Disclaimer – I disclaim!
Intrepid
Prologue
She was burning.
There were no fires, no columns of smoke, not even a trace of ash in the air; she burned nonetheless.
She stood, barefoot and alone, in the cool grass and she stared. Impenetrable stone, impervious to her gaze, unmovable at her words, unchangeable by her fists. Final. Lasting.
A death sentence.
The pale moonlight stretched her shadow to the very edge of the thick stone walls until they just barely touched. It was as close as she dared to get tonight. There were other times, times of naivety, times when she knew less of the danger lying beyond, that she would sit with her back against the stone and drift off into slumber. But not tonight. Not now. Now that she knew.
She could never forget. Things were different now.
The echo of a bone deep groan rumbled through the clearing. Its call ghosted over the bare skin of her arms leaving gooseflesh in its wake as the earth moved and shifted unnaturally beyond the massive walls, like a deadbolt, twisting and turning, locking her deeper within.
The Maze; unmovable to all but the Creators.
A smile tinged in bitterness swept its way onto her lips. A new pattern was forming in there, always a new pattern. Shifting, moving, and just as they thought they might have figured it out, everything changed.
Helplessness closed in around her, a cage she knew all too well, and she fought it back by sheer force repeating the mantra over and over in her mind—a single phrase that had been stuck in her head ever since she arrived—there is always a way out, there is always a way out, there is always a way out.
But that hope was slowly drowned out by the horror of the day.
Time passed, hours maybe, and still she stood until a second shadow, taller, stronger, faster, joined her own and suddenly she was no longer alone. She hadn't heard him coming. He had a gift for that. His feet being, perhaps, the only silent part of him.
Slowly, she closed her eyes and rocked onto her toes, her voice a mere whisper in the wind. "We're trapped in here, aren't we?"
His silence filled the air for a long moment. And then he shifted closer. "For now."
"And what if we never get out?"
"We will. I promise, we will. Just…" he shrugged, searching for the words, "got to keep trying."
Her eyes left the stone fortress before her for the first time since she had wandered out there and locked onto the boy next to her. His face was unreadable and she knew he felt the same helplessness, the same desperation that haunted her. Only he hid it better.
For some reason, unknown to her, she reached for his hand. Warm fingers engulfed her smaller ones and she squeezed; a promise. To the Gladers, to him, to herself.
"There is always a way out."
"Always."
AN: I've been reading a number of TMR fanfiction recently. I have a slight obsession with the snark, sass and sarcasm monster that is Minho and, well, I couldn't help myself! So, here's my take on the "Girl in the Glade" bit. Hopefully I can cook up some surprises for you all!
Chapter one (which will be considerably longer), coming up soon! Thanks for reading and please let me know if I've caught your interest!
- RevolutionNow