Be Mine

Chapter 18

A week has passed since the day that Newt asked me to be his girlfriend. I've been busy in the Maze with Ben and I've been hanging out with Newt during and after dinner.
Today Ben and I were going out in the Maze again. Ben and I had been running together every day, even though I should be running by myself by now.
   We ran out into the Maze. Right, left, left, right, right, right.
   "Hey Addison," Ben said. "Wanna try running a bit by yourself?"
   I nodded my head excitedly.
   "Okay," Ben continued. "I'll take the left side and you go right. We'll meet back here in an hour."
   "Sounds good," I said.
   We ran in opposite directions and I felt free as a bird. I passed by more of the signs and I looked around as I ran. Everything just felt so familiar. I could run in the Maze without even thinking, and I would still know where everything was.
   I was about to stop to catch my breath when I heard a strange noise. Whir, click, click!
   What the hell? I thought.
   Whir, click, click, whir.
   The noise was getting louder. I turned around and saw a hideous creature making its way toward me. It looked like a giant robotic spider. It's metal legs made a clicking noise as it walked down the corridor. The large body of the creature looked slimy and not even animal. More like it was made of metal and creature. What kind of sick people would create such a monster?
   I tried my best not to scream. I turned back around and sprinted down the corridor. The Griever roared and chased after me.
   I ran as fast as I could but it was gaining on me. "HELP!!" I screamed. I knew there was no point in screaming. It's not like anyone would hear me over the noise the Griever was making. But I screamed for help anyway. "HELP!!!"
   "ADDISON?" I heard Ben call out my name. "ADDISON? ARE YOU OKAY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
   "BEN! THERE'S A GRIEVER CHASING ME! PLEASE HELP ME!!"
   I turned a corner and bumped into Ben. "Whoa!" Ben said.
"Ben, we gotta go!" I practically yelled at him, grabbing his hand and running away. "There's a Griever!"
"Griever?" Ben asked, confused. "They're only supposed to come out at night."
"Yeah? Well then why is it chasing us right now?!" I was losing my patience with Ben. He could be so dense sometimes.
Ben and I ran through the Maze and the Griever kept chasing us. Ben made a left turn before cursing under his breath.
   "This is a dead end!" I cried.
   "I know," Ben said, frustrated. "I accidentally made a wrong turn."
   "Great going!" I shouted.
   "I'm sorry, Addison," Ben apologized. "But that Griever was kinda blocking us from going right."
   Click, whir, whir.
   I turned around and screamed, jumping up and into Ben's arms.
   Ben rolled his eyes. "Get down."
   I obeyed and braced myself for what was about to come. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight off a Griever. But I couldn't just die here either. Not without saying bye to Newt. I had made up my mind. I was going to fight back no matter what it took.
   The Griever made its way toward us and I took out my knives. Ben took out his weapons too. The Griever came closer to us and roared. Ben and I jumped out of the way as the Griever's metallic arm came down. I threw a knife at the Griever's ugly face and it screamed.
   It ran toward me, cornering me. I saw Ben run up from behind it and stabbed it. The Griever spun around and a syringe looking thing popped out from its body and I threw another knife at the Griever's body, but it did not bother the Griever as it stung Ben.
   Ben screamed in pain and collapsed on the ground and the Griever left.
   "Ben!" I screamed, running toward my friend. "Ben! Are you okay? Please speak to me." I felt tears running down my face.
   Ben squirmed and screamed, but he didn't reply back. I couldn't leave him here and the doors were going to close soon. I had to carry him.
   I lifted him onto my back, trying to carry him like a piggy back ride. It was difficult because he wasn't cooperating, he was heavy enough for me already, he just had to squirm and wiggle out of my grasp. I sighed.
   "Addison?" A familiar voice called my name. I looked up to see Minho running toward us. I was surprised to see him. He had been avoiding me ever since the day he tried to kiss me.
   "Minho!" I called out to him. "Can you please help me?"
   "Yeah," Minho said, stopping next to me. "What happened? Are you okay?"
   "A Griever attacked us," I said. "I'm okay, but Ben's not."
   Minho looked down at Ben, who was on the floor, tears in his eyes. "He's been stung," Minho said.
   I looked at my running partner, one of my best friends in the Glade. It hurt to see him like this.
   "We need to get back," Minho said. "The doors are going to close soon."
   "We can't leave Ben here," I said, tears forming in my eyes.
   "I never said that," Minho said. "We'll just have to knock him out. Then we can easily take him back."
   "Knock him out?!"
   "It's the only way, Addison."
   I just nodded and looked away.

   We made it back to the Glade just as the doors were closing.
   "What happened?" Alby demanded.
   "There was a Griever," I explained. "It stung Ben."
   "Take him to the Med-Jacks," Alby told Minho. He nodded and half carried, half dragged Ben to the Med-Jack hut.
   Newt ran over to Alby and I. "What happened? Are you okay?"
   "I'm fine, but Ben got stung," I said.
   "Stung?" Newt looked confused. "You mean, there was a Griever out during the day?"
   I nodded.
   Newt and Alby exchanged a look.
   "Well, go get changed and go ahead and rest," Newt told me. Then, he and Alby walked away, deep in conversation.
   I went to my room and lay down on my bed. I realized that I hadn't even eaten dinner, but I wasn't hungry. I was too busy worried about Ben. He was going to be okay right? It took a few hours, but I finally drifted off to sleep.