'Sometimes it feels better to not talk. At all. About anything. To anyone.'
- Unknown.
231.12.2 | 6:05 A.M.
Amelia arose from the trance of sleep, rubbing her head and looking around, muddled at what she'd just witnessed very distantly. She couldn't remember much of the last dream, in fact, she couldn't remember anything of the first two, either. Not feeling like drawing or writing, she was inevitably stumped. Humming to herself was the only thing she could do that wasn't smashing her head against the stone. There were other pieces of paper that could be filled up with imagination but she just didn't feel like starting something new. Even so, she picked up the papers and flicked through them, looking at her sketches and notes about her old Glade. Some things on there, she couldn't remember writing. She frowned, figuring she had messed up the notes somewhere along the line. She was still glad she'd written them down, though. Thinking they might be important, she took out her pen and swiftly wrote down anything else she could remember off the top of her head, not wanting to forget her home Glade, as it was the one she had been in for as long as she could track her memory back to. And she was bored. She kept flicking through, finding names she didn't remember. Myah, Beth, Sally. Who were these girls? Maybe she had fumbled over the names, not really concentrating. She kept running over the girls in her head. Their names left no trace. She tapped over to the other pages, scanning girls' names to see if there were any others she didn't recognize. Nope. She identified every other one. Just in case, she wrote down what they looked like and what their job was in her Glade. Once the deed was done, she got back to rummaging through the few pages she held. Near the end of the fourteen papers, she found three full of writing. She skimmed them, squinting her eyes. Her mind blurred, when had she written these? Not in the box, she thought, the only thing she did then was the names and the big picture of Marnie. There was a story about her and Marnie running through the woods, the other about her and Marnie's first kiss. Her face scrunched up, trying to think about where this had come from. Maybe she had written it when she was drifting in and out of sleep.
God Knew.
She laid against the back wall, shaking her head and giggling to herself. These stories weren't even real, why did she write them down? She buried her thoughts down, throwing the pages of 'stories' to one side and standing up, waiting for someone to pass her. She listened to her own stomach grumble to her for an eternity, waiting. Having no clue what time it was, she felt uneasy. She could tell it was morning, just not if it was early or late. She knew that Alby would take her soon to show her around. Well, she hoped. Yet, he never came… in the ten minutes she could be bothered to wait.
She stood up and stretched, like she did every day, thinking about nothing but her body and strength. Once she had untied all the knots in her sore joints, she got on to jogging on the spot with high-knees, breathing steadily, preparing for a day of nothingness. More people were getting up now, Amelia could hear their groggy complaints and elephant feet stomping around, the sound of bare feet against wood and stone, shouts from at the other end of the Glade. Although she was hungry, she concluded that she wanted to show these boys that she is stronger than them. If that meant resisting her hunger, then so be it. She wrenched her head side to side, letting drops of sweat fly from her forehead. Usually, when doing press-ups, she would get Marnie to sit on her back. The only thing that she had was a half-broken stool. So, she used that. It kept falling off at first, ending up in a leg from the wooden structure to be torn apart from its body. Finally, she got it to stay in place and did what she always did with Marnie, talk to it. Being cocky to herself, this time. Not Marnie.
"Hey, stool. How are ya?"
-no response-
"Nice to hear. Oh me? I'm doing swell. I love being locked in this burning pit of hell, there's so much to do!"
-no response-
"I feel like I really connect with you, stool. You're the only one who understands me."
-no response-
"Say, why don't we knock some boys out tomorrow? You can be my trusty weapon."
-no response-
"Awe thanks, nub, you're by best friend"
Amelia's ears perked up when she heard sniggers outside, a grin finding its way across her mouth, urging her to continue.
"I love you"
and this time, there was a response
"I love you, too." A random boy said in a mockingly high voice from outside the bars. Amelia was unable to see who it was from her position. She kept pushing on, holding back her laughs. "Stool, identify yourself?" Amelia asked, hopefully. The giggles from the Glade continued.
"Your dashing buddy" the 'stool' quickly replied, she then figured it'd be Minho replying to her absurd questions, she went along with it.
"Oh really? Makes sense, I'm only friends with beautiful people." She retorted, all the while doing push-ups.
"Like you." Minho replied, still doing that ridiculous accent. I chuckled, blushing only slightly.
"I know. That's why I hate that guy. What's his name? Minho? He's one ugly, slugged up boy."
The giggling from outside stopped, followed by a stomping of feet. Minho popped his head out from the side of the bars, frowning, making Amelia give in to her giggles. "Hey, that's not funny! I'm very sensitive about my appearance, I try to look my best, always!"
"Well, you clearly don't try hard enough" She sniggered, stopping herself from going overboard on her exercise. Minho took a step back, Amelia now able to see his full profile. Lowering his eyebrows, he puffed and stormed away. "Wait, Minho!" Amelia sarcastically wailed "I'm so lonely!", which was true. She slumped over, frowning. Waiting for another Glader to brace her with their presence. And, wanting to see how many others she could scare off. Sitting in a cesspool of her own thoughts was quite depressing, so she got back to working out, not caring that she was being excessive. Jogging around the enclosed area, she started to wonder about the random events that were written down on her parchment papers, they were most certainly in her handwriting. Since she wrote everything that she could remember down, she wondered if it was a dream. Probably just a dream.
She pushed it aside, maintaining concentration on her physical appearance, preparing for Running. As if it was an addiction, she needed to reconnect with the Maze to gain back her sanity. If she ever had it. Her muscles started burning, so she took a break, resting her legs and thoughts. Humming to herself, she closed her eyes, deciding it would be best to fall asleep for a little while, she had nothing else to do.
Drifting, drifting-
"BOO!" Minho yelled, popping out from the side of the prison. Amelia just yawned, opening only one eye. Not even a flinch. "Seriously?" Minho moaned "I waited like ten minutes for you to just look at me? You didn't even scream…"
"Oh, hey Minho," Amelia drowsed, teasing him ", you're back"
"never left, had to sit through you exercising" He rolled his eyes, frowning.
"Poor you. Watching a stunning girl like me get all sweaty and hot. Must be tedious." She chuckled, starting a smirk to stretch across his face.
"Good point" he huffed, scrunching up his nose.
"So I am stunning?" She asked, harassing him, blowing him a bitter kiss. He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck "Almost as stunning as me. Almost." He raised his eyebrows, chuckling.
"Oh Minho, don't flirt"
"It's my nature, can't help it."
"Good thing I'm gay then" She kicked out her legs in front of her, waiting for the homophobic comment to appear.
"Gay?" He asked, frowning "How do you know?" Amelia, being quite taken aback by his straightforwardness, reached for the drawing of Marnie to the right of her and handed it to Minho. "That's Marnie. My girlfriend," She put, tilting her head ", this is the drawing I thought you were asking about, but no, you wanted to see section eight of the maze. Like you don't know it already." He didn't respond, just looked open-mouthed at the drawing.
"You drew this?" He lowered his eyebrows, finding it hard to believe.
"Well, yeah. I got bored-"
"you got bored?" He scoffed, distributing the sketch back to her. "That's no 'I just got bored and doodled' kinda drawing. If everyone in this shucking Glade drew, it wouldn't be half as good as this masterpiece… combined." Amelia shrugged, folding it back up into her pocket and returning to sit in the corner again. "I don't like compliments" Amelia pouted, speaking the truth. She thought they were a waste of speech.
"Well," Minho sighed, straightening up ", aren't you the most talented, beautiful girl in the world"
"Minho, stop"
"your pretty eyes twinkle like the starts."
"When I get out I will batter you"
"so, so fit"
"another reason I could beat your ass"
"… alright. I'll stop now. Please don't kill me", he whimpered sarcastically
"Already have with my dazzling beauty" She laughed, completely forgetting the conversation they had the previous day.
"So, that was your girlfriend?" He asked, sitting down and folding his arms. Of course, he headed back to the gay branch.
"She still is," She cracked, raising her eyebrows ", and until I or her dies, we will always be." She joked, sounding melodramatic. Although, there was a slight bit of seriousness in it.
"Whoa, calm down there, shank. Bit committed?"
"Sure, I dunno. I just love her, so much. I'm not there to protect her, I'm here. I don't even know if she's alive, just arg!" Amelia flushed, she'd only been like this in front of Marnie, never another Glader. Minho gave a goofy smile "Well, guess the other slintheads won't be very happy with you being gay and all. Literally heard nothing but 'I'll get her first' all night"
"perverts"
"yeah," he raised, brushing himself off "I better be going. I'm already five minutes late to run. If I don't get my butt in the maze soon, Alby won't only be heated at one person." He stroked back his hair, smirking. "Don't worry, I'm always late. Five minutes is nothing" she sighed, limply chucking the leg of the stool at him.
"You're shucking violent," Minho stated, tapping the pits roof ", see ya' in the gathering, half seven, Greenie." She saluted as he walked off, smiling to herself.
It must've been early when she'd talked to Minho, since, two hours later, not even half of the Gladers were up. She was glad he didn't ask about anything from her home Glade, he lived in the moment. Like her. But at that moment she was finding it hard to forget. She drooped over in the corner, trying her hardest to throw her old memories down the drain and let the fact that her new life was with the boys sink in. She was never one to give up, no matter what situation was thrown at her. And she sure as hell wasn't going to give up then. She bit her nails, not nervously, but because they were getting long and she didn't approve of it. She glamorously spat them after she'd ripped them from her bedding. She sat there for another twenty minutes, bored as hell, picking at the grass that peeked from the stone slabs. She wanted to scream of ennui, banging her head against the wall. She didn't feel like drawing, or writing. She didn't want to do anything but the nothing she was doing was draining her everything. Hearing footsteps outside, she rushed to the window. Not caring who it was.
"Oh god, please save me from this torture!" Amelia clasped the bars, whining. The steps continued, stopping just outside were she was standing. She took a step back, sighing, wiping her forehead from the dirt. The boy crouched down, he was a chubby, small kid. He looked around twelve to thirteen. "Food?" He asked, passing Amelia a soup looking substance. She frowned, he was talking as if they were old friends. "Thanks," She obliged, taking the bowl full of green liquid ", wow, the Gladers do hate me." She joked, nodding at the moldy looking melted slug brains. He snorted, sitting down and crossing his legs. "It's not as bad as it looks, Frypan's a good cook," the boy scanned the pit, a cheerful smile conjured itself across his face "Names' Chuck. I was the Greenie 'til you came up. People still call me the Green Bean, though. They say it doesn't count because you're a girl." He pulled a long face and exhaled. "We're all humans, aren't we?" She squinted, anticipating Chucks response. "We could be aliens, maybe that's why we're here"
"yeah, and this place is paradise" Amelia joked, taking a sip out of the bowl, pleasantly surprised.
"Everyone's been saying you want to be a Runner" Chuck snorted a laugh, slapping his knee.
"What's so funny, plod?" Chuck scrunched his face up, distinctly confused by her Glade slang. He paused, deciding not to mention it. "Well, Newt will show you today, for the tour, and you'll change your mind." Amelia didn't need the tour and wasn't exactly appealed by it, but, anything was better than sitting in 'the pit.' "Well, whatever he's gonna show me, it's not going to be nothin' compared to what I've seen." She polished off the bowl, pushing it back to Chuck and wiping her mouth, letting out a few small burps. "Ladylike" He frowned, placing the bowl to one side. He looked awfully uncomfortable for the situation. "I can do it bigger" she winked, twirling a piece of grass around her fingers. "Ew"
"don't push me". They both stood, drenched in silence for a few eternities of seconds, neither of them knowing what to say. Chuck spoke up "I never thought girls would be like this." She pulled a frown and crossed her arms, trying to look as intimidating as possible, "like what?" She quickly challenged, raising her eyebrows. "Well, you know," he sighed ", you're kinda disappointing. You act like all the other boys here, you're hardly different. I thought women were meant to be polite and-"
"weak, domestic, passive? Sorry to burst your bubble, Chuck, but in this situation, I don't think anyone can act like that." She established, harshly, pulling away from the bars. Amelia ran her hand through her short hair, foiled at how ridiculous the kid was being. "Sorry, I shouldn't've mentioned anything" he mumbled, clasping his hands. Strange to think she wanted nothing more than someone to talk to ten minutes' prior. yet, now, she wanted nothing more than Chuck to stuff off. "Yeah well, leave me be and come back when you're strong enough to bear a child and bleed out of your fucking vagina every month." She wilted in her corner, waiting for him to leave. He wouldn't take the hint. Amelia opened her mouth to shoo him off when a hand bashed him on the back and he stood up to leave.
"Rise and shine, Green Bean. You ready for the tour?" Newt crouched, grinning the world. Relived that she could leave finally, she nodded. "I love how you talk like I've only just woken up". She raised, placing her foot on a loose slab ready to climb out. "Whoa, hold on there shank. How do I know you're not gonna attack me and run away?" She shrugged, not pulling away from her post.
"You don't," he frowned ", plus, where am I gonna go?" Newt whipped out his keys and sighed, fumbling for the lock "The Maze, for one. I wouldn't put it past ya." The gate flew open, Newt dodging out of the way just before it clunked him in the head. Amelia instantly shuffled out, knocking her head back, inhaling the fresh air. "Must feel good" Newt said, guiding Amelia over to their first destination.
He took her round to the homestead first, showing her where everyone slept. "For each of the jobs, there are rooms full of beds for 'em," He led her into the first one on the thin corridor ", This is the Runners room. They get a smaller one because there's not many of them" It was so messy, she thought. Messier than she was. And it smelt dire. "And bladie bladie bla." Well put. "On this side, it's where the Keepers sleep. They have their own personal rooms since they serve such a big purpose in the Glade". Some of the doors to the bedrooms had been engulfed in names of the Keepers, Minho's name coming out on top for almost all of them. "I doubt they'd like us going in, though. God bloody knows what they've got in there and I sure as hell aint' ready to find out today." Amelia didn't say anything, just went where he took her. In her own Glade, everyone had an individual room, apart from her and Marnie. They shared a room. Not the same bed, though, Marnie owned a hammock that she loved to sleep in. But, she ventured into Amelia's bed when doing… other stuff.
Nearer the end of the narrow lane, they scaled the stairs up to a square of wood and three doors. Gesturing to the first room, she was informed that it was where the 'Med-Jacks' worked their magic. They were the same things as the Interns. The door on the corresponding wall was Alby's room, the door next to that, Newts.
"Welcome to my bloody hideout." He threw his arms up before jumping on his hammock. He seemed to be the only one who had a hammock. Marnie was the only one who had a hammock. She then realized that Newt was the Marnie of their Glade, her Glade. She pushed her thoughts away and nodded, clasping her arms. "Very nice. I'm intrigued, tell me more about this manor." Sarcasm was her strong point. Newt rolled his eyes and his body off the bed, "god, we can't have another shuckin' Minho in the Glade. I can hardly deal with one." He sat on a chair at the end of his hammock, spreading his legs and leaning backwards. "Well," Amelia sighed "thanks for counting me as my own individual person. You continue to be lonely, here." She turned to leave when Newt blocked her path, standing relatively close to her. She folded her arms and took a step back from him, hitching up her leather jacket. "I won't be lonely now I've got you, Green Bean." He grinned, childishly, rocking back and forth on his toes. She tried so hard not to think of Marnie at that point, and her childish nature. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Amelia asked, trying to slide around him. Didn't work. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gently pushed her back. "It means you'll be stayin' in my room 'til we know what to do with you." This time, Amelia took a step forward, able to feel his breath. "What to do with me? I'll tell you what you're going to do with me. You're gonna try me out for the Runners, I'll make it in. I'll sleep with the other boy's downstairs, doesn't matter that I'm a girl. Boo hoo, I'm sure both them and I can deal with human body parts. Life in the Glade is going to go back to normal and everyone's gonna be fuckin' happy." She inhaled densely, attaining that she hadn't taken a breath throughout her whole rant. "Shank. I bloody tell you what to do," he began calmly at first ", just because you're here now doesn't mean that you can just shucking knock me off my role. Bloody hell," he initiated raising his voice, almost shouting but not quite there "you say that everything's gonna go back to normal. Huh? Nothing can be normal now that you're buggin' here. NOTHIN'." Amelia didn't flinch, she didn't even take a step back. Just gave no reaction, no fuel. "Now, listen to this. You're gonna go to that gatherin' today and you're gonna tell us everything you bloody know. Then, tomorrow, Chuck will take you around the Glade, testing you out for the jobs. That'll go on for two to three days, depends how fast 'yar-"
"I'm pretty fast."
"Once you find your job, you're gonna work like everyone else. You're just like any other Glader, nothin' different." His chest rose and sank, stepping away and returning to sit in his small chair. Amelia licked her lips and left her arms go listless. "Newt," she sighed ", you know I'm not just like any Glader, don't you?" He didn't speak, looking down and fiddling with his fingers. "I know things, Newt. I know a lot. We both want things to go back to normal, right?" He nodded "And we both know that can't happen. I want to go home and be with my friends. I don't know about you, but you don't seem too elated, either. Yes, of course I'll tell you guys everything," that was a lie ", but once I do that, I want nothing more from you to try me out for a runner. You'll understand when I tell you tonight." She went to crouch down next to him, titling her head, breathing a 'Newt'. "Okay." He shook his body, regaining his gaze to Amelia. "Okay," he mumbled again "come on, let's uh- continue." She complied and they headed on.
They went around the Glade, him showing her where each Keeper worked and where everything else was located. By the end of the tour, it was getting quite late, the Runners had only just come back. The doors would throw their breeze soon. Amelia now thoroughly grasped where everything was. She rightly followed Newt around for the whole day, his legs were getting tired. Hers weren't.
"You doin' okay?" He asked, patting her on the back. Smirking, she smacked him harder, pulling him in to a light headlock. "I think the question is, are you okay?" He scanned the glade, leveling up. Amelia only just noticed his limp when she threw her eyes to the ground. Concluding not to talk about it, she smiled at him. Meaning it. "One more place to go. I want to show you something. Probably won't make a difference, but we have to show it to all the Greenies." Amelia knew he was taking her to a peeping hole in the Maze wall, to show her the Grievers. To scare her from ever going into the Maze. He led her to the forest, close to the West Door. It took them a while to get there, but when they did, both Newt and Amelia couldn't be bothered to open their mouths and communicate. He guided her over to the wall, his light hands on her back. She wouldn't've liked it normally, but she didn't mind it with Newt. His hands were warm, he made her feel comforted. At home. Pointing at the little slit of glass, they waited there. Amelia sat, hearing whirrs and clicks getting closer. Sounds she knew far too well. Amelia wasn't tired, she was never tired. Just worn out. Emotionally. Newt jerked back when the first leg arose from the darkness. It shocked Amelia too, but not in the same way. She'd seen them so often, she found them almost cute. Ignoring the fact that they were brutal monsters programmed to kill.
Newt puffed, putting both hands on her shoulders, heaving her up. "Right, let's go. You've seen it." She slipped her hands inside her pockets once she stood upright. "How long do I have to stay in the pit before the gathering?" She croaked, coughing the phlegm from her throat. Newt shrugged, his hands also in his pockets, gazing up at the orange sky, peeking through the leaves. "Dunno. I'm guessing around an hour." She could just manage a 'huh', quite glad she would be able to get some rest before the arguments began. She sniffed and brushed her nose. Must be near winter, she thought, since she catches colds very easily. "Hey, Newt?"
"Mhm"
"what month is it?" He took a moment to think, rubbing his hands together. Do they seriously not keep count of what day it is?
"Well, somewhere near the new year. Guessing it's December. There's a calendar in the homestead. Only Clint keeps it up, he does love to be organised."
"Right."
They attained the pit, Amelia slugging into it and collapsing in the corner, Newt managing a small chuckle. "See you in the gathering Green Bean," He paused drowsily grinning "Lee." And with that, he left. And so, did she.
232.1.6 | 7:02 P.M.
"Wow," Amelia gasped for air, dropping Harriet's limp body "you might just be the smartest Newbie I've ever met." She pushed Rachel to the wall, pinning her hands to her side. "You just killed yourself. Suicide. Literal suicide." Amelia rapidly pulled away, running her hands through her then-long hair. Rachel knitted her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" She raised her voice "Excuse me?! I'm trying to save your life here. I know the Maze is dangerous, but so are we." Amelia shook her head over and over, repeating 'no's' under her breath. "We are dead. Me, you, her," she pointed at Harriet's limber body "No one ever survives a night in the Maze. No one. You made it worse. So much worse." Rachel wasn't listening, just looking around for something to protect themselves with. "You got a knife on you?" Rachel asked, her long black hair slashing the side of her face. Amelia scratched her ear, pulling out multiple sharp items from her pockets. "You don't even have to ask. I always have a knife on me."
"Thanks"
"There's no time for manners, stick" Amelia grumbled, hauling Harriet's body over to Rachel who was cutting vines from the walls. "Yeah, some measly vines are gonna protect us from flesh eating aliens." Rachel didn't answer, just continued cutting, collecting the vines in her arms. "What happened to her anyway?" Rachel asked, nodding slightly to Harriet. Amelia kicked her in the side, trying to keep her cool. "She got stung"
"stung?"
"Yes, you deaf old bat. Stung." Rachel flipped her head back and concentrated on the cutting. The whirrs and clicks were gaining on them. "Could I get some help here?" Rachel bugged, rolling her eyes.
"No. Not until you tell me what the fuck you're doing." Amelia stood behind her, tempted to punch Rachel in her nub face. Resisting the urge, she pulled out another, smaller knife and threw it around, raising her eyebrows. "Well, Harriet's our leader? She comes first." Rachel puffed, heading to the other wall and collecting more vines there. "Thanks for the explication schnick." Amelia hopped on one foot to another, sweating as the Grievers came closer.
"Well, I'm going to pile the vines on top of her, she's unconscious so the Grievers won't notice her. I hope." Amelia threw her arms up and turned in a full circle.
"What about us?"
"Selfish brat" Rachel murmured under her breathe, not looking back. Abruptly, Amelia's hands her around her neck, attaching her to the wall (once again). The knife to her throat. "Listen, Newbie. We're about to die. I'd say it's better to save the living than the dead. Harriet is gone. She was stung and it would be a miracle if she lives to see tomorrow. Stop playing around and save yourself." She loosened her grip, flipping the knife back into her pocket. "I want to see my girlfriend again," she mumbled, holding back the tears full of fear, anger and longings. "I want to kiss her one last time." She let go of Rachel, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I wish I could tell her that I loved her again, to see the look in her eyes" the tears gandered, "I'm sorry." She whispered even quieter. And with that, she ran.
She strained herself
Rachel gasped for air, almost feeling bad for Amelia. She'd seen how close her and Marnie were. And now it was all over. For her, at least. Rachel continued, not bothering that one of her friends had just run off. Once she had collected enough, she sat Harriet up and wrapped the vines around her, shielding her from anything that came their way. Eventually, when she'd covered every inch of Harriet's body, the Grievers were just around the corner. She took two steps back, admiring her work. She'd be perfectly safe. Surprisingly, Rachel wasn't scared whatsoever. She was just glad she saved at least one life. And she wasn't stopping there. When the first Griever turned the corner, Rachel didn't hesitate to sprint straight towards it, dodging its pincers as she gained on the beast. She didn't really know what she intended, just went for it. When she got close enough, she leapt, dove, if you will, straight over it. Landing ungracefully. She pushed herself up, knowing the Griever was right on her tail. She shot in the direction she saw Amelia go, trying to find her. She turned many corners, not really knowing where she was going. There was now more than one Griever after her, and she could hear some more up ahead. But she kept on. She twisted a corridor, unable to stop when yet another Griever stunned her, emerging from the only other path. It was too close for her to do the dive, too far for her to attack. There was no hope. She was surrounded. At least she saved Harriet.
Feeling a harsh pain in her leg, she fell to the floor. One of the pincers had inserted itself. And with her last breaths, she screamed.
Amelia's POV
I heard it. I heard the horrendous screech. There was no helping her. I couldn't do anything. But I tried. I turned back in the direction I came from. The running swiping my tears off my face. My bare feet slapped the ground, making the most unpleasant note. I tried to follow where the sound came from, the dreadful shriek. I knew I was getting close, I could hear muffled sounds just around the corner. No, the next corner. And then, when I saw her bleeding body, I lost control.
I hurdled myself at the large beast, busting it off Rachel. I had it pinned against the wall now. I'd gained back my command. Quickly flipping out my pocket knife, I sliced some wires, jabbing the soft, gooey areas when I got the chance. "Can you get up?!" I yelled at Rachel, spitting out the blood in my mouth. She was already on it, tackling the other Grievers, dodging their stingers. I pulled back, grabbing Rachel's arm and sprinting in the other direction, to where I was heading before. "Amelia, where are we going?" I could barely hear her over the amount of mechanical-made sounds. I didn't reply, it would slow me down. I let go of her hand when we turned the corner, the Grievers still severely close to us. We were slowing them down at each turn, making it a little easier for me to concentrate on where I was taking us. Thankfully, we hadn't gone the wrong way. Yet.
My ears wrung
I don't know how long we were running for, maybe ten minutes? But it felt like senility. We had no time to get tired, no time to wipe our sweat. She put her trust in my hands and I wasn't going to let her down. We reached the place I wanted to go. The only deep-maze half-wall with vines. Our last hope. I grabbed her hand once more and hoisted her up ahead, me following. We climbed the vines, I quickly stumbled over my words to explain to her what we were doing. I think she latched onto it eventually. The Grievers closely rummaged behind us, gaining speed as we went on. The vines didn't continue to the top, so I rapidly grabbed Rachel by the waist and thrust her up. She only just made it to clutching on to the top of the Maze wall. It was a rangy drop. If one of us slipped, it would be the end. I was just able to push Rachel's feet up so she could get a better grip on the wall. Rachel heaved herself up, using all her strength and reached out her hand to help me once she'd made it. I took it, feeling her soft skin against mine made me grasp that one last sliver of innocence before I was back to me again, fighting off Grievers for a job. She couldn't pull me up the whole way, so I had to help myself a little, placing my feet where they needed to go. I could numbly hear Rachel's shouts as the Grievers gathered upon me. And, with one last pull, I was safe.
For five seconds.
But, we didn't have five seconds to spare. We ran up and down the tops of the maze, banging into taller walls every now and again. For, these walls we were running on were only half the size of what the full maze would be. I took a sharp glance down at the Maze floor. Seeing piles of Grievers climbing, heading towards us. They must be hungry. They haven't eaten in almost half a year. Did they even eat people?
I pointed at a large gap between us and another smaller wall. One thing I knew as a fact. The Grievers are terrible at jumping. They weren't programmed to do so. Us, however, we were... acceptable. I suggested we kept running around until we'd collected all the Grievers in the section up to the half-walls. We ran in full circles, some Grievers tipping off the edge as there was no room for them. Thankfully, the ones that fell were dead, Rachel told me so. Or, yelled me so. All the more evidence our plan was going to work. Every single human and creature was balancing on a very thin thread, any one of them could easily topple over at any point in time. They were ready. Rachel gave me the look, I gave her one. Our confirmed exchanged expressions led us to run in sync. We were close. More than close.
Three.
Two.
One.
Hurling.
It felt like slow-motion. The breeze passing through my hands made me forget what our motive was. I was flying. Finally flying. I'd always wanted to for most of my life. And, it felt incredible. Like I'd finally gained a piece of myself I'd been longing for. But then it stopped. We landed.
We landed on a lower half-wall just across from where we leapt. My bones collided, smacking me into the ground. I could hear a slight groan from Rachel, who'd landed after me. Despite the pain, I jolted up, spinning around to see no spider-looking creatures. We'd done it. We were the first ones to kill a Griever. Multiple Grievers. And survive a night in the Maze. Hopefully.
I helped Rachel up. Her leg seemed fractured but it was nothing the Interns couldn't fix. Myah could just wave her magic fingers and it would be all okay. Everything is okay. We supported each other as we stumbled down the vines, collecting ourselves. We didn't talk much. Rachel sobbed and I checked us both for stings. We were free of infections, so we started back to the opening of the maze. Relived to find Harriet safe and sound, we sat by her. Gaping, gasping for air. Waiting patiently for the doors to open.
I convulsed
We were leaning against one another; our chests rose together and fell together. Her dry eyes flickered and mine hung half open. The walls had moved around just after we sat down, so we knew we had more than four hours left to go. Everything was silent after the walls changed. Almost too silent. Every now and again I could faintly hear wails and sobs coming from the Glade. They must be feeling just as much pain as us. Rachel finally fell asleep on me, lightly snoring. I didn't respect her before that night, I guess the girls that've been in the Glade for a while just discard the Newbies. But we were all in their shoes once. They need things explaining to them. I didn't like Rachel when she first came. She asked to many questions, bugged too many people. But she'd just saved my life. Harriet's life. There was nothing that I could put into words to thank her. It made me think about my skills as a Captain. I didn't necessarily give up, I would never do that. But I abandoned everyone for the sake of myself. And I would make sure that it never happened again. I kicked my legs out in front of me and fully closed my eyes. Forcing myself to sleep. But it didn't come. I was full of excitement, hope and hysteria. So, I just sat there, twiddling Rachel's hair as it was the only thing I could fidget with. I could never stay still for more than two seconds.
I relaxed a little
I don't know how long we sat there against each other, all huddled together. But it was quite a while, three hours at the least. But, finally, I felt my hair blow out behind me. The doors were finally opening.
I shook Rachel up, smirking. "U- what's wrong?"
"We're going home." She smiled, bolting to her feet and hugging me tightly. Almost toppling over, I hugged her back, startled at the unexpected move. I wasn't usually one for hugs, but in this situation, it felt right. We uncovered Harriet, kicking the vines to one side and we smiled like little girls. I would get to see Marnie again.
I picked Harriet up, I had arms, she had legs. Our hair intertwined as the gust blew us back. As soon as I saw the smallest slit, I signaled for us to run. I couldn't wait fifteen freaking minutes for the door to open. I barely squeezed through, but with the door submitting to shrinking every second, it was pretty easy to push our way as we went. Half-way there. I could see a crossed leg, a hand tapping it nervously. A hand with a scar. It was Marnie's. She waited for me.
I smiled
I dropped Harriet, not caring that I left Rachel and her behind. I stumbled through, skimming the walls. I was going so fast I almost fell out when I reached the end. Before she could even notice me, I was on her, hugging her. Many gasps flew around the Glade, but the one I loved hearing the most was Marnie's, when I knocked the air out of her. "I knew you would make it." She whispered, holding me tighter. I didn't respond, just dug my face deeper into her hair. She cried, I almost did. I felt guilty for not breaking, but I let it slide. I'd cried many times in front of her. She knew I was capable of it. Besides, the situation was more exiting than emotional. I whispered 'I love you' before standing up and pulling many other of my friends in. Sally, Myah, Beth, Daphne, Lillie, Izzy, Ellie, Polly. I'd never leave any one of them again.
"Shank, wake up. You're bloody sweating balls. Looks like you've spent a day out in the shuckin' maze." Newt shook me up, grinning. He changed out of his hoodie in to something more fancy. By fancy, I mean he wore a dirty shirt with no tears in it. I pushed myself up, deciding that it would be easier to write my dream down after the gathering. "Right, thanks for being civil." I winked, thinking I should look somewhat nicer, like him. I shrugged my leather jacket off and tucked in my pale-yellow shirt that I'd been wearing since coming up. "Let's get this over and done with." I sighed, following Newt out of the pit. "Good that." He patted me on the back and pointed at where we needed to go. I didn't really look, just followed him.
There was this whole other separate building that held oddly placed chairs, only one at the front. Two more chairs sat a little bit in front of the others. Some seats were stacked at the back, but only a few. He sat me down in the front seat, telling me to stay there until the gathering was over. Only a couple people were there, Alby being one. Glaring at me intensely. I didn't understand why. He wasn't the one with a broken nose. Newt sat down next to Alby in the front two seats, while other Keepers piled in. I noticed Minho in the crowd somewhere. Some others I'd seen before, too. The majority, I didn't know. Once everyone had sat down, Alby began.
"Greenie. Let's try to do this without a disturbance. Okay?" I rolled my eyes, nodding. "You're going to talk. Tell us everything you know. Then, answer our questions. After that. You will stay silent while we decide what to do with you."
"Go ahead." Newt gave a nod. I straightened up, folding my arms and leaning forward. "Well. There was a Maze. A Glade. Girls," Minho sniggered "I was Keeper of the Runners. Aaannd, I was there for quite some time. So, you can guess how I feel now. Random strangers. Boys, in my memory I've never talked to them before. A whole new Glade. It kinda freaked me out. So, sorry that I offended you, Alby, by hurting you. But get used to it. Not everything can be all happy-go-lucky," I paused, taking in a deep breath. "But, I will be courtly and follow your rules from now on. I'm going to try out for the jobs, I'm going to be just like any other Glader. Although... I do want to be given at least one chance for running. If you believe me, you would believe that I was Cap- Keeper of the Runners at one point." I sighed "Done." Leaning back. That wasn't everything, but I didn't want to waste their time with all the 'WICKED' stuff. They'd probably figured it out already. I raised my eyebrows, looking at all the confused faces spread across the room. Alby nodded, murmuring something to Newt. "Okay, everyone," Alby shouted ", you can talk now!" And then, the room blew up. Yells flung themselves at each other. I didn't know if I could talk, so I stayed silent, picking at a slab of loose skin. The only voice I didn't hear was Minho's. He probably wasn't surprised since I'd told him before. He just sat there, staring at everyone else, and me. A couple minutes later Alby held his hand up, halting everyone in their speech. "Questions. We'll go around one by one. Ask as many questions as you want. Make sure it's not too long, though." They started with a kid named Winston who was labelled Keeper of the Slicers. "So, was the Glade the same as ours or was it completely different?" He asked, leaning forward. I glanced out the window, frowning. "It was the same shape, yeah. The forest is in the same area, and so it the stream. The buildings are in offbeat areas, though. All the man-made stuff is jumbled." He nodded, along with a few others, seeming to get the gist of what I was picturing. "And," he continued ", how about the Maze?" I flopped down, raising my eyebrows, flinging my arms around. "Well, I'd sure like to know." I heard a few whispers and giggles float, making me smirk. "Yeah. Well, obviously. But, describe your Maze. Prove that you're a runner." Did they seriously not believe me? I'd given so much information already. "Okay. There was a small, tight maze leading on from each of the four doors. That went on for about seven miles. When you got closer to the outside, the paths got bigger and the walls, taller. But I think they were useless. Each runner had a section. Mine was four. In section eight, though, there's a big invisible wall thing that leads to nothing. We sent a girl named Tilly down there once. Didn't go so well..." Minho spoke up.
"Sounds about the same. Did the walls change every night?"
"Minho it's not your turn." Alby stood, folding his arms.
"Yeah, they did. We drew maps everyday but there was no hidden message. We continued doing it anyway. The Maze is there for a reason." Alby sank, visibly angered that people weren't following his instructions. "Alright," he shouted, fed up ", Zart. Go ahead." Zart sat on a seat that had Track-hoes calved into it. He eyed me up, lowering his eyebrows, unsure what to ask. "How cute were these girls?"
"Zart." Newt warned, rolling his eyes. I chuckled, as did Minho. We both knew what I was going to say. "Cute. Too good for you. Some of them, almost too good for me." Like Marnie. Zart seemed satisfied, slugging back into his chair.
We zoomed through a few more people. Sid – Keeper of the Sloppers, Jonathan – Bricknicks and Daemon – Keeper of the Baggers. They asked normal questions. Nothing massively important. Clint spoke next, asking if the girls in the Medical field were better than him. "I wouldn't know. I mean, they were good. I just need to injure myself before I can give you the results. Won't be long 'til I get back to ya, promise." Frypan, the cook sounded next, brushing some butter off his apron. "Why do you want to be a runner so bad? I mean, obviously, you're a Keeper. Or were. But, you said yourself that the Maze gave you nothing whatsoever. Why are you so confident you'll find something here?" I puffed up my cheeks, thinking about the question. Why did I want to be a runner? Wouldn't it be nice to take a break, do something different? No. "Because it's a part of me. Without my excessive exercising and running, I wilt. Also, I know there's an end. I just didn't find it in the previous one. But we're obviously put in here for a reason, so why give up now, right?" A couple of heads bounced, some whistles and a clap from Minho. "Right, who's next..." Alby scanned the small audience "Minho, go ahead. Ask away." He leaned in, squinting at me. Smirking and giving a roll of the eyes, I slumped back. "Would you care to race me?" He glowed, leaning in further. "You know, to prove that you're a runner. If you beat me, I say we try you out. If you lose, well. Good luck slopping," Everyone laughed at that. "If we draw, then we'll think about it. Good?" I bit my lip, ready for the challenge. "I'm in. After this, you and me big guy." He winked, I did it back.
"Hold on there, I didn't agree to this... Newt?"
"I say it's a bloody great idea." The blond boy grinned at the two of us. "It's on." Alby sighed. I almost felt sorry for the boy. "That's it. My only question." He fell back, as did I, waiting for Gally to share his thoughts and unanswered questions. "How do we know we can trust this shank?" He flung an arm at me, standing up. "She shows up here, our first girl, and it wasn't even an hour before she took down our first man." I chuckled at him using the term 'man'.
"To be fair," Minho stated ", he did harass her. I would've done the same thing." Newt nodded, turning around to face Gally.
"What's your question?" I asked, joking around.
"I have non- but how can we trust you when you've beaten someone up?" He raised his voice, pointing his dirty, splintered fingers at me. "Well, I've told you everything so far. If you've been in the Glade long enough, you'd be able to easily tell when someone's lying or not. And, what else was I supposed to do? Bloody kiss him?" I shrugged, not sure what else to say. "Sorry if you don't trust me, I wouldn't either, mate. But I'm here now and there's nothing really anyone can do about that. Believe me, I want to leave this place more than you want me to plod off. But I can't. So, suck it up and put your big boy pants on." I sarcastically smiled, bumping my shoulders up. Gally didn't say anything else, just rolled his eyes and tumbled down, nearly missing the chair.
We'd gotten through everyone. It was time for the 'what to do with the Newbie' game.
"I say we do what Minho said. We should try her for running against him, if she does well then we will try her out along with the other jobs." Frypan suggested. "Sounds like a plan. Alby?" Newt nudged his friend.
"Sure. It'd be good to have her away half the day anyway." I couldn't help but make eye contact with Minho and smirk, trying not to laugh as he pulled funny faces at me. I pulled them back. Conversations went on for what seemed like a century. Yeses and no's, questions and answers. It was all getting a bit too much. Finally, though, it was over. And I was sent out into the blackness of the night, to race the Keeper of the Runners.
Oh shit.
Some other boys woke up to watch, most of them dreary and exhausted, woken up by their Keepers or friends. "Right," Newt patted us both on the back ", we're gonna go from the east to west door in five minutes, get ready".
"I'm so gonna beat your butt." I chortled, stretching. He scoffed, shaking his head.
"You wish. A girl couldn't outrun me." He smiled at me. I was unable to tell if he was being serious or not. That just gave me even more reason to win, I loved proving people wrong. "Guess I don't need to meet you in the Mapping Room then." I laughed, trying to snoop on some conversations that spread around. "Nah. Guess you told me everything. Huh?" He stretched as I jogged on the spot, feeling a sense of nerve rise inside of me. I kicked my shoes off to the side, standing as far as I could on my tiptoes without wincing. "Why no shoes?" He asked, frowning. Looking down at his own, and then to my bare feet. "Don't know," I responded ", never run with shoes on. No clue why. Makes me feel like I'm flying, I guess. Like I'm free." He smiled. I tied my hair and hunched up my sleeves. There was a lot more boys now, some of them even cheering. I was so ready. We both walked to the back wall, kids lined either way. We put our feet on the Maze's vines, breathing calmly. Newt walked up to us, wishing us both good luck, telling us exactly what we should do and when to do it. And then, he ran back to Alby at the 'finish line'.
"Good luck." He whispered, jokingly giving me the evillest look. I grinned sarcastically and placed my hand on my heart. As if blocking it would stop it hurdling out of my chest. "Ready?" Alby shouted, we both gave the thumbs up. He had a whistle, and when it went, we ran. Newt held up his fingers, although it was quite difficult to see.
One
Two
Three
Running
Minho, of course, took the lead. Only a few inches in front of me, though. I pushed on, sprinting as fast as I could. I really wanted this. My long legs stretched out further than his, so it was quite easy to catch up to him. I kept even breaths, trying not to let panting take over me, as he was doing. Yeah, he was fast, but he'd quickly let that fast bolt slip if he didn't use the right techniques. I tried to block out the boys cheering on Minho and focus on my pace. I was one foot ahead of him. Two. I let a smile cross my face, it really did feel like I was flying. I continued, crossing into his lane. I tipped my head back, laughing. Not mocking at him, but me. At how ridiculous I probably looked. I couldn't lose this, so I quickly tilted my head back when I saw him gaining on me. Wrath had taken over him. I couldn't stop smirking, as much as I tried, I couldn't. I was still far ahead of him, but he was catching up to me. My sides started to ache, but I ignored that, only focusing on the prise. The Maze.
I could hear Newt say 'bloody hell', I was getting close. My heart thumped uncontrollably. Minho was catching up, but not enough to overtake me. I sprinted like I'd never done before. Not even able to see my legs, I was going that fast. I peeped over my shoulder to see Minho getting further and further away. I had this.
But then, I didn't. I was so close. A vast thorn threw itself into the soul of my foot, blood seeping everywhere. I had to make it. The end was only a few metres away. Minho now was, too. So, I did what any insane person would do. I kept running. I loathed the pain of the thorn sinking into me at first, but then it just stung. I didn't sprint as fast as I was going, but I was still ahead of Minho and that's what mattered when I touched that wall.
I touched the wall.
I fell to the ground, my head in my hands. I'd done it. I'd beat the Keeper of the Runners in a race. He was only milliseconds after me. But that didn't matter. I won. He leaned against the Maze wall, panting horrifically as I was. The pain was unbearable. Boys gathered around us, slapping us on the backs and cheering. Guess they hadn't seen the bloody mess that was my foot. Newt was the first to notice it. "Lee, you're foot's bleeding." I nodded. Like I wouldn't know if my foot was bleeding. "Call the Med-jacks, get em to look at her foot. Looks as if something got jabbed into it." I kicked him off me. Nothing was more uncomfortable than this. A bunch of boys gathering and looking at you, a pain that won't leave you alone, you sweat and you smell, you're dirty. But I'd won. So, none of that mattered.
I won.
I raised my head to see Minho running off to the Mapping Room. Poor guy. Must be embarrassing. Jeff and Clint ran towards me, taking a seat in the long grass. "You alright Greenie? You did well out there." Jeff patted me on the back, pulling out a first-aid kit Clint had lent to him. "Thanks." I groaned, pushing myself onto my butt. I didn't really want them to tend to me. Although the agony was oppressive, I longed to go tease Minho. "Hang on. I'll me back, parents." I kidded, already standing up and staggering over to the Mapping Room. "You can't leave! You're losing a lot of blood." Clint shouted after me. Strange how none of them stood up, though. They could've easily caught up and brought me back. But, I hobbled on, focusing on where Minho had fled to. I hadn't seen him leave yet, so I was sure he was still located somewhere in there. It took me quite a while to lag over, but I was glad when I finally reached it. My clothes were stained with blood, as were my hands, some even on my face. God knew how it got there. I propelled the door open to see a frustrated Minho mapping some mazes he didn't even need to.
"Ah, back to square one. Weren't we young then?" I spoofed, referencing the original plan of meeting in the Mapping Room and only telling him, not the whole Glade.
Whilst walking to the room, I had miraculously gathered smaller thorns, smaller rocks in my foot. Meaning that the bleeding could not and would not stop. I kicked the door shut behind me, he didn't turn around, not even a grunt. "You don't look too good, hot stuff. You okay?" I asked with genuine concern. And then he blew up.
"No! I'm not 'Okay'. Ever since you showed up, I'm being humiliated," he lowered his voice, still maddened, "You're freaking faster than me. And you're the shucking Greenie". I couldn't say anything back. I wanted to, but my mouth was unable to open. So, instead, I pulled a stool out and sat next to him, putting my head in my hand. My foot was in massive amounts of pain, leaving a bloody trail from where I entered the room. I pushed it aside. I had to help my friend before I considered myself. "We can forget about it" first time I'd been serious in a while.
"How? Even if we try, no one in the Glade will forget it. To be honest, I'm terrified to go outside. You don't know how much those boys get on my nerves, and I'm gone for half the day." I smiled and sniffed, pulling out a spare piece of paper. My foot began to throb, the blood still flowing as fast as a downstream river.
"Yeah. Well," I paused, flipping out a pencil ", here. Let's make something up. Something to say it was unfair. So, then we can run again. And you can win, meaning I'd still have a chance. But you'll seem... cooler?" He looked up, raising his eyebrows ", Let's say the ground was uneven," I suggested, nudging him and drawing a small sketch of the Glade ", here. There's a little bump in the ground. That could've slowed you down. Or, I guess, you could say I tripped you-" He stopped me by clasping my mouth, scrapping my drawings. "Shut up," he chuckled ", just slim-it." I frowned, licking his hand so he took it off my mouth.
"What?" I snorted as he wiped his saliva-covered-hand on my shirt. Everything spun but I tried to keep my head straight. I would rush on to Clint and Jeff once Minho was happy. "We're not going to race again. You won that fair and square. I'm just a shuckin' baby. Let's do as you said and forget about it." He grinned, rubbing his forehead. Damn, those mood swings. Worse than some of the girls in the old Glade. "Okay," I whispered ", oh. And, thanks for wasting a perfectly good piece of paper." My face felt like a ghosts, I'm sure if I'd looked in the mirror at that moment, I would've mistaken myself for one. He pushed me and I very nearly toppled off the stool. Silence grew upon us, stealing our every breath. I hardly noticed the bleeding when having one of our annual 'staring contests'. I began to feel an excruciating headache. All of a sudden, banging my head against the table uncontrollably. "What's wrong?" He stroked my hair, stopping me from being so aggressive towards myself. "Minho," I said wearily ", do you have a... a bandage?" I could barely gasp the last word out. Before I fell to the floor, throwing my head against the cold ground. "Oh, my god- yeah." He fumbled around for something he could tie my wound with. My vision started to tear apart, my head spinning. I shouldn't've left it to bleed that long. He ended up slicing a part of his green shirt up and tying my foot in that. I winced, the long thorn was fully inserted in me. "Try to stay awake," he urged ", Jesus Christ." He shook me, although I was too gone for him to bring me back.
The last thing I saw was Minho, leaning over me, shouting random names, though I could hardly hear him.
I closed my eyes, finally. Feeling a light pressure on my forehead. And before I could even wonder if Minho had kissed me, I wandered off.
Yes!
Finally finished. Again, school is stressful still and I can't write as much as I'd like to. It sucks, but I'm putting in a lot of work into this, as some of my friends know! Thanks for your support!
Anaofthesevenseas: Yes! I wanted to make Amelia British because I thought it might be cool for a change.
Green'n'lust: Yup! Thought no one would get that. Marnie does have some kind of German accent but sounds mainly American as she's spent most of her life with Americans :)
Valklea: Awe 3 thank you! I'm planning on doing quite a few chapters on this (By quite a few I mean like 600 XD) But I hopefully will be doing all three books following Amelia. Since I have 5k+ words every chapter, I doubt there will be more than twenty or thirty. But don't worry, that won't be the end of it. I will continue it throughout the trilogy. But, I will create separate fanfics for each because I don't want them to get too long. Thanks for your support :)
Shelia: I don't know. I might be creating a poal on for this (which I will link) so that people can vote on who you want her to be with. And, I won't be away for ageessss XD
I want to thank you all for reading! The next chapter will be out in a week or two. Here's the link to the one on wattpad:
436685473-running-for-reason-racing-fading-memories
