Different (The Maze Runner)

Chapter 5

After working all day I am exhausted, I eat quickly then go right to my hammock then fall asleep. The following day I work as a Builder. Then a Medjack. Then a Slicer. Then a Bagger. Then a Slopper. Then, after being in the Glade for eight days, my job is finally selected.

Alby called a Gathering, so that's where we are right now. Sitting in the Homestead with all the other Gladers waiting for my job to be decided. I'm sitting next to Minho. I quietly ask him "hey, I didn't see you while I was trying the jobs, what do you do?"

"I'm a Runner."

A Runner? I never got to try that.

"I missed a job. I never tried that."

He shakes his head. "Too dangerous. You get selected, you don't try it."

"What do Runners even do?"

"Run the Maze, looking for a way out."

I've made my own decision. "I wanna be a Runner."

He looks at me and says "no. You've gotta stay in the Glade, where it's safe."

Like I'm safe in the Glade. "I want to be a Runner. I can handle it."

Alby approaches the front of the group. "Okay, our greenie here, Coyote, has tried all the different jobs. It's time for us to choose."

I say "I want to be a Runner."

Everyone looks at me like I've got two heads.

Newt says "Coyote no one wants to be a Runner."

"I do."

Alby says "it's not a good idea."

"I can handle it. C'mon, let me try it. One day. I'll prove myself."

He looks at Minho and says "you're the Keeper, make a decision."

Minho looks at me, and I can tell he's already planning to say no.

I say "give me a chance."

"Okay, how about this. We'll race around the Glade. If you beat me, it means you're fast and you've got what it takes, so I'll let you try it. But if I win, we pick your job today."

I nod and say "alright, let's do this."

Everyone gets up as the two of us exit the Homestead.

"Alby, you wanna make sure no one cheats?"

Alby nods and says "around the Glade, right next to the walls at all times. First one back wins. You guys ready?"

Minho and I both nod.

"GO!"

We both take off running. By the time we turn the first corner, Minho's slightly in the lead. I take a deep breath and steady my breathing. While I'm running I feel... free. I feel like myself. I guess I liked to run. I slowly catch up to Minho, and by the time we turn the second corner we're running side by side. I look at him, and I can hear something.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

It takes me a second to realize that's his heartbeat. I can hear his heartbeat. And I can smell his sweat. Ugh, it's gross. How can I even smell that stuff?

By the time we turn the third corner, I speed up a little. I take the lead and run so fast I can't even see the Glade. It's all a blur. I turn the final corner while Minho's only half-way across the wall, and I run back to the Homestead.

Newt says "holy klunk."

"Did I win?"

"Not only did you win, you look perfectly fine. You're not sweating or breathing heavily, you look like you just took a jog to the Box. How are you unaffected by that?"