Marooned | Maze Runner | Minho

76. 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃.

Viya raised the spoon to her mouth and slurped up the soup. They had no heat, so she was forced to have cold soup. It was nothing new though, she had done it many times before back in the maze and in the scorch. She had grown spoiled at the base with her warm bed and hot food. Yet she was surprised how fast she resorted to her old ways.

Through the windows Viya could see the wall that separated the gleaming city from the slums. She could see the main entry point with the big machine guns that blasted fire at the rats. If she could just get out of this dreadful building she could be back at base in less than a day.

She had spent the whole day thinking about ways to escape yet every time she came up empty handed. They couldn't dig, climb, or jump their way out. There were no alternative routes, they were simply stuck.

And that simple fact was eating away at Viya by the hour.

"I'm gonna head to bed," Minho approached Viya, "You okay taking the first watch again?"
"Yep." Viya said as she turned back to her soup.

The sun set faster these days, the more she thought about it the more she realized it was probably because it was winter. It didn't feel like winter though, the sun flares had done a good job of taking care of that. The weather might've cooled by a few degrees, but there was no snow or hail, not even rain.

Viya stood up from her spot by the window, she discarded her can in the garbage can as she passed by. She began to pace around the building, walking up and down the halls as she let her thoughts take control. Her excuse was that she was looking for cranks but that was one big lie. She just wanted to be alone.

It was sort of refreshing to not have to worry about cranks, she was able to not be as on edge as she usually was. She was still slightly on edge but that was to be expected.

A few hours had passed before she returned to the pain portion of the building. She pushed open the door and tried to close it as quietly as she could. Minho was a heavy sleeper anyways.

She expected to hear nothing, maybe Minho snores but instead she heard someone muttering loud enough for her to hear it from a distance.

She crept carefully through the building half expecting to see a deranged crank around the corner.
Instead she saw Minho curled up into a ball on the couch, he gripped the blanket tightly as he muttered things that Viya could not decipher.

Viya took a step towards him, "Minho?" She asked gently.

Nothing.

"Minho?" She took another step.

Still nothing.

The boy was fast asleep, no doubt having a nightmare of some kind.

Viya crouched down beside him, "Minho, hey." She said gently.

The boy stayed silent.

She didn't want to wake him, what if he was fine and got mad at her for waking him?

Viya went to stand up but she was stopped by a hand grasping her wrist.

"Don't go." Minho begged, "Please."
Viya stopped and stared at the boy. He sounded so scared, so gentle.

She slowly walked back towards him, she grabbed his hand gently in both hands.

"I'm here." She comforted.

—-

"Viya," Minho said gently.

Viya blinked her eyes open, the morning sun shone into the lounge illuminating the room with its pink rays.

Viya sleepily looked back at the boy, her brain taking a moment to process what was going on.

She was sitting on the floor next to the couch, she was holding Minho's hand tightly.

Shit, she thought. She must've fallen asleep.

Viya tried to think of an excuse but no words came out of her mouth.
"What were you doing?" Minho asked, his voice holding a hint of mischief.

"Nothing." Viya answered.

"Doesn't seem like nothing."
"You were having a nightmare." Viya said honestly, "I didn't want you to feel alone." she added sheepishly.

"You didn't have to." Minho said as he looked away.

"But I wanted to." Viya said earnestly, "I know you'd do the same for me."
Viya looked down and realized she was still holding his hand, she quickly pulled away, slightly embarrassed that she had kept holding onto him even after he had woken up.

The street pigeons squawked as they flied through the crisp morning air, they called out to one another as they scavenged the streets for scraps.

Viya looked down at her hands, she had taken off the bandages yesterday but her palms were still covered in tiny pale scars.

The scars gave her an odd feeling of happiness. WCKD had taken all of her other ones away and she had almost enjoyed seeing them come back. She wondered if that was why she had been taking so many risks lately, maybe she didn't care what happened to her anymore. Or maybe she realized that she couldn't hide from her problems anymore and sometimes you had to face things head on.

"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" Viya asked softly.

Minho nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"
The boy hesitated before he started speaking, "I was back in WCKD, they were experimenting on me again, only this time they weren't stopping. They just kept taking. My blood, my teeth, my skin, everything. And then somehow a griever appeared and I had to run from it but I couldn't run for the life of me and it just kept chasing me for what felt like hours."
"I get them too." Viya answered. "Sometimes I'll be back in the maze or with my father. Other times I'll be back with WCKD." Viya looked down at her hands as she spoke, "What I'm trying to say is that I understand...and you can talk to me." Viya said quietly, "I know I'm a bitch to you, and I've been mean and terrible and I'm sorry."

Minho paused, "It's not like I've been perfect either." Minho said honestly, "You know I don't think I've ever heard you apologize before."

"I've been trying." Viya said, "It's hard, but I'm trying."
"I feel like I have more to apologize for, but if it makes you feel better I won't stop you." Minho paused, "I'm sorry to."
Viya turned around to look at the boy, his eyes were earnest and kind, she looked at his face for a long time. Minho returned her gaze and for a while they simply stared at each other, their faces inches apart, their hearts closer than ever.