[the maze runner]
i've been lost. but as i find him again, it feels like
such a relief. a fresh breath of air. peace, at last.
[newt x male!oc]
cover art by the beautifully talented @obviousoph
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
+++
THE JUMP DOWN THE GRIEVER HOLE WASN'T AS BAD AS SAMSON HAD THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. Minho had snapped everyone out of their shocked state and reminded them that they needed to get down the Hole. Samson took one last lingering look at the motionless Griever before following Newt towards the Cliff. Deciding it'd be much easier to simply get it over with, Samson took a deep breath and then jumped forward into the Griever Hole. He held back a scream on his way down but he landed smoothly on his feet, his hands hitting the cold ground next to Thomas.
They ran towards Chuck and Teresa, who stood by what seemed to be a tunnel. The rest of the Gladers had all gathered around them. Thomas peered into the tunnel for a moment and studied it. From where Samson stood, the tunnel just looked dark and endless. But then again, that was what the Runners had assumed the Griever Hole had been for years.
Minho volunteered to go down first, and nobody protested. He slipped down the tunnel, shrieking at first. His voice echoed down the tunnel as he grew further and further away, and Samson swore he heard Minho's screams turn into laughter.
"Alright! Let's go!" Thomas called out. He motioned for someone else to go down. Leo stepped forward and slid down the Hole without any further question or thought. And then Chuck went, and Winston, and Teresa.
Samson decided to go after Frypan. He listened to the Cook scream all the way down, and once he heard him land, Samson took a deep breath and then slipped down into the tunnel. But the tunnel was more than just a tunnel. It was a slide. It was slicked with grease that smelt like burnt plastic and Samson couldn't stand it. The grease was so slippery Samson could barely even hold his hands out to try and slow himself down. Eventually, he gave up and decided to shut his eyes and wait until he came to a stop. Some of the Gladers had laughed on their way down, which to Samson was good news. It meant that the tunnel must've led out of the Maze. It was their way out. They would be safe.
His eyes shot open again just as he flew out of the slide. He landed on his side with a loud groan. Frypan was sprawled out next to him, rubbing his thigh gently, but he was smiling nonetheless. Samson stayed in his spot on the ground until everyone else came down the slide. Newt and Thomas had both crashed into him and although it'd hurt, a smile crept its way onto his face as he accepted the boy's apologies.
Newt helped him stand. "You sure you're alright?" he asked.
Samson merely nodded. He gripped Newt's hand tightly for a moment, as a way to say thank you. Newt smiled warmly back at him, and Samson's heart skipped a beat. He'd missed him.
Thomas led the group down another dark corridor. All of the laughter and joy that the slide had created just a moment ago disappeared and was replaced with suspense when Thomas stopped in front of a large steel door, that reminded Samson of the entrance to the Map Room Thomas turned around to face the Gladers. He seemed to be looking to them for an answer on whether or not to open the door.
Minho shoved Thomas aside and turned the handle on the door himself. The door made a low hissing sound and pushed itself open. Eager to see what was inside, Samson weaved his way through the crowd until he stood at the front of the room with Thomas, Newt, Minho and Teresa. Samson immediately recognized the location. It was the same lab that Teresa and Thomas had used to set themselves up in when they recorded their messages to him. Instinctively, Samson turned to Thomas to see if he was getting the same deja-vu feeling she was, but he had his eyes on Teresa. Thomas grabbed her hand as they walked into the room and Samson, who felt as if he was intruding on something personal, looked away.
The room itself was destroyed. All of the computer screens had cracks and bullet holes in them. All of the lights were burnt out or hanging by a thread on the ceiling above them. Through one of the windows, Samson noticed the bodies. Some of them were laid out on beds with white sheets covering them up, but the sheets were stained red. Men in white coats were slumped and still against the wall. Samson lowered his head. The white coats had to have been the Creators, who surely deserved their fate after what they'd put the Gladers through. But seeing all of the bodies only made him want to throw up.
Newt staggered over to one of the computer screens. Samson watched him study one of the screens carefully. His eyes widened suddenly and Samson cocked his head toward the screen, moving towards Newt. He remembered these screens from the Changing. They were cameras, used to monitor the Gladers in the Maze. Since they'd escaped, most of the cameras now showed the Glade in its ruins. The Griever that had killed Clark was dead in the middle of the field, but it seemed that only a couple of Gladers remained.
One of the cameras had zoomed right in on Clark. He was trapped underneath a piece of wood in the broken Homestead, lying still, his eyes dead and cold. Samson couldn't look away. Although the others would deny it, he felt responsible for what had happened to his friend. Knowing that Clark had died alone and afraid would haunt him forever.
Samson stepped back and stumbled into Leo, who stood not too far from him. Leo shook his head, snapping himself out of a daze. He had been watching the same screen. Samson sighed, too shaken up to try and console him. He turned to Newt instead, who stepped away from the computer and sighed.
"So they were watching us," he said tonelessly. "This whole time."
Samson merely frowned at him. From across the room, one of the larger screens lit up and switched on, catching everyone's attention. A lady in white appeared on the screen. Her blonde hair was pinned up and her lips were coloured red.
"Hello. My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I'm the Director of Operations at the World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department."
The Gladers all began to walk toward the screen slowly. They grouped together and watched the woman, Doctor Paige, explain herself.
"If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it." she paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused. Angry. Frightened. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason."
Samson shook his head in disbelief. Thomas had called The Maze Trials an experiment. But what kind of experiment? What was all of it for? All of the lives that had been lost, and all for an experiment? Samson believed that the Gladers deserved an explanation for all of the suffering they'd endured.
Doctor Paige continued. "You won't remember, but the Sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives lost to fire, famine, suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable." The screen faded out from Doctor Paige to footage of buildings on fire and bodies burned and charred black. Samson averted his eyes from the screen when tears began to well up in them. He'd seen too much death today.
