The Other Maze (Group B)

24

As soon as the trio reaches the room, they close the doors immediately. The small room is covered in maps all around the floor along with a big piece of paper in the center marked with some words.

"What's all this?" Rachel asks surprised.

"Well," Harriet says, "Thanks to the info you gave us, we put some sticks to work and we've figured out some words, now what exactly are we looking for? The words don't really make sense."

"They don't have to." Rachel says walking towards the paper and picking it up. "The words don't give us a clue to find a way out, they are just a code."

"A code?" Sonya asks deep in thought. "What would we need a code for?"

"I'm not sure about that." Rachel says.

"The mappers and I have run through this maze and studied it, and so far, we haven't seen anything that requires a code." Miyoko says.

"True." Rachel says, "but I think I have an idea."

"We are all ears." Harriet says and everyone takes a seat.

"Well, so far you've searched the whole maze, but I was thinking that maybe the cliff might be our way out." Rachel says and examines the girl's faces.

"Are you crazy?" Beth says. "Do you know how dangerous that is?" She asks crossing her arms.

"I know that it's risky, but it's our only option."

"It's not a bad idea." Harriet says deep in thought.

"Are you serious? You're siding with her?" Beth says standing up.

"Calm down Beth," Sonya says placing her hand on Beth's shoulder, "no one is taking sides."

Beth huffs and moves her shoulder out of Sonya's touch. "I can't believe you guys are even considering it." She says walking for the door. "I'm not risking my life for something that we are not sure about. They are the reason we are in this mess in the first place." She says accusingly pointing her finger at Rachel and Aris.

She takes a step towards them but Eliza stands in her way, protecting Aris and Rachel. "Beth, stop." Eliza says firmly but calmly.

"Why are you defending them?" She asks crossing her arms.

"Because they can get us out of here Beth."

"And then what? What do you think happens after this?"

"I don't know, but I know we are not meant to stay here."

"This has been our home for two years."

"This isn't our home." Eliza says trying to keep her cool. She hadn't realized that her hands were balled into firsts until Sonya, reached out to her and made her relax a little. "Our home is outside of the maze" she says in a softer voice.

"Not for me." Beth says. "I'm not following two crazy strangers." With that she turns on her heels and leaves followed by Ximena and a few other girls.

"We don't have time for this." Eliza says worriedly looking at Sonya.

"I know, they chose what they want to do, now we need to focus on our plan." Sonya says looking at Harriet.

"The grievers will come back soon, so I say that we check out that place. Miyoko, you and Rachel can go check it out since you have a better idea of what you're looking for." Harriet says and said girls nod.

"Anyone else wants to join them?" Harriet asks.

"I'll go." Aimee says with a smile.

"Alright, the rest of us will stay here and prepare the supplies we might need."

"Fancy that."

"I already prepared some backpacks with everything we will need." Miyoko says and hands each girl their backpack. "Now, let's get going and get this over with." She says and Rachel nods taking the lead as they run out of the stade.

Miyoko and Aimee are surprised as they follow Rachel into the maze, since she seems to know exactly where she is going, but as they run, they hear a noise and hide behind one of the walls.

"Looks like the grievers are coming." Miyoko says breathing heavily.

Rachel peeks to the side and looks. "They are coming from the same direction as the cliff." She whispers looking back at the other two. "We can check it out after the grievers leave."

"Do we know how many grievers there are?" Aimee asks and Miyoko shakes her head.

"No, we have no idea, but we have to hope that they all leave so we can check it out."

"Fancy that." They say with a nod.

"What do we do now?" Aimee asks.

"We can't go back to the stade so we'll have to wait until the coast is clear." Miyoko says and the girls take a seat, taking out the food they packed.

                                                                  ***

Since the ending had been triggered and the fake sun didnt shine on them any more, it was difficult to keep track of time, but fortunately Miyoko and Aimee had their watches and started getting ready at dawn.

"Any time now." Miyoko whispers.

As if on cue, the sound of the grievers echoes through the walls as they prepare to head to the stade. Their mechanical legs pierce the ground making it shake as they walk, but after a while their footsteps are distant.

"We should be good now," Miyoko says. "Let's go before they come back."

She says and they head towards the cliff to examine it.

Aris? Rachel says.

Yeah?

Get ready, they are coming so warn everyone.

Alright. He says. And Rach?

Yeah?

Be careful.

Always.

We are almost there sticks! Thanks for reading and voting!