Murder In The Maze (Maze Runner Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Work Experience

     Newt has me digging up trees, which is a lot more exhausting than I had previously imagined, but it beats the alternative of sitting around feeling sorry for myself.  Beads of sweat drip down my forehead as I plunge the machete into the base of a tree, the hot sun beating over us.

     Crashing the blade into the stump of the tree, I gradually sit down beside it.   I wipe the sweat from of my forehead, and remark to Newt, "Well, I don't think this is my thing, maybe we could just skip to the next job?"  I pause before swiftly continuing, "...sh..shank."

     Newt sways his head back and forth.  A voice appears from behind me, "Shank, Greenie, it's not that hard to say, s-h-a-n-k?"

     I twirl around, the Asian guy from last night looming over me.  His impeccable hair, a confident stance, and biceps practically bulging out from his shirt make him hard to forget, "What are you doing here, aren't you like a runner or something?"

     Ignoring my remark, he suddenly turns to Newt, "Hey Newtie, Alby's looking you, sounds pretty urgent so you better hurry your butt up."

     Newt nods, a stern look on his face, "I have to go soon, don't go anywhere."  With that, he runs off towards the forest, or as they call it, the Deadheads.

     Sneaking after him, I head to the Deadheads.  Dense foliage covers the entire forest, blocking out the sunlight.  Newt's silhouette soon disappears into the darkness of the trees.  I creep through the branches, snapping twigs underneath my feet.

     A wooden cross lies up ahead, barely visible in the dim light.  Carefully, I walk over.

     There are lots of these crosses, gravestones.  Questions race through my mind.  What happened to all these people?

     Names have been scratched over some, but moss and lichens crawl all over these, no one's been here for a while.  I bend over to see the name engraved is 'George.'  His name was scratched off the wall earlier.

     Distant voices soon reach where I am. I shuffle away, following the noise. As Newt comes into view, I crouch behind a tree, poking my head out.

     Newt and several other guys are surrounding something hanging down from a tree branch looming overhead.

     A body hangs limply from the tree.  It's a boy, maybe seventeen or so.  He must have been dead for some time as his skin is pale white.  The silky brown hair on his head is covered in dried blood.  Green veins on his arms pop out from the weight of his body.

     Sickness writhes through my gut, twisting my stomach.  I jerk away, gulping down a mouthful of puke.

     One guy is up the tree balancing on one of the branches, trying to cut the dead boy down with a machete.  The body falls to the ground with a huge thud.  A dark teen in a blue shirt carefully walks over and regretfully closes the dead boy's eyes.

     Interrupting the silence, Newt begins to speak, "When was he killed?"  No one says a word as the shock settles over the others. Newt repeats the question, "Alby, when did he die?"

     The blue-shirted guy finally answers, breaching the silence, "Last night, same time, about midnight."

     I step out from behind the tree, failing to blend into the crowd as all eyes turn towards me, "Is this a regular occurrence?"

     Newt responds, "It happened 'bout four months ago, another guy was found, same thing, hanging in a tree."

     "Suicide?" I ask.

     Newt seems rather on edge, but answers me, "We thought so too 'til another one was found two months ago, then we became suspicious."

     Alby continues on Newt's sentence, "There was another one last month, and here again, the day you arrived."

     Gally shoots me a suspicious look, eyeing me carefully. I cock my head to the side, returning the stare.

     Alby walks in front of me, blocking my view as he signals for another group of about three guys to come over and move the body, "Get him back to the medjacks, see if they can give us any more clues.  Do it quietly, I don't want a scene.  As for you, Greenie, I'll talk to you in the morning."