Tired of Running

8|| close by

// heart starts to pound,
shaking the ground,
this is the sound \\

•
Harper yawned, opening her eyes.
The sun had fully risen in the early hours of the glade. She rolled onto her side, meeting the still sleeping form of Minho in the hammock next to hers. She smiled slightly- it was the only time he was actually quiet. Sitting up, she pulled her messy hair back into a bun. Winston was already awake, sitting outside by himself. Harper stood up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and joined him.
"Good morning, you..." She sat down in the grass beside Winston. Winston smiled at her arrival, "Hey.."

He had always been one of the quieter boys- he wasn't spoken to much, he didn't really get involved with much. Frypan seemed to be the boy's only friend. But Harper had found a very good confiding friend in him- even from the first night he had been there. He, Newt and Minho had always been there for her.

"Are you going out today?" He looked at her.
"Oh... Yes." She glanced to the big maze walls, standing open, inviting her to enter them; to look for anything they may have missed.
Winston sighed, "You must really be braver than most of us..." He shook his head.
Harper looked down- she didn't consider herself brave- she didn't consider the maze a threat. "I've been a runner for two weeks..."
Winston nodded, "Those two won't let anything happen to you." He turned his gaze to the still sleeping Newt and Minho. Harper nodded, smiling, "I know... They've always got my back..." Winston smiled and put a hand on Harper's shoulder, "As will I..."

   "Are you ready?"
Minho had stopped in front of Harper, looking down at her eagerly. "Yep..." Harper slid her backpack over her arms and stood up.
Newt was by her side moments later,
"All set, then?" Minho nodded, shoving his water into his backpack. Turning on his heel, he started off toward the maze.  Newt turned his head, meeting Harper's eyes, before following behind him.  Minho was by far the fastest of the three, while Newt and Harper were quite evenly matched. 

   They ran through the maze, once again changing their route.  Newt stole glances at Harper every once in a while, insuring she was still holding up okay.  Harper had noticed, but was too focused on running to say anything.
"Whoa, whoa." Minho held out an arm, signaling the other two to stop.
"What's up, shank?" Harper skidded to a stop next to him.  Minho looked at his map, "It's different again..." The boy wrinkled his nose up, furrowing his eyebrows. "This section was open, remember?" Harper slipped Minho's map from him, looking at it herself, "No shock that the shucking creators can move the walls around."  She handed it back to Minho, "I don't see how we can map this place if it always changes."
"That's what i've been trying to tell you, slinthead!" Minho rolled the map up and stuffed it back in his pack. "Hey..." Newt looked at Minho with a glare; about to speak again, Harper cut him off, "Sorry... I know. It's just... None of it makes sense," she shook her head,
"We're thrown in here. No memories, no instructions... No idea what the klunk we're supposed to be accomplishing..." Newt nodded,
"Maybe we just have to wait... I'm sure after a while they would take us out.. Explain why we're bloody trapped in here." Harper didn't quite think they would be heroically rescued from this place, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Come on..."
Minho headed off to the right bend, not waiting for the others. Sighing and smiling to herself, Harper followed. She didn't understand how that boy always- always had energy.

They continued to run all morning; the sun was  fully risen straight above them in the sky. Harper's lungs burned, but the adrenaline running brought to her did not falter her; it pushed her faster, passing up Newt, coming even with Minho.  Minho smirked at her, speeding up, passing her again.

   As daily, they returned to the glade right before lunch. Harper bent over, panting, trying to catch her breath. "Hey..." Winston made his way over to her, "Did you find—"
Harper shook her head before he finished, "You know we didn't..." She bit her lip and sighed, "I'm starting to think that...
There's nothing actually out there."
Winston didn't meet her eyes, but instead stared at the ground. That is what he had feared- that they would be stuck in there forever- not actually a way out.  Harper noticed that his expression had changed, "Hey... We're not going to stop looking... I'm sorry I said that. I just... It wears you down, continuously searching when there is no changes..."
Winston nodded. He sighed and put an arm around her, "It's all gonna be okay, shank..."
Harper smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. She sat there quietly with Winston; they watched the doors close, the sun starting to set. "Hey you shanks," Minho snapped a branch on the ground behind them, "Lunch is being served. But if you two prefer eh- cuddling- that's fine by me." Harper looked up, shaking her head, "We're coming..."

~~

Harper sat next to Minho and Winston, watching the fire burn brightly in all of their eyes, warming their chilled bodies. Newt was set on a log a ways away, watching Harper intently. He was so taken by the sound of her laugh- sounds he had grown very used to in the past six months- sounds that brought him peace. And she was just about the only thing...
There didn't seem to be much hope left for a way out of the maze; every day they go out there, he loses more hope. Sighing, Newt pulled his attention back to the fire. Harper.
She was laughing at something Minho said. There was that laugh again... She was so close to Minho. Probably closer than she and him.
And Winston... They were almost always together, when she wasn't running in the maze.
Something stung inside him; something he had never felt as long as he could remember...

Harper eventually zoned out of the conversations the boys were having and looked around the gathering, half heartedly. Immediately, she noticed someone missing–
The soft brown eyes that usually met her gaze when she would sneak glances at him.
Where was Newt?
She stood up, ignoring Minho and Winston and made her way away from the fire. She found Newt propped against a tree outside the deadheads. "Hey..." She stopped by his feet, looking down at him, smiling, "Why aren't you at the fire?"

Newt was startled out of his thoughts, but a peaceful expression passed across his face as he looked up to Harper.
"Nothing... I just.. Don't think I need to be included..." Harper furrowed her eyebrows and squinted at him, "Well...." She reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet, "I think it's lonely over there without you."
Smiling, Newt followed as Harper led him to the fire. She sat between he and Minho, watching the fire and listening to the stories and jokes the gladers were telling. Laughing, she rested her head on Newt's shoulder as she listened to Minho. A smile spread across Newt's face; but not because of Minho.