Solo //The Maze Runner Series//

Chapter 3

I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would take me. I needed to get to the edge of the city before sundown. Surely they should be around that area. The pounding music coming from the heart of the city was far behind me but was still audible. As I ran, I made sure to take the easiest and safest route.

Thoughts were filling my mind as I ran. Why was I going to save these strangers? I don't know them. Maybe they wanted to kill me. What if they were already dead? Eaten alive by cranks? I was taking a big risk for these munies. I was going to save them. It sure as hell wouldn't be easy. I wonder what they look like. Are they older then me? Younger? Would they be holding weapons, ready to strike? Or would they be defenseless? Would they attempt to kill me? Or would they beg for my help? Would they run scared because I'm a crank? I don't know how they are going to react.

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Finally making it to the edge of the city, the sun was just on the horizon ready to let the stars fill the slowly darkening blue sky. I had climbed the tallest building on the edge and now I am staring out into the desert for any sort of mentally stable life. I didn't see any. Were they already here? Did they make it safely? Or were they not able to handle the heat of the scorch and slowly died off one by one? They might already be here. I sighed and started my decent down the stairs.

As I reached the bottom I heard voices, lots of them. I tiptoed around the corner and saw a decently sized group of young men. They didn't look like cranks, or acted like them, which actually frighted me a bit. These were the munies. I've never personally talked or even seen a munie besides Jorge, Brenda, and some WICKED workers but that was from a distance. I am closer now and I'm actually scared of these people.

They were gathered around the edge of the room, avoiding the giant hole in the ceiling. Three of them were standing up and looking up at the hole, interested in it. My eyes widened as a figure jumped down from the hole. He was tall, dark haired and is wearing tattered clothing like every crank in this place. I tilted my head to the side. This was Jorge.

"Who are you?" One of the munies asks, his voice not harsh or dry.

"Name's Jorge." Jorge smiles, holding out a hand. No one shook it so he simply let it hang to his side. I sat down and watched as they conversed.

"And I'm the Crank that rules this place." He smiled wickedly. I was confused. Why did he tell them he was a crank? He isn't a crank. He works for WICKED.

"Who's the leader here?" Jorge asks.

A tall, muscular Asian young man steps up.

"I am." He says confidently.

"Name?" Jorge asks.

"Minho, what's it to ya?" The Asian says.

"You're not who I am lookin' for." Jorge says. "I'm lookin' for a Thomas."

A scrawny yet muscular guy with dark brown hair steps up.

"I'm Thomas." He announces. Another person jumps down from the hole. She was shorter then Jorge, long black hair and her face was a lot cleaner . Brenda.

"I'm Brenda." She introduces herself. Jorge and her were tricking these poor boys into who knows what. Was WICKED behind this? Or was this their own intentions? I'm going to say WICKED has something to do with this. They talked with these boys about going through the city, but underground in the tunnels. Jorge pretty much bribed them with the offer of food and water.

Jorge and Brenda let them sleep and rest for a few hours then they all got up and made their way down to the tunnels. I waited a few minutes before following behind. I didn't want to get caught.

The tunnels were dark and damp. The only light was coming from a few barely lit torches hanging on the walls. I could hear them talking ahead of me, I couldn't really make out what they were saying but I knew they were talking.

They all sat down in the tunnel, Jorge lit a torch and started passing around cans of the indescribable food and some bottles of water. I sat from a distance again and watched as they all talked about where they came from, which apparently was a giant maze full of man eating blubber machines. It was interesting what they were talking about. WICKED is as bad as they seem they are. I sat there for a while just listening to their conversations. They actually scared me, they were so normal and not wanting to rip each other's faces off. It was scary that they were normal. It wasn't right.

I whipped my head behind me when I heard a noise. I focused behind me but there wasn't anything there. I turned around and nearly screamed. The Minho boy was standing in front of me, staring straight at me. I tried my best to sink into the shadows but it was too late he spoke up.

"Who are you?" He asks, his voice loud yet quiet.

"Um..." I start. I've been caught. What should I do? Should I stop hiding? I pulled the tattered clothing that was around my head to hide my face more.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, louder this time. I gulped.