Questions // Mazerunner

16-In which the lights go out

They woke together, but not because of sunrise like every other day Maddy had known there, but by the sound of an alarm, which beeped and whined almost incessantly for ten minutes.

As soon as Newts eyes opened, he swore, "Oh Shuck!" But Maddy could hardly hear him over the siren. "What?" She shouted back. Newt laughed and his eyes crinkled at the corners, "NEW GREENIE." And he took off running towards the edge of the forest. "Race you," he called out to Maddy, who still stood behind him, confused and slightly dazed from sleep. She didn't hear, but took off running to catch him anyway.

Twenty minutes later, a boy was cowering in the box, hand shielding his eyes and blood seeping through his trousers. An Asian boy that Maddy didn't know jumped in to help.

He held out his hand to the greenie slowly, almost tentatively. "Hey," it came out as almost a whisper but sounded like a shout in the near silence surrounding them. "I'm Minho. You probably don't remember your name. That's ok. But you need to get out of here now."

The newbie took Minho's hand and gently, Minho raised him into a standing position before grabbing hold of the rope and hoisting them up. Immediately, Clint and Newt rushed to sort out the greenies leg as the others and Maddy helped to unload the box. By the time they were finished, Newt and Clint had sorted out the new boy and explained what they could without him panicking.

Maddy began to walk to the kitchens. She hadn't been there to help with breakfast and so she felt like Frypan was owed a break. Before she could get too far, she felt a hand on her arm. "Where d'you think you're going mad girl? We're gonna try to get out!"

Maddy could hear the mounting excitement in his voice and laughed. "Alright," she giggled nervously, hoping more for his sake than hers that it worked.

The boys gathered around the rim of the box, enthusiasm bubbling in their excited voices. It was nice to see them happy after the pasts week. The greenie still sat resting against a nearby tree watching the event unfold. Nick stepped forward and cleared his voice.

"We are going to get out of this hellhole ," he began, "And so today we will try. It might work, it might not. Please don't get your hopes up," he grinned, "I'm a Runner, not a miracle worker." That earned a nervous laugh from the now anxious crowd that surrounded him. "Who volunteers?"

A flurry of hands raised in the air and boys tried to jostle to the front for a better chance. To Maddy's surprise though, Newt did not volunteer or move forward at all. He stayed right next to her, eyes scanning back and forward nervously waiting for Nick to pick.

"Matt," he finally decided. Matt was a slopper, but probably one of the best. His friends cheered as the other volunteers sighed and moaned. Gally yelled out a boo. But that was just Gally being Gally.

Matt clambered into the box and the doors above him were sealed tightly shut. "Good luck," Nick shouted at him just as they lowered the last doors. Soon the troop of gladers began to wander away.

Two hours had passed and nothing much had changed. The greenie sat still in a corner and everybody went about doing their jobs. A dull thudding began to shiver through the air and gladers began to look up confused. Nick and Newt hurried over, both sprinting ably towards the box. They peeled back the doors and covers, only to discover exactly what Newt didn't want to see.

Matt was still there.

They got him out. Nobody spoke. The disappointment in the air was thick enough to choke on. But then Matts eyes lit up.

"How about," he was smiling from ear to ear, "Once the box has gone down, I'll climb down after it on a rope." Newt looked hesitant at first, turning to Nick who shrugged. "Ok..."

So that was what happened. Matt climbed down after the box, slowly at first and then gaining in speed as his heart rate increased. He didn't make it down though. He didn't even make it back up alive.

Halfway down, something chopped him clean in half. The gladers wouldn't know what it was for a long time, maybe never, but that was what started everything off.

As soon as the new boy saw Matts dead body split in half, he ran. His leg had stopped bleeding and there was nothing and nobody holding him back. The wind was whistling in his ears and hair and dust stung his eyes. It hurt. But seeing a strangers corpse before you could remember your own name hurt more.

So, whilst everyone was concentrated on Matt, the greenie ran into the maze. It was Minho who realised he had gone. When Nick found out, he ordered Minho to send in one of his runners to get him back. "But it's too late," he argued,"The doors will close soon." Rattled by Matts death, Nick was reckless. "I don't care," he hissed in reply,"get him back."

Neither the greenie nor the runner returned to the glade. They would never even find out the greenies name. Nick continued to become more and more reckless after the day of three deaths, as it came to be known. It hurt him so much to see friends die. Too much in the end. But that is not for now. That is another story.

A/N But seriously I have an idea for a sequel yay! Thank you so SO much for 400+ reads. This is incredible. This is literally the first thing I check in the mornings and it always puts me in a good mood because of yoou :) Sorry 'bout all the deaths... I feel a bit like JDash. Alsoo that was meant to be like the beginning of 'the dark times' as Alby called them. PLEASE PLEASE message me. I want to get to know some of you (not in a creepy way um) What do y'all think of ma lil edit things? You like or no?
Sorry about long a/n LOVE YOU ALLL
-K