the fan runner ⇒ the maze runner fanfic

four - shuck you

[ You can learn a lot from a sleeptalker. ]

^'°

That night, Allie didn't sleep for one second.

She tossed and turned under the rough, itchy blanket for hours, trying to get her mind to stop its endless worrying. But however many sleeping positions she tried, nothing would make her quit.

Why?

What if?

How?

She sat up, groggy, and smoothed down her frizzy bed head.  It was still nighttime.  A collective snore could be heard from the boys around her, but other than that, it was unnaturally silent.  The sky shimmered with fake stars, and the Maze walls caged her into the Glade.  As she listened closer, Allie could faintly hear the metallic chirping and clicking of the beetle blades. And that's when she remembered something. Something vital.

Slowly, Allie tiptoed away from the pack of sleeping boys. She cringed as she stepped on someone's leg, hidden from her view under a blanket.  Shaking, she continued to the edge of the grouping and sank to the ground once she reached the end. Swiftly turning around to meet the Deadheads, Allie softly jogged towards the clump of trees.

"Allie..."

The words were carried by the harsh wind towards her, so out-of-the-blue that they made her jaw drop almost immediately. She swallowed her fear of being caught and replaced it with a newfound bravery, and clumsily made it over to the boys.

"Allie... I think you're cute.  Wait, no."

She almost laughed, but she caught herself. What was going on?

"Allie... You look pretty today.  And everyday. But I've only known you one day, so..."

This time, she let a little giggle loose, biting her lip to stop more from escaping.

She recognized the voice all too well.

Snooty, rude Evan was sleep-talking.

His voice was hushed but he sounded slightly husky, the tired voice of someone who talked in their sleep.  Allie's little sister had done it, and she talked about unicorns and rainbows.  But Evan... Allie chuckled.  Evan was saying something a little different.

"Hey-o, Allie!  I like your face!  It's okay-ish looking!" he blurted, surprisingly loud, and Allie couldn't help but go into a full-on laughing fit.

"What?"

She stopped.

That wasn't Evan.

"What the shuck is going on over here?"

Allie searched for the owner of the voice, and her eyes landed on a boy she'd never seen before, someone who wasn't a main character.

"Girls make trouble, that's what I told 'em.  That's what I told all of 'em for a year!" From what she could see in the darkness, the boy had a stringy mop of brown hair and mean-looking, squinted eyes that were staring right at her.

"I come in peace, random Glader." Allie told the boy.

"I am not 'random Glader', girly, I'm Matthew." he barked.

"Allie... pretty..." Evan mumbled.

"I'm not girly, my name is Allie." she fought back.

"Okay, girly, now that we've had our formal introduction, can we please go back to sleep?" Matthew scoffed.

"Go ahead, Matthew," Allie spat.  "But I'm going to go communicate with a beetle blade."

"What?" he screeched, and a few boys woke up, rubbing their eyes and muttering.

"Gotta blast!" Allie turned her back on the boy and bounded off into the Deadheads, her goal clearly set in her mind, pushing aside the worrisome thoughts that used to be.

"Come here, little beetle blade," Allie whispered into the dark wood, her voice carrying over the trees and into the nothingness of night.

No red eyes appeared like she imagined, but she was determined, so she continued.

A rustling in the trees put her on high-alert,
and she turned around to face someone who she had hoped was fast asleep: Matthew.

"What the shucking hell do you think you're doing?" he screamed, his large face inches away from hers.

"Ew. You smell." Allie backed away from him.

"I try to keep order here, but you come in and ruin the whole shuck thing!" Matthew snapped, particles of spit flying onto Allie's skin.

She wiped at her face, her expression disgusted, her demeanor calm but slowly wavering into anger. "Honey. You gotta get things straight. First of all, you're not keeping any order, you're not even a main character. Yeah. And second, I'm just trying to talk to your little Creators about leaving here. Isn't that what you want?" Allie took a deep breath, exhausted from her speech.

"Yes. That is what I want." Matthew said grimly. "But what does it have to do with the shuck beetle blades? Those stupid little shanks ain't good for nothing!"

He thought for a minute. "Main character? What is this, a fairytale?"

"Newt can be my Prince Charming..." Allie smiled, but she quickly faked a cough into her hand. "Anyways..."

"If it means you're leaving, I'll help you find a beetle blade." Matthew looked Allie straight in the eye, confirming an unsaid promise. "Just don't wake me up in the middle of the shuck night, girly."

"No promises."