you shouldn't have had those other drinks last night.
the hangover killed you during the run. your head pounded with every turn and twist, but you managed to keep up with minho.
as you ran back out the maze you gasped for water. he shuffled in his bag and quickly gave you some.
"impressive," he remarked, "normally that's how fast a run is. sometimes they last longer, like yesterday. one of the sectors was mixed, so we had to map out an entire new one." he continued to explain.
he walked you into the forest to a large hut that looked a bit like yours, but was much larger.
"it looks like my hut." you said.
he scoffed. "i can't believe you have a hut. most of the boys sleep in the hammocks tied up. only keepers have huts. mine isn't even as big as yours."
"oh, stop being a baby." you teased as you examined the big map in front of you.
he smiled and shook his head as he looked at the map. "each of the runners map out their sector of the map each day. you map it out on the note book and put it on this big map with the notes in your notebook."
"sounds fun." you said.
he looked at you. "are you absolutely sure you wanna do this? im giving you one more chance to back out."
you stared at him. "okay, what's so bad about being a runner? it doesn't even seem that bad."
he sighed
"we've lost so many boys because of that goddamn maze." he whispered.
you looked at him. his eyes were full of guilt and sadness.
"so many boys under my watch." he swallowed and stared at the ground.
you looked at him and suddenly felt bad for asking.
"grievers." he said.
"gravy?" you asked, confused.
"no. grievers. i don't even know how to describe them. they are released into the maze at night when the doors close. sometimes there have been accidents where someones trapped in the maze at night, and sometimes there are times where grievers are out during the day."
"well what do they look like?" you ask, slightly terrified.
he looked at you with grief. "i don't know. nobody has lived to tell. you see one, they kill you. you're a goner. the only thing we know is the awful noise they make. metallic, but like a blood-curdling scream."
you shiver. but being a runner is still what youd like to be.
minho continues to stare at the ground.
"i'm sorry." you say quietly. you don't know what else to say.
he clears his throat and looks up at you, acting like he didn't hear what you said. "here's your notebook and your bag. water bottle and fist aid." he hands all the supplies to you. "you must get up before dawn, when it's still dark. go to frypan to get food. eat and drink only when you need to in the maze, because it'll run out quickly if youre stupid."
you nod as you gather all the supplies.
"each sector is run by two people. they run in a pair and then split off to map the separate parts. i usually go alone since i'm the keeper, but i guess you and i will be a new pair."
you are lowkey excited to be paired with him. what? hes cute!
"well yn, welcome to the team."
