One Of Us - A Gally, Maze Runner Fan Fiction

Chapter 4 - Friends

I listened to the laughter as I breathed heavily through my mouth trying to calm myself. My face was hot, and my hands were shaking so much I could barely keep myself on my knees. A sharp pain in my head made me cradle it in my hands as I put my forehead on the grass.

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Someone yelled as they pushed through the crowd. It was Gally. I felt his presence as he knelt beside me and put his hand on my back.

My vision was spinning and blurry. I recognized the symptoms. I was hyperventilating. Just like when I first came up out of the box. I couldn't get air through my lungs. I couldn't breathe-

Eleanor

The name appeared in my mind like a star in the pink sky of dusk. I heard Thomas and Newt telling everyone to back up and give me some space as they kneeled beside me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Newt murmured into my ear.

"Eleanor..." I whispered.

"What?" Gally asked.

I quickly sat up on my knees.

"My name is Eleanor," I announced with a smile, forgetting all about the pain throbbing through my body.

Gally, Thomas, and Newt all smiled back at me before helping me up. Thomas grabbed my hand and pulled it to the sky.

"ELEANOR!!" he bellowed out causing an eruption of cheers and shouts, making me laugh. Before I knew it, the hoard of boys surrounded me but instead of terror, I felt pride. They all patted me on the back, and I heard a mixture of congratulations and welcomes.

Newt murmured into my ear,

"You're now one of us," he beamed at me.

And for the first time since arriving, I felt like one of them. Not an outsider. A Glader.

"Alright guys, it's late. Time to call it for the night." Newt announced. A few quiet groans followed his words, but everyone slowly trickled out back to the homestead or to the hammocks. Gally gave me one last look before walking away.

Just me, Newt, and Thomas remained. I scooped them both into a hug. They were stunned for a second and didn't move before they enveloped me in their arms.

"Thank you," I murmured, before backing away quickly and clearing my throat.

They both chuckled.

"Come on, let's go to bed," Newt breathed, giving Tom one last look before turning towards the homestead.

Tom and I walked to the hammocks. It felt really good to have friends.

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I woke up in my hammock gasping for air. Sweat shining on my face and chest. I wiped my forehead with my sleeve.

Just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare.

I had seen images of Thomas, and another girl I didn't recognize. My body was connected to tubes. They were hurting me.  Thomas told me to run and to not trust 'Wicked'. I saw bright lights and heard machines beeping.

It was just a dream. It's not real.

I wanted to believe it was just a dream but some part of me couldn't.

The outline of someone looking down on me made me jump.

"Hey, hey it's me."

It was Thomas.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. "I heard you talking in your sleep and then you screamed."

I sat up and rubbed my face in my hands.

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare." I looked into his eyes and saw the images from the dream. He had told me to run. And to never stop.

"When I came up a month before you, I got them too for the first couple of days. Most people do. They'll pass in time." He ruffled my hair. "Go to sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow."

I swallowed while watching him lie back down in his hammock.

"Night Ella," he murmured while rolling over. I doubted I would get any more sleep tonight. Something about this dream was just not sitting right with me.

"Night Tom."

As he shuffled and slowly drifted back into sleep, I reached into my pocket and found my lighter. It was just silver metal and I flipped off the cap. As I clicked it on with my thumb, a steady flame erupted, and I pivoted the lighter around watching the flame dance in the gentle breeze. It was comforting, watching this tiny sliver of heat carelessly sway in the wind, its lifespan completely under my control.

I sighed, turned it off, and rolled onto my side. Thankfully, I drifted back into a somewhat peaceful sleep, dreaming of thousands of tiny flames, dancing together in the wind.