The Silent Runner

16. the unbroken

I looked around, unsure of what to do. My arms burned from the crutches but that wouldn't stop me if it meant getting out of the maze and being with my new friends. It almost felt wrong calling them that but I couldn't think of anything else to call them.

I stood up, grabbed the crutches and made my way to the maze doors before beginning to crutch as fast as I could down the first hall. Jack called after me, running to the doors but he wouldn't go into the maze. He couldn't. "You'll never make it!" He called out.

At different points, I began to hop on one foot before trying to put pressure on my ankle, only feeling striking pain. Regardless, I continued onward, letting nothing stop me.

I avoided the Cliff, knowing if any of the Grievers were alive, that's where they'd be, so I ran straight for the tunnel that Minho, Thomas, and I discovered. I had one of the monster's keys attached to my belt. After I began using the crutches again, I was in an unbelievable amount of pain. My arms felt like they were on fire but I made it to the door.

I need the code.

Seven, one, five, two, six, four, eight, three-

Thomas?

There was no response. Overcome with worry, I immediately grabbed the key from my belt and stuck it into a hole in the door. With one twist, the door asked for the code, numbers appeared on the screen in numerical order. Eight slots sat under them.

The scream of Grievers could be heard from a distance. Loose rocks jumped all around me, as the ground shook.

I pressed each number in the order Thomas gave me, hoping I'd remembered it correctly. Each number slowly turned red, one after the other, and the seconds began to feel like hours. After a few loud clicks, the screen turned red and the door sat ajar. I hurried inside as I now saw a Griever running for the entrance and I. Finally, the door slammed shut and muffled scratches and thuds came from the monster's side. Only an eerie dark silence came from mine. I gripped the crutches, fearful of what could be around me without my knowing.

Now faced with a long dark corridor, I fell to the wall to catch my breath, unsure if I could keep moving. My crutches fell to the ground beside me.

Remembering that the group was in the same facility motivated me so I felt around for the wooden stilts, stood up, and continued. I wanted to whisper their names or call out to them. I didn't want to be alone.

Thomas? No answer. Please answer.

When reaching the end of the hall, I ran into a door. A bullet hole sat just above the handle. Flickering light shined through, exposing dust particles in the air. I ran my finger along the folded edges of the hole before grabbing the handle and opening the door.

Glass cracked under my boots but I moved slow and steady, crutching along. After turning one last corner, I saw a screen with Ava's face on it. She held a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. People behind her were shooting the other workers and machinery. When the video turned off I saw them, on the other side of the glass. Thomas stood there, turned around with his hand covering his eyes.

"Thomas," Frypan said softly. He looked up, as well as Newt and Minho and all looked equally shocked to see me.

"You made it," Thomas said, smiling. I nodded tears in my eyes, just glad to see them all. Most of them stood confused, grimacing at the stench of the bodies that laid around them. This couldn't have happened long ago. My mind scrambled because if this was the Right Arm someone would've had to of given them the locations of all WICKED facilities. They damaged the software and hard drives but didn't think to help the Gladers? It made no sense.