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Chapter XXXVIII

A Way Out

"We're going to make a mess," I murmured in between kisses, though my voice lacked conviction.

"I don't really care," Minho said, pressing his lips to mine once again.

Our little thing had only been going on for about a week, but it had been clear right from the start: we craved each other. There was no way around it. Neither of us could keep denying their feelings for one another, and why would we? Both of us knew what was on the line if anyone ever found out, so we sneaked around, stealing kisses when no one was watching. Maybe that was the fun of it, too.

The Map Room seemed like one of the only places in the Glade where we could be just with the two us. Only Runners were allowed inside, and they usually didn't come back to work after dinner.

I leaned back against the round table in the middle of the room, which contained all kinds of maps and a small model of the actual maze. Ever since I had first seen it, I couldn't help but wonder about being a Runner. I wanted to help make a difference. There had to be a way out, and I wanted to help find it.

While Minho was wholly focused on kissing me, my mind kept wandering off. I wanted to be careful with my heart. Minho and I were both incredibly stubborn, and it wasn't unusual for us to disagree or fight. It wasn't like I could just show myself completely. I wanted to be vulnerable with him, but circumstances held me back. There were much more important things to be taken care of, and if we ever fell out again, we still had to work together to survive.

I pulled back for a bit, trying to catch my breath. We were only an inch apart, and him looking into my eyes felt almost more intimate than kissing. He chuckled deeply, brushing a curl behind my ear.

"Out of breath already? How are you going to become a Runner if you can't keep control?" He said with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Oh, shut up," I said, punching his chest softly. "I could do it, if I wanted to."

"Do you still want to?"

"I don't know, I like working in the Kitchens ..." I loved my job as it was. But a part of me longed to explore. The four walls surrounding the Glade really started to feel like a confinement. "But Alby would never allow it."

"It's pretty dangerous."

"I can handle myself," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest as a statement. "I think I've proven that enough already."

Minho pushed a hand through his hair - something he did when he was nervous. Which he wasn't a lot. He looked over my shoulder at the maze model, and said, "It would be useless." Excuse me? After seeing my skeptical look, he quickly added, "Not you. Just all of the shucking effort."

"Why?" I asked, trying to sound cautious. His tone was starting to worry me.

"We've seen every corner and inch of this stupid thing. Each passageway, each dead end, each wall ... We documented all of this klunk, and we still haven't become any wiser."

Was he really saying what I thought he was saying? "There's no exit?"

"If there is one, we haven't found it. Which would be pretty much impossible, because we've seen it all."

I turned around as well, looking over the miniature walls that kept us prisoner in the Glade. Tortuous paths that crossed, ended and led in circles. In the end, all of them ended in another wall. Then something caught my eye.

"What's that?" I pointed at a section that didn't seem to end in a wall. It just ended in nothing.

"That's the Cliff," Minho said, "Only route that never changes, but it's still a dead end. We can't cross it."

I thought for a bit. "Well, have you tried lowering yourself down?"

"Harper, I know you're not shucked in the brain, but that's crazy. How do you want to do that?"

"You could just tie lots of rope together. Vines from the walls even, maybe. Then we need a volunteer to go down ..."

Minho shook his head. "That's way too risky."

"What else can we do? We have to consider all of our options, right?" He wasn't convinced yet. "We can at least check it out."

"It's a long run, though. We'll need the whole day. And I'll need some more Runners to come along with me then." He scratched his chin, considering his options. "We don't have the manpower."

"We don't have to have it all figured out yet. Just ask Alby first," I said with a shrug. It wouldn't hurt giving it a shot, right?

"I'll think about it, alright?" Minho said, before softly pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Don't worry 'bout it."

I almost melted into a puddle, right there at his feet. I felt my anger ebbing away and it was quickly replaced by a sense of safety. As much as I wanted to fight for this, my heart told me to trust Minho. If he said he would take care of it, then he would.

- # -

I wished I could have spent more time with Minho, but unfortunately, I was needed in the Kitchens for dinner preparations. Because I was the last Cook to call in, I was stuck with the all the cutting work. Not that I disliked it. Chopping vegetables was probably one of my favourite things to do in preparation for dinner. The job was pretty much mindless; chop, chop, chop, put the veggie into a pan, onto the next. I had been on the job for a couple of months now, so cutting my fingers off wasn't very likely to happen anymore. It wasn't very hard to drift off into daydreams when I didn't have to pay much attention, even with the loud chattering all around me.

However, this time I was rudely awakened by Frypan's booming voice.

"Who the hell you think you are, barging through my kitchen with your nasty-ass shoes?" He was shouting at some poor boy. Probably the new greenie. Maybe no one had told him yet that Frypan's kitchen was off limits to anyone who wasn't a cook. Even though I felt bad for the boy, I couldn't help but chuckle at Frypan's tirade. It wasn't like much we had much entertainment in here anyway, so whenever something like this happened, everyone tuned in for a laugh.

It wasn't my job to get involved, so I went on with my task, already forgetting about the intruder.

"Harper!" Frypan called, waving me over. The boy, who I recognised as one of the Baggers, still stood beside him, his cheeks flushed red. Apparently it was my job to get involved.

"What's up?" I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest in an effort to hide my nerves.

"Yeah, he got somethin' for ya," Frypan said, gesturing at the boy besides him. He turned to look at him, and added, "It better be damn good, shank, or you'll be tomorrow's dinner meat."

"Ehr, I came to get you both-" the boy started talking, but was cut off by Frypan once again.

"I got some dinner to prepare here, shuckface!" He exclaimed, gesturing at the stoves. "You think I got the time for your troubles?"

"Alby told me to get all the Keepers for an emergency Gathering," he said in a soft voice, trying not to attract to much attention from the other Cooks.

"Gathering? Those boys want something to eat tonight?" He muttered, shaking his head. "I got dinner cookin' here."

"Well, I-"

"Harper, how 'bout you fill me in after. I gotta make sure everything runs smoothly here."

"Uh, I don't think I'm supposed to be at a Gathering."

"Alby told me to find you too," the Bagger said. I was about to ask him why, but he probably knew as much as I did.

"Sure then." It wasn't really like I had any choice. "Catch you later, Fry."

"Good luck in there."

- # -

I was the last one to arrive in the Homestead. Everyone had already taken their seat, talking to each other in hushed voices, probably wondering why we were all here on such a short notice. Alby and Minho stood before the Keepers, the only two boys in this room who seemed to know what was going on. Alby watched me as I came through the door, but didn't seem surprised by my presence. He must have had a good reason to call me in here as well then. I recognised Ben and some other Runners standing near the back of the room. What were they doing here? I didn't have time to think about that, so I quickly sat down in the only empty seat, in between Clint and Zart. Before we could greet each other, Alby loudly cleared his throat, which immediately quieted the room.

"Minho got a treat for you," Alby said, turning to look at the boy in question.

Minho scratched the back of his neck and said, "So, I think I may have discovered some kind of exit."

An exit? Was he talking about the Cliff? The room seemed to explode, everyone talking over each other, yelling questions. Maybe Minho should have eased us in a bit. From the look on his face, he just realised that himself as well.

"Shut your shucking mouths!" He roared over the tumult, amazing even Alby with his harshness. The room fell silent once again.

Minho continued, in a more quiet and serious voice, "I was going over the maps and the Maze, as I do every day. Our girl here mentioned something to me, and I took it into consideration."

The Keepers were dead silent. Everyone's eyes were on me. David decided to break the silence. "What'd she say, then?"

I looked at Minho, only to find that he was already looking at me. "Harper?" He said. I had to explain this? To a room full of Keepers? How?

"Well, I'm not sure if all of you are familiar with what the Cliff is exactly," I began hesitantly, looking around the room. "I wasn't. It is basically a passageway ending into, well, a cliff. Minho told me that there was just ... nothing there."

I saw some of the Runners nod. "How's that going to help us, huh?" One of them barked.

"I'm not sure yet. We don't know what is down there. It could be nothing of course, but maybe it could be a way out. Or at least bring us closer to an exit."

"And who's going to take care of that?" Someone else piped in.

"I am," I said, maybe a little bit too over-confident. Both Alby and Minho opened their mouths to say something, but I continued, "and anyone else who wants to find a way out of this hell. I am not going to sit on my butt any longer and wait for a magic portal to appear to take us out of here."

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WE HIT OVER 50,000 VIEWS (ALMOST 60,000)! AND OVER 200 REVIEWS! 158 FOLLOWERS! So, how are you guys doing? Seems like a lot of you are leaning towards Minho/Harper. Hmm. We'll see how that goes ;). Not my best chapter, probably, but I really wanted to get this out because everything after this is going to be really exciting. It sounds really exciting in my head, at least. percabeth9349, I saw the movie, and oh. My. God. It really is the best movie out of the three. I mean, in comparison to the books, it's still a little lame, but damn. It was good. Have you seen it yet? Guest, glad you liked Minho's POV. It's been a while again, heh, but don't worry. I'll finish this story. AbigailNewton, I didn't even know anyone saw that pinterest board, glad you like it! KirikaAndo, Gally just wants to protect his friends :(. TheJadeScepter, I LOVED your reviews. The long reviews are always nice to read, stop making me blush :D. I had to look up what idiosyncrasy meant, but I am very happy you think I'm doing a good job. And the curly hair, right? I always read about OC's with 'pale as snow skin, flowing golden hair and eyes as blue as the ocean', so with Harper, I wanted to change things a little. And do the boys get shaving cream? Do they all have epic beards without us knowing? In the movies, they're all so smoothly shaved and handsome, but in reality, they would probably all look like a big mess. To all the others who reviewed, thank you as well! So, I was kind of thinking to myself as I was writing this chapter about maybe writing one-shots for this story? Like little scenes that happened in the storyline that you guys never really got to experience, or maybe you can request something? I don't know yet. Just an idea. Let me know if you would like something like that, and maybe some ideas to get me started :). Until next time!

- paperkite