THE PRINCESS AND THE MAZE
Chapter 9: Fighting the Grievers
AN: Hello, my Gladers and readers… who remain… after so much time… I know I'm later than ever with this chapter, it's an absolute nightmare and I'm so very sorry! Life has completely overtaken my drive to write fanfiction, but it's never stopped my love for this fandom. Otherwise life has been treating me well, I have found new friends, I've had some side projects and I'm working tirelessly on a very special translation. But now the time has come again to write about the adventures of Stephanie and the Gladers. To those that waited, I hope you'll like this chapter just as much as the others.
After all this time, we remember: Stephanie has run into the Maze, but she's only met by Minho's pessimism and an agonizing Alby. When a Griever approaches, the worst happens- Minho runs away and leaves her alone! Meanwhile in the Glade, Newt gets help from Jeff, Clint, Frypan and Gally to tell the Gladers they've lost three of their companions while struggling to accept that Minho is gone.
Reminder as always that except Stephanie, all of them are James Dashner's babies.
And now let's see what happens next… in chapter 9!
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X
For a moment, Stephanie was petrified. Her body was frozen, not a sound escaped her mouth. Then a thought crept into the haze in her brain. He had abandoned her! That jumpstarted her system again. Back was the shaking, the iron ball of fear in her stomach and the sounds of the ever-nearing Griever. "He- he abandoned me…" the girl stammered, her teeth clashing together, "He abandoned me!" Incredulity, panic, sadness and anger mixed in her voice, growing high-pitched from the emotions.
Incredulity because she could not quite believe what had happened. Had Minho really just run off, leaving her behind, defenseless? Panic, because that monster was drawing ever nearer, it was pitch-black and she was all alone except for an agonizing boy. Sadness, because if the Griever killed her, she would die forsaken in a maze they would never find the exit of and she would never see Chuck or Newt or any of her other friends ever again. Were they already grieving her? Stephanie let out an anguished sob at that thought.
But then anger settled in and her tears stopped. How dare he leave her alone like that?! This was her first time in the Maze, while he was an experienced Runner! He knew how to evade the Grievers, she was a simple Medjack and she doubted that any of her self-defense skills could hurt the monster. She had only seen a Griever from afar, through a dirty window pane, but nothing more. What was their M.O? And most importantly, how long would she be able to withstand that thing with her limited experience?
Stephanie turned around, facing Alby, and she sighed. The way he was leaning against the wall in the seating position that Minho and she had managed to pull him into, he looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut. In the darkness, she couldn't see if he was still alive or not. Almost doing it out of reflexiveness, the girl kneeled down and pressed two fingers to his neck, half expecting to find no pulse. But her eyes widened when she felt a soft pounding beneath her fingertips. Alby still had life in him!
And then something changed deep within her. Stephanie felt a fire being awakened in her core, ruthless, passionate, incredibly strong. This was the same feeling that she had sensed when she had started as a Medjack, when she had begun her self-defense classes. Something old… a small glimpse of the Stephanie from before the Glade. Wherever this came from, she had no clue, but she knew one thing. She couldn't leave her friend behind like this, not even someone as grumpy as Alby.
Tentatively, she grabbed him under the arms and tried to lift him up, but he was too heavy for her. She only slipped and landed painfully on her back while Alby fell to the side like a sack of potatoes. Breathless, Stephanie brought him back up into the seating position and sank down beside him. Trying hard to get her raising panic under control, she pressed her hands to her eyes. It was as black as a bear's butt, she wouldn't come far with Alby and she would certainly get lost in the Maze if she just took off, running directly into the Grievers…
The girl thought about the vines and the walls which Minho claimed were unscalable, but there had to be a way… Suddenly, an idea flashed in her head, a plan she dared say. Although she didn't know what the Grievers could do, it was the best solution she could find at such short notice… Stephanie reopened her eyes, full of desperate courage, and stood up, at first on trembling legs, but then she stood firmly on both feet. "To work then, soldier…" she muttered.
The Medjack felt her way along the wall closest to her until she came across a group of vines that covered the vast majority of the stones. Then she grabbed a thick ivy that seemed to reach down to the floor and tentatively pulled. The vine loosened itself from the wall, steadily more the further Stephanie stepped back. The teen gasped. Her plan was working! After confirming that the provisional rope was still safely anchored above by swinging from it, she did the same with other tendrils until she had a bunch of climbing ropes, each as strong as the first one.
New courage flooded through Stephanie and she gently laughed as she dragged Alby to the vines. Now if she could just… Suddenly, a dreadful cracking resounded in the Maze and made her whirl around. She had been so focused on the vines that she had almost forgotten the Grievers! Fearfully her eyes dashed about the three entrances in front of her. The monsters didn't show up yet, but the noises were becoming steadily louder. What scared her was that it had become brighter. "Do these bastards have search lights now as well?" she thought worriedly but grit her teeth and continued her work.
Taking one of the vines, Stephanie tied it to Alby's right arm, followed by doing the same to his left arm and legs. All of a sudden, she had doubts if her plan would work, but the girl tried her best to ignore them. She just had to succeed! When the dark thoughts had passed, she breathed out, took a vine and gingerly climbed it up until she had reached the spot where she had tied up Alby. Luckily for her, there were lots of gaps in the wall that facilitated the climbing. Then she reached for another vine and wrapped it a few times around her chest before slowly letting go. It held her!
Now came the hard part. When she tried to pull on the vine that had was holding Alby's leg, she could barely lift it a few centimeters before having to let go. He was too heavy! Mind racing, Stephanie climbed back down and tried to push instead. The girl pushed up his left leg and tied a new vine to it, doing the same with his right, then his arms. She was gasping for air when she stepped back to look at the whole thing, but her plan was working! Alby was hanging lifeless among the vines but already a few feet higher than before!
Stephanie jerked in fright when the Griever cacophony resumed, getting closer and closer and it was clear now that it was more than just one. It was sickening, but she pulled herself together and got back together. After securing herself with a vine around her chest, the girl slowly worked her way up the wall, sometimes securing Alby further with the same method as her. Then she repeated the whole procedure until her muscles burned so badly that she had to bite her lip to not scream. This was it. She couldn't go any further! Swinging around, Stephanie faced the Maze. They were hanging ten meters off the ground. This was where they would have to hide or fight the Grievers.
Her entire body shaking with exhaustion and fear, Stephanie wiped her hurting hands on her dress. She had scraped them on the rough vines and the stone. The girl was also sweating buckets, sticking her clothes and hair to her skin. As she was hanging there, she desperately hoped that the monsters could only look straight ahead and not up, but with the luck the Gladers had, she didn't really count on it. Tears were running down her cheeks as Stephanie prayed to all gods who would listen that they would live to see another morning. Praying and waiting for the Grievers was all she could do in these dreadful moments…
The terrible sounds of the approaching monster turned into a high-pitched screeching whose waves drilled into Stephanie's skull, but she forced herself to keep quiet. A promise she almost broke seconds later when she saw something small and red to her left. It was a beetle, the same cursed beetle that she had seen when Ben attacked her and she had fallen out of the tree. Looking closer though, the girl noticed that it looked more like a lizard than a beetle, with an elongated back and twelve legs. The red eyes emitted a light which seemed to scan her up and down. The light illuminated six scarlet letters on the body of that thing which formed the word W.I.C.K.E.D…
WICKED… The same thing Ben had said before he had tried to drown her. WICKED will never be good, the words resonated within her. Who or what was wicked? How could wickedness ever be good in the first place? Was this a spy for the ones that Alby and the other Gladers called the Creators? It had to be. But before she could think more about the beetle or whom it served, the thing disappeared into the ivy, at the same time Stephanie heard the screeching again, this time much closer. They were here! The girl pressed a hand to her mouth and tried to look as lifeless as Alby when something turned around the corner and approached them. Something unspeakable. A Griever.
The Grievers were, without the shadow of a doubt, the vilest, most terrifying monsters that Stephanie had ever seen. Even Frankenstein with all his different body parts looked like a veritable prince next to these creatures. Half giant slug, half machine, the Griever did not seem to have a face, which just added to the horror. It was about two meters long, three meters tall and thicker than a sumo wrestler. It moved by jetting out metal spikes, curling into a ball and propelling itself forward every ten to fifteen seconds. After that, the spikes retreated into the soft flesh with a disgusting slurping sound.
But Stephanie didn't just tremble in fright because of the spikes. The thing looked like a walking torture chamber. It was covered in an array of mechanical arms, each ending in a different appendage. Some were carriers for search lights, others ended in dangerous looking needles whose length made the girl want to gag, others still in a gripper hand or even a circular saw blade. When the Griever moved, the arms folded into themselves to not be broken under the weight of the monster. Dark spots dancing in her vision, the teen thought who in their right mind could have even invented such horrifying creatures.
"Please, gods, don't let them see us… Make them only register movement. Please!" Stephanie begged silently and hoped that the lizard beetle was not in cahoots with the Grievers and somehow had told them their position. Whenever the creature stopped, the arms moved in every direction like a sort of explorer robot scanning their surroundings, the lights painting grotesque shadows onto the walls. For a moment, the girl yearned for everything to be a nightmare and waking up in her parents' bed, but the smell of the monster, the cold wind and the vines around her chest were all too real.
Then the Griever suddenly stopped at the wall where Alby and she were hanging. The young Glader stiffened in fear, holding her breath. The thing was right under her, its search lights moving around strangely directionless. And then, all of a sudden, they turned off. Everything went dark and eerily quiet, taking Stephanie by surprise. She was blind. Without the light, she couldn't judge what was happening and the anticipation of what the Griever was about to do almost drove her crazy. Minutes passed when suddenly the lights and sounds turned on again and her worst fear came true. The monster climbed up the wall…
The Griever's spikes and hooks jammed into the stone, heaving it up centimeter by centimeter. Then one of the search lights fell right upon Stephanie… and didn't move. Her heart stopped. She had been caught! Fleeing was her only option if she didn't want to end up as Griever dinner. Mentally apologizing to Alby for leaving him to his fate, the girl wriggled herself free from the vine around her chest as quickly as possible, her mind racing to figure where to go next. Down was walking right into death, up meant the creature discovering Alby. So that left only sideways.
Stephanie grabbed one of the vines beside her and prayed it would hold her before letting go of the ivy that had kept her secured in place next to her leader. She had to get out of the way before the Griever could react! Although her entire body was hurting, she knew that this was only the beginning. If she wanted to survive that night, she would have to run and fast… So she sent a prayer to her gods, begging for her plan to work, and swung to the side. To her great relief, the vine held. Just when she was about to swing to the left again, the girl grasped the sturdy plant next to her, this time letting herself glide down a little before reaching for the next one, repeating the maneuver again with the other vines.
She was pleased to realize that she was moving rather quickly like that, a key factor if she wanted to escape those monsters. Then she felt the ground beneath her feet. She had safely descended and all that before the Griever had had time to reach her! For about fifteen seconds, the slug-machine creature stopped, confused by her lightning escape. But Steph's luck was running out fast, as it let out a screech that sounded almost like human anger and set about getting off the wall as quickly as possible.
The girl yelped in fright and dashed away further into the maze, instinctively choosing the right path, with the Griever soon in hot pursuit. Although her legs were cramping up and burned, she ran as fast as she could, barely stopping to figure out where she would go next. Stephanie somehow faintly remembered that mazes were constructed in a way that the right paths would lead to the middle, hoping that the monsters didn't have the same knowledge.
Trying to get her breathing under control, the girl sped through the corridor, again darting to the right when she arrived at a crossroads. But as fast as she ran, whenever she looked over her shoulder, the Griever pursued her almost effortlessly. Biting her lip hard to prevent a scream and lose precious air, Stephanie continued to race through the labyrinth without daring to stop once. She knew that if she did that, she would never see the light of day or her friends ever again.
But all of a sudden, after the next bend, the girl was greeted by a sight that, despite her best efforts, made her scream in fright and bottomless despair. Right before the entrance of the next path were three more Grievers! She had lost… Gasping like a stranded fish on the beach, Stephanie looked at her foes. Despite the absence of a face, the beasts seemed to sneer at her mockingly, triumphantly. Part of her wanted to just sink to the floor and cry, hoping for a quick death, but another one made her scrape together the last of her strength and tense all of her muscles. That part decided that she would not go down without a fight.
With a remarkably cool head, she turned to the Griever behind her. If she wanted to have the slimmest chance of surviving, one was infinitely better than three. Drawing in as much air as she possibly could, the girl suddenly ran towards the monster at full speed, keeping to the left. The Griever, apparently shocked at the deathly courage of its victim, didn't move for the first few seconds, even seemed to retreat. But then it roared to life and began to roll toward her, all of its needles and torturous weaponry pointed at Steph.
At the last second before colliding with the beast and being turned into Glader sushi, Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks with her left foot and darted as fast as she could to the right, thereby avoiding the monster. With all the momentum it had, it shot past her with such force that it almost bowled over its three companions that were still standing by the next bend. Free! With the Griever out of her way, the girl was in the clear and could run back the way she came from. A last explosion of energy coursed through her body and Stephanie raced down the path, the four Grievers in hot pursuit.
Her plan had been to keep left and thus find her way back to the Glade, but about three bends later, two strong arms suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a side corridor. The girl screamed loudly, believing in her panic that it was yet another Griever, but then a very much human hand clamped over her mouth and she was turned around. Greenish-blue eyes met almost black ones as Steph looked at Minho. She was so happy to see him alive that she almost hugged the boy. "Minho!" she exclaimed, almost sobbing from her frayed nerves, "What-?"
"Shut up and follow me!" the Asian boy hissed and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him along the corridor. Stephanie didn't protest, too stunned and frankly just too tired to think clearly anymore. At least they had found each other again. So she followed Minho as he led her through countless bends and crossroads, not stopping a single time to think about where to turn next. It appeared that the boy knew exactly where he wanted to go.
After a while, the two took the tiniest of breaks. The Runner gasped as he tried to draw in air through his dried-out throat: "Saw you… that thing with ducking away… gave me an idea… just need to hold on… just a bit longer." Even though Stephanie understood nothing, she wisely didn't waste the little breath that she had with questions, just decided to trust Minho and whatever plan he was hatching. Although every single part of her was hurting like hellfire, she bit her lip, took a deep breath and once again started to run after the boy. Already the Grievers were gaining speed behind them.
A few more turns later, the girl almost stopped in surprise. Whatever was in front of her was so confusing that her tired brain didn't even try to comprehend what she was seeing. Something that didn't make sense, no matter how hard she tried. Stephanie rubbed her eyes, blinked and looked again, but the strange sight did not change. This corridor ended in absolute darkness, the two stone walls to their sides finishing in a black night sky with tiny stars. When she approached, she noticed that it was an opening. And then it hit her- not an opening… The end of the Maze!
Stephanie looked bewildered at the Asian boy. Had they… had they actually found the exit of this thing?! The one that the Gladers had searched for all these years? Could it really have been that easy? But Minho shook his head and muttered: "Don't look like that, it's not as easy as you think…" They skidded to a halt just a few meters in front of the curious darkness. Although the Grievers were drawing ever nearer, the girl was overcome by curiosity and stepped a little closer toward the edge. She just had to see for herself.
Her excited smile dropped when she realized what Minho had meant. There was simply nothing there. To all sides, as far as she could see, nothing but darkness, rapidly fading stars and air. Not a bridge or path or anything else, there was just nothing. Feeling as if she was standing at the edge of the universe, Stephanie stepped back with a sudden bout of dizziness. The Medjack took a deep breath to get her spinning head and roiling stomach under control, as well as all the different emotions she was feeling- panic, disappointment, fascination and above all confusion.
"I just don't understand how…" she weakly whispered and looked at her companion. "Get away from the ledge," he simply replied and pulled her back by the shoulder, "Wouldn't be the first one to fall down whatever this is. But now you have to focus, we still have to get rid of the Grievers or we're toast." The girl shook her head to get rid of the hypnotic state that the sight of the endless sky had provoked and nodded. They could already see them approach, the monsters couldn't be further than fifty meters!
"These things are disgusting as all hell, no denying that," Minho explained, "but they're also stupid as klunk. What you need to do is stand close by me, face towards the walls. And when they're about to reach us, we're going to do the same thing you did back there, got it?" "They won't be able to stop and take a tumble!" Stephanie realized and immediately they got into their positions. Back to back, muscles tensed and hearts racing, just centimeters from the edge, the two faced down the Grievers.
For a moment, their foes stopped moving and the only sound that could be heard was the loud beating of each other's hearts. "When I say now, run as fast as you can…" Minho whispered and the girl nodded. The waiting was doing nothing for her already frayed nerves. Suddenly, the monsters roared to life again and started to roll towards them at a frightening speed. That this part of the labyrinth was too small for all of the Grievers to fit side by side proved to be very lucky for the two. One after the other they approached them, weapons all out.
It was only a matter of seconds until they would collide with the waiting Gladers. "Not yet… not yet…", the Asian boy said with a calmness that he clearly didn't feel. Stephanie could already see the needles and saws tearing into their bodies but held her ground. She just wanted this to be over… "NOW!" Minho screamed. The friends burst apart at lightning speed, hitting the walls hard a few seconds later. Stephanie's trick worked again. The beast flew over the edge with a swing and disappeared, its screech curiously ending abruptly.
The same thing happened with the second creature. It tumbled into nothingness without being able to stop. Stephanie watched as the third Griever tried to hold on with its spikes, but the momentum sent it flying regardless. However, the fourth monster could stop a few centimeters short of the edge, digging itself into the ground with its claws and needles. The girl looked at Minho and they both instinctively knew what to do. With a wild war cry, they ran towards the Griever and kicked it with everything they had. This gave it the rest and it fell down the ledge to its death.
The Grievers had been vanquished! On all fours, Stephanie crawled over to the exit of the Maze, trying to see the monsters as they fell but there was no sign of them. A small part of her wondered how that could be possible, but the rest of her didn't care. She was too tired, too hurt, too absolutely relieved to have escaped Death… Suddenly, her stomach was churning and she threw up on the spot. Quickly, Minho was at her side and held her long hair back. "It's ok, Steph, let it all out…" he whispered, unable to speak louder.
Then came the tears. Everything that had happened that day came crashing down on her and she finally broke. She had reached her breaking point and had gone far beyond. Not bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks, the girl started to sob, first quietly, then louder until she was weeping desperately. Minho sighed deeply and slowly put his hands on her shaking shoulders, which Stephanie took as an invitation to throw herself around his neck. At first, the boy was taken by surprise, but soon reveled in this embrace. Unable to keep themselves upright any longer, they laid down on the cold stone and let it soothe their hurting bodies.
After half an hour, Stephanie had calmed down enough to sit up again. She felt shame as she looked at the Runner- after all, she had lost it like a baby in his arms. "I absolutely don't blame you, Steph. Everyone would have reacted the same way. Shuck, not even. They would have given up long ago. It's incredible that you held out that long," Minho calmed her as if he had read her mind. "I'm certain this was the most horrible night of my entire life…" the girl muttered tiredly. The Asian boy quietly replied: "I can't believe that we actually survived a night in the Maze… that has never happened before…"
Suddenly Stephanie flinched, she had remembered something important. "Alby! We need to go back! We still have to get him down!" she exclaimed. Minho looked at her quizzically and she quickly explained her plan with the vines. The Runner's eyes widened, honest amazement in his eyes, though moments later he cast down his gaze. "If this shank is still alive…" he said quietly, "Let's hope that he gets the Grief serum quickly enough." "Grief serum?" the girl asked as the two got up and started to head back to the entrance of the Maze.
"It's a sort of antivenom or medicine that the Medjacks give you if you were stung. They give you a jab, you go through the Changing, which is very painful, but then you're healed." Minho explained. "The Changing? I'm too tired for this…" Stephanie groaned, holding her head, "I just want to get to the Glade, eat a whole horse and then sleep for at least two days!" Despite their bone-deep tiredness, the friends chuckled. Afterwards they fell into comfortable silence until the landscape seemed more familiar to the girl. "The wall I tied Alby to is just around the corner!" she said happily.
They had just stepped into the corridor that led to the Glade when she heard a sudden scream that echoed off the walls and made them flinch in fright: "MINHO! STEPHANIE!" Newt was running over to them as fast as his bad foot allowed him, leaving behind a group of Gladers; Jeff, Frypan and Chuck among them. "YOU! How could you?! What happened?! Do you have any idea-" Newt screamed at them, jabbing a finger into Minho's and Stephanie's chests. But they didn't mind as they took their friend in. He looked terrible. His blond hair was sticking out in all directions, he was pale as a sheet, his hazel eyes were rimmed red and his shoulders were shaking a little.
"We made it through the night, we're al-" the girl tried to calm him, but fell silent when Newt raised a fist at Minho as if he wanted to punch him, though he let it fall down to his side. "I thought you were dead, you shucking shank…" he whispered hoarsely, tears coming to his eyes. Minho made a small sound and then did something that caught Stephanie completely off guard: He took Newt's face in his hands and pressed a long kiss on his lips. The blonde gasped before throwing his arms around his neck and kissing him back just as passionately while the tears ran down his cheeks.
The Medjack couldn't help but smile at that tender scene. She had found out relatively early that the relationship between their second-in-command and the Runner ran deeper than just friendship and it was evident that Newt had been hit hard by their supposed loss. But then her gaze fell upon Alby on the wall and she cleared her throat. "Excuse me to interrupt this moment, but what about Alby?" she alerted them almost timidly. Newt grew even paler and exclaimed: "What?! Is he still…" Then he followed Stephanie's outstretched hand and his hands flew to his mouth in shock when he saw his friend dangling in the vines.
"At least when I hung him up there, he was still alive…" she replied, herself a little worried about their leader. "When you…" the boy stuttered bewilderedly. "Ok, you and Minho are going straight to the Medjacks, do you understand me? You look worse than klunk. And when you two slintheads have recovered, I want to know everything, is that clear?" he then said firmly. Stephanie could only nod, sleep tugging heavily at her eyelids. She started to stumble over towards Jeff, Minho close behind her, hearing Newt order for Gally to come and cut Alby down.
The black teen hugged her tightly before muttering: "Welcome back, Steph and Min. We were so worried about you… Now let's get you patched up." On their way, Stephanie felt a small warm hand grip hers and looked to the side. It was Chuck who peered up at her with tears in his eyes. "Never do something like this again… I was so scared," he whispered. "Don't worry, little man, I won't," she mumbled back with a tender smile. The next hour, where the Medjacks examined her and gave her something to eat and drink, passed by in a haze until Jeff finally guided her to a bed. "Get some rest, you have truly earned it…" he gently said and left her alone.
The girl snuggled into the blanket and the soft pillow under her head felt like a cloud. But before her eyes closed, three thoughts crossed her mind: One, for some reason the comatose girl appeared inside her head and Stephanie felt more than ever that she was important; two, the word W.I.C.K.E.D on the back of the beetle that she had seen in the Maze; and three, the undoubtedly curious exit that she and Minho had found. But before she could think more intently about any of this, sleep finally claimed her. She was finally home…
END OF CHAPTER 9
EN: I have finally done it! I'm back in the Maze Runner fandom with one of my biggest works! I am so, so happy! It felt so good to type that last word. And I really hope that I still have Maze Runner fans in my corner that were willing to wait more than a year for an update. It's an extra long chapter too, as an apology!
Now that I'm back into fanfics, I swear on the writer gods that I will never let a fic be abandoned for so long. I obviously can't exactly say when the next chapter will come, but rest assured it will not take me that long ever again. If you feel like too much time has passed, throw me a comment and knock some sense into me.
Let's celebrate those wins with the Gladers: We have our fic back, Newt has his Minho back, the Medjacks have Steph back and they have found the first clue how to get out of the Maze! Now if that ain't cause for celebration…
Until then, kisses and cake, my Gladers!
Yuna McHill