Marooned | Maze Runner | Minho

61.𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒?

"Yo!" A voice called from across the room, "Lawrence wants to see you two!"
Viya looked around before pointing to herself.

"Yeah, you, now hurry up, and bring the boy with you!"

Viya glanced towards Gally before stumbling to her feet, the boy followed close behind.
"What do you think he wants?" Gally asked Viya.

"How should I know?"

Gally shrugged, "Cut me some slack, Viya." He said, "...you don't think we're in trouble, do you?"

"Have you done anything?" She questioned.

"Not that I can think of...the worst I've done is hidden Felix's shoes. Have you done anything?"
"Me? Trouble? I don't even know her."

Gally snorted.

The pair continued to make their way to Lawrence's office, but Viya could feel her stomach getting tighter with each step she took.

They eventually entered his office, and the tension was thick.

"Ah, just the pair I was looking for," Lawrence greeted, "Please feel free to have a seat."

Viya did as she was told, sitting on the edge of the tattered red couch as she twiddled with her fingers anxiously.

Lawrence slowly poured three cups of tea, taking his time to mix the drink carefully as if to add suspense. The man eventually turned back around and handed the prepared drinks to the teens. He took his time sitting down in an old leather chair across from the kids, taking a long sip of his drink before he finally spoke.

"I suppose you're wondering why I asked for you two to meet me." He said, "You'll be happy to know you're not in trouble, I simply have a question to ask."
Viya leaned forward, unable to guess what Lawrence was going to ask.

"A few of my guys think they've found a route into the city, but they'd stand out too much if they went." Lawrence explained, "That's why I wanted to ask if you two would be interested in going on a little mission of sorts."

Viya paused. "...you want us to sneak into the city?"
"I know it's a lot to ask of you two, but I do believe you two are the best for the job." Lawrence reasoned, "I'll give you two some time to think it over and–"
"We'll do it." Viya interrupted.

"We will?" Gally questioned.

"We will." Viya repeated.

"Oh well um in that case," Lawrence turned around and snatched a piece of paper off of his desk, "Why don't you two study this map for a bit and learn the layout."
"Wait–what exactly is our goal here?" Gally asked.

"See if you can get into the city, then report back on its current state, after that I'll send a few more teams in before the finale."

Viya nodded as she took the piece of paper out of Lawrences hands.

The pair said their goodbyes as they rushed out of the room, excited to prepare for their upcoming mission. As Viya was on the way back to her room, a certain someone stopped her.

"Why were you in Lawrence's office?" Kade asked.

"He wanted to see me."
"About what? And why was Gally with you?" Kade grabbed her arm.

Viya yanked her arm away, "Why does it matter to you?"
"I don't want you hanging around guys when I'm not with you."
"I'm not your property, you know that right? You can't dictate who I talk to." Viya barked.

Kade grumbled as he took a step back. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He mumbled.

"Like Lawrence or Gally would ever hurt me"

"I just want to keep you safe." Kade said gently as he stepped closer to Viya so their faces were just inches apart.

"What did Lawrence want anyways?" Kade asked.

"He thinks they've found a way into the city and wants me and Gally to check it out."
"For real?" Kade exclaimed excitedly.

Viya nodded.

"That's amazing!" Kade said excitedly before an awkward silence followed. "Can I...kiss you?" He asked.

Viya hesitated. Kade clearly felt a connection between them, yet Viya didn't feel like she reciprocated his feelings. But he had done so much for her, didn't she at least owe him this?

"Okay." She said.

—---------

The walls of Viya's small room surrounded her warmly. She had spent her entire day running through the maze and her body was utterly exhausted. Watcher sat nicely on his small chair as Viya laid on her handmade bed, staring up at the stone ceiling.

"Do you believe in love?" She asked. "I like to think it's real, but I'm beginning to doubt its existence. Do you think the gladers ever loved me? They used to treat me kindly...as if I was one of them...I thought I loved them." Viya admitted, "I thought we were family, you know? We bonded over being stuck in the same place, ate meals together, laughed together." Viya paused. "...I guess they were lying the entire time." She said quietly.

Viya rolled over in her bed to face Watcher.

"Maybe I just can't be loved..."

After a long pause she finally spoke again.

"...Or maybe the gladers just can't love." Viya stared up at the ceiling. "Maybe love is just one big hoax anyways...I'll be better off alone, I don't need a single person to love me. I have you, and you have me, and that's enough." She said, "When I get us out of here, I'm gonna find us the nicest of nice places to stay, somewhere by a forest...and we'll live in a treehouse, so nothing can kill us in our sleep...and we'll live by a pond too, so we can catch fish. And we will get a dog, a loyal, big dog, one that will never leave our side and fight off coyotes for us." Viya fantasized, "Yeah...That's what I'll do."