A/N: So we go! Last chapter of The Maze Runner! Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 17
Running as a convoy we pass through the maze slower than I would have liked. Thomas and Minho lead the way whilst Newt and I bring up the rear. Chuck has obviously decided to over pack and is battling with the huge backpack he has on. I put my hand on his shoulder as we come to a stop.
'Give it here.' I say gently motioning towards the backpack.
Chuck shakes his head fervently. 'It's okay, I got it.'
'Chuck, it's so big, you're tripping over it. At least give me some of it. Make it a tad lighter.' Newt has stopped slightly in front of us, waiting for us to catch up. 'I'm not moving til you do.' I say finally.
Chuck sighs but flips the backpack round to his front so he can open it. I do the same with mine and wait for Chuck to empty some of the contents into it. He looks up at me after a minute, handing me his bag so I can see how heavy it is now. Feeling a drastic weight change I nod and hand it back to him. He silently puts it back on and starts to turn a way.
'Chuck,' I call him back. 'Will you hang onto this for me, now you have space?' I hand him the small device that opens the door. Taking it gently he beams at me and shoves it into a side pocket he can easily reach. I chuckle at him as he runs up to Newt. Throwing my pack on, I follow, noticing that the rest of the group has stopped to hand out the spears. Chuck has moved passed Newt now and is excitedly chatting to Jak about his newfound responsibility. I smile as Newt holds his hand out for me to take. Taking it gently, I rest my head on his shoulder.
'We're really doing it.' I say quietly. 'We're really leaving.' I feel Newt's head nod against mine as he agrees.
'Can't help think about Gally though, can you?' He whispers, trying not to alert the others to what we were speaking about.
I sigh angrily, 'Why does he have to be so stubborn. He won't make through the night.'
'There's nothing we can do. He made his decision.' Newt says firmly obviously as annoyed as I am, though trying not to show it.
I sigh again, dropping my gaze to the ground. Newt wraps his arms round me and kisses the side of my head. Resting it against his chest, I can hear his heart pounding. It's almost relaxing. Well, as relaxing as you can be inside a giant maze filled with things trying to kill you!
'Oi, c'mon lovebirds, were moving out.' Minho's voice calls across to us, dripping with amusement with every word. We chuckle and separate, but not without giving Minho a mock glare.
'Everybody, this way!' He calls, ignoring me with a smirk. I look up, smirking at Newt as we begin running again. Chuck is now up by Jak and Thomas, the weight of his bag no longer holding him back.
We move quicker this time, the excitement finally dawning on people and speeding them up. In no time, we're running through the blades towards the bridge.
'Keep it up, guys, we're almost there!' Thomas calls looking back to see if were okay. I give him a thumbs up and point to the right, making sure he knows where we're going. He smirks back and veers off towards where I pointed.
Lining up against the wall to the right of the entrance Thomas peers round the corner. His head suddenly whips back around to look at me. I know what this means.
'Is it a Griever?' Chuck says quietly looking up at Thomas.
'Yeah.' He replies. I walk up from the back.
'Shit.' Chuck states.
'Stay behind us.' Minho says clapping Chuck on the shoulder.
Teresa smiles. 'It's okay. Just stick with me.' She says to him reassuringly.
Thomas looks at me. 'So how do we do this?'
'Once we're through, the device will activate and the door will open. We stay close, we stick together... we get through this.' I say to the group. The line has been abandoned now and we are huddled close.
'We get out now... or we die trying.' Thomas summarises.
'Wasn't gonna mention the possibility of death, but whatever gets you going.' I smirk at Thomas as he rolls his eyes.
'Ready?' I say to the group. Several nods and noises of confirmation surround us.
'Okay,' I nod at Thomas.
'All right. Let's go!' He shouts walking backwards into the middle of the entrance and in view of the Griever. We all follow shouting almost a battle cry as we run onto the bridge towards the Griever. Pointing our spears, knives and machetes towards the Griever we push at it with all our might trying to move it away from the entrance. To get away from the spears it pushes back, knocking a few of us over and moves over to the right towards one edge of the bridge.
'Push it!' I scream, brandishing a spear I retrieved from one of the boys who had fallen. I jam my spear forward trying to push the Griever over the edge. Several of the boys including Thomas, Newt, Minho and Jak begin to the same moving forward step by step, slowing pushing it closer and closer. It obviously begins to realise our plan and swipes its tail over us. We all duck to avoid it, but one boy doesn't react in time. The Griever uses its claw and grips him round him waist. It throws him towards the edge, and before he can grip on he falls into the dark abyss below. The Griever starts to use its sting and begins trying to attack us with it. I push Chuck out the way of the sting and lose my balance. I fall to the floor and begin rolling left and right trying to avoid the sting. Fortunately it jams it so hard that when I roll out the way, it gets stuck in the floor. Newt hurriedly helps me up as Teresa slices at the sting with her machete. The sting flies off and into Chuck's hands causing the devise to fly out of his pocket and towards the edge.
'The key!' He shouts running after it
'Chuck! Watch the edge!' Teresa cries, pulling herself up and running after Chuck. Chuck throws himself onto his knees and slides to the edge to grab the key. He manages to grab it but his entire top half is now hanging over the edge. I run over to help Teresa pull him up. We each grab one side of his bag and yank upwards trying to pull him back.
'We've got you, Chuck!' Teresa shouts not noticing the Grievers crawling up the side of the wall. Chuck on the other hand has definitely noticed these and is frantically trying the get away from them.
'Pull me up!' he shouts. Finally getting him to his feet we run towards the other boys who have finally managed to push the original Griever over the side.
'Come on!' Teresa shouts.
'Thomas! Thomas!' Chuck screams. Along with the Griever I saw before another is now emerging from the other edge of the bridge. Walking backward I try to watch both at the same time whilst Teresa and Chuck alert the others.
'Chuck?' I hear Thomas say quickly.
'We got more coming!' Chuck screams running past them towards the door.
'Kira!' Newt shouts, coming up beside me jamming his spear into the Griever on the left as I focus on the right. The others quickly join us forming a line, giving time for Teresa and Chuck to open the door.
'Keep it steady, guys!' Minho shouts. A sharp noise comes from behind us alerting me to the fact that the devise is working.
'It works!' Chuck exclaims.
'Teresa, go!' Thomas shouts as the pair run into the tunnel at the end. We can't hold them much longer. They are pushing us further and further back.
'Don't back down! Keep pushing!'
'Stay together!' A blond boy named Jay stands beside me. Forcing his spear into the Griever, it catches hold of it and pulls him forward making him lose his balance.
'NO!' I scream as the Griever grabs Jay and throws him over the edge.
'Watch it!' Newt yells as I almost lose my footing.
'Thomas! Kira!' Teresa shrill voice alerts us to a problem. 'There's a code! Eight numbers!' A code? Eight numbers.
'Any particular numbers!' I shout back.
'1 to 8!' she answers quickly.
I quickly work through the possibilities in my head. That nearly 1.5 million combinations. No, don't be stupid. It wouldn't be random. Eight. Eight. It has to be related to us or it wouldn't be a test. Glade. Gladers. Maze. Maze. Eight sections of the maze.
'Eight maze sections. The order.' I shout at Thomas. Realisation bursts onto his face.
'What's the sequence?' Teresa shouts.
'Seven!' I scream trying to remember. Normally my memory is great but I'm not usually using it whist being attacked by two huge monsters.
'One!'
'Five!' Minho catches on and joins in. I glace gratefully at him.
'Two!'
'Six! '
'Four!'
'Heads up!' Newt shouts. Snapping my head back, I see another Griever coming in from the roof. It slides down the walls and drops on top of Minho.
'Minho!' I cry, momentarily forgetting about the sequence.
'Minho!' Thomas shouts. Minho is using the spear to keep the Griever away from him, but I can see him slowly losing his strength.
'Oh!' He groans as The Griever gets closer and closer. 'Get off of me!'
'AHHHHH!' A cry comes from my left as Jeff runs past me and jams a spear right into the Grievers neck. It jumps up releasing Minho but grabbing Jeff.
'Jeff!' Winston cries. I grab hold of him to prevent him running forward.
'What's the sequence?' Chuck cries as we are forced back into the tiny tunnel at the end.
'Come on!' I shout at Winston, who is struggling to cope with Jeff's demise.
'Six!'
'Four! '
'Eight!'
'Three! You got it?' Minho shouts.
'Keep holding!' I shout. Beside me Newts spear breaks causing him to glance at me is fear.
'Almost there, come on!' Suddenly the red light on the panel behind us turns green. The walls that the device raised start to twitch.
'Back!' I shout, pushing us further into the tunnel as the Grievers lurch forward to escape the walls with are now dropping down on top of them. One Griever launches itself at us but Thomas throws his spear right into its face stopping it in its path causing the remaining wall to drop onto it squishing its head into the floor.
I turn to look at the others to check if everyone is alright when the entrance to the tunnel closes and the room turns to black.
A squeak alerts us to the door behind us opening up. I walk forward and push it open a bit more. Bright white artificial light streamed into the small tunnel. I turned round to look at the others. Expressions of fear, relief and curiosity all melded into one. Walking out, I come face to face with a wall, it looks almost carved out of stone. Large pipes run along the top of it. As I follow these pipes along with my eyes I see the hall we are in goes on for as long as I can see.
'One maze to another.' I quip to Newt as he comes to my side. He chuckles slightly and takes my hand. We begin to walk down the hall hoping to see another way out. After about 2 or 3 minutes of walking we come across a door.
A door with a fucking exit sign above it. I almost laugh at the sheer cheek of these people.
'Seriously?' Frypan comments dryly looking at the same sign.
'Right.' I answer, raising my eyebrows.
Taking a breath I walk towards the door and push down the handle.
Yellow flashing lights, that remind me of the box, light the space in front of us. It's another corridor. Much shorter this time and we can see where it leads. Into what looks like a control room. Eyes flicking to the floor I notice a body. Dressed in a white lab coat, the body is lain on the floor, head propped against a wall. Blood smears litter the wall as well. Walking further in a broken window to the left catches my eye. Two bodies covered in sheets with what looks like bullet wounds in. What's going on? Minho comes to my side, grimacing at the view. Newt puts his hands on Minho and my shoulders pulling us away.
'What happened here?' Winston asks quietly. At Thomas' feet there is a man in some sort of military uniform, with a gun in his hand. As the others move into the control room, I pick up the gun. Images flicker in my head showing me how to check the magazine. Seeing that it is nearly full, I frown, make sure the safety is on and put it in the back of my trousers. I quickly check his pockets for any clips or extra bullets and sure enough find 2 more clips. Slipping those into my pocket I move to join the others.
Walking into the control room looks like a disaster area. Screens are smashed, bodies litter the floor, and electricity lines have fallen from the ceiling and are sparking. It looks increasingly familiar.
Newt and Frypan are over at a console on the far right of the room. As I get closer I can see the glade. Our Glade. On their screens.
'So they were watching us. This whole time.' Newt states looking at me; I can see the anger brewing under his skin.
'Hello.' A video suddenly pops up on screen. The woman from my memories is there. Dr Paige.
'What did you do?' I asked Thomas.
'Pressed this.' He points to a flashing red button on a workstation.
I stare at him. 'You saw a flashing red button and you just pressed it.' He looks at me for a second before he sees a smirk work its way onto my face.
He rolls his eyes. 'Shut up.' I chuckle before turning my attention back to the video.
'My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department.' She looks the same now as she did back then. Blond hair tied in a tight up do. A while lab coat that look slightly more chic than the others around her. You tell she was in charge just by the air of arrogance surrounding her. Just seeing her now made me angry. Newt could obviously sense this as hands came to rest on my shoulders, tightening slightly to let me know he knew.
'If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you...' The yellow lights began flashing in the video and the claxon started blaring. The workers in the back got up from the chairs obviously panicking. '…but circumstances seem to have prevented it. I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused... angry, everything we've done to you... it was all done for a reason. You won't remember... but the Sun has scorched our world.'
Images of scorched earth, and flaming buildings filled the screen. Entire cities burned to a crisp. I could feel a tear working its way down my face. 'Billions of lives lost to fire... famine...suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse.' Worse? How could anything be worse than that?
'We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent... unpredictable... incurable. Or so we thought.' I could see Thomas perk up slightly at this. 'In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed... inside harsh environments... where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand, what makes them different... what makes you different? You may not realize it... but you're very important.'
Explosions in the background caused me to jump. 'Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods.' Military people worked their way and shot everyone; but she just carried on speaking. 'Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us... for me... but not for you. The outside world awaits.' The men in the background were shooting at the window to her office now. 'Remember...' she began moving to pull a gun form the table and holding it to her head. 'Wicked is good.' A shot was all I heard. I had turned round to avoid having to watch and saw her. Her chair knocked over, and her body on the floor. I walked over slowly ignoring the others. I had to see her face. I had to make sure.
Stepping over the broken glass, and walking round the chair, I finally laid eyes on the person who had done this too us. To me. Right in front of me was the woman, I knew had trained me to survive the maze. I didn't know how to feel.
Another loud claxon made me jump. Turning back I saw that the others had followed and were stood just outside the room. Beside them a door had just opened up.
'Is it over?' Chuck whispered as I walked back over to them. I didn't respond. I didn't know how. Everything we knew was the maze. Was each other. This was a whole new ball game for all of us.
'She said we were important.' Newt said as I grabbed his hand. 'What are we supposed to do now?' I look over at Thomas who seems to be having the same difficulties I am.
'I don't know.' He whispers looking at Chuck.
'Let's get out of here.' I say firmly, deciding I have had enough of death and destruction for one day.
As we surge forward to leave a voice that I thought I would never hear again says 'No.'
'Gally?' I say turning to look at him. I want to smile and run up to him, but before I do I notice the dark blue veins running up his neck. Thomas begins to move past me but Teresa holds him back.
'Don't.' She says quietly.
'He's been stung.' I whisper.
'We can't leave.' He stutters.
'But we did. Gally, we did leave. We're out. We're free.' I say trying to get him to understand. I've seen what being stung can do to people. It almost turned sweet and innocent Ben into a murdering psychopath.
'Free? You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place.'
'Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight. You're not. Now, we can help you. Just put down the gun.' I say holding my hand in front of my face trying to soothe him. My other twitches by my side in case I need to reach for my gun.
'I belong to the maze.' He whispers.
'Just put down the gun, Gally,' Thomas calls from behind me.
'We all do.' In a matter of seconds, Gally has fired at Thomas and Minho has sent a spear straight through this heart. A stinging sensation in my arm suddenly alerts me to the stream of blood pouring down it onto the floor. My eyes stay locked on Gally's. He was strong. What did he see to make him act like that?
'Thomas...' A quiet whisper comes from behind me. I spin round to see a red stain blooming on Chuck's shirt.
'Chuck.' I say signalling the others that something was wrong. His legs give way from underneath him and Thomas catches him lowering him to the ground.
'Oh, shit. Shit.' Thomas cries as he sees the bullet wound in Chuck's chest. Throwing myself down next to the pair of them, I see if there is anything we can do. Jak comes up behind me starting to panic.
'Do something, Kira!' He cries, tears streaming down his face. I forget how young he is, because of his height.
'Look at me, look at me!' Thomas shouts trying to grab his attention as I rip open his shirt to check the wound.
'Oh, shit!' I whisper to myself. His blood covers my hands as I press down hard on the wound trying to stop the blood flow. He groans at this. 'Sorry.'
'Chuck, look at me, all right? I got you, buddy. Just hang on. It's okay.' Thomas holds Chuck's face trying to get him to stay awake. Chuck's hand fumbles in his pocket taking out the owl carving he made to give to his parents. Tears start to leak down my cheeks as the blood keeps pumping out no matter what I do. He is going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it.
'Thomas, Thomas...' Chuck whispers working the owl into his hands. Thomas shakes his head and gives it back.
'No, Chuck. You're gonna give it to them yourself. Remember, I told you that.'
Chuck then turns to look at me. 'I'm not gonna get that far, am I?' I see the resignation in his face, if I lie, I would be lying to someone who already knew the truth. I look up at Thomas through unshed and shake my head. Jak whimpers from behind me. Chuck smiles slightly.
'Take it.' He whispers to Thomas again. This time he does. He wraps his hands round Chuck's.
'Thank you. Thank you.' He says faintly. Then he turns to me. 'Look after them.'
'Always have.' I whisper, even though in light of the current situation that doesn't seem very true.
'I'll say hi to Ben and Nick for you. Tell Nick off for being a stupid clunk.' I giggle in spite of myself; this makes him smile. I nod.
'Thank you.'
'Will you sing? I've always heard that you sing to the ones that are going to die.' I nod gently and begin humming the tune I now know my mother used to sing to me. I stroke his hair trying to keep the blood on my hands off his face.
'No, Chuck, you're gonna get-' Jak tries as Chuck finally closes his eyes. The tears are flowing freely now as I get up and wrap myself in Newt's awaiting arms. Why Chuck?
'Chuck. Chuck? Hey. Hey, Chuck, come on!' Thomas' cries echo throughout the control room.
'Come on, wake up! Damn it!' At this I press my face fully into Newt's chest trying to block out the noise.
'We made it.' Thomas whispers. He's right. We made it out. It's not fair. 'Come on!'
'I'm sorry', I whisper to the bodies of Chuck and Gally. A bright white light lights up from the end of the corridor opposite us and black silhouettes begin to run towards us. I look up at Newt in confusion, before running towards Gally's body and shutting his eyes. I have a feeling that once those men reach us we're not going to get to come back here.
'God damn it! Damn it!' Thomas' cries of agony still echo though the room. Leaning over Chuck I then shut his eyes as well. They deserve that small dignity.
'Thomas.' Teresa weakly cries.
'Chuck! Get up, Chuck! Come on! Chuck!' The men round us up and begin to push us towards the light. I hold onto Newt tightly as if, if I let go I will lose him forever.
'Thomas!' I shout back. 'Thomas please c'mon!' Over the shoulder of the man pushing Newt and I, I see more of them dragging Thomas away from Chuck's body.
Emerging out of the light, we are running on sand. I look around me squinting at the bright sun and the intense heat. It looks like we're in a desert! In front, the men are ushering us into a helicopter.
'Wait!' I shout at the men. 'You can't just leave them there!' In response I get another push this time into the helicopter. I sit with my legs crossed next to Newt waiting for Thomas to get in. Once he is, the doors are closed and we take off.
'You guys all right?' The guy sat opposite me takes off the bandana covering his mouth.
'Don't worry. You're safe now.' Somehow I sincerely doubt that, I say in my head. I do not trust these guys as far as I can throw them. Distracting me from my suspicions we fly over the building we just emerged from to see the maze, and in the centre our glade. Smoke rises up from it, and I'm just able to make out the council hall burning. The reality of everything we had learnt that day finally hits me as I lean back against the wall. Thomas looked at the man, with equal suspicion to mine.
'Relax, kid. Everything is gonna change.' He said ominously.
Tell us something we don't know. As I lean my head against Newt's shoulder the barrel of the gun in my trousers presses against my back. Thinking about what has happened, I have an awful feeling that Dr Ava Paige was right. This is just the beginning.
3rd POV
Dr Ava Paige walks around a long table of directors, dabbing at the bit of dyed corn starch on her head. Squaring up to the table, she says, 'I think it's safe to say the Maze Trials were a complete success.' She relinquishes herself of her jacket and smiles at her audience.
'I wasn't expecting so many survivors, but... the more the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. As for Kira… well, we knew what she was capable of before she even went in. She continues to be an impressive leader, however she may become an issue if she goes against us. An undeniable force like that…, well, we'll see. For now, they seem to have taken the bait. It's too soon to say... but they could be the key to everything. So let's move forward. It's time now to begin Phase Two.
So there it is! Don't worry about having to wait a long time for the next one; a lot of the chapters are already written! I'm going to keep it to one story, so just watch this space!
royalrandoms4969 and KizzyKales thank you for the reviews. I'm so glad your both enjoying the story.
Have a good week,
Zoe xx
