The Maze Runner: Rewritten

The Tour Part Three

Disclaimer!
I do not currently own TMR. I'm working on it, though!

Rio silently walked through the grass towards the "hammers". Thoughts whirled through her mind, surrounded by questions and theories. What were the Snatchers? Why did the doors close? And most importantly, why couldn't she remember anything? Lost in thought, Rio almost tripped over a wooden board. Someone behind her grabbed her arm and yanked her backwards. Rio turned around, and was greeted by a girl who looked about seventeen obviously trying to hold back laughter. She had curly black hair and skin darker than Harriet's. "Hey, First-Timer. Watch out for the wood, it'll attack you like nothin' fiercer." She snickered, then said "Nah, shouldn't tease you. The name's Esther, I'll show ya the building ropes." She walked away, and Rio followed closely behind her.

Esther showed Rio how to build a few simple things, then pointed her over to a place right next to a wall where a huge fire was blazing, and a few girls were sticking things into it and then pulling them out, quickly hitting them with hammers as they glowed red-orange. As soon as Rio went a few steps in their direction, she could feel the heat from the fire. As she looked closer, squinting her eyes, she noticed that the girls were hammering pieces of metal. A girl waved her over. She was broad-shouldered with long black hair tied up in a bun. Her slanted eyes were a harsh shade of green. She said in a gruff voice "Been expecting ya, stick. Welcome to the smith's wonderland."

The girls exchanged names, and Rio learned that the buff girl's name was Steph, and the three other girls were named Maria, Shirl, Hedy, and Oli. Steph told Rio to just stand to the side, and Rio gladly obliged. The heat was a little too much for her. Hedy grabbed a pair of tongs from a little tray and snatched a piece of soft metal from the fire. She then placed it on a rock and waved Rio over. "Grab a hammer!" Rio picked up a hammer and then stumbled under its weight, finally lifting it over her shoulder and walking towards Hedy. Hedy took the hammer from Rio and then proceeded to hit the piece of metal, arms straining as she lifted the hammer up and down. Clangs filled the air as Steph took another piece out of the fire and started hammering it. Rio walked over to Steph as she was putting her hammered piece of metal back into the roaring fire. "What are you even making?" She asked. "Weapons." Steph replied, stepping back. "Bowls, cups, other stuff too. Take the broken things and make 'em new. Cool, ain't it?" Rio nodded. She was dumbfounded by the level of intelligence that it took to figure out a way to recycle broken metal. Steph then picked the metal up with tongs and placed it on another rock. She handed Rio the hammer, and said "Hammer away, First-Timer. Make it into somethin' you'll use." Rio's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a little. "Y-you want me to... make something?" Steph sighed. "I've just about had it with clueless First-Timers. Yes. Holler of you need me." Rio grasped the hammer firmly and let it down with a solid 'pang'. Oli flipped her a smaller hammer, and Rio caught it by the handle. Oli grinned. "Solid stick we got here, Steph!" She yelled. Rio smiled and let out a little chuckle. She took the tiny hammer and used it to slowly pound the strip of metal into a faintly dagger-shaped lump. Shirl ambled over to her and saw what she had created. Shirl picked it up and deftly swung it through the air. She then tossed it in the air and caught it, pointy end down. "Ya did okay for your first time, stick. Steph can fix this up, maybe make ya a matching one. Here, Steph! She yelled, throwing it to Steph who caught it with ease. She inspected it and then put it back in the fire with a pair of tongs. "Go lie down. Done good work today. If you're lucky, I might even wake you up before the rushin' doors close. Witness it in all of its glory." She smiled and then gently shoved Rio towards the hammock building, and she stumbled towards it. She was so hot and tired from building and smithing that she collapsed on a hammock and fell asleep with her last thought being that she hoped Steph was able to finish her knives.

Thank you so much for reading! I loved writing this chapter because it tells the story of Rio's daggers, which will come in handy later in their story ;). Also, I'm really sorry that the tour has so many parts! I just really wanted to put a lot of detail into this part of the story because it is one of the most important bits. See you next time!