IT X The Maze Runner Crossover

1

When his eyes opened all he could see was black as he frantically ran his hands along the grated sides of the space. He gasped for air and coughed until his throat felt dry as he continued to claw at the walls. The whole space was shaking until it jolted with a bang and came to a complete stop. He fell to the floor and felt his body roughly collide with the dirty metal floor, shutting his eyes as his head met the ground. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine as he looked up and opened them again; light. Two metal, gate like, doors were opened and he noticed he was surrounded by boys. Some were his age, some older, and one that looked younger. Then out of no where, a hand was in his face, waiting for him to grab on. Out of fear and surprise, he shuffled back a bit, scrambling to get out of the light and the eyes of so many people he doesn't recognize. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't remember anything about himself. What's my name? he thinks to himself as he spots the watchful eyes of non other than the boy who continues to hold his hand out. Big brown eyes, a button like nose, defined features, and freckles that dance across his tan skin like the stars litter the night sky. He hesitantly takes the gorgeous boys hand to be yanked with unexpected strength out of the small confined space. He stumbles forward, pupils dilating as he takes in his surroundings: A large open field, homes and structures built of wood, farms, and the most noteworthy, a massive stone wall encompassing the entire cube of space. It looks old, it's covered in vines, and it is divided in the center of each side of the wall with only one that is actually open. Fight or flight kicks in as he realizes he is currently trapped in an outdoor enclosure with a bunch of boys who, for all he knows, could want to kill him. He takes one more look around and then begins to run, sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him. He doesn't know where he plans on going but all his brain is telling him is get away as soon as- fuck. The taste of dirt and grass is prominent as well as the drowned out sounds of cheering and screaming and laughing "We've got a runner!" He rolls over and looks up to see a tall, slim boy with short auburn hair looking down at him "So you're the new greenie huh?" He would have said something if he knew his own name "Names Bill, I'm the leader around these parts. We call this the glade" Bill spoke with a certain comforting confidence as he gestured to the field of small wooden houses and farm land. Then, once again, the beautiful brown eyed boy walked up with a smile warmer than the sun currently beating down on his back "And this" Bill smacked the boys shoulder blade with small laugh "is Eddie" Eddie, what a pretty name he thought to himself before he was instantly snapped out of his own mind as Eddie grabbed a hold of his hand and shook it with, once again, an unexpected amount of strength from such a small set boy. He couldn't be taller than 5'5" to his own 6'0" so he supposes the nickname "green bean" may actually be quite fitting. "Nice to meet you greenie, Georgie will show you around a bit before the party tonight" and as if on que a small boy, very similar to Bill but no older than 13, walks in front of Eddie and shakes his hand with a certain excitement "I'm Georgie and I get to show you around the glade and stuff!" He spits out at lightening speed as he walks toward the small town "Keep up greenie!" They approach a tall wooden lookout tower and climb to the top in a silence that he was thankful for but was short lived as Georgie speaks again in a more serious tone "We have 3 rules here in the glade, do your part, we don't have time for any freeloaders, second, never harm another glader, and most importantly, never go beyond those walls." By the time he realized he was zoning out Georgie was already half way down the ladder back to the ground. When his boots hit the grass, he broke into a fast walk towards the opening in the walls "Don't go!" He hears Georgie shout at him from behind but his small legs can barely keep up "Why not? Whats through there?" Georgie grabs his arm in an attempt to get him to stop "I don't know, I just know what I'm told, I'm not supposed to leave." He turns to see two boys in gear running out of the opening. The one leading is tall with curly light brown hair, jogging in sync with the blonde boy two paces behind him "Hey Georgie" the curly haired boy says, eyeing both of them before running away "That's Stanley" Georgie says but he isn't really paying attention anymore as he grows closer and closer to the opening. There is a strong breeze emerging from it and he can see dark green vines lining multiple passages that are overshadowed by the height of the walls themselves. He continues to grow closer when he is instantly draw out of his focus and suddenly hitting the ground 'You've got a death wish greenie" a muscular, angry, older looking boy says with a certain malice as Bill walks up with a couple other boys. "Alright you guys can't just keep me here" he shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at bill "You can't leave" Bill says forcefully "Why no-" He is interrupted by the defining sound of gears turning. He slowly spins around to see the two sides of the wall inching toward the middle to meet each other. The loud noise of it silenced everyone in the area, putting an end to the minor disagreement at hand "Come on everybody, let go eat dinner so we can get greenies welcome party started yeah?" Bill claps a hand on his shoulder and smiles at him as they all walk toward the dinning hall. After a long meal of introductions and awkward first interactions, the darkness has taken over the sky and he is settled comfortably next to Eddie on a log around the fire "Here, try this" Eddie says handing him a oddly colored drink in a glass flask. He downs a couple sips before spitting most of it out in front of him, face scrunching up in disgust "Henry's recipe, it's a trade secret." He laughs before looking towards the walls once again, now shut bringing a certain feeling of claustrophobia to his stomach "Eddie, what is that place? Why is no one aloud in?" They sit in silence for a moment, mostly because Eddie doesn't want him to panic and run again "We're trapped here aren't we?" A loud ticking sound emerges from beyond the walls of the maze "For the moment, but, see those guys?" Eddie points towards a group of four, one being what he can remember as Stanley "Those are the runners, and that guy in the middle, that's Stan. He's the keeper of the runners. Every morning when those doors open, they run the maze, mapping it, memorizing it, trying to find a way out." He looks to Stan and then back to Eddie "How long have they been looking?" Another ticking sound "3 years" And another ticking sound "And they haven't found anything?" Eddie smiles at him with a bittersweet look that still manages to be one of the most attractive things he thinks he has ever seen "Easier said than done, listen" He points toward the maze and the loud ticking sounds continue in the silent space between them with the sounds of the party behind them "You hear that? That's the maze, changing. It changes every night." He couldn't help but stare at the walls in pure confusion "How is that even possible?" Eddie laughs "You can ask the people who put us in here if you ever meet the bastards. Listen, the truth is, the runners are the only ones who really know whats out there. They're the strongest and the fastest of us all and its a good thing too because if they don't make it back before those doors close, then they're stuck out there for the night. No one's ever survived a night in the maze" He says bluntly "What happens to them?" He looks at the wall again with a certain fear in his eyes "We call them grievers, of course no one's ever seen one and lived to tell about it, but they're out there." He was brought out of his conversation with Eddie when everyone around him began to chant "Greenie greenie greenie" louder and louder. He took a timid step forward into the crowd of people. The angry older boy from before, Henry, steps onto a small sand space encircled in front of them and gestures at him to come forward "Come on greenie, show me what you're made of" He hesitantly steps into the ring to join him and almost instantaneously Henry takes a strong swing at his face. He falls and winces at the pain on the left side of his face but gets back up quickly, grabbing Henry and shoving him to the ground. Everyone cheers at this before Henry picks him up and slams him into the ground. Richie "Richie" He whispers too quiet for anyone to actually hear him "What did you say?" someone from the crowd asks and in a moment of victory and excitement he yells "Richie! My name! I remember my name, it's Richie!" He can hear everyone clapping and cheering before a loud, ear piercing roar can be heard from beyond the maze "Don't worry, you're safe here with us" Henry says as the clapping slowly ceases and everyone heads to bed, Richie comfortably curled up in a hammock among all the others that hang in a covered wooden structure. The following morning, Bill finds him first thing "You're one of us now, you need to know what that means" He says with a kind voice as he leads Richie to one of the walls of the maze. Name after name is scratched into that wall, all the names of the gladers to be exact, but some are scratched out. Richie runs his hand across one of the scratched out names and looks at Bill for an answer "The ones who didn't make it" Bill says solemnly and he understands. He raises the knife to the wall, messily carving his name in between Eddie's and Stan's. It's comfortable, like he is finally a part of something among all the chaos he doesn't quite understand yet. Richie give Bill one last smile of appreciation before walking back to Eddie to begin his portion of work for the day "Well look what the cat dragged in! Rich finally decides to show" Eddie teases and tosses him a shovel. He begins to dig "Have you guys ever tried climbing the wall? Tried to see from the top to find a way?" Eddie laughs at this "Anything you can think of Richie, we've tried it, twice! Now go dig up some more fertilizer for these flowers" He tosses him a basket and sends him off to the small forest like area. Richie walks into the forest looking for a good place to dig when he comes across that one blonde runner who had been behind Stan "Hey, uh, what are you doing out here?" Richie asks, struggling to simply interact with him. He doesn't answer, only grumbles before walking towards him and without another word, jumping on him and pinning him to the ground. Richie screams for help and begins to struggle against his grip before grabbing a rock and slamming it into his right temple. He gets up and begins to run but the boy is close behind him. Richie is screaming as loud as his scratchy throat will allow until he reaches the clearing "Hey hey! Help!" He flails his arms, running as fast as possible before being tackled again but this time, the boy was slammed in the head with a shovel in the hands of none other than Eddie. Richie crawled away fast, shoving his glasses farther up on the bridge of his nose. The boy was then taken by the others and tied up in the infirmary "Whats gonna happen to him Bill?" Bill doesn't answer though, only looks at him with that same, sad, look in his eyes from when Richie had asked about the scratched out names earlier that same day. After dinner, everyone was given tools and sticks and told to make a circle at the opening in the maze. The blonde boy cried from the floor, tied up and helpless. black leaked from his eyes and mouth, seeping down his chin and discoloring his previously white shirt. His veins had turned a dark purple to show he had clearly been stung by a griever and could no longer be saved. He begged for his life in one of the most painful ways Richie thinks he has ever seen, even if he doesn't remember anything beyond the maze. Bills shout deafens throughout the glade "Forward!" and the boys begin to move in, shoving the blonde towards the maze with their tools. He begins to panic as the doors move in towards him, threatening to crush his entire body. The boy finally falls through to the other side and among his screams, only silence from the gladers can be heard as everyone walks back to the hammocks for bed. Richie laid in silence, staring out at the walls of the maze that enclosed him in the glade. He could hear rustling so he turned over to see Georgie moving in his hammock on the left of his own "Do you think he'll make it?" Richie asks no louder than a whisper "No one survives a night in the maze." and with that, they both go to sleep. Richie. The clicking sounds of computer keys can be heard as he looks up beyond the futuristic technology around him. The girl sitting across from him has short curly hair that is equally as bright as fire to go with her piercing blue eyes. She is smiling at him as though they had been friends for years and he couldn't remember. WCKD is good. Richie jolts up, taking in a sharp breath that makes him break into a coughing fit. Eddie walks up to him, clapping him on the back in an attempt to help his cough "Morning Rich! now get up ya shank you have work to do just like the rest of us" Eddie sticks out his hand for him to grab, reminding him once again, god damn that kid is strong. He follows behind Eddie up to a couple of boys working on axing down a tree stump "Bill went to retrace Patrick's footsteps in the maze this morning with Stan" Richie watches him chop at the stump for a minute, lost in thought "Are you gonna help? Look the most important thing is that we all have each other." and with that, Richie picks up a spare ax and begins to chop at the stump as well. It wasn't long into their work that he felt a drop of water hit the back of his neck before another, and another. Has it ever rained here before?  He wonders "Everyone take shelter! Get inside!" Eddie shouts as all the gladers run to hide within the safety of the many wooden structures. Richie made sure to stay close to Eddie's side as everyone huddled beneath the overhang of the hammocks and the dinning hall. Richie couldn't help but look at the opening of the maze before looking back at Eddie "They're gonna make it" he read his mind "But what if they don't?" He leaned against one of the support beams and looked at Richie with a hint of doubt that could have easily gone unnoticed "They're gonna make it." The rain finally cleared as everyone had encircled the opening of the maze waiting for Bill and Stan's return. The growing concern was obvious and you could hear the whispers of the gladers grow louder the more the sun began to set. Richie could feel the dread beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach until he saw Stan round the corner, dragging Bill in tow. He was clearly exhausted, run down, and barely standing but as if the situation couldn't possibly get any worse, a familiar tick and the sound of gears grinding could be heard from the old stone walls. Everyone began shouting words of encouragement to Stan who could be heard screaming in frustration and agony in an attempt to speed up. It's helpless, they aren't going to make it. They're not gonna make it. "Come on Stan! You gotta leave him behind! Come on!" The sounds were distant to Richie "They're not gonna make it" Eddie said looking at him with a level of concern that can't be mimicked. They're not gonna make it They're not gonna make it They're not gonna make it. Richie has always been an impulsive person, making decisions on the whim based on his current emotions without any sort of judgement or second thought. Before he knew it, his body was moving at lighting speed through the opening of the maze before he could even second guess himself. "Richie no!" Georgie's plea could be heard as he felt the ghost of Eddie's hand grab at his arm as he squeezed through the last space of the closing doors of the maze. The doors shut with a final squeal of the rusted gears, signifying they weren't opening again until the sun came back up. A defeated Stan sat by Bills limp body as he looked up at Richie with an unreadable expression "Congratulations, you've just killed yourself."