Beyond The Walls - The Maze Runner

Chapter fourteen

Athena paced back and forth as she listened to Thomas and Newt talk back and forth while chopping at a tree trunk. Chuck was occupied with his sculpting to pay attention. Alby and Minho went into the maze this morning to map out Ben's route. She pleaded to go instead of Alby, but Gally and Minho denied her as well as Alby and despite wanting to, she halfheartedly agreed to stay behind. But that didn't stop her from worrying about her two favorite people putting themselves in more danger. She was a wreck and needed a distraction and Thomas's questions weren't helping one bit.

"Why did Alby go into the maze? I mean, he's not a—he's not a runner." Athena groaned in annoyance and grabbed Zart's shovel and started hitting the ground with it. She felt eyes on her but Newt knew better than to interact with her right now. She was just worried about Minho and Alby.

"Things are different now." Newt told Thomas, who sat on the side. "Alby went to retrace Ben's footsteps before sundown. Look, are you gonna help?" Newt asked, pointing to the stump in the ground. Athena continued beating at it and Zart couldn't help but shake his head at the process she was making.

"Okay, so he's gonna go back to where Ben was just stung?"

"Alby knows what he's doing." Athena said, throwing the shovel down, she wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead.

"She's right. He knows better than any of us." Newt adds.

"What does that mean?" Thomas asked, and Athena resisted the urge to strangle the greenie. Zart chuckled and handed her the shovel and she went back to chopping up the tree trunk. Newt sent her a look before turning back to Thomas.

"It's like you heard, yeah? Every month, the Box sends up a new arrival. But somebody had to be the first, right? Someone had to have spent the whole month in the Glade alone. And that was Alby." Newt said, "it can't have been easy. Until Athena showed up, and all the other boys, one after the other, he saw the truth. And he learned that the most important things is that we all have each other. Because we're all in this together." Athena watched Thomas stand up and head over to the tree. With his knife, he started hitting at the roots. Athena sighed and put her shovel down and headed over and sat beside Chuck.

"So you were the second one?" Thomas asked her, she mutely nodded. That's why she was so worried about Alby. He was her family. And of course Minho. When the sound of thunder crashed through the Glade, the Gladers were quick to drop what they were doing and head straight for shelter. The rain continued on for half the day until the sky was grey and the sun was gone. There was still no sign of Minho and Alby and Athena was first to stand at the maze doors, waiting.

"They're gonna make it." Gally told her gently. She shook her head.

"They should've been back by now." She whispered. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

"I know what you're thinking." Gally told her, as the other boys started gathering around the maze doors that were going to close at any moment. Athena turned to Gally and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm going to do what I have to do." She told him.

"No—"

"Come on, guys, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas asked, he looked to Athena. "You know the Maze, right?" He looked back to Newt, who shook his head.

"It's against the rules." Gally said. He also wasn't about to let Newt send the woman he might've loved into her potential death. No one survived a night in the maze. Not even someone who knows it like the back of their hand. "Either they make it back or that don't." Athena shook her head. Enough was enough. Thomas was right. She'd go after them.