Into the Maze

Chapter 7

We finished soon after we started, and made our way outside. Neither of us really had a job, we weren't given one yet, so we didn't know where to go.

"Now what?" I asked, holding my hand out and blocking the sun, while looking around. Everyone knew what they were doing, everyone but us.

"Find somewhere to be, I guess." He said, almost hesitantly, like he was nervous that he got my question wrong.

"Which is?" I stated again, looking over at him. He was glancing around too, then at me. We locked eyes for a second, and I could read the unsure expression on his face.

"Anywhere but out in the open" Thomas sighed, and I agreed. Soon, people would look, and we could just stand here all day awkwardly or find somewhere to be.

I searched the stations, the areas the boys were all working at. The builders were working on something, and the slicers were over by the animals, well, slicing.

"Oh, I got it. Follow me." I grinned as my eyes landed on a certain boy, one that happened to have a particularly cute accent. "Newt!" I called out and jogged over, Thomas behind me.

"Parker, Thomas, here to help out?" He smiled as we made it to where he was. He was working in a part of the garden where many plants were growing up a rickety wooden fence.

"Anything's better than just standing around." Thomas noted, and looked around at the wooden poles supporting the vines, it wasn't very sturdy.

"Glad you think that way." Newt chuckled before picking up a hoe and tossing it to Thomas, who caught it and sighed.

"Thanks." He muttered, then walked over to a section by a pole and started jabbing the ground with the tool.

I laughed and walked over to a boy with platinum blonde, curly hair who was bent down picking leaves off a plant.

"Right then, I'm Parker. What're you doing?" I asked, sitting down on the small patch of grass beside him. He looked up at me, a little shocked, I think he wasn't over the fact I was a girl yet.

"Oh, uh, well, I'm Zart. And I'm separating these leaves, from these." He held up a leaf that was a lighter green, and then one that was darker. "Then putting the lighter ones into this basket."

"Okay," I nodded, I think I understood which leaf was needed. "This plant too?" I asked, turning my back on him and pointing to a plant opposite the one he was on.

"Umm, yeah. You can do that plant if you'd like." Zart nodded yes, and then went back to his plant. I sighed and reached for the leaves of the plant.

I picked off a handful of the lighter ones and placed them in the basket behind me. I grabbed a few more, and turned, placing those in the basket as well. I like how I didn't question what the plant was, or what the difference between the leaves was, I just did it.

When I turned back around, I found Newt was staring at me. Not in an aggressive or angry way, kind of just zoned out a little bit.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked with a small and curious smile, quite frankly wondering if I did. I mean, I could have put a few of the wrong leaves in without noticing.

"No, no, I don't think so," He shook his head and slightly smiled. If I didn't do something wrong then why was he staring? "It's just that... never mind it." He can't leave me hanging like that.

"What? It's just what?" I wondered, I wanted to know why he was staring. Maybe I had something on my face? "Is something on me?" I wiped my mouth, but didn't feel anything come off.

"No, nothings on you." He chuckled, looking back at the vine he was tying down to the pole. I looked back at Zart and raised my eyebrows, as he smiled and shook his head, also telling me nothing was on me.

"Alright then." I ended the conversation, he wasn't going to budge now. But maybe later, when I also asked him about his limp, he'd say something.

I grabbed a few more leaves and put them into the basket, before turning around. I watched Thomas stab the hoe into the dirt in the same spot at least 3 times. He was lost in thought.

"Has anyone tried climbing to the top?" Thomas suddenly spoke, glancing at me then looking at Newt. The top of the maze walls?

"Tried it. The ivy doesn't go all the way to the top. And besides where you gonna go from there?" Newt responded, grabbing a few more vines and securing them to the pole. He was right, but maybe we could get a good look at the maze from up high.

"Okay, well, what about the box?" Thomas asked again, thinking of all the ways of escaping. I hadn't even thought about climbing up, or down the box. "You know next time it comes up you just drop down-"

"We tried that. The box won't go back down with someone in it." Newt shot down his idea again, as Thomas poked his hoe in the dirt, clearly frustrated.

"What if we-" Thomas tried to speak again, motioning with his hands as he did. Zart's face wore an expression, a grin, like he knew Thomas wouldn't think of anything they hadn't already tried.

"We tried it, alright? Twice." Newt said, stepping out from the vines and leaning one elbow against the small wooden stick that stuck out from the fence. "Alright, trust me. Anything that you think of we've already tried. The only way out of here is through the maze."

I looked over at the doors to the maze. The maze that they had been running for a while, and still found nothing. Three years. To me, the maze didn't seem all that promising now, but maybe they were looking in the wrong spot.

"Now look you wanna be helpful?" Newt asked, bending down and picking up a basket that was made out of a heavier, weaved metal, then tossing it to Thomas. "Here, go dig us up some more fertilizer."

Thomas's hoe dropped as he barely caught the basket, looking down at Zart, then at Newt. He sighed, and started walking a little, before turning back around.

"Parker, you wanna come?" He faced me, as I smiled then nodded. I stood up and dusted the dirt off my pants, before I walked over to Thomas.

We started to walk away, when Thomas slightly tripped over the hoe he dropped, nearly falling. I reached out, but he steadied himself and kept walking as I put my hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Get the fertilizer, Thomas. Sure guys? Can't help in any other way." He mocked, sort of out of breath as we made our way into the forest area of The Glade. "No just get the fertilizer. You know where it is, it's just out in the middle of the woods."

I smiled and shook my head as I glanced around. The light shone through the roof of leaves in some spots, it was dim but light in the forest at the same time.

There were many small hills in here, and there were leaves everywhere. Everything was either green or dead.

Thomas threw the bucket and shovel down as we walked to the end of one of the hills, swerving through a few trees.

I glanced back, it was pretty silent in here. There were bird noises, which were kind of peaceful, but the whole forest had a bit of an eerie feel to it.

I followed Thomas as he stepped into a small little stream, his boots barely getting wet. I looked down at my feet, which also had boots on, although mine were a bit more feminine.

I glanced up and watched Thomas as he walked toward something. I tilted my head slightly and followed, circling the weird thing like he was.

There were a bunch of sticks stacked together like a really branchy stump, with a small wooden plate on the front. The plate read 'George', which was one of the names that were crossed out on the wall, and above it was a small skull.

It was a grave. I crinkled my nose and bent down beside Thomas, who was also looking at the grave, probably wondering what I was. How he died.

"Look." He muttered, as I looked down. There, bones were rotting as a few flies swarmed it. I took a step back and swallowed, stopping myself from gagging.

Thomas stood up too, and I took another step back, ready to head and look for the fertilizer. When I turned around, I stopped in my tracks, and Thomas stopped in his.

In front of us was Ben, the runner from before, but something was off. He was different, he looked angry. Like he wanted to kill.