Shooting pains traveled up and down Mae's arm, as she found herself caught under the weight of the Griever. Most of her concern was centered on Minho, who was sprawled on the floor with Griever on top of him, as he tried his best to dodge it's repeated attacks on his face. It's spider like mechanic arms slamming onto the ground and flailing about as it screeched with menace.
The only thing stopping the creature from ripping him to shreds was the spear that he held firmly over his face, right between it's jaws. Mae used her other hand, the one that had the knife in it, and swung it over to stab it right in it's hideous face.
The Griever screamed out in pain, sticky green liquid seeping from the place where the girl had punctured it. It wasn't enough to get it to back off though, and the two were still stuck, vulnerable to the attack.
All the boys behind them were trying to figure out how to help, but had no idea how to go about executing a plan.
Suddenly, with no announcement to the rest of the Gladers, Jeff launched himself forward, clutching his spear tightly. He let out a loud battle cry as he used as much force as he had to impale the top part of the Griever, distracting it enough for Minho to scoot out from under it and for Mae to pull her arm out of harms way. Even though she was free now, her arm convulsed with pain, and it was slightly bent in a way it shouldn't be. Newt reached forward, but jerked his hand backward when he saw her abnormal arm.
"It's all shucked up," She muttered under her breath. She hadn't even noticed it, but she'd spent enough time with them to pick a few of the odd words that the Gladers had created.
Unfortunately, Jeff's act of bravery didn't end so well for the boy himself. After he had fought the Griever off of Minho, he became frozen in place, not knowing what to do next. Mae wasn't able to pull him back with her due to her injured arm, and the monster growled with malice. It opened it's mouth, and in a flash, attacked Jeff's legs, carrying him off as it scrambled backward away from the Gladers.
His screams rung in Mae's ears as her eyes widened with shock and heartbreak.
"JEFF!" Winston cried after his friend, and he tried to move forward to him, but Frypan grabbed a hold of him, forcing him to move backwards where the remaining kids were gathered near the pod-like door.
More Grievers had begun to line up in front of them, trapping them in between the door and the group of creatures. The boys held out their spears in defense again, and Thomas pushed Mae behind them toward Chuck and Teresa due to her condition. She let her damaged arm hang limply at her side, trying to ignore the excruciating agony that came along with her injury. She was still slightly trembling from the sight of her old Med-jack mentor being carried off to his doom, but she brushed off both her physical and mental anguish and moved in closer to her sister.
"Mae, did you hear the sequence that Minho was saying before..." She glanced down at the girls ravaged arm. "You know?"
"Um, yeah." Mae answered, searching her memory for a few a minutes before when Minho had been shouting the order of the sections of the Maze. "The last two were eight..." She paused, squeezing her eyes shut as she dove further in thought. Funny how just two weeks ago, she couldn't remember her life, and now she was trying to remember what her friend had said a few seconds ago.
"Mae, hurry!" Teresa urged, glancing back at the Grievers who the boys were still holding up.
"Three! It was three," The girl said suddenly, the number popping up in the back of her head. Teresa nodded and typed in the last number in the pad, the pixels on the screen suddenly lighting up in green with the words 'complete' popping up in front of them.
"We got it! Hurry!" Mae called to the rest of the Gladers, and they moved back quickly as the different sections of the walls began to slam down, the Grievers quickly moving forward in order to not be caught under the concrete.
One by one, the segments of the wall shut close with a bang, trapping the Griever's each one by one on the other side. There was just one left as the Gladers were all bunched up in the corner, praying not to be trapped with the monstrous creature.
Just as the Griever was about to wreak havoc on the remaining teenagers, Thomas chucked his pointy weapon at it's face, blinding it temporarily. The last section of the wall slammed down onto the monster, vile green liquid spilling out from under door at their feet.
The Gladers that had survived were suddenly swallowed in darkness. Everyone was breathing heavily out loud, shaken from their daring escape. It was strange to instantly go from tons of action and fighting for your life to complete and utter nothingness, like what they were in right now.
And then, just as quickly as it had come, the darkness faded as light poured in from a crack in the door, a groaning sound accompanying the movement as it slowly heaved open. Everyone shielded their eyes as Teresa pushed the door open more, revealing the next phase of their life.
Mae stepped out slowly after her sister, Chuck, Minho, Thomas and Newt following along with the rest of the boys who were left. She was holding her arm now, trying not look at the discolored skin, bruises and the gash on her elbow.
The hallway in front of them was something they'd never seen before in the Glade. There were pipes running along the metal walls, and the ceiling was pretty low to the ground. It was dark for a moment, until the lights running along the top of the walls began shutting on, illuminating the long passage way that led to yet another similar looking door.
They stood in silence for a moment, trying to adjust to the new circumstances. Mae took a deep breath, swiveling her shoulder slightly and wincing in pain.
"Well, I think we should head that way." Thomas announced, craning his neck to look to the right, his voice trembling slightly.
"Quick thinking, Captain obvious." Minho remarked, taking the first steps in the direction of the door. Mae felt a small smile grow on her lips, despite the harsh action that she'd just endured. She followed after Minho, the rest of the Gladers walking warily after them.
Newt moved up next to her, and glanced at her with a knowing look.
"Your arms all bent of shape," He pointed out cheekily, trying to make light of the dark situation.
"Haha, very funny." Mae grumbled, but she had a friendly smirk on her face. "This is an odd looking tunnel," She said, her smile fading into an perplexed gaze. Newt nodded, reaching out to run his hand along one of the pipes on the wall.
"What do you guys think is on the other side of that door?" Chuck piped up. Mae glanced to look at him, and her heart sank at how terrified he looked. His plump cheeks were pale, and his face was flushed. His curly hair was in disarray, and his normally squinted eyes were wide with vacant anxiety.
"Hopefully a better life." Thomas responded, his eyes still glued to the end of the passage way.
"But what if it's not? What if there's more Grievers, or something worse!" Chuck rambled, his voice full of worry. A part of Mae wanted to do the same thing as him, freak out and stay in this tunnel forever. But she knew that the only way to move forward into a new life, whatever it may be, was to go through that door.
"Well, then at least we know we had a choice." Thomas answered with a heavy breath. Newt nodded, moving away from the wall and closer to Mae, his eyes fixated down the hall. And the group continued, their thoughts running wild at all the possibilities that their new life could have in store for them.
Finally, after a few silent minutes of walking with no sounds except for the constant whirring of far away machines in the background and the occasional clank of metal, all the Gladers appreciating the moment of finally having a second to absorb a minute of downtime, they reached the end of the tunnel.
In front of the door, there was a light green light sticking out of the wall, and a large lit sign was above the door with the words 'EXIT' stamped in bright green letters.
"Seriously?" Frypan thought what everyone wanted to say out loud with a condescending tone.
The Gladers shared a look, some excited, some nervous, some expressionless, but most of all, that shared look showed to each other that they were in whatever was to come together.
Thomas stepped forward, examining the door closely for a moment, until he finally pulled down on the knob cautiously, and swung the door open slowly with a creak. There was a faint alarm blaring Mae could hear, and she was beyond curious to see what awaited them.
What she saw was nothing like what she was expecting. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure what she was expecting in the first place, but it certainly wasn't a deceased woman lying on the floor with a huge red stain in the middle of her chest. Or foggy air surrounding her, or flashing lights that made it hard to focus. Mae forgot all about her injured arm, and she stopped holding it like that would even help with the pain. Instead, she let it drop to her side, disregarding it as she took in the scenario in front of her.
The Gladers silently continued through, nothing to be said as they passed a man who seemed to have been smashed against the wall, blood smeared behind him.
It seemed like some sort of science lab from hell. Mae noticed a glass pane to her right, and she stopped walking to peer inside to see two bodies on tables, draped with white sheets. The only identifiable thing about them being their limp hands that peeked under the sheets. She felt her posture stiffen, and a chill roll down her spine, as she couldn't bring herself to look away.
A firm hand pressed against her shoulder. She still couldn't pry her eyes from the two bodies.
There's something familiar- I can't place it.
"Mae," The voice that went along with the hand on her shoulder said.
HI. Thank you so much for reading! Just wanted apologize again for the slowburn. ik it can be excruciating to go through- I hope you're enjoying though! I can't wait for the chapters to come, I have some great ideas written down.