teresa glanced around trying to decide what she'd like, "Oranges, please." She said meekly.

Sure." Frypan said as he reached behind and grabbed two plump oranges.

Teresa grabbed them and smiled politely, but inside she wanted to die. She had only been awake for two days yet she already wanted to barf at the sight of a boy. They wouldn't stop looking at her, and she'd do anything to make them stop. Teresa glanced around at the picnic tables that boys crowded into. She watched as some boys scootched over and patted the empty spots, motioning for her to sit down. While another table shifted closer together, closing in the small gaps that were between them.

'Great...' Teresa thought.

Truth be told, she didn't really want to sit with anyone anyways.

The girl walked towards the trees, she searched through the foliage for a while before she spotted a nice enough stump. Silence at last.

The past days had been hard, she hadn't been given a moment to herself, she was constantly being bombarded with questions and boys asking if she was alright. How could she be alright?
She was alone.

Isolated.

Teresa picked at her oranges, she wasn't actually hungry, but she knew she had to eat. She'd find a way to stomach the sweetness of the fruit.

Not every boy was bad, there were a few good ones. She liked Thomas a lot. He was easy to talk to, and she couldn't help but feel an invisible string tying them together. Newt was fine, she didn't mind him. The med-jacks were good company, she would often find herself in the med-shack looking for things to do. Clint would chat with her, she actually enjoyed talking to him, Jeff was a little quieter, but still nice nonetheless. Nash was a little more strange though...He'd act all nice to her face, but she'd often catch him staring—no, glaring at her.

And he wasn't the only one.

Teresa had noticed something in the stares she got, not all of them were out of bewilderment, some were out of dislike, she'd even caught some scowls. Even the nicest of boys treated her weird, it was almost like she was in someone's place. She had tried to ask Newt about it, but he had completely ignored her.

She had even heard some boys muttering "do you think she's going to turn out like the last one?"

What did they mean by 'the last one', as far as Teresa knew, she was the only girl to ever be in the glade, so why was everyone acting like she wasn't?
Deep down, Teresa knew something was up. There was something that she wasn't being told. And she desperately wanted to find out.

What secret was rooted in the glade that she wasn't being told?