Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Twilight or the Maze Runner. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer, and James Dashner, please support the official release. I do own original characters made up for this storyline. Thanks for the support and Happy Holidays!
Note from the Author: Thank you Navywife, delia, and Roxhall for your reviews! Maze Runner is one of my favorite movie series. I've seen all the movies and read all the books. Dylan O'Brien is one of my top ten favorite actors as well. If you haven't already seen the movie, go watch American Assassin, it has him in it, and it's one of my favorite roles with him. I hope that everyone is enjoying the story. If only you could see the madness on my spreadsheets, all the research gone into this. LOL. As always, I appreciate all of you! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! PS. My hand is feeling better, but still sprained. I'm working on trying to get the chapters out still on time. If I skip a day, its because my hand was hurting too bad.
Bella geared up for her run through the maze. Her hair was braided back, so it would stay out of her way. She pulled on her fingerless gloves for extra grip in the event she needed to climb anything. Thomas found her in the main hut. He wasn't assigned a job yet, but he was itching to get in the maze, and was hoping to figure a way out of this place. Bella glanced up at Thomas when he walked in.
"Hey. Everything good? Gally, giving you issues still?" Bella asked, as she started strapping on her vest, trying to clip it.
Thomas moved to help her, spinning her so he could fasten the vest for her. "No. I wanted to talk to you."
Bella turned and looked at Thomas. "Shoot. What's up?"
"How do you become a runner?" Thomas went straight to it.
Bella frowned. "You actually want to be a runner?"
"Yes."
Bella sighed. "That's not decided on a whim. We have a gathering, and we discuss who is best suited to be a runner. There's a gathering soon to discuss where to put you. I suggest- "
"I want to get out of here. I don't see why I have to be selected if I'm volunteering." Thomas was adamant.
Bella pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. "We have rules in place. Gally wasn't wrong. We do things the way we do them for the safety of everyone here. Before we set rules there was chaos, and we need the order so we can keep pressing forward."
"It's been over five years, and you guys are still here. Something has to give."
"You're right. We have been here over five years. I've been here basically five, and Alby has been here longer." Bella said with a nod. "We have seen good people die, people like you, by not sitting still. We want to make sure that everyone is safe. That maze is not easy. This life," She motioned around. "Is all we have until we can figure out how to get out of here."
Thomas shook his head. "I want to be part of that."
"And you will be. You just must have patience. Listen. You just got here, and trust me, I understand that antsy feeling. But you have to trust me."
"I just met you." Thomas pointed out.
"Fair enough." Bella nodded. "We have a system in place. Give me time. If you want to be a runner…I'll talk it over with Alby and Newt." She said.
Thomas looked relieved. "You will?"
"Yes. I will talk to Alby and Newt. But for now, I have to get going daylight will be here soon." She said and then patted him on the chest and walked out of the hut.
Thomas watched her leave, flashes of memory coming to him, and he frowned. He looked away, focusing on the images. She was there, and so was another girl. He was so confused. He ran a hand over his face and then sighed.
Bella and Minho grouped up at the entrance, and she pulled out her machete. They were joined by Edward, who was running with them today. "Ready?" She asked, and they both nodded and into the maze they went. Section three was open, like expected.
Back at the homestead Alby was helping with some slicing, when Gally and Thomas got into it again.
"My name is Thomas, not greenie, not shank." Thomas yelled at Gally. "And you're not going to push me around."
"I don't like you. You are too squirrely, and I don't like it." Gally growled out at Thomas.
Alby sighed and jogged over breaking up the fight as Gally swung on Thomas. "Gally! Enough! You're about to land yourself in the pit if you don't stop."
"He's going to be trouble Alby, mark my words." Gally spat, and then he walked off to cool down.
Alby shook his head and looked at Thomas. "Are you okay?"
"What's his problem with me?" Thomas asked, wiping his mouth from where Gally got one shot in before Alby broke them apart.
"It's Gally. I don't know." Alby said. "I'm sorry that you're going through this. I know that-"
"All I asked was how many runners are there. I can't ask questions?" Thomas retorted.
Alby shook his head. "No, you can ask all the questions you want. We have 8 runners at any given time. Minho is the Keeper of the runners. Gally is the keeper of the Builders." He mentioned and then stood next to Thomas and placed a hand on his shoulder and motioned around the homestead. "Mike over there, is the Keeper of the med-jacks. They are our doctors. Jared, from yesterday, he's the keeper of the slicers. They keep up the livestock, fix the fences that keep them, and then slaughter them for our food." He explained and continued. "Leah is the keeper of the Gardeners, and that's exactly what they do. They harvest our produce, and they also help trench. Alice is keeper of the cooks. She has a talent for making the food taste good." He added with a smile. "William is keeper of the baggers. They are our security, and police. They typically help keep watch, make sure people follow rules."
Thomas nodded. "Okay, and Bella said that there is a gathering that decides who goes where?"
Alby nodded. "That's right. Newt, Bella, and I call a gathering, and all the keepers come together, and we decide where people go. We look at people's strengths and their weaknesses and put them where they could best help the survival of the group."
"Do you ever have more than 8 runners at a time?" Thomas asked.
"We have ex-runners. Some of us retire. That maze…. takes it out of you, and of course we have lost people along the way. In five years, we have lost 8 runners." Alby said. "No one volunteers to be a runner, we select them. Minho has a final say in it since he knows that maze better than any of us."
Thomas soaked in all this information and nodded. "Thank you."
"Not a problem. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask, just don't…ask Gally. He's not going to give you anything." Alby offered a smile and then someone called him over. He patted Thomas's shoulder and left him standing there.
Dark would be there soon, and Bella and Minho made it back, Bella a little worse for wear and so was Minho, but Edward was missing.
"What happened?" Alby asked instantly once he saw them jogging up fast.
"Griever." Bella panted out and continued to pace because her heartrate was still up, and she needed to wind down.
Alice's bottom lip quivered as she walked up right when Bella said that. "No."
"Shit, Alice." Minho said and then went after her when she ran off.
Thomas ran up. "What's going on?"
"Edward. He was killed." Bella said and ran a hand over her hair. The braid was looser now, and her hair had fallen out of it some. "Damnit." She cursed and turned her back to Alby, so he wouldn't see her temper flare.
Alby swallowed, forcing himself not to touch her. "I should have gone." He shook his head. "Bella I- "
"No. I can't Alby." Bella said and then she jogged off, going to the wall. She went there to look at the names, and to find Edward's name on it and cross it off, and mostly because she wanted to be alone for a moment. She got to the wall, and she stared at it, her chest constricting at having to cross another name off. She growled and slammed her hand against the wall, her knuckles cracking.
"Hey don't!" Thomas called to her and rushed up behind her and bearhugged her before she could punch the wall again.
"Don't touch me." Bella said through grit teeth.
"No, calm down."
"We just lost a good man." Bella said, whirling on Thomas and staring at him, her eyes rimming with tears. "I should have- "
"Should have what?" Thomas asked. "It's dangerous right? Going into that maze? He didn't have to go. He could have stayed behind and- "
Bella shook her head, cutting him off. "He didn't have to die like that. He died…. taking the hit for me." She said, her voice cracking a little.
Thomas studied her and nodded. "Okay. He died a hero. Give him that. Don't diminish it by ramming your fist against the wall. Don't disable yourself. You keep fighting to get out of here, because then his death….it would have been in vain."
Bella stared at Thomas. He was wise and was making sense, but she was hurting. She closed her eyes, the tears spilling out when she did, and then her legs started to buckle. Thomas caught her, going to the ground with her, his arms around her.
Alby came running up, frowning when she saw Thomas holding Bella as she cried hard, her face buried against his chest. He swallowed. "Thomas…. can you. Cross Edward's name off. I'll take her back to her hut." He said simply.
Thomas nodded, and then detangled from Bella, and she let him slip away. He went to the wall, looking for Edward's name. He was 19th on the wall. He picked up the chisel they kept by the wall, and he started etching a line through Edward's name. He did it for Alby and for Bella. He needed to get inside that maze. He needed to get out of here before the population here dwindled.
Alby got Bella back to her hut, and he sat her down on her cot, and closed and locked the door on her hut and turned and looked at her. "What happened Bella?" He asked softly.
Bella wiped her face. "The griever came out early. We know that usually in section three, the griever doesn't enter that section until we have two hours until dusk." She explained. "But it was out early, and it came at us. Edward had tripped over a new growth we found in the maze, and I stopped to help him. Minho was already booking it out of there and paused to try and double back. But Edward was shoving me out of the way as we got up when the griever stung, and he got caught in the chest. He grabbed the stinger, and he shouted for us to go, and that's how we left him. It was supposed to be me. We ran for our lives, but there was an extra wall suddenly in the section, and it slowed us down. It took us longer to get around the wall to make it out, but the griever was already busy with Edward….so." her voice was tight.
Alby went to her and sat next to her and pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She sniffed and just sighed, leaning against him. "I'm sorry. I should have gone. I should have just done the run."
"No. That's not going to change anything. The fact is…the maze is changing. There's nothing we can do, and now after five years, a new section has popped up, and there's no telling what the other sections are going to hold. We can't send any other runners in like that Alby. I can't- "
"We won't." Alby said. "I'll run the maze. Minho and me. We'll see what's going on, and then once we figure out things…we can send more runners in but- "
"No, you're not leaving me out of this." Bella said, pulling away to stand. "I'm not getting sidelined. I'm faster."
Alby sighed. "We can't leave Newt here to- "
"Newt knows how to handle things. He's diplomatic. Everything will be okay." Bella said. "We run the maze. Together."
Alby studied her. He loved how fired up she could get. How willing she was to put the group before herself. They always say that no one volunteers to be a runner, but that wasn't the case with Bella. She was one of the first into the maze, and she wasn't going to be the last. He had a feeling it didn't matter what he wanted, and how he wanted to keep her safe. She was too headstrong to just sit still and listen. He nodded. "Fine. But tomorrow, you rest. We can alternate. That way we don't get burned out. At least agree to that."
Bella started to object, but he made sense. "Okay." She said with a nod. "Okay." She said and then went to him, her mouth covering his, and he kissed her back, and before they knew it, they were naked, and silently taking each other. Alby thrust into her hard and fast, his cock filling her up tight as they pushed each other to their peak quickly.
[The Next Morning]
Bella watched Alby and Minho gear up. The sun was rising in the sky, and the entrance would be opening soon. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with? I can- "
"I'm sure." Alby said. "We'll watch each other's backs. This is section 7. It's the smaller section. We'll make sure to be extra alert. Keep Thomas and Gally separate. Yesterday Gally swung on Thomas again."
Bella sighed. "I'm about to swing on Gally." She muttered. "Be careful. Both of you." She said, looking from Minho to Alby. Her eyes stayed with Alby's longer, a silent understanding passing between them. Alby nodded and then him and Minho ran for the wall. She felt uneasy, but she just had to trust that everything would be okay.
Newt entered the center hut, finding Bella there worrying about everything. "Aye, it's going to be okay." He reassured her. He went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, and then he shifted, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Bella closed her eyes, and then turned and hugged Newt back. He was always there to be the sound of reason. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled at him. "Thanks Newt. I'm going to go help with the gardeners. Early morning harvest. If you need anything."
"I'll come find you." Newt said with a nod.
Bella disappeared out of the hut and went towards the gardening area. She was hoping if she kept busy, she wouldn't worry too much.
A few hours went by before Thomas found Bella in the gardens, bringing her a canteen of water. Bella glanced up at Thomas as he shielded her from the sun, offering her the canteen. "Thanks." Bella said and took the canteen and took a drink. "Newt keeping you busy?" She asked as she stood.
"Well, I've been helping the builders. Gally keeps throwing glares my way, but Newt is there to at least keep him in check, I guess. I figured you were just as thirsty as I was, so." He said with a shrug.
"Yeah. It gets hot out here." Bella admitted.
"Hey darling, can you come check off the new hut. Gally is being a dick." Jasper walked up. Jasper was one of the other runners, but he helped with building. His hair was blonde and long, hanging right above his shoulders. His eyes looked like liquid honey when the sun hit them. He was one of the nicer, quiet guys there in the Glade, and he was there a month before Bella was. They were really close, and they typically ran the maze together on their section days.
Bella sighed. "Of course he is. Why make him a keeper if he's just going to be hardheaded all the fucking time." She said and then looked over at Rosalie. "Rose, I'll be back. I've got to go do council shit." She said and Rosalie nodded, giving her a smile. Rosalie was very beautiful, and most of the boys here took notice. She had long blonde hair that fell in a cascading wave down her back, and her eyes were like blue violets. She had a stubborn streak from time to time. She was one of the med-jacks, but she helped in gardening when she wasn't doing med-jack stuff.
Thomas followed Bella and Jasper to the new hut built. Bella looked it over, pulling on certain spots to test the strength and nodded. "It's solid. Thomas, this is your new hut. Should have everything you need in there. Make yourself at home." She said, slapping him on his back and looked at Jasper. "Come with me." She said, leaving Thomas there, as they walked away towards the woods.
It made Thomas curious, but then there was a younger boy coming up to him. His name was Chuck, and he was nice. He was the youngest one there right now in the Glade, and Thomas could tell that everyone treated him like a little brother. He was a sweet kid.
Bella and Jasper made it to the woods, and to a hidden hut built in the woods. She opened the door and Jasper followed her inside, and she closed it and latched it. "So, the new section that opened, section 9. Minho and I are going to be running it this week, but for this week, we're benching all the runners. Only Alby, me, and Minho are going into the Maze."
Jasper frowned, crossing his arms. "Is this because of Edward?"
Bella nodded. "Yes. And more. The sections are changing." She said and then unveiled the map that they had built as a small replica of the maze. "Here." She pointed to section three, and then picked up a twig and then marked the new wall that made its appearance. "That's new."
Jasper studied it and shook his head. "We have been running this maze for five years, and for the past two years, we've just been running. We've explored everything. Why now? Why is it suddenly different?"
"I don't know. But that's big. We don't know how the other sections are going to be now. That's why Alby ran with Minho today, and then tomorrow I'm running with Minho."
"Don't kick me out of the running Bella. I can run. You three will burn yourselves out fast. Especially Minho if he's running every day." Jasper pointed out.
Bella sighed. She had thought about that. She swallowed. "I can't risk you."
"And I can't risk you." Jasper rebutted.
Bella shook her head. "This is different."
"Bella, I've been here five years. Five…. damn years. I'm ready to get out of this place. I'm not going to sit on the side now. I'll run with you tomorrow. Give Minho a break." Jasper said. "That's not up for discussion."
Bella stared at him, and she saw how stubborn he was going to be on this. "Fine."
Jasper smiled a little. "You always give me my way."
"I don't always give you your way." She said, rolling her eyes. "Get back to work." She teased, and then they covered the maze replica back up and left the secret hut.
It was starting to get late, and Bella didn't like that Alby and Minho hadn't made it back yet. This also made others worry and people gathered by the entrance, and waited, watching for Minho and Alby to make their appearance.
Bella crossed her arms, watching the sun in the sky. She knew that the entrance was going to be closing soon.
Thomas stood beside her. "Has it taken this long before?" He asked lowly.
Bella shook her head, tapping her foot. "No. Something is wrong." She muttered.
"Why can't we go after them?" Thomas asked.
"Because of the rules you dipshit." Gally retorted.
The cranks sounded in the wall, indicating the closing of the entrance.
Bella ran a hand over her face now, watching the entrance, when she saw Minho running for the entrance, but he was slowed down, by dragging Alby with him. "Shit. He's hurt." She said.
"Let's go help them!" Thomas said, watching the entrance slowly close while Minho struggled.
"We can't." Bella said, her chest constricting. She didn't even know how bad Alby was, and the entrance was certainly going to close with Minho and Alby both inside. That was two more lost to the maze, and that was tearing her apart inside.
Thomas was jittery watching the gap closing faster. He then suddenly leapt forward, sprinting through the entrance.
"Damnit!" Bella cursed and she took off after him with instinct.
"Bella!" Jasper called after her, sprinting into the maze after her, while the entrance shut and sealed behind them.
Bella whirled on Jasper. "You fucking idiot! Why did you follow me!"
"Because I can't let you- "
Minho stopped dragging Alby and looked at Thomas. "You just signed your death warrant." He spat out and looked to Bella. "All of you did. It was stupid for you all to run into the maze. Grievers come out at night; you know that."
There were some squeals sounding in the maze already.
Thomas looked around. "Has anyone ever survived the night?"
"No." Jasper and Bella said at the same time. Jasper grabbed Bella's arm and spun her to look at him. "I couldn't let you…. suffer in here. I'll make sure you make it out." He said.
Bella shook her head, and the sun kept going down. "Let's keep moving. The maze shifts at night." She said and then she went to Alby, focusing on him now. She swallowed, trying to not show too much pain on her face.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't save him." Minho said. "I tried."
"I know." Bella said, her voice tight. She felt for a pulse, not feeling one and she closed her eyes, tears trying to push over, but instead of crying she got to her feet and then doubled over and threw up, placing a hand on the wall to hold herself up.
Thomas moved towards her, rubbing a hand over her back. "I'm-"
"Don't." Bella said and wiped her mouth and straightened. "Minho, Jasper, move him to the side. This section won't shift. We'll bury him if we make it out of here." She said, and Minho and Jasper did it quickly. There were more squeals in the maze, and it made them move faster. They had to keep moving because the walls started shifting, and they had to survive until morning. Bella knew that it was possible more of them would die, if not all of them. They just had to keep going. That's all she kept thinking. She couldn't think about Alby, or the fact that after 5 years and 3 months, he finally was taken by the maze.
They were all silent as they jogged through the maze in the dark, finding ways to outlast the grievers.