NIGHT BEDS ━︎━︎ THE MAZE RUNNER

v. THE PROMISE RING.

hozier // arsonist's lullabye.

THE ALARM ON HER WATCH ECHOED THROUGH MK'S deep, dreamless sleep, pulling her reluctantly to the drivers' seat. Her whole body felt heavy. In such an uncomfortable sleeping position inside a truck, she finally had a good sleep with no nightmares, no voices, no cranks, no guilt tripping.

She didn't want to wake up - but she didn't have a choice. She groaned and checked her watched to shut the alarm off.  Shut eye was over and it was time to start the truck and continue driving- to search for Minho.

Groggily, MK stretches her arms and legs and digs the key inside the ignition. Pushing down the pedals she drives down the dirt road until she stopped at a tunnel with broken down caution signs and fences. Lights were still working at the front where she could see only a quarter of the inside.

She took a deep breath, talking to herself saying she's got this while slowly driving down the darkness while she decided on the way to make use of how much time she has on her hands.

First of all, she wanted to do this herself. She'd rather go by herself than let the three of her friends risk their lives by themselves. She thought she was better off without them considering all she's done was have nightmares and a frown most of the days. She couldn't save Minho, he was right there at the touch of her hand.

Plus, she didn't wanna be in the same place as Newt after what he had accidentally blurted out of his mouth.

She couldn't make herself a better person, but she knows Minho will thank her once she finds him.

Was she determined? She grips the steering wheel, carefully moving down deeper into the tunnel. She might be on her own, but she wasn't going to give up. No way. She followed Thomas's words. "We've made it this far, we're not stopping until we get Minho back."

As she reached possibly the middle, she realized that moving the truck a few more inches might make some noise. Through the rolled up windows and locked doors, she could hear echoes of faint screaming and moaning, water running under the tires and the engine. Minho couldn't be here, MK thought, staring down at how much gas she had left.

The tank was almost empty. She couldn't follow her own lecture. She slams the steering wheel and swears. MK wondered if it was worth leaving her friends.

There was a low growl. Standing at the end of the light of her truck was a crank, leaning back so far, their hands and fingers twitching every second. Through the light she could see what it looked like.

It was a woman, possibly late 40's, thin hair and quite short. Her clothes were raggedy, face swollen and bloodied and she was missing a shoe on her right foot. It looked like . . .

Her mother.

You're insane, it can't be her, a voice whispered in her head. But she didn't think it through, because MK without looking opened the car door and stepped outside, not taking her eyes off of the crank. As she approached, MK raised her hand up a bit and stared at her. She stepped forward a pace or two, then stopped. She noticed the crank stared back, not even moving a muscle.

She- or it- didn't move. She's not coming after me, thought MK with surprise. Does she know who I am? But that didn't mean the crank was gonna welcome her with open arms.

She decided to move her mouth- that she didn't even realize it dropped open, carefully holding her hand out with the other in her jacket pocket that held the fully loaded gun. If she was really lucky, she might be able to get pass the crank and hide somewhere until something happens- such as a miraculous tank of gas sitting right next to her.