The Griever came at them, screaming and slashing. They had to split up to avoid getting stepped on. Alex had to roll out of the way and crashed into the wall. Ben ducked and ran under its leg, Minho had taken his knife out and slashed the lag that was coming down towards him. The Griever reared back, screaming with a machine leg hanging weird from where Minho slashed it. Ben had reached Alex, helping her up.
"MINHO! GIVE ME ONE OF YOUR KNIVES!" Alex screamed.
Minho backed up to the wall, took a knife from his belt and tossed it to her. Alex caught it with ease, she felt a tingle in her arm and spread across her body. This was also familiar, holding a knife in a dangerous situation. Minho was yelling at them to run.
"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU BEHIND, YOU IDIOT! NOW STOP BEING THE HERO AND RUN!" Ben screamed back.
Alex agreed. The Griever had stood up on its back legs and screamed again, it slammed down and came at them again. Ben and Alex had to dive in opposite directions, out of the way of the sharp things that came at their heads. Alex dove and rolled, coming up to stand on her feet, knife in hand, breathing hard, Minho pushed her back against the wall, yelling at Ben to run, the doors closed in 10min. Ben was behind the Griever, at the end of the corridor closest to the Glade, the Monster was facing Minho and Alex trying to slash them to pieces. Alex had an idea.
"MINHO, WHEN IT REARS BACK UP, GO UNDERNEATH IT, TRY SLASH ITS LEGS OR UNDERBELLY AS YOU GO."
Minho nodded in understanding. Alex took the small dagger from her hip. She flung it as hard as she could. The dagger burred its self in its forehead. As the Scorpion tail came at them again, as the Griever reared back on its back legs, screaming. They ran forward, ducked and rolled, Minho rolled and he lashed out with the knife and hit one of its legs. It slowed him down, so he had to push himself up and run the rest of the way bent over under the Griever. Alex sprinted forwards and at the last second dropped to her knees and slid under the creature, leaving a long slash in the underbelly with the knife Minho tossed her. Minho grabbed Alex's hand and kept running towards Ben. Alex had ripped her pants, and scrapped her knees all up, she ignored the sharp stinging in her knees. When they reached Ben he grabbed Alex's other hand and together they ran down the corridor towards the Glade.
With the angry Griever behind them.
They had slowed it down, but even injured it was fast. They ran as fast as their tired sore feet would let them. They had to make it back in 5 minutes. Alex was breathing heavy, her adrenaline giving her the burst of speed, but she was cold and clammy. She was absolutely terrified. They had to duck a few times as the tail came wiping towards them. Twice they had to let go of each other. Alex had to shove the guys out of the way to avoid getting impaled by a sharp metal leg. She saved the guys from being impaled, but it slashed her arm, making her cry in pain. She stumbled. Minho threw an arm around her and kept her stead, they kept running.
Alex skidded to a stop and turned back around at the corner of the corridor.
"ALEX! WJAT THE SHUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Minho screamed at her, he ran back towards her.
She looked over her shoulder at him, tossed her knife into the air quickly, spinning end over end and caught the handle. Minho had reached her, and with all her remaining strength she threw her knife at the head of the Griever. She hit it right in the eye. The Griever stopped and screamed, rearing up and back, now it was pissed.
However, now with only one good eye its aim was a bit off.
"I CAN HEAR THE DOOR!" Ben screamed over the screaming and clicking of the Griever.
Alex stumbled a little as they rounded the last corner, they saw the Glade, and their friends all standing at the entrance. They were screaming at the trio.
Just a little further!
And then around the corner came the very angry Griever. The Gladers all backed up, shocked and horrified at what they saw. Minho grabbed her hand and pulled her forward again, pushing her in front of himself. They ran faster than they ever have in their lives. Alex reached the closing doors first, Minho behind him, Ben right behind him. They had to slow down to fit single file through the closing door. Just as Ben made it to the door, he let out an ear piercing scream, his back arched and he fell forward. The Griever pulled its tail back, and backed away.
The doors slammed closed.
All three of the runners fell onto the ground. Minho and Alex panting, gasping for air. Ben fell onto his face, crying and writhing in pain. Alex, not caring about herself or if she had any injuries crawled over to him, flipped him over and pulled up his shirt, there in the center of his back, was a very small hole, but around it was red and raw, and slowly spreading out from that were his veins, but they were black. Alex rolled him back onto his back. She looked up desperately.
"JEFF! CLINT! GRIEF SERUM NOW!"
Someone went running. Alex didn't really know what to do, so she just placed his head in her lap and tried to talk to him, stroking his head. He was still twisting and screaming in pain. Someone had come beside her.
"Your bleedin' come on you need to go to the MedHut!"
She ripped her arm away, "No. I'm fine."
It was a few minutes later when Jeff came back with a syringe in his hands. She grabbed it, ripped off the sterile packaging and stabbed it into the squishy part of his arm. He instantly stopped screaming and his breathing settled.
"We gotta get him to the MudHut." Alex said. Jeff, Gally, Alby and Newt picked him up and carried him off. Alex got up and followed at a jog. They laid Ben on one of the beds, Clint grabbed some rope and tied his arms down so he wouldn't hurt anyone.
"There isn't much we can do now but wait for him to go through the changing." Jeff said with a nod. Alby and Newt nodded, then rounded on Alex and Minho.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED?" Newt yelled at Minho, anger and fear in his eyes.
Minho held his hands up, "Listen shuck face, it's not like we asked it to chase us! We weren't playing a shuckin fun game of tag! Alex heard it before Ben and I. We had to run through section 8 to get back! So lay off!"
Newt took a breath and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Alby patted Newt on the shoulder, he looked at the 2 runners standing before him.
"Look we ain't mad...just..worried is all. Alex, you're always finding danger or trouble."
Alex growled from the back of her throat in annoyance as she crossed her arms.
"You said 'Danger and Trouble always find ME' wrong."
Minho snorted," Ha. 'ain't that the truth."
If looks could kill, he would drop dead.
"Alby, it's like he said. We were on our way back, and would have made it in plenty of time, but we could hear a griever blocking the path. We had to go around to the next section, and another door, but there was another one waiting for us. We had to fight past it and run like our lives depended on it. Now if you don't mind I'm going for a shower."
She spun on her heel and walked towards the door.
"Alex, your arm is bleeding, you need to stay and get that checked!" Newt called.
"I said I'm fine, Newt." She snapped and slammed the door on her way out.
The boys looked shocked. Minho sighed sadly and lowered his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. He kicked the table leg gently. Newt looked back at him, "What's up with her?"
"Nothing. I don't know. Ask her." He snapped back, "I'm going for supper."
He left and slammed the door after himself.
Newt looked to Alby, both confused with their behavior.
"What else happened in the maze? I'll talk to Alex. You got Minho?" Newt suggested, "Those two are way too stubborn to do this themselves."
"Good that."
Newt went looking for Alex. She wasn't in the showers or in her room. Fry said he hadn't seen her. He was worried about his sister. Newt thought for a second, then spun around and walked away, knowing exactly where she would be.
Alex was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, her chin resting on her knees, with her arms wrapped around her legs. She heard someone behind her, she didn't bother turning around, she knew who it was.
"I'm not in the mood for a lecture."
"I didn't even bloody say anything." He replied as he sat beside her, swinging his legs over the ledge of the tree house, he rested his arms on one of the boards that was supposed to function as a railing. They were quiet for a moment, he pretended he didn't see her wipe a few stray tears.
"Alex" he finally said quietly, "what else happened in the maze. You and Min were all snuggly and flirty and gross this morning and now it's like ice between you."
She sighed. Letting go of her legs, letting her hands fall into her lap. She nervously played with fingers.
"Alex. You know you can tell me and I won't judge- sibling code."
"I had another memory flash. But this one was... bad." She looked away. Her body sagged. She told Newt everything in her flashes.
"Newt, I worked for them! And I'm the reason Minho was sent up here early...and it sounds like you were sent because of me! I made the monsters that kill us! I'm just as bad as the Creators! I'm a horrible person. Chris was right, it is my fault" tears filling her eyes.
"Alex. You are not a bad person. Know how I know?"
She looked at her brother, "how?" She sniffed, not sure if what he said would make a difference.
"Because the people we were before the maze - they don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do, right now. You went into the maze and fought off a Griever." He said matter of fact, "also, would a bad person throw themselves into danger to save a kid? Or cry when you couldn't find that chicken that ran off the other night?"
Alex smiled despite her tears "hey, poor Henrietta was lost and couldn't get home to her friends!"
"See what I mean?! I also believe you wouldn't do anything awful without being forced for some reason. You said they tried making you and Sonya try forget about me. That tells me they did something awful. You are not the bad guy. They are."
He gave her a side eye, "and I'm sure Minho would say the same. I'm 100% certain he wouldn't blame you for anything that happened before the maze. Stop blaming yourself Alex."
Alex sat quietly chewing on her bottom lip. Newt looked out over the Glade.
He sighed. "You know Alex, you don't see it, but since you showed up, this place has changed. I've seen Gally smile and get involved, something he hasn't done since The Changing. Alby has softened, and turned into some proud Father. You have given Minho a new hope, and you gave my life again. You have changed everyone here, you bring the sun and break up the dark clouds. You have no idea the effect you have had. Please, stop thinking your the bad guy."
Alex brought her broken eyes up and looked into his soft gentle ones.
"I love you Newt."
He reached over and pulled her into a tight warm hug. There's nothing quite like a big brother's loving embrace. They spent the rest of the evening watching the sun sink behind the walls and then watching the twinkling stars come out. Alex was exhausted. It was an exhausting day. She put her head on Newt's shoulder and she nodded off pretty fast.
She woke up early the next morning in her bed. She couldn't remember how she got there, but when she heard a faint snore coming from the floor she peeked over the side of the bed. Newt had pulled his sleeping bag into her room and fallen asleep on the floor. With Bark curled right beside him.
Awww!
She slowly and quietly as she could, got out of bed, grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. Bark followed. It was still early, even Frypan was still sleeping.
After washing her face in the cool water and waking herself up, she decided to go check on Ben. Alex and Bark slipped into the Med Hut, she saw Jeff slumped over in a chair. She tapped his shoulder lightly, hoping to wake him without scaring him. He still jumped a mile high.
"Sorry Jeff! I'm really sorry!" Alex apologized. Jeff rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, yawning, "no no, it's fine. What are you doing here?"
"Woke up to Newt snoring. Came to see how he's doing. I can take over for a bit, if you need to go sleep." Alex whispered, Ben was out of it, but it felt weird not to be quiet in his presence. Jeff nodded, got up and stretched.
"Ya, ok. Good idea. When the other keepers start getting up, I'll send Clint to take over, since your in the maze again. We're gonna need you tomorrow though. New Greenie comes tomorrow, they usually panic and end up in here one way or another."
Alex nodded, and took Jeff's seat. She sighed and when the door closed behind Jeff, she put her head in her hands and sat in the silence. Bark came up to the bed and sniffed Ben. Alex watched the dog without paying much attention, her mind wandering. It was only when she started to whine and took a step back with a growl. Alex focused on what was happening. Ben lay still, breathing heavily, but she now noticed he had dark veins bulging out of his skin, like thick rope, his skin was a sickly green. He was sweating and every once in a while he would twitch and whimper. She had seen those black veins once before, and she shuddered. Maybe being alone wasn't a good idea.
But he's already tied down. And I have Bark. Also in the next room is Alby and every other keeper. Pull it together Alex. You're a MedJack. This is what you do! This is your shuck job.
She got up to get some cool water for his forehead, to help with the fever and sweating. She had just filled up the bowl when her head buzzed.
"ALEX? E.T. PHONE HOME!"
Alex jumped and yelped, dropped the bowl as she did.
"Shuck it Sonya! You scared the klunk out of me!"
"Ha. Ops, sorry!"
Alex bent down to clean up the mess.
But HI! You're up early. What's up?
"Now that we can communicate, I've been getting very brief flashes of your emotions, and right now, you're very uneasy and it's making me feel sick. What's going on, love?"
Alex briefly explained the Chris situation and then what happened yesterday in the Maze with Ben. She was getting better at concentrating on talking and doing other things. She still had to stop numerous times, and close her eyes to concentrate on the connection. She had cleaned up the shattered bowl and got another one.
..so now I'm in the MedHut, getting him a cool cloth. Waiting for a shift change and I go into the maze again.
When you call it The Changing, do they remember anything? The last girl to go through it told us she remembered a voice saying 'wicked is-
-good! I heard that too!" Alex cut in.
"What the bloody hell does that mean?"
"No idea, but anything or anyone that calls themselves wicked is definitely not a good thing. Seems creepy."
Amen sis.
Alex had brought the bowl over and set it down on the side table, placing a cloth in the cool water and then placed it on his forehead.
So Sonya, how did you remember me? I came out of the box, Newt was the one to help me out and his eyes looked so familiar. Then it was like I don't remember, maybe a week went by, and I had some crazy dreams, but they weren't dreams, they were memories. You and Newt were in them!" Alex quickly explained
Ya, I've been here about 2 yrs-
-"Wait, really? That's the same as Newt! You guys must have been sent at the same time to your own mazes!" Alex sat up straight, realizing her siblings were ripped from her roughly the same time.
That's messed up! Ya, been here about 2 yrs, and then like 3 months ago, I started getting these weird emotions at random times. Like I was sitting by the fire at night and all of a sudden just pure terror. Or I'd be helping the ranchers muck pig poop and I would feel all nervous and excited, happy. Weird feelings at weird times. Then I had a dream. Memory I guess, one night. Your face clear as day. We were playing in a park, and our mother called us for a snack. And then it changed to a second one, we were both on medical beds, strapped down, doctors everywhere saying awful things like we need to cut deeper, these chips better work, this experiment better work. The last one was of us at a desk, with some dude who was all twitchy telling us to try again, talk without our mouths-we were like 10. Sonya explained in a hurry.
Shuck that's messed up!
Alex got up to get more cool water, Ben's fever was higher than she thought. She turned around and screamed and dropped the second bowl. The buzzing in her head shut off like a cord being snipped. Ben was awake and his eyes were open, looking right at her. His eyes weren't blue anymore, but black pits, and he let out a feral animalistic scream. Alex screamed too, scrambling back, adrenaline pumping through her, her hands searched for a weapon, keeping her eyes on Ben. Her fingers found medical scissors.
Good enough.
Alex held them tightly in her fist, Bark had sprung forward in front of Alex, growling. There was all sorts of banging and yelling from the hallway. The door banged open and Alby, Gally, Frypan, Newt, Minho, Winston, and Clint all came crashing into the tiny room.
"WHATS GOING ON?"
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"WHO HURT YOU?"
"I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL 'EM!"
"SLIM IT!" Alby yelled over everyone else. The Keepers stopped yelling. The only thing they heard was Bark growling and Ben and Alex panting.
"Alex, what's going on?"
She ripped her eyes away for the boy on the bed.
"I got up to get some more water, turned around and he was awake, with the same eyes as...as...as" her voice hitched. She closed her eyes took a breath, opened them and continued, "as Chris. And he screamed, just like him. Scared the klunk out of me. Glad you guys tied him down."
The boys nodded.
Clint stepped forward, "that was our bad, I guess Jeff forgot to tell you, during the changing, they kind of look like that and if the serum works, it disappears after a day or 2 and they're fine, tired and cranky, keep to themselves..won't ever be himself again." He rubbed his hands together, like he was nervous.
"Sorry Alex, you're still pretty new and I forget you don't know everything." Jeff had joined the crowd, his hair disheveled and his shirt was on backwards.
"It's fine. Just scared the bloody living daylights out of me." Alex said nodding at the boys. "Thanks for all coming to my rescue though. Makes a girl feel awfully special!" She said as sweetly as she could while she clasped her hands under her chin and batted her eyelashes.
Frypan bowed with much flailing of his arms, "My fair maiden, thy Glade Damsel, fear not! For these mighty Glade warriors fight for the!"
Alex couldn't help but giggle. She loved her boys.
Gally snorted and rolled his eyes, "whatever. She's fine, Ben's fine. Let's have some shuckin breakfast, I've got things to do."
"Ah yes, thy bloody Glade Jester needs sustenance!" Newt laughed.
Alex had to bite her fist to keep from laughing at Gally's horrified facial expression. "You guys go, I'll take over, Alex has to get ready for her run anyways. Just someone bring me breakfast and coffee!" Clint said.
Newt saluted him and left with Alby. Frypan held out his arm for Alex to take. She hesitated, glanced at Minho. He didn't say anything, which wasn't like him. She glanced at him again, he was already looking at her, he was about to say something but he closed his mouth and shook his head. Instead he scratched the back of his neck, looked at the floor to her face and back to the floor. "I gotta..do something.. be at the West doors in 20min."
She hooked her arm through Fry's. Minho left without a backwards glance. Alex's heart sank. Frypan was looking between the two with a slight frown on his face.