Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

TWENTY | the argument

▬"Let's get out of here," Minho said, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.

I looked up at his sweaty figure, his shirt clinging on to his body for dear life, and to the cloudy sky above him. Though it was still dark, the first traces of dawn crept into the sky, its rays forcing itself through the dense clouds. I still couldn't believe that I'd somehow survived my first night in the Maze with nothing but my two friends for company, one of whom I had only known for a few days.

"You know where to go from here?" I asked.

Minho snorted. "Well, duh, you prickly flower. Come on, I can't stand staying in this shuck Maze any longer than I have to."

Ignoring the stupid nickname, I got to my feet shakily and followed Minho and Thomas. We jogged down corridor after corridor, no one uttering a word. Though the boys hid it well, I could tell they were still in shock like I was. The Maze around us continued shifting and changing as if nothing traumatizing of the sorts had happened. 

I estimated around an hour had ticked by when the floor underneath me shook. The wall next to me slid along the ground, shaking the earth. I stumbled and fell and before I could get back up, the wall cut off my friends from view.

"Minho!" I yelled out, leaping to my feet. "Thomas!"

I pounded against the wall. No answer. Either they couldn't hear me or hadn't yet realize that I was separated from them. 

Fear started to kick in. The back of my neck got hot all of a sudden and I was very aware of the anxious, panicky feeling in my heart that seemed to weigh me down. I wasn't a Runner - I didn't know how to find my way out. What the hell was I supposed to do now? 

Trying to keep my panic at bay, I walked back the way I came from and took a few turns. After a few moments, I realized I was lost.

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered angrily. How on earth did I get stuck in this situation?

I considered staying in the same spot until someone found me - but I knew it was a stupid idea. Even now, I could still hear the faint moans and whirring of the Grievers somewhere deep in the Maze. If my friends couldn't find me, the Grievers will.

I glanced up at the walls. A thick mass of ivy hugged it, its leaves ruffling in the slight breeze. I remembered how Newt had climbed them once, how easy his muscular arms made it look. If I climbed high enough, I might be able to see where my friends were.

I wasn't the strongest and my stamina was already running as thin as paper, but I grabbed hold of one of the vines and pulled myself up. My arms were screaming and there was an insistent throbbing in the back of my head - but I ignored them and continued heaving myself up. At one point my hand slipped, so that I was hanging from a vine with one hand, legs dangling in the air. I yelped and quickly grabbed hold of the ivy with both hands again, my heart beating madly. Several agonising minutes later, I leaned my whole body against the blanket of ivy, panting heavily. Beads of perspiration clung to every inch of my skin.

I glanced down below me. I was about ten metres off the ground now. Blood roared in my ears - I was very high up. Way higher than I liked.

In an attempt to calm down my rapid heartbeat, I quickly scanned the area, trying to catch a glimpse of my friends. Had they run off without me?

Then I heard it: a faint voice calling my name in the distance.

"Rose! Rosalind! Where are you?"

"HERE!" I yelled as loudly as I could. "I'm over here!"

The vine I was holding onto snapped.

With a strangled cry, my hands tried to grasp at any bit of ivy to stop my fall, but no such luck. I twisted my body mid-air and landed on my side. Pain roared in my left shoulder and arm, and it felt as if my joints were being poked with a hot iron rod. I bit my lips to keep from crying out; tears brimmed in my eyes from the pain and black spots danced in my vision. I must have broken my shoulder. I must have, or I wouldn't be suffering through pain this immense.