I think its safe to say that we're halfway through with this story. It's been two weeks since this story began and thank you so much to those who have supported it all this while. Even though it's not much, I'm grateful that there are people out there reading this story!
I don't own the characters.
It has been nearly three days since they've escaped the Maze. From 50 Gladers, there were only three of the original left and three tagalongs. Makoto couldn't stop himself from shaking whenever he remembered the gunshot firing in the air and them not being able to turn back and give Nagisa a proper burial. He had thought of doing it themselves but the thought of shooting the small boy, his heart clenched whenever he thought of it. Rin was silent, every once in a while sniffling as he recalled past memories he shared with Nagisa and Rei, the scientist turned fugitive was wracked with constant guilt, constantly whispering that he would be able to find the cure and cure others in his stead. Haru doubted such a feat could even be possible.
Asahi and Ikuya got along well pretty fine surprisingly, even though Ikuya would say that Asahi pissed him off half the time with questions about how the Maze was like. Ikuya had grown rather withdrawn as the days passed, his eyes constantly looking into the distance as he thought about what Hiyori and Nao said to him. Haru wanted to talk to him soon but they had to reach their destination first. "How much further? Its been nearly two days since we left that mall," Rin muttered as Rei snapped, "Patience! We're almost there!" But even saying that, Rei's voice faltered at the possibility they may be lost or get eaten by Cranks along the way.
That night, they slept in a ring in the sand dunes, not caring about shelter since there was only miles of sand stretching across from them. Haru poked the small fire they had made, the others snoring when he heard someone stand up and walk towards him. Ikuya sighed as he pulled his jacket close, steam coming from his mouth as he murmured, "Why don't I take the next watch?" Thunderclouds rolled over their heads, signs of lightning rumbling in the distance as Haru poked the flames. "Did something happen back at that facility?"
Ikuya's flushed in the dim light as he slowly scraped some of his hair back to reveal a thin line along the base of his neck. Several lines were etched in it as Haru's eyes hovered over it. "I remember it all…" he whispered as he let his hair fall back down, covering the wound as he turned to face Haru, his brown eyes bigger in the light as he said, "You were always special even among the other kids. For some reason, I felt drawn to you. Then the project started and one by one, everyone had to be sent into the Maze at some point. But you didn't fear the Maze, only saying that you would now be free to explore its walls instead of being cooped in the WICKED facility. I wanted to laugh how stupid that sounded but you were so serious."
Haru found himself smiling a little even though he had no recollection of the incident. Ikuya sighed as he scooted closer to the flames to warm himself, staring at the sky as the stars were slowly swallowed by the clouds. He could imagine himself standing on top of the building, staring at it with his older brother and Nao, the three of them talking about the day where they would be able to cure the world. But that dream was a far fetched one. Before Ikuya could say anything else, lightning thundered above them, causing the guys to stir from their sleep when Ikuya squinted his eyes, "Hey I spot light!"
Rei fumbled for his glasses as he sat up straight, squinting into the distance as he yelled, waking up the others. Asahi yawned loudly, rubbing his head as Rin groaned, "What the hell, Rei?" "Light! I see light in front!" Rei shrieked as he gathered his stuff and began to stuff them into his bag. As they packed, more lightning sounded and some even struck the ground behind them. "I think we better run," Haru muttered as they took off at full speed just as the first lightning bolt struck their campfire. The boys scattered as the fire blazed into the sky, a column of fiery destruction as they made it to the light.
None of them bothered to look at each other, only worried about saving their own skins for the timebeing. Occasionally someone would yell about almost getting fried so more or less they knew they were all still there. The light grew brighter as they neared it, their feet starting to slap onto tar as they ducked behind cars to avoid getting sizzled. "Almost there!" Rin yelled when he turned to see the lightning flash before Haru. "Get back!" he yelled as he pushed Haru out of harm's way, taking the hit as it sent him spiraling into the air, landing onto the floor with a hard smack. Haru barely had time to regain his senses as he snatched Rin and hauled him to the warehouse Rei had found.
"Come on!" he yelled as Asahi and Ikuya ran inside. Makoto dashed towards them and helped Haru haul an unconscious Rin into the building, Rei slamming the door as the hinger rattled with the force of the lightning outside. They slid to the ground, panting hard as Rei took a look at Rin. "Rin-san," he murmured as he pressed his fingers to the boy's throat to feel a light pulse. He was considering doing a CPR when Rin gasped, his eyes slowly opening as he murmured, "Am I dead?" "Unfortunately, you're not," Haru said as Rin chuckled, "Dang."
Makoto sighed in relief, wiping away a stray tear as Ikuya and Asahi exchanged weak chuckles with each other. As the Gladers made sure Rin was alright, Asahi wrinkled his nose as he scanned the room they were in, sensing some movement in the shadows. "Wait a minute, where the heck are we?" he murmured just as Ikuya yelled, "Stand back!" A Crank lunged from the shadows, shrieking against its bonds as Asahi slammed into the wall, screaming as other Cranks shrieked at them, their movement sending rattling sounds across the room.
"Hey hey! We got visitors!" someone yelled as light shone from beyond a small door. There was a squeak as two people walked through it, one of them carrying a shotgun while the other nervously carried a bazooka. "Nitori-senpai! Why do you need a bazooka for?" the orange head groaned as the grey-haired guy with the bowl cut squeaked, "We never know when we need to blast someone!" "Sheesh," he groaned when he turned to face the Gladers. Rin sucked in a breath as he scanned the boy's face, how he grinned, his hair and eyes, all of them shockingly familiar to…
"Who are you people?" Makoto asked as the boy grinned, "Name's Momotarou! They called me the Sea Otter of Japan for my quick running! This is my senpai, Nitori!" "Pleasure to meet you," Nitori murmured as a Crank lunged at him, earning a bang on the head with the bazooka. Rin gulped as he approached the boy, Momo grinning as he asked, "Do you remember anything about your past?" "Of course! Why wouldn't I? Speaking of which, have any of you seen my big bro, Seijirou? Big guy, handsome like me? Been looking for him like forever!" Momo said as Rin felt his heart drop. How could he explain Seijirou's death to his brother? "Your brother died in the Maze," Haru said as Rin silently cursed how the guy failed to read the situation.
"You gotta be kidding me! Onichan is so strong! No way he would die in something like that!" Momo began but his throat was bobbing as Rin shook his head. "I'm sorry, Momo, but you're brother is gone." "No way," Nitori whispered as Momo collapsed to his knees, sobbing as he wailed his brother's name, not caring about the Cranks that were trying to kill them.
I'm going to kill those WICKED bastards. First, they took him and then they took her as well… why… why did they have to destroy our family?!" Momo howled as Nitori held him from behind, trying to comfort him when someone spoke, "Oi, don't wail so loudly. You're waking everyone up!" A boy around seventeen stood at the threshold, walking through the Cranks like it was nothing as he hauled Momo to his feet, saying something to Nitori as the other boy nodded and led him away. "Who are you people?" he grumbled as he sized Rin up. "Rin?" he murmured as the red head scowled, "Do I know you from somewhere."
The boy's shoulders dropped in disappointment and sadness as his blue eyes looked into red ones. "They did it to you too, eh? As if they didn't take enough from me," he murmured as he looked at the group. "Come with me if you want to survive the night," he said as he marched off to the door, the Gladers huddling into a small group as they walked past the Cranks, trying their best not to pee in their pants in fear as they walked into a large warehouse. People slept around in hammocks, some of them glaring at them, in particular, Ikuya.
"Who are you? Who runs this place?" Rin grunted as the boy sighed, "Name's Sousuke. I help people who manage to escape from WICKED live a life here without getting eaten by the Cranks but things won't be able to be like this any longer. WICKED is stirring up for some reason and I believe it has to do with you people." His eyes raked over Ikuya like he was prey and the boy gulped as Sousuke smirked to himself. "At any rate, you people should get out of here as soon as you can. The people here don't like any of WICKED's pets in their midst."
"As if we even wanted to work for them in the first place!" Rin snapped as Sousuke turned to face Rei. "I remember this one quite well. The new face of the research team, the hope of finding the cure. What a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Ryugazaki Rei," Sousuke smirked as he gave a mock bow. Rei gulped as people crowded around them, sizing them up when Sousuke held up his hand. "No one here is a fan of you lot so you better get your butts out of here by dawn," he murmured as someone shouted, "We've got incoming hostiles from the city!" "What?!" Sousuke shouted as everyone ran to their stations, a boy handing him binoculars to show helicopters rising in the distance.
"Shit. You brought them here," he hissed as Rin glared, "The hell we did!" "We'll deal with them later! Right now, everyone get out of here into the safe zone!" Sousuke shouted as people made for cover when the first of the missiles hit the roof, showering them with glass and plaster. "Good evening, folks! Its your friendly neibourhood scientist, Serizawa Nao. I believe you have some lost kids that belong to WICKED. Surrender them and you might just be able to escape with your lives."
"The hell we'll deal with you devils!" Sousuke shouted as Nitori shouted, "Eat this!" launching the bazooka at the helicopter, singing its side as Nao sighed, "I'll take that as a no." As WICKED soldiers prepared to drop into the warehouse, Sousuke shouted orders to Nitori and Momo, who had recovered from his initial shock and was now out for revenge against WICKED. "Take them to the other side of the city! Take the shortcut!" he yelled as they yelled in agreement, bringing the Gladers to the side of the building to reveal a lone rope leading to the opposite building.
"You nuts?!" Rin yelled as Nitori handed him a hand harness. "If you value your life, you'll go now!" he yelled as Rin resigned to his fate, cursing as he slid down the rope. Makoto grabbed the next one, followed by a shrieking Rei. Sousuke scanned Ikuya face one last time before Ikuya dropped after them followed by Asahi. As Nitori and Momo were about to send Haru on his way, the building shook as Nao's voice echoed, "Shoot that rope!" "Go the other way! We'll meet you at the rendezvous point!" Momo shouted as Sousuke nodded, grabbing Haru's arm.
"This way," he growled as he fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a controller as someone dropped from the roof. "Freeze!" he yelled as Sousuke calmly shot him with his gun, the man dropping to the ground as they stepped over him and ran to an elevator shaft. "In!" Sousuke grunted as Haru sighed, leaping in just as Sousuke pressed the button, sending the whole structure tumbling above them. They rolled into the tunnel just as the shaft caved in, leaving them in darkness until Sousuke held up a torchlight. "Welcome to the sewers," he smiled grimly as they made their way into the darkness.