Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay, I was planning on updating every week or so, but there was too much to do :( In the hope it'll make up to you, this one is a bit longer than the others, so I hope you'll enjoy :)
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Thomas and Minho ran like they had never run before. The air rapidly entering and exiting their lungs was almost scorching their throats. The walls around them were moving fast and their chances of ever coming out of the 7th section were decreasing at every second. The blades were rotating and assembling, forming a wall to prohibit them from exiting the section. As they ran, Thomas got stuck on one side and Minho on another. The blades were still rotating next to him, giving him only a small chance of getting on the other side. He hesitated while accelerating, his anxiety increasing. Suddenly, he threw himself on the other side, avoiding death by only a few milliseconds. Once they reached the entry of the 7th section, they didn't slow down. They ran straight for the Glade to inform the others.
As they entered the Glade, they finally slowed down and collapsed on the grass right in front of the West Door. The Gladers promptly noticed their return and soon, a mass formed around them. Alby arrived and pushed everyone aside to get to Thomas and Minho. He looked stressed and upset. He immediately asked the boys to tell them what happened.
"First, get me some water or I'll die before I can tell you anything! We just shucking ran the whole way back, okay?" Minho replied irritably. Alby's frown grew deeper.
"Preston! Get him water, now. You better have something important to tell, ya shank", he muttered. The waiting for the glass of water was awkward as Alby and Minho were refusing to say anything before Preston had returned.
"Here ya go, Minho", Preston said with almost deference in his voice. Alby rolled his eyes and waited for Minho to finish his glass. The concerned one quaffed the water in no time.
Minho smiled mischievously at Alby: "Okay, so here's the thing: we found an exit."
The revelation had the effect of a bomb. Everyone started talking at the same time: people trying to ask Minho what he meant by that, how they found it, if this could ever be possible…
"EVERYONE, SHUT THE SHUCK UP!" Alby screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone fell silent and turned to him: "Now if you slintheads could explain what the shuck you're talking about!"
"Well, that weird cylinder started beeping when we were in section 7. It was like it was showing us the way, so we just followed. We found a new corridor, one I have never seen and we found an exit. We can escape, guys!" he fervidly explained.
This time, silence fell. Everyone looked at Minho in awe, as if the news didn't really reach their brains. Alby was shocked: "What? Are you sure?" He looked as if the news had broken him.
Newt and Gally suddenly arrived: "What's goin on?" Newt asked.
Shuck almost cried as he said: "They found an exit! We're gonna escape!"
They were dumbstruck with the news. Gally couldn't retain himself to riposte: "I don't believe you. This whole joke is gonna send us right to our graves, I tell ya. You can say what you want: this is a trick from Thomas, to lead us to our deaths. I saw him during the Changing! He was with them! He did this to us!"
Alby intervened: "Gally, you think what ya want, but this guy saved my life. I can't just accuse him of anything if he did the only thing that would kill him to save me."
Gally didn't reply and angrily stomped away, his minions joining him. Newt looked at Thomas and Minho: "I hope ya guys are right, cause if you're not, you're goin to bloody regret it."
Minho waved it off and stormed to the Map Room to gather information for their escape. Because of all this new information, he was getting ecstatic at the thought of getting out. Thomas went to the kitchen to grab a snack and went to the room where the unconscious girl was kept. He felt like he should check on her. He was the one that found her, so it was logical, right?
When he came in, he didn't spot her right away. She was so blank and frail, covered by a big blanket. She looked like she was about sixteen years old. Without really realizing, he felt like he had to protect her. Like a brother protects his sister. It was stupid, because he didn't even know the girl, didn't even talk to her yet. But there was something about her, something familiar. He sat down next to her bed and took her hand in his. It looked so small, encircled by his big hands. He smiled at that thought.
"Who are you?" Thomas heard. He looked up and saw that the girl was wide awake. He quickly let go of her hand and jumped up from the chair.
"Uhh... I'm Thomas", he replied while one of his hands nervously ran through his hair.
"What am I doing here? What is this place?!" she began panicking as she registered her surroundings.
"Whoa there, calm down, calm down", Thomas stepped forward and took the panicked girl by the shoulders: "What's your name?"
"I… I… I don't… Wait! Hayden. Hayden. yeah. That's my name: Hayden", she looked a bit reassured to know at least this.
"Okay Hayden, here's what's goin on: we are in a place called the Glade. As I said, my name is Thomas and you'll learn a lot in the next few days", he almost added if we're still gonna be here in a few days, but he didn't want to freak out the girl more. She looked like she was relaxing a bit, so he let go of her shoulders and sat back on the chair.
"Look, we all appeared here the same way, well every one of us except you: we arrived with the box, didn't remember a shuckin thing. Then have gotten through the tryouts to find the jobs that suited us and we built a good working little society. Well, I didn't really participate much, but I only arrived a week ago."
The girl looked a bit taken aback: "I don't understand anything of what you're saying."
"It's okay, you'll get used to it", Thomas smiled to her: "I'll go get Newt and Alby, just rest a bit while I get them, okay?"
"Yeah, sure", Hayden replied. She was confused, like really confused. But even so, she couldn't help but trust this guy. There was something about him. She would swear she'd already seen him somewhere. Ugh, that stupid memory that didn't come back. Everything was just weird as hell!
She started playing with her hair while she tried to remember anything. Her head felt like a blank piece of paper, erased by someone. She frowned as she suddenly remember a glimpse of something, a second of her life where she was running, chased by something.
She ran. Faster than she had ever ran before. The world around her was blurred by her speed and her tears. The wound on her back was unbearable, but she was too afraid to stop. She could only imagine what WICKED would do with her if they caught her. Entering the Maze had been surprisingly easy, but she only understood afterwards that they counted on their monsters to stop anyone from entering, or escaping. The walls of the Maze were constantly moving, making it difficult for her to find a way to escape from the monster. Right in front of her, a wall moved. She couldn't stop in time and flew against it. The world went black.
When she woke up, she was surrounded by three boys, including that boy she saw earlier. Thomas, wasn't it? Before she could even speak, a dark-skinned boy started talking:
"So, Greenie, how the shuck did you get in the Maze?" Hayden immediately decided she didn't like his tone with her. She looked at Thomas, but he was staring at the wall behind her. Really helpful Thomas, thank you! She thought. She didn't notice Thomas shivering.
"Well, I don't know. I just woke up in this bed and I don't remember anything", she responded honestly. She figured there was no point in lying to them.
Newt tried to diffuse the tension: "It's okay, just tell us if you remember anything, right? Now, you surely want to eat something and take a shower, don't ya?" He smiled nicely at her.
Hayden nodded and got out of bed as Alby and Thomas left the room. Newt waited for the girl to escort her to the kitchen and to show her around. When they walked through the Homestead, all the boys they crossed looked at Hayden as if she was an alien. She felt really uncomfortable but she was happy Newt was with her, protecting her in some way. He and Thomas were the only ones that were really nice to her.
Newt introduced her to Frypan, the cook, whom smiled at her and gave her some food. She thanked him and sat down at a table with Newt. He was talking about the Glade and how they were organized. He told her about the different jobs, where she could be healed if she was hurt, who was in charge, etc. She didn't understand everything he talked about, but she was glad she could just sit here and listen to him. He looked passionate as he spoke about the Glade, even if she could spot a bit of sadness in his eyes. She felt a wave for empathy. Even if she didn't know what had happened to him, she really wanted to make him feel better.
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