Runner of Group D (Maze Runner fanfic)

Chapter 10

Sandra was in the Field. The sky was a blistering red, black smoke hovering in the air like clouds. She took a step and heard a splash, assuming she had accidentally stepped into the pond. But when she looked down, all she could see was red. Blood collected in small puddles, but the stone was permanently stained red.

Sandra looked around, now noticing something even more horrifying. Bodies. Hundreds of bodies lying on the ground, their blood completely drained onto the ground. Multiple wounds covered some, as if they were jabbed by a knife a hundred times. Some bodies torn completely apart, like Thalia on that horrible night.

Sandra felt the air being ripped out of her lungs. The victims were all girls. The same girls she had seen and lived with for the past year. In the uncovered graveyard around her, she saw Carol, eyes glassy. A slight turn to her right and she saw Paige, her dark brown hair now a sickening color of red. Marge, Psych, Luce, Maxi. She saw them all.

Sandra glanced down at her feet and saw Jen. Her eyes were open. Judging by her expression, she had screamed before dying. What scared the last one alive in this onslaught wasn't the girl's pale look, but the weapon that had killed her. Imbedded in her chest was Sandra's katana, reflecting the horrible scene in its mirror-like blade.

"You should have listened to her." Sandra whirled around. In front of her stood Leo, a cruel and evil look in his eyes. He was drenched from head to toe with blood, a bloody knife in each of his hands. An army of Grievers waited behind him, clacking and clinking with approval. "You should have listened to Jen." The last thing Sandra saw was Leo leaping toward her, weapons aimed at her heart.

* * *

Sandra screamed as she woke up. Immediately after, she covered her mouth. It was still dark outside. Everyone was fast asleep. Sandra double-checked to make sure they weren't dead. She couldn't shake the horrible feeling in her gut, the eery sense of "what if." A lot of things could happen, but that didn't need to be one of them.

Unable, though mostly afraid, to go back to sleep, Sandra walked over to the Forest of the Dead. Probably the worst place to go, after such a horrible dream of death. Fact was, there wasn't really any good place to go after a dream like that. Her point was to get away from everyone. And the Forest of the Dead was the best place to do that.

She stepped into the woods, the world somehow getting even darker. Sandra kept walking, trying to clear her head. But the more she tried, the more it pained her. The more it crowded her mind. The more it wiped out the good thoughts she was trying to replace it with. All she could do was stop thinking and walk.

Sandra stopped in a small clearing, where the graveyard lay. Each tombstone was a little different, but all were designed by the same Tomber. People were allowed to add on to Mourner's work, but the main pieces were designed by the girl herself. Mourner had originally been known as Pearl, but it was changed when she appeared to be more of the somber type. She got her own classification, Tomber, and worked in secret from then on.

Sandra stared at Thalia's tomb. It was a simple plaque with a summary of her work as the Keeper of the Runners. The tomb was outlined with an intricate carving design, something like vines and flowers. Sandra had added a few things to the grave herself, including daffodils that grew around the stone.

She turned to look at Cherry's grave. As if to continue teasing her about her chosen name, the stone was shaped like a cherry pie. Her life story was carved into the top of the stony dessert, cherries added in here and there. Flour had come here recently, a fresh bouquet of wild flowers decorating the grave.

"Sandra?" Sandra looked up swiftly, her eyes darting around the trees. She knew she hadn't dreamt the voice, but she couldn't see anything in this darkness. Almost like a dream, Leo appeared from behind the trees. Or like her nightmare, he came out of nowhere, ready to slaughter. The Runner took a step back, staring at him with uncertainty.