Complicated

Chapter 31: Thata' Girl!

I kept running away from the screaming. I knew it was going to be a mess when I got back. But I also knew I couldn't keep staying in the Glade, it wasn't any safer for me. I knew deep down I would be a good runner and I could help. Gally and quite possibly Newt, had to get over it and let me do this.

I closed my eyes for a second collecting myself and ran deeper into my maze following Ben and Minho. The yelling quickly faded and all noise cut off. It was just the slapping of our feet bouncing off the stone walls. I noticed right away how much cooler it was inside the maze. It was damp dark and murky. There was moss growing in some parts of the wall and ivy growing on others.

Minho ran to the end of the corridor, which only took about five minutes. He slowed to a stop. I slowed down and came to a stop beside him. Slowly turning in a curcle. I shivered, big long gashes were carved in the stone, like claw marks. These didn't seem to phase the boys.

I tried to see the top of the walls but looking up made me feel dizzy, just like back on Day One. The place Minho stopped was an intersection, the first of many here; it split into 3 parts, straight, left or right. Minho turned and looked at me.

"Ok, so today running with us in section 4, we haven't explored it too much, but it's an easier one to run, less turns then most other sections. We won't make you do too much. More like testing your stamina. But I want you to do your best to remember each turn we make, so when we get to the end, see if you can do it backwards, see if you can mentally map it, like the model your making. Good that?"

I gulped and nodded, feeling very nervous and unsure about myself.

Minho smirked at me, waving a hand carelessly, "you'll do fine Tiger. Just run and keep your eyes open. If you have a question, ask. Oh! And rule number one: Run! Never stop running!"

With that he turned and took off, "come on slow pokes!"

We ran, all morning we ran. I hadn't had this much physical exercise all month, my legs and lungs burned. My chest felt tight, but I loved it! I was outside the confines of the wall. I didn't have nasty comments thrown at I didn't have staring and greedy eyes following my every move. I finally felt like I had a purpose, that I was good at something.

I kept up with Minho and Ben's pace with ease for the morning, by mid day I could feel myself slowing down. I knew Minho had slowed his pace for me, which made me grind my teeth.

We finally stopped for lunch. I watched as the boys stopped and slid down the wall and grabbed their sandwiches. I slowly walked up and down the corridor trying to even out my breathing and steady my heart.

"You've kept up more than most, Tiger!" Minho said threw bites of sandwich.

"Why do you always sound so surprised?" I rolled my eyes and finally slid down the wall.

"She has a point!" Ben chuckled.

Minho rolled his eyes and went back to his sandwich. Once he was done he stood up and stretched a bit.

"Do you wonder how big the maze actually is?"

"All the time Tiger!"

"Like...is there an end wall that encloses it all in and we need to find the one singular exit? Or does it eventually spread out and disappear?"

Minho looked at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. I wasn't watching him, my mind was spinning, I slowly stood up and started pacing.

"What...what if there is no exit? What if we're really stuck here and it's all here to mess with us? Test our stubbornness?"

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine." Minho rolled his eyes.

"Just saying!"

"Well we don't know yet! That's why we run these halls every single shuck day if miserabtshuck lives! We can't miss a day, because what if...the exit to freedom is behind a wall that only moves once every 6 months? Or is hidden or there is a trigger door we need to find in a corridor we haven't found yet. That's why, Tiger, you need the stubbornness and drive to come out here every single day, even if we haven't found anything new in a long time!"