maze to her heart ~ newt¹✓

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕚𝕩 | night in the maze

NIGHT IN THE MAZE

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Rae swiped her hands on her pants to get rid of the dirt. She was the leader. She had to stay positive even though in the back of her mind, she knew the position they were in. "We're not dead yet," she finally said as she approached the unconscious Alby. He had a terrible blow to the head and his shirt was ripped by his collar bone, but Rae could see that he was stung.

"What? What happened to him?" asked Thomas.

"He got stung. I did this to him," said Rae.

Roaring from the distance filled the silence in the maze. The three of them looked up in the direction from where the sound came, but nothing was there except the vast, never-ending length of the maze.

"Okay, help me get him up," Thomas said to Minho. They both hooked their arms under Alby's armpits and hoisted him up, then hooking their arms under his legs. Rae led the way through the maze as the boys carried Alby. They came to an intersection, but Rae just stared between left and right. Even though she hadn't been in the maze for over two years, she thought she would still remember it, but now, she couldn't decide between left or right.

"Just, just sit him down," she said to the boys, who then propped Alby up on the wall. Once they got Alby situated, Rae heard another faint roar coming from her right.

"We gotta go!" said Minho, standing up as I followed.

"Wait, what are you talking about? We gotta hide him," Thomas said frantically.

"Where?" Rae asked.

"I don't know. Are you telling me there's not a single place we could take him?"

Minho groaned in frustration, grabbing the Greenie by the collar and shoving him against the wall. "Listen to me, shuck-face, all right. Take a look around. There's nowhere to go!" Minho let go of Thomas and stood up as Rae watched. "You don't get it. We're already dead."

Thomas stood up, staring at the wall of ivy behind me. Even though Rae didn't know Thomas that well, she could tell when an idea had struck him. And one just did.

The three of them tied a makeshift rope from the vines around Alby's body and pulled on the other end, slowly inching Alby up higher and higher. As another roar erupted through the maze, Minho looked to the left, his face immediately dropped.

"We gotta go now!" yelled Minho.

"No, no, just a little more and we'll tie it off. Minho, stay with me."

"Thomas, we have to leave him," Rae panted.

"I'm sorry, Greenie," Minho whispered. He grabbed Rae's hand, and they took off down the maze, away from the Griever and Thomas. Minho took another left turn. The Griever roared and Rae could hear Thomas's scream. She prayed that he would make it.

"Minho, we have to help Thomas," Rae prodded as they continued to run.

"We can't help him if we're dead. Let's go!" 

Rae just stopped in her tracks. Minho looked back at her once he didn't hear her footsteps behind him.

"What are you doing?" he implored.

"I have to help him," Rae said, shaking her head. Leaving the distraught Minho, Rae ran the other direction and took a right turn and then a left, until she reached Thomas, still trying to tie off the rope. Thomas didn't even have time to sigh with relief when he saw the redhead when another roar ripped through, sounding much closer than before.

Looking frantically around, Thomas noticed some space underneath the vines and he crawled under there as Rae followed. They stood absolutely still as the Greiver walked past them, its metal legs shaking the ground with each step. Rae had a hand over her mouth to stop from screaming while Thomas's hands were shaking like crazy.

When Rae felt that the Griever had taken a turn in the maze, she and Thomas scrambled out from their hiding spot. Thomas started tying the rope against a dead root when they both heard the metal footsteps again.

"Thomas," Rae warned, bouncing on her heels. Finally, he tied it off and they both hid behind on the other side of the wall right when the Griever turned around. Rae's heart was beating so fast, she thought she would have a stroke. After a few seconds, the metal monster retreated back, so the two came out.

Rae's heartbeat decreased a bit, but she knew this was far from over. 

"Let's go," she told Thomas and they made their way further down the maze. Their shoes made silent clacking sounds against the concrete floor until Thomas stepped into something slimy. He lifted his foot to reveal a dark green goo on the sole of his shoe. Rae's eyes went wide. There was only one thing that could've come from.

The two of them slowly looked up to see the Griever overhead. Rae lept back as the Griever landed on the ground, baring its many rows of teeth. Thomas, on the other hand, fell to the ground from the sight of the creature. It jumped forward, barely missing the two of them. At this point, it was every man for themself.

Rae took off running in the opposite direction, hoping Thomas was right behind her. She had no idea how she was going to lose the Griever in the maze when she couldn't even remember the way back.

Left turn. Right turn. Right again. It was like a never-ending circle. 

When Rae looked back for a second, she didn't see Thomas or the Griever. Fuck. Running again, Rae could hear the sounds of Thomas yelling and the Griever howling.

"Thomas!" she yelled. After one last left turn, she collided with a body. When Rae recollected her, she realized it was Thomas, shaking. Behind him, the Griever was tangled in the vines, struggling to break free to catch its next meal. And Rae didn't want to be it.

"You're a crazy son of a bitch. Come on," Rae said when she heard Minho running to them.

"Come on! This section is closing. Come on. We can lose it down here!" yelled Minho as he ran through some doors that were closing. Rae ran as fast as she could, keeping close with Minho. When she turned back, Rae saw Thomas standing in between the two stone walls.

"Thomas! What are you waiting for? Get out of there!" Rae yelled at him, but he stood in the same spot. The Griever appeared on his other side and started charging at him. Thomas ran with all his might as Rae and Minho yelled at him.

"Don't look back! Run!" yelled Minho. Thomas was so close. He could smell the disgusting stench coming from the Griever, but he didn't look back like Minho said. Before the walls could close fully, Thomas leaped forward and crashed into Rae. The walls closed with the Griever still in between it.

Rae helped the Greenie up and took a look behind Thomas. One of the legs of the Griever was sticking out from the wall, and some guts were spewn across the floor.

"Holy shit, you killed it," said Minho, panting. Thomas couldn't believe it either. Although it was. a terrifying experience, somehow, he wanted to come back into the maze if they make it out.

Rae didn't allow the boys to have any celebration yet. She patted Thomas's shoulder. "Yeah, we have to get Alby. Come on."

~~~