Shadow of the Maze | Maze Runner [1]

FIVE

[ ELECTRA ]

❧

"Ain't no use lookin' up at the clouds, Minho. Help me take a look at this thing."

Electra listened to the boys' conversation below her from on top of the wall. She didn't dare risk a peek below but felt a warm sensation in her chest at the mention of Minho staring up and trying to see her.

There was no way she wouldn't be watching over them, especially due to the fact that the Griever was still here even a day later. The entire situation was dangerous and she would rather be caught dead than not be here to protect her friend if the situation turned south.

Earlier that morning when she went to check on the Griever, she felt her stomach twist when she saw the beast still laying there. She carefully inspected it, noticing Minho's knife and ripping it out of the wound. If the Gladers found a knife in the monster it wouldn't take a genius to put all the pieces together. To find a way to blame Minho, or to speculate about what else could be living in the Maze.

"They stabbing their own kind now? What killed the damn thing?" Alby asked and, before Electra could think about what he said, she heard a very faint clicking sound behind her.

Electra quickly spun on her heels and approached the other side of the wall away from the boys. Looking down, she saw a Griever pacing back and forth, its spike slowly waving around in front of itself. If she climbed down and fought the monster the boys would definitely be able to hear it, so instead she sat on the edge of the wall with her feet dangling over the side and cautiously watched. If the stupid thing wanted to walk back and forth for hours she would let it. As long as it didn't realize she was up there, or that there were two boys on the other side of the wall inspecting its dead relative.

"Too much wishful thinking and you'll wind up dead, y'know." She could vaguely hear Alby mentioning from the other side of the wall.

The Griever below her suddenly stopped in its place. The monster stood there, still as a statue, for a few moments before its ugly head slowly turned up to look up at her and uneasiness crept its way into Electra's heart. Grievers didn't have definable eyes, but it was like the thing could see her. She sat there, reaching for her knife in its sheath.

Electra heard Minho's sudden scream from the other side of the wall, along with the clicking and gear turning sounds of a Griever, and she instinctively got up and ripped her knife out of its sheath.

As quickly as she turned to try to help her friend, she saw the Griever on the other side of the wall start racing up, its legs piercing into the stone and ivy showering the floor as it viciously crawled directly toward her.

She bounced in her spot a few times, heart racing while trying to decide what to do. When the Griever was halfway up the wall she sprinted away from Minho and Alby. The monster followed her.

Electra bolted on top of the walls, swerving left and right and jumping over the corners to try to gain as much distance as she could. But she could hear the beast quickly catching up on her. With her knife in both hands, she turned to face the Griever. The monster charged at her and she began running towards it.

At the very last second, Electra dropped into a slide and tried to glide under the creature. She'd done it plenty of times before but this Griever's instincts were too fast. The monster caught on to her plan and swiftly kicked her with one of its strong metallic legs.

She skidded across the top of the wall and felt her body drop off. In pure panic, she reached out to grab an ivy vine, her knife firmly in her other hand. Electra looked up to see the Griever towering over her, slowly stalking forward, its spike coming into view from under the ledge.