Left Behind//The Maze Runner

T H R E E

This damn mall is going to be the death of me... That or the creatures chasing us. 

Newt runs at my side, Aris and Teresa ahead of us, and Frypan, Minho, Winston, and Thomas at our rear. My heart pounds in my chest, my legs shaking with every step forward. I haven't run like this since we escaped the Mire.

I trudge up a flight of stairs, Thomas screaming for the group to continue on. Newt starts to fall a little behind so I grab his hand, pulling him along with me, making sure his limp doesn't slow him down. 

How'd he even get that in the first place?

"Thomas! Minho! What the hell are those things?" Winston shouts out the question we're all thinking. 

"I don't know! Just keep going!" Thomas shouts as we make it to the next level of the mall, rounding the corner, looking around for an exit as we run.

The creatures roar as they follow us, their screams making my blood turn cold, fear pricking at the corners of my mind. I don't want to be caught by one of those, I don't even want to be near– Shit!

One of the creatures runs out from a random hallway, causing us all to stop in our tracks. It staggers towards us, looking like an animal waiting for its prey. Its eyes suddenly lock on me, its gaze strong like a Stinger's bite. 

Fear blooms through my chest as it starts making its way toward me. Everything in me begs to move, but it's like my feet have a mind of their own, they just say glued to the floor.

Newt grabs my arm and takes steps back as it continues to get closer, my feet finally following suit. Aris grabs a metal pole, my eyes going to him as he looks down at it, an idea shining over his eyes. I start to say something but he holds it above his head and runs toward the creature.

"Aris no!" All of us yell for Aris, my heart leaping out of my chest. 

He dives and swings the bat at the creature's knees, knocking it down and toward Thomas and Teresa, forcing them up another flight of stairs. It starts crawling toward the rest of us and the guys take off, the fear keeping my feet glued to the floor again. 

"Sandy this way!" Newt yells grabbing my hand and setting me into motion as we run down another corridor.

Aris runs up next to me as we round the corner, my hand automatically reaching out for him. He takes it, giving it a small pulse before letting go. My heart pounds as annoyance sits like a rock in my chest. 

"What the hell were you thinking!" I shout at Aris, looking between him and where I'm running. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Well he saved your life!" Newt pipes in. "Didn't he?"

"Don't do it again!" I shout rolling my eyes, a small laugh leaving Aris's lips.

Winston motions us up another flight of stairs, staying at the bottom until all of us have gone up. My heart hammers through my chest as my feet pound on the concrete flooring of the mall, everything in me begging to crash and stop running.

Thomas and Teresa meet us at the next level, the eight of us running through a new corridor, this time more shops being shown on the side walls, more windows seeming to be getting uncovered. 

That means we're closing in on an exit. 

"We gotta find a way out of here!" Frypan yells 

"We're getting close!" I shout, pointing up at the windows. "I can see the sky, there–"

The shattering of glass cuts me off, my eyes moving to see where it came from. Holy Shit! A creature climbs onto a fallen Newt, latching onto his arms with its claw-like fingers, making him scream for help. The thing roars in his face, spit flying everywhere as Newt's whole body tenses up.