Trials Together (Book One): The Maze Runner

Chapter 20

Grievers wailed outside and no one could sleep, tossing and turning. The grey light outside was just the same, no definite way to tell the time, but Thomas guessed it was about two in the morning.

Suddenly there was the sound of a Griever, its metal parts scraping across stone.

Newt jumped up, gesturing for everyone else to stay down and quiet, he went to the window, pulling Sonya with him.

The building began to shudder, in time with the sounds of the Grievers. They were climbing the walls, and it sounded like they were coming towards them.

Everyone got up, crept to the far wall, all looked terrified, some were crying.

The door to the hallway opened, and everyone turned to it, momentarily forgetting the Grievers. It was Gally.

Thomas heard a gasp and looked over to see Beth, who looked positively livid, any idea that she had been an accomplice of his evaporating.

"Gally what the shuck?" She whisper yelled at him, he didn't respond.

"You, It's all your fault!" Gally shouted, pointing at Thomas and his friends. He moved to hit Thomas but Beth grabbed him.

"Sit down and be quiet, or I'll throw you to the damn Grievers myself." She hissed, Gally shook her off.

"It can't be solved," he said, his voice now quiet and distant, spooky. "The shuck Maze'll kill all you shanks.... The Grievers'll kill you ... a pair every night till it's over.... I ... It's better this way...." His eyes fell to the floor. "They'll only kill you one a night ... their stupid Variables ..."

Newt took a step forward. "Gally, shut your bloody hole—there's a Griever right out the window. Just sit on your butt and be quiet—maybe it'll go away."

Gally looked up, his eyes narrowing. "You don't get it, Newt. You're too stupid—you've always been too stupid. There's no way out—there's no way to win! They're gonna kill you, all of you—one by one!"

Screaming the last word, Gally threw his body toward the window and started tearing at the wooden boards like a wild animal trying to escape a cage. Before Thomas or anyone else could react, he'd already ripped one board free; he threw it to the ground.

Newt and Sonya lunged forward, Gally wrenching the second board free, slamming it into the side of Newt's head. He fell onto the bed, there was a shower of blood.

The window exploded inward, Thomas was dimly aware that most of the Gladers had fled to the hallway. Sonya was checking Newt for a pulse, Beth had gone strangely, completely rigid.

The pulsating body of the Griever began to enter through the window, reaching for Newt. Sonya shrieked and hit it away.

"No one ever understood!" Gally screamed over the horrible noise of the creature, crunching its way deeper into the Homestead, ripping the wall to pieces. "No one ever understood what I saw, what the Changing did to me! Don't go back to the real world! You don't ... want ... to remember!"

The Griever's arms reached out, latching onto Beth, who did not resist. Gally yelled and tried to hit it away, attempting to free her, but this only allowed the creature to grab him as well. The monster seemed satisfied with its human trophies, clambering back out of the window and dropping to the floor of the Glade. Thomas ran to the window and stared, watching other Grievers click their arms in victory, following their apparent leader into the maze.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I have A-Levels and a lot of chores to do. Please read and review.