Runner of Group D (Maze Runner fanfic)

Chapter 11

Sandra hacked, feeling the water in her lungs came back up. She continued to cough, spitting up more water. Her eyes flew open, everything in front of her a blur. Too much color. Too much movement.

"Sandra!" Her eyelashes fluttered as she tried to clear her vision. All of a sudden, she could feel herself being lifted up into a sitting position. Someone grabbed her and squeezed.

Sandra could finally see properly. The sun was just rising, the Doors going to open any minute now. She was sitting by the pond, still choking on the disgusting water she had swallowed by the gallon. Her head rested on someone's shoulder, the same person who was hugging her really tight. Her throat hurt incredibly, probably bruised in the shape of Jen's hands.

"Oh gosh. I thought you were dead." Sandra could now recognize the voice, along with the fact it was coming from the same person hugging her.

"Leo?" Her voice came out choppy and cracked, but it did the trick. Leo held her at arm's length now, a look of relief on his face. Sandra knew she looked like a goldfish, her eyes wide as she stared back at him. Then she started to hear other voices.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Leo, give me some room." Sandra sighed with relief when she heard that. Shocking, cause whenever Florence came into play, she would baby people 'til they wondered if they really were teenagers and not toddlers.

Florence immediately came into view, her focused, yet concerned, eyes trained on Sandra. She touched the girl's neck gingerly. Sandra immediately moved away, her throat aching in that area. Florence brought her right back, holding her head firm as she touched and poked her neck.

"Your neck bruised, but it should go away," she noted. "Can you talk?"

"Does this-"

"Ok, that's enough," Florence interrupted, putting a finger to Sandra's lips before she could continue. Sandra couldn't blame her. She sounded like a dying duck mixed with a bear growl and who knows what else. "Your voice should go back to normal, it just needs a little time." Sandra was going to speak when Florence held up a finger. "By a little time, I mean an hour or two." The Keeper nodded.

"What exactly happened here?" Carol asked as she came up, Florence helping Sandra to her feet. The Runner pointed at her mouth and shook her head. Carol got the message pretty clearly.

Before she could ask again, Leo yelped. Sandra turned to see him on the ground, pinned by Jen. Her eyes were like a wild animal's, thirsty for blood. She had her hands around Leo's neck, probably squeezing even harder than when she was in the water. Leo struggled, trying to get her off, but it wasn't working.

Sandra grabbed Jen's arm and yanked. She shrieked, but didn't let go. Marge came around and grabbed Jen too. So did Paige and Maxi. All four girls were finally able to get the crazed girl off Leo. Jen thrashed and screamed while Maxi, Paige, and Marge held her back. Sandra knelt beside Leo, now sitting up and choking.

"She's got a, serious grip," he said between coughs. He rubbed his neck while Sandra nodded in agreement.

"We have to kill him! Let me kill him!" Jen shouted, fighting back. Maxi swiftly let go and punched her in the face. Jen fell, unconscious. Maxi pinned her arms behind her back, letting Marge know to get a rope. Carol stared at Jen, now face first into the stone ground.

"Should I assume..." she trailed off, pointing at the poor girl. Sandra nodded while helping Leo to his feet. Carol shook her head, wondering aloud, "Why would Jen act like that toward Leo? It just doesn't make sense."