Nepenthe (TMR FF) UNDER EDITING

Chapter 38

"Hey Em. What're you doing?" Chuck asked, walking over to me. I was sitting at a table in the homestead, absentmindedly plaiting my hair in an attempt to distract myself from my own thoughts. My head shot up as I heard the younger boy approach, and I flashed him a weak smile.

"Nothing...What do you think about all this, Chuck?" I asked, gesturing to the Glader's surrounding us, who were gathering up everything that they could for the mission ahead of us. Chuck shrugged, trying to seemed unfazed by the whole ordeal. His eyes told another story, however.

"I actually was talking to Thomas about it just before. I'm not all that scared, really." He told me, taking a mouthful of food. I hadn't even noticed that he had any until now. I was too worried to eat anything.

"I am." I admitted, as I continued to plait my hair. Chuck paused, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"How can you be scared? You've spent a night in the Maze!" Two actually. "I bet you could kick some Griever butts!"

I laughed quietly, smiling fondly at his innocent obliviousness. "I was hiding. I didn't have to run from one like Thomas did." I lied, glancing over at Thomas. He was gazing around at the other Gladers, eating his meal quietly. "Besides, it's not what's in the Maze that scares me. It's what's out there when we get out."

Chuck seemed to consider this, nodding along. "Yeah, I heard from a few others that the world has gone to klunk."

"Yeah...I'm sure that there's someone out there who will care about us, though. We just have to find them." I finally said, patting Chuck on the back.

"That's what Thomas said—"

A commotion from the other side of the room interrupted Chuck, and when I looked over to see what it was, my heart leapt in my chest. Newt and Alby were gathering people up and telling them that it was time to go. This was it. We were actually going to try and escape the Maze. There was a chance that we could escape forever. We could finally be free.

I looked over at Chuck who's eyes were suddenly filled with unmasked fear, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder in reassurance.

"We'll be fine, okay? I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Chuck smiled, grabbing his backpack. I did the same, and we walked with the other Glader's over to the West Door.

Thomas, Minho and Teresa were waiting for us when we all got there, the Asian boy sending me a quick smile.

"You shanks ready?" Minho asked when we reached them. "Thomas, this was all your idea, so it better work. If not, I'll kill ya before the Grievers can."

"Thanks," Thomas muttered, turning to Teresa and talking quietly to her. I sighed to myself, swaying my arms at my sides nervously.

When Newt had finally arrived, everyone went silent. "Make sure you've got your weapons. Other than that, isn't a whole lot to buggin' say—you've all been told the plan. We're gonna fight our way through to the Griever Hole, and Tommy here's gonna punch in his little magic code and then we're gonna get payback on the Creators. Simple as that."

I frowned slightly. It would never be as simple as that.

"Shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?" Minho asked, smirking to himself. I raised my eyebrows. This should be good.

"Go ahead." Newt muttered, gesturing for him to continue.

Minho nodded and faced the crowd. "Be careful," he said dryly. "Don't die."

I snorted loudly, making Minho grin at me.

"Great. We're all bloody inspired," Newt answered, then pointed over his shoulder, toward the Maze. "You all know the plan. Tonight we're taking the fight back to the Creators, no matter what we have to go through to get there. Tonight the Grievers better be scared."

Despite the shouts that had begun to arise from the other Glader's, dread washed through me like a flash flood. I felt as helpless as I did when I woke up in the box on my first day.

I watched as Thomas roared with the other Glader's, bouncing on the balls of his feet. All they were doing was bringing attention to themselves. If the Griever's hadn't known they were coming, then they definitely did now.

"Hear that, Creators? We're coming!" Newt yelled, thrusting his weapon into the air.

With that, he turned and ran into the Maze, his limp barely noticeable in that one moment. I wanted to cry, to run back to the homestead and lock myself in a cabin and go to sleep.

"Come on Emma, we're getting out of here." Chuck said, grabbing my hand and pulling me into a light job. I bit my lip. How is it that a twelve year old boy is less scared then I was right now? "You can do it, okay?"

Despite everything, I smiled.

Chuck and I kept a steady pace with Thomas and Teresa, and despite hating her right now, I decided to put everything we had aside. There would be no use fighting at this time, and I assume she understood that as well, because when we reached her, she gave me a tight smile, followed by a surprisingly reassuring nod. I guess we were on the same page; neither of us wanted to die.

The rest of the group was spread out across the Maze corridor, running at a quick, yet steady pace. They weren't Runner's, and I could already see that they were getting tired, yet none of them slowed. Chuck's pants came out fast and uneven, and I glanced sideways at him, making sure he was alright. He turned his head slightly, giving me a pained smile. I couldn't smile back.

Minho and Thomas started to slow, the latter of the two holding his hand up to signal the rest of us to stop. Minho looked to my brother, his face contorting in horror. My heart skipped a beat, until it felt like it stopped completely.

"Do you hear that?" Minho asked. Thomas and I shook our heads, and I placed a reassuring hand on Chucks shoulder.

Minho crept forward, slowly poking his head around the next corner. I opened my mouth, about to ask him what he could see, before he shot backwards, his breathing coming out hard.

"Oh, no." He whispered to himself, staring at Thomas. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, pressing his chapped lips together.

And that's when we heard it; the heart stopping sounds of the Grievers.