When We're Older- The Maze Runner (Newt)

gathering

   "We're almost there," Minho grunted as he and Thomas carried Alby on their shoulders, "Just another left. The walls should be opening now."

   My heart leapt at the thought of seeing Newt and Chuck again. Minho had told me that they were more than likely going to have a Gathering with the whole Glade as soon as they got back, but after that, we could go to sleep.

   I felt as though my body was moving itself as I walked down the corridor, hearing the grunts of Minho and Thomas carrying our leader behind them. My legs weighed more than I did, and my eyelids felt like they were going to shut the longer I fought to keep them open. But when I heard the familiar rumbling of the walls, I perked right up.

   "Come on," I skipped and took a hold of Alby's legs, moving the machete I had grabbed from the Griever into the loop of my cargo pants. Maybe if I helped the boys with him, we would get there faster. But I stumbled over on a rock, making the two boys laugh a little.

   "Just stay behind us, Mae," Minho told me softly, "We got it."

   I nodded and pushed myself up off of the ground slowly, moving behind them and kicking the rocks out of the way. My heart raced as I did anything to keep moving, now feeling extremely energetic as I caught sight of the corner, telling me that the Glade was just a few feet away. I taped my fingers on my elbows, keeping my eyes on the boy's feet as they limped and turned the corner.

   "Yeah! Yeah!" My head shot up when I heard the familiar high-pitched voice of the little boy. Minho looked back at me and smiled at my reaction, cocking his head towards the open walls, telling me to go for it. Without needing any more of a sign, I pushed around the boys and jogged towards Chuck.

   When I approached him, I dropped to my knees and flung my arms around his torso, feeling him do the same not even a second later. He buried his head into my shoulders, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I looked up at the boys surrounding us. I smiled and let out a relieved laugh as I felt my stomach suddenly turn as though I was going to be sick. Pulling away from Chuck, I turned around and faced Minho and Thomas, who were staring down at Alby as they laid him on the ground.

   Finally getting a good look at him in the light, I saw how bad he really looked. I scooted beside Minho and Thomas as we all breathed heavily, feeling the sudden sting as we sat down finally.

   "What happened?" Someone asked. I shook my head and placed my small hand on Alby's forehead, he was still unconscious. As soon as the first question was asked, it was like everyone started yelling at us. I shut my eyes, the feeling of it all becoming too much as my stomach turned once again. I had to swallow the bile that was building up in the back of my throat.

   Chuck placed a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him, "You saw a Griever?"

   Minho and Thomas sighed, while I nodded, "Yeah, we saw one."

   Thomas inhaled heavily and let out a loud cough before continuing, and pointing at me, "We were even chased by one. Saved my life. Three times."

   "Shut up," I slapped him on the back, not accepting the praise, "You did the same."

   Minho shook his head, "These two shanks didn't just see it..."

   Thomas and I looked at each other, knowing what Minho was about to say, "They killed it."

   Everyone's eyes turned to us, making me want to throw up even more. My eyes shut again as I looked down at Alby, wondering if he was dead or alive. He was stung, but he shouldn't be out for this long. According to Minho, he was out basically the whole day after he hit him with a rock. That's why he was late coming back from the Glade. He was out all night, and when we brought him down from the ivy, he was like deadweight as we took five tries getting him to his feet. Once the boys started carrying him, we didn't stop until we got to the Glade.