Imprisoned ON HOLD

Run for Your Shucking Life

The burst of energy that had led me to jump through the unstoppable walls had all disappeared. I could see my reaction mirrored on Brenda's face.

Minho, my friend who made every situation light and cheerful, had just told me that I had killed myself. My survival instincts started kicking in: 'just run and run... you'll be fine.' They told me. But I knew Minho was correct. There was no surviving this. I was easy bait for the grievers.

While I was processing this, I saw Minho lean Alby up against one of the stone walls. "What happened to him?" Brenda's eyes had widened.

"He got stung. During the day is my guess. I wasn't there with him, but I found him almost unconscious. As soon as I had picked him up, he had to pass out on me-"

A roar interrupted Minho as he was talking. It was that growl I heard as I tried to fall asleep in the glade.

My heart dropped. I would never see the fresh, green grassed Glade... I would never see Newt again...

As I was thinking, I saw Minho immediately turn around and sprint off down the corridor. Wait... He left?!

Brenda started freaking out the split second he disappeared around the corner, "He left us to the grievers! He knows this maze, and- and I haven't even been her for a week yet!"

"Calm down," I said in the most un-calm manner. "He will probably come back... Let's hide Alby, k?" I gave her false hope. There is no way Minho would ever come back for us. It's ruthless survival out in the maze.

We only had a few more minutes before the rest of the light of day faded away, so we quickly decided to hide Alby in some vines nearby a few corridors down. While we were quickly doing our best to hide him, I realized something important.

"Brenda? When- I mean IF a Griever comes, we have nowhere to go. We're trapped right here."
(I said if only to make her feel a tad bit better. A griever was definitely going to come sooner or later.)

"Right..." she looked around, trying to create a plan in her head in just a few minutes. "What if we climb these vines?"

I looked up and around. "Sure. I mean they won't be able to get us if we're out of their reach. Good idea."

We continued our task at camouflaging the limp Alby. Then I heard the noise every Glader dreads, a rolling on cold stones. It came closer. Slow and steady, but closer every second.

I looked up nervously and saw a machine with animal-like qualities rounding the corner towards us. It was making its way to its new prey, slowly stalking the fateless victim: me.

I clambered up the vines without hesitation and didn't even look down until I reached the top. I felt Brenda right beside me the whole time. I'm pretty sure we are like exact copies of each other because we think the same all the time.

I say on the thick stone wall. "Phew," I wiped the back of my hand on my forehead, "That was a close one."

The rolling predator's tune changed. I. Was. Doomed.
The creature was climbing up the walls.

I panicked. But then an idea popped into my head (thanks to my survival skills). What if Brenda and I confused the griever?

I pointed Brenda to the other side of the vines. I was motioned for Brenda to climb down a side of the vines while I climb down the other.

We started on our dangerous quest down the steep wall. I was only a few meters away from the griever. But I somehow made it to the ground safe and un-stung.

It was time to do what I had known I needed to do since the day I found myself stuck in this stupid prison. RUN.

I didn't even bother to see if the griever was chasing me. I let my feet fly off the ground, adrenaline pounding in my ears. The only thin I focused on was Brenda's breathing right beside me. I didn't even care to make sure I memorized the turns we made... Like Minho said, I was already dead... Then why was I running?

I turned a corner and saw a panting figure bending on their knees trying to catch their breath. Minho.

"Hey! Follow me!!" He said in a panicked voice. Immediately he took off sprinting. Wow... if I want to be a runner, I should get into shape....

We twisted around a few corners, and every minute, it seemed like the griever was getting closer and closer...

When we came to a straightaway, I noticed that it had no rounded corner. It was a straightaway that just stopped in midair. Everything past it was black.

I knew this blank dimension by a few rumors around the Glade: The Cliff. Minho stopped running and stood close to the edge of the Cliff. "Oh shoot," He whispered. "How could I have gotten that turn wrong in my head!"

Then Brenda shouted, "No time for thinking! There's a shucking griever right behind us!"

An idea popped into my head suddenly. If I could out-smart the griever with the vines, then why couldn't I out-smart the griever with the Cliff?

"Hey! I have an idea!" I screamed. "We all stand right here," I was standing near the edge of the cliff in the middle of the path. "And when I count to 3, we immediately run off to the side, ok?" They all nodded slowly.

We watched the unstoppable force of the griever bounding straight for us. He was going to kill us all. "One... Two..." I started saying. This was NOT the end! I was NOT going to die today! "THREE!" I jumped and pushed all them to the side, and I watched in slow motion.

The griever could not stop itself from its momentum it was at, and it came tumbling down the Cliff into darkness. We watched as it kept falling until we could not see the creature anymore.

Brenda was the first to speak. "THAT WAS SHUCKING AWESOME!" I just slowly nodded in response. What did I just do?! I just killed a griever...