The Ignition - TMR Group B

Part 5

The next morning Sonya wakes me up before all the other gladers. "Come on. I'll show you why you don't want to be runner." 

I get up softly and quietly, trying not to wake the other girls near me. Sonya leads me to a section of a wall near the corner by the blood house. She moves aside the ivy to reveal an old, dirty and cracked window.

"Be quiet, one will come along soon." I nod peering through the window watching.

After a few seconds I hear a series of clicks along the stone. The metallic tap tap taping along the stones of the maze gets closer and closer building my anticipation.

Around the corner comes the most horrific giant spider looking creature I have ever seen. It has eight spiky, curved almost bladed legs, a weird blubbery skin that has various saws and dangerous objects protruding from it. Almost like a spider, slug, porcupine thing.

"Holy klunk, that thing is ugly." I whisper. "Yeah," Sonya says. "Still want to be a runner?"

"Yes." I say with a quiet power to my words. "I do."

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I try all the jobs starting with the Slicers. Lets just say, everything is so boring that I can't stand it. I want to run, explore the maze, take risks, learn a way out. I need to run or I will go crazy. I need to run.

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After a week in the glade I approach Kim at dinner. I sit with her, Val, Sonya, Harriet, and Artemis; my usual table. They've become my family, we fell into an easy rhythm almost right away, it was kind of strange. Almost like we knew each other from before.

"Kim, what will it take? What will it take for me to be a runner?" I ask ready to do anything, literally anything. What ever it takes to run the maze and look for a way out.

"Em, you really want to be a runner?" Kim says a kind of surprised look on her face.

"Yeah." I say. "What will it take Kim? I will do anything, and I mean anything to—"

"Okay."

"Okay?" Harriet says, "Kim she hasn't done all the training let alone the tests. I forbid it."

"Harriet relax, she beat Beth on her first day and she's been getting stronger. Plus she doesn't excel at most of the jobs, so okay."

"Fine. One trial day." Harriet says.

"Yeah?" I ask both of them.

"Yeah, you'll run with me tomorrow."

"Good that." I say, barely containing my smile.

The next morning Kim wakes me up earlier than the rest of the girls taking me to the deadheads. "Come on we'll get you set."

She takes me to a shack at the back of the dead heads.

"This is the Map Room. At the end of the day we'll report our findings on the parchment. What size are your feet?." "Nine." I say the number coming from seemingly nowhere.

Kim nods, hands me a backpack, a water bottle and a pair of runners. "Put those on and meet me at the Kitchen." She walks out of the Map Room, I tie my shoes not remembering who taught me and I rush to catch up to her.

We get lunch from Artemis and wait for the doors to open. While we are waiting Sonya comes up to us. "Be careful and don't get killed." Kim and I nod our heads and head out.

We run through the cold ivy covered maze, marking most of our turns with a string of ivy that Kim cuts from the walls. We move through what she calls section five. She takes me to a cliff about an hour away from the gate.

"This is the cliff, weird spot of the maze. It goes on forever, well looks like it at least. Moving on." We keep moving for a couple hours stopping only for lunch.

"I'm impressed Em, usually greenies are shuck tired by now." "No," I reply stuffing my sandwich from Artemis in my face. "Not me we're just getting started."

"That's, shit." Kim says, grabbing my arm and pulling me along into a run. I sprint beside her, risking a look behind me.

What I do see is something more terrifying from inside the maze. A Griever coming at us faster than either of us can run. "Kim! Give me your knife!"

"You stupid shuck face it will rip your arm off!" She yells at me not stopping for a second glance. "KNIFE. NOW!" She throws me the knife and I stop. Waiting for the Griever. When the Griever gets close enough I run at it and slide under it.

I thrust Kim's knife into the Griever as far I can reach gutting it. It screams a metallic, wailing, shriek as I drag my knife down the length of the Griever. It stutters side to side trying to stab me with it's legs. I stand up on the far side of the Griever cutting me off from Kim.

"Kim! RUN!" I scream as the Griever turns back toward her. I rush and slide back under the Griever reaching my hand inside the disgusting monster, fumbling inside the insides of the beast looking for a heart or something that will stop it from attacking Kim and the other Gladers if it makes it that far.

My hands are slipping on guts as the Griever legs start to reach for me scratching my arms and face. My hand close around a rod the most solid thing I have felt inside the Griever. I pull hard and as I do I scream. I look down to see a Griever leg protruding from my abdomen, I drop from the underneath of the Griever and pull the leg out, I roll out from underneath it as the Griever starts to collapse, falling in on itself.

I stand staggering, as blood is leaking from my side, pouring, more like it. I try not to focus on the pain, at least while my adrenaline is keeping me conscious. "Kim, KIM!" I shriek hoping and praying that she didn't go far enough to not hear me and leave me behind. 

I round a corner of the Maze and see Kim still running. I almost fall as I use the last of my breath to scream for help. "KIM!" I'm struggling to keep from blacking out. I fall to my knees hands trying to hold my insides in my body, pressing hard to stench the blood.

I see Kim turn around and start sprinting back towards me. She helps me up. "What the hell were you thinking Em?" I tie my jacket tightly around my wound almost like a tourniquet, gasping in pain.

"I killed it Kim, I killed it. There was a switch, a lever inside that I pulled to turn it off." I wrap my arm around her shoulder and hand Kim my backpack. "We got to move if we want to make it back before dark."

Kim wraps my arm around her shoulder, and puts her hand on my waist. Helping me back to the Glade. 

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Let me know if you like it in the comments! I would love some suggestions! Thanks for reading!

- Dr. Pinch