Rogue | Group B → The Maze Runner¹

i.five

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● [ v . the fourth month ]

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XIMENA AND ROGUE had fought. A month ago, on the night Rogue and Beth had seen a Crawler.

"God, you're not still thinking about it, are you?" Hashslinger said, tossing a bag of sandwiches onto the kitchen table. There were only two this time.

"No. I'm not," she said.

"You lie like a rug," Hash said. "What else would you be moping about?"

She was right. Life in the Glen was going pretty well for Rogue. Between the crops, buildings, and food, they had almost everything they needed. Hashslinger continued, "I just don't see why you're still so mardy about it, Ro. Worked out well for you, didn't it? Ximena left, you got the job. You're a Jailer now."

But Ximena's abdication as Jailer of the Carriers was a thinly veiled admission of defeat.

It had all begun with the Crawler sighting. Ximena insisted they should see and capture the creature themselves before bringing it to the other girls in the Glen. Rogue hated the idea, arguing for immediate disclosure.

The turning point, and the mistake Rogue still winced at, was bringing up Jane's unfair punishment. That reopened a whole different wound. Their argument spiralled, and by the end of it they slipped into three brittle weeks of silence, neither willing to cross the distance.

In the aftermath, Ximena announced that the Carriers would run in pairs from now on. It was one last grasp at authority before stepping down, and everyone knew it. 

That day, it was Rogue and Sara.

"Rogue?" Ada said, opposite her. "The Gates opened ten minutes ago. Sara'll be waiting."

Sara was one of the Blondie's that had come up around a month prior. She was charming, fit, and fast enough to become a Carrier, much to Ximena's disdain.

"Sara the Blondie?" Hashslinger said. She had a dishtowel thrown over her shoulder, and she lent against a centred beam. "Good for you, Ro. She's not bad."

Rogue ignored her. "Yeah, well, she won't be a Blondie for much longer," she said, standing. "New batch today, right?"

It was the fourth month in the Glen, and they had found nothing.

Rogue exhaled, glancing towards Ada briefly. She sat with her chin in her hands, staring at her untouched breakfast. Morale was low.

"Sure," Hash said. "Now go, or I'll get an earful from Ximena because you were late, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."