Percy Jackson : The Maze Runner

Chapter 16: Reunion

Percy's PoV

The day Blackjack takes his doughnut to me to taste it, I promise to shove it up his snout.

When I got back to my bungalow, it was as messy as I'd ever seen. Even I can't make such a mess.

A pizza oven - how he got there, I had no idea - took up three quarters of the room.
Large hoof marks were visible on the side, probably because Blackjack and his friend saw that it wasn't coming through, so they had to force the thing, making an entrance bigger than the door.

Moral: Don't take pegasus as movers.

I sneak to my bed and collapse on it, thinking of Annabeth.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
I start to fall asleep when suddenly a soft thing falls right on my face, giving me a little scream of surprise.

I turn on the light and see that what fell on me is... pizza dough.
I look up.
Horror.
Pizza dough stuck everywhere, on the ceiling, the walls and the floor.

"Blackjack, I promise you, you won't get away with this."

And I fall asleep, a dreamless sleep.

The moment has arrived.
Thomas, Minho, Newt and I meet at the entrance of the labyrinth.

I look at them one by one.
"Are you sure you still want to come? I wouldn't blame you if you change your mind."

"Of course we're coming."

"Then let's go."

Just as I was about to press down on the rock to open the access to the labyrinth, I hear a creaking sound coming from the bushes just behind.

"What is it, Percy?" Thomas asks me.

"Uh, I thought that... anyway, it's nothing, don't worry."
Probably a monster. The wood is full of them.
Nevertheless, I feel observed.
Not wanting to frighten my companions more, I put my ideas back in place and put my palm on the rock.

As I expected, the blue delta, symbol of Daedalus, began to shine, then an entrance appeared.

"And here we go again."

I jumped first, joined very quickly by the rest of the group.

"Well, which way do we go now?" Ask Minho.

All eyes turned to Newt.

"Hey, I'm not a GPS!"

We look at him, raising our eyebrows.

Newt rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Anyway without me you're lost."

With Thomas and Minho, we exchange an amused look, exchanging a smile.

"You have to go to the right. Bend down when you pass under the arch that is a few meters away, there is a trap." Newt tells us.

"Thank you, compass!" Minho mocked.

"Don't call me the compass. I shouldn't have told you where the trap was, that might have been fun." Answer Newt.

"Oh c'mon, you'd miss me too much." Minho said to him. "I know you consider me a god." In saying these words, Minho winked at Thomas and I, too busy holding back laughs not to offend Newt.

"Go on your way." I told them.

And we went on like that for what seemed like hours, avoiding the traps and finding our way thanks to Newt.

The advantage of being with them is that I think the least of Annabeth. When I begin to think about it, an immense anxiety invades me, and I only listen with a distracted ear to what Newt says.
I almost got sliced by two axes, fell into four holes or even got flattened between two walls, without the others to hold me back each time.