Fervency

CHAPTER: N I N E

The closer Elodie went, the further the beetle seemed to go. She gave up when it led her to a cross section where there were three possible pathways to go down. If she got lost, she was sure to meet her demise. She quickly turned around, coming to conclusion that it was no longer worth the risk.

And that was when she saw it. She was inches away from a griever.

It screeched loudly, sending particles of drool against her face. At the same time, the gate closed completely.

"Oh...SHIT" she whispered. Instantaneously, she darted in the other direction, praying that there wasn't more. But the griever was fast. Much faster than she anticipated. Its metal legs clattered violently on the cement flooring as it chased after her.

That was when she spotted some brush. She was quickly able to turn corners before the griever had seen her. She ran for her life to the brush and then climbed to the top until she heard a slither. Something was touching her hand and she didn't like the sound of it. There slithering around her wrist was a Copperhead snake.

Her greens widened at the sight and she tried her best to remain perfectly still.

"Just my luck" she thought while watching fearfully. It wrapped itself around her arm until finally it decided to go on its way down the brush. Her heart sunk in relief.

She wasted no time getting away because she knew she couldn't celebrate yet. The noise of the Griever's legs clanking against the cement below could be heard clearly. Her heart sped violently in fear as a rush of adrenaline washed over her.

She made it to the top as quietly as she could. The ivy was even thicker at the top, so she decided she would hide in there until the morning. That way she wouldn't draw attention to herself and she could find her way out safely.

It wasn't easy to sleep in the maze. Every time she was ready to fall asleep, the sound of a Griever walking by jolted her awake. And when she did fall asleep, it felt as if she hadn't had any. But she had to get going.

DAY TWO

Elodie wasn't even sure how far she was from the exit, so she tried her best to re-trace her footsteps. Everything looked different. Her heart raced in panic as she looked from left to right where the cross section should have been. It was nowhere to be found.

A deep breath surfaced Elodie's lips as she tried her best to calm herself and think clearly. It was roughly midnight when she saw the beetle...

"I think the moon was over here..." she brainstormed aloud, "So the gates have to be this way, right?"

Elodie ran all over in attempt to find a lead to where the gates were. The sun was setting just as she spotted the right direction. But the sound of cranking gears filled her ears. Where she needed to be was beginning to close and it wasn't close. She darted forward, sprinting for her life between toward the closing walls. It was so cramped that she had to place her body sideways.

Her body had made it, but part of her hand hadn't. She tried her best to pull it from the grip of the cement, but it proceeded to close more and more, trapping it inside until her fingers were crushed. She bellowed a loud cry of pain. Two of her fingers had been crunched flat.

She tried once more but the pain was unbearable. But she had to mentally prepare herself or else she was a goner. Elodie breathed in and out slowly, until finally, she tugged her wrist from the shackles of the maze. A blood curdling scream busted from her lips, loud enough that even the Gladers had heard. It felt as if the pain had happened all over again.

Blood came gushing out from what was left of her fingers. Quickly, she ripped a long piece of her shirt off and did her best to wrap the remaining stubs as tightly as possible. No matter how much it hurt, she had to keep going.

She looked up to assess where she was and she had been tricked. The gates weren't anywhere near. Instead, she spotted two grievers.

NIGHT TWO

Most of the night she had spent running from the grievers. She was inches away from being stung until she found a spear that one of the runners had left on the ground. It was her saving grace. She slept undisturbed for the remaining of the night.

DAY THREE

Elodie woke up with some kind of rash on her skin as well as multiple bug bites. With a deep sigh, she lifted herself up and checked her surroundings. So far so good. Except for the wave of dizziness that caused her to stumble forward. She looked down to her wound to find that it had bled through and was now dripping blood all over the cement.

She ripped more of her shirt and tied it tighter than the last piece. Elodie winced at the feeling and then lowered her eyes to study the damage. Her hand was pulsating and swelling. Her eyes immediately darted from what she had seen and she stood to her feet. She needed to try her best and ignore it. She needed to get a move on.

Half of the day she spent on top of the maze, trying to retrace her steps from up high. Then something caught her eye. Beside her feet was that damn beetle. Immediately she stomped on it, hard enough to disable it but not enough to kill it.

"You gave me a lot of trouble you little bastard" she picked it off the floor and shoved it in her pocket. This was a clue the Gladers needed to see, and they were gonna see it.

But then...something more caught her eye. It was Minho and Alby!