LIMERENCE ﹐ the maze runner.

7

WARNING - I'm going to be straightforward right now- this is the chapter where Newt jumps off the Maze wall. Yes, I know it is an emotional chapter, but it is an important part of the story and I couldn't just leave it out. If you do not feel comfortable reading this, that's perfectly fine - I'll have a short recap of ONLY the need-to-know things in the next chapter. On with the chapter...

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The last job Clara was supposed to try out was Runner. She wasn't looking forward to the actual running, but she decided that she was going to try her best since Minho and Newt were both Runners.

That morning, she did her hair back into a simple braid, put on a pair of running trainers along with a tank-top and running shorts, and made sure she had a bottle of water.

After breakfast, she walked towards the centre of the Glade, where Minho had told her to meet him.

As Clara stood at the Box, Minho dashed past her, grabbing her water bottle, and yelled,"You aren't getting this back until you catch me!"

Clara sighed, but started running after him. The wind seemed to fly past her as she ran as fast as she could. She could feel her legs aching as she ran faster.

Trying to ignore it, she bit her lip and pushed herself harder, keeping at the same pace and not slowing down.

She got too tired to ignore, and lost focus. Before she knew it, she tripped over a rock and fell over, face-first.

She groaned, and her whole body felt as if it was burning up.

"Not bad, sweetheart,"Minho said to Clara as he stopped next to her. "But not exactly good, either. Gimme 30 push-ups, now."

"Minhooooooo,"Clara groaned.

"Unless you want to run 10 laps around the Glade. The choice is yours."

"I'll do the push-ups,"Clara grumbled.

"What was that?"Minho teased her.

"I said I'd do the goddamn push-ups!"

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"Clara, are you okay?"Archie asked Clara as she stumbled into lunch that afternoon, her legs, her arms, her everything aching from Minho's runner training.

"No, I'm not,"she said. "I'm dying."

"You are not dying, Clara,"Archie said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Yes, I am,"she said with an over-dramatic sigh. "Take me to my bed, Archie, so that I can die in peace!"

"Clara, you are not dying,"he repeated, now laughing.

"Archie, it is my dying wish for you to take me to my bed!"

Archie sighed, but was still smiling. "I suppose I can't deny you your dying wish."

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After two days of training, Minho decided that Clara was finally ready to actually run the Maze.

Newt said goodbye to Clara, Minho and the other Runners. It was his day off from running.

Clara followed Minho through the Maze. Thick ivy hung on to the tall stone walls, making the place feel creepy to Clara.

She ignored it, and followed closely behind Minho, trying to keep up with the Runner.

It was difficult to follow his pace, and it didn't help that she wasn't nearly as fit as him.