Whilst Edward had spent the evening alone, worried for his brother, Thomas had been helping Minho heave the heavy Alby around the corners of the maze paths.
"What were you thinking?" Minho cursed him.
"You and Alby were right there. It didn't feel right just leaving you guys there knowing I could do something,"
"But what about your brother?" Minho reminded him. "You think you go in there knowing your brother would be worried about you?"
Thomas just closed his eyes. He didn't want to talk about his little brother at the moment who he knew would be constantly worried bout him. "What happened?"
"We went to where Ben ran to yesterday. And he got stung. HE attacked me. I struck him and I had to haul him all along this way,"
They said nothing else after that. The sun was already beginning to set behind the stone walls. They still carried Alby around corners until they started panting.
"Put him down," They settled Alby right against the wall. Thomas, exhausted, collapsed right next to him.
Minho kneeled next to him, exhausted too.
Just then they heard screeching in the far distance. Minho was up and ready to get going again. "Come on. We gotta go," he urged trying to pull Thomas up onto his worn-out feet.
"No. Wait. What about Alby?"
"We have to go now,"
"We're not leaving him. Are you saying there's nowhere to hide him?"
Minho suddenly lashed out and grabbed his collar. "List to me, shuck -face. Look around. There's nowhere to go," he let Thomas go and stood back up. "You don't get it. We're already dead,"
But Thomas wasn't goanna give up. He promised his brother he would get back to him and that was that.
Just then an idea popped into his head. "What about that?" he pointed to a wall of long ivy vines.
"You think that's goanna work?" Minho snapped.
"You got any better ideas?" Thomas challenged. "This is only option we have right now," he walked back to Alby and started pulling him away. "Well come on! Help me!"
Minho sighed exasperatedly. "Be lucky you've someone who needs you, or I'd be leaving your butt now,"
After what seemed like hours of climbing, Edward finally reached the top of the wall. He fell onto his back, cringing in pain. He grunted in pain, clutching his bandanaed hand which had now stained his wrappings in more blood.
He stood up carefully, looking right ahead of him. All he saw in front of him were towers of stone covered in ivy and plants. He could hear rumbling everywhere. It was just like last night and the night before. The Maze was changing. The chorus of Grievers screeching echoed in his head too. It was scary.
For a long moment he almost tempted himself to go back the way he came. He looked back down at the Glader seeing only torch lights in front of the sleeping quarters. No was awake or had seen him.
He would surely be in trouble if they found out he was up and had climbed the wall. But then he remembered his brother. He looked back forward at the Maze walls and towers. He made his choice. He walked along the top of the wall to try and find a way down or another wall to walk over to try and spot Thomas and Minho with Alby from above. He was going to find them. Even if it might take all night.
He found another path to walk along. Stepping close to the edge, he looked down to search for his brother and friends. He didn't think to shout out, afraid that he would put them in danger by drawing Grievers closer to them even if he was near them. He didn't see them. He reached the end of a pathway.
Suddenly there was a loud rumble that almost made him fall off the ledge. He managed to regain his balance. He stood in the middle waiting for another rumble.
"Phew," he sighed. Suddenly before he could take another step forward, he felt his stomach fly up into his throat and he fell off his feet onto his butt. He realised he was moving up. A short moment passed, and it stopped.
He stared down and realised that the pathway he walked along had risen a hundred feet. It was so high that he shrieked and stumbled back. He was becoming more terrified by the minute.
Just as he felt his heart banging up against his chest, he heard another rumble. Turning his head to the side, he saw another wall had arisen. There was ivy hanging from the side. Just then an idea formed into his head. It was a very crazy idea. It would be sprint and then run across and leap across.
Edward look down and saw how high it was. A sure slip would send him plunging to his death. But he promised himself he would find his brother. Raising his head up, he stood back a good twenty metres. He aligned his vision with the edge of the wall.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he sighed. He took a deep breath look up at the ivy vines. "Okay," he readied his feet. "Three. Two. One!" he sprinted to the edge and with a leap of face, he jumped across the gap and grabbed the vines. He clung onto them tight but his hand wound stung so much that he roared in pain.
Managing to push his feet against the stone walls, he stood up against the concrete and started climbing up again. After ten painful tugs on the vines, he managed to reach the top and pushed himself up. He was alright.
He looked back at the platform which he had leapt off. He sighed in relief again. He walked to the edge of the platform. He looked down and saw there were more platforms each one getting lower and lower, forming some sort of staircase.
Taking deep inhales and exhales on each tall step down, Edward leapt from platform to platform. His feet grew more worn out with every jump and already he was beginning to get bruises and little scratches.
After the fifth jump onto the fifth platform down, he looked down spotting another wall of ivy vines. This was his chance to get down and find his brother. First, he checked around to make sure there were no Grievers roaming nearby.
"Nothing," he said. Still he heard more rumbling all around. Looking around in the far distance, he saw structures of stone rising, falling, shifting aside as if to block pathways like doors.
Before he could even touch a vine, he heard the voice again in his head again.
"Edward..." it was still the same girl speaker. Her voice sounded sweet.
"Yes. Yes. I'm here," Edward almost believed he was going mental doing this.
"The Grievers are closing in on your brother. You need to get down,"
Edward's heart jumped.
"Go!"
Instantly Edward swung his legs over the side and he grabbed a vine. Looking up at the dark sky, he put pressure on his feet against the stone walls and started abseiling down the vines doing little jumps in between to get down faster.
Once he reached the bottom, he saw nothing but tall walls towering around him. This was going to more difficult.
"Hello," he called again, hoping the speaker would call again and perhaps serve as his guide around the maze.
Sure if she knows he's in danger, then she must know how to get to him.
He called again and again but still there was no answer.
Great. He was on his own.
He began jogging quietly around the corners. He wished he could shout out for Thomas but now that he was on lower ground, he was at a much bigger chance of becoming a midnight snack to the Grievers.
Just then he heard loud roaring in the distance.
A Griever.
He kept running on, not feeling the slightest bit afraid he would get spotted. If someone was in danger, then he was goanna step in and save them. No matter how reckless it sounded.
Suddenly he heard the sound of metallic footsteps behind him. It sounded like nails stamping against the ground. Frantically he looked around for a place to hide. His eyes spotted a hole just underneath a wall of ivy. HE rolled underneath it, covering his whole body in the plants.
With every step drawing closer and closer to him, the sound intensified and so did his heart rate. Look just ahead of the leaves covering him, Edward saw giant metal spikes poking into the ground. Just then he felt a twig snap when he shuffled back. The Griever's footsteps stopped. He held his breath.
The Griever right behind his hiding spot didn't move. He heard loud snarling. It sounded like it saw something. It rushed off. After the sound disappeared, Edward crept out from his hiding place and watched a long metal tail disappear behind a corner in the far distance.
If it heard something, it must be my brother or Alby or Minho. Edward thought. Recklessly, he pursed the footsteps of the creature who almost spotted him. He took silent breaths and stopped every once in a while, to make sure the creature he was chasing didn't look back and try and spot him.
To his relief, it didn't.
Just then, when he turned a corner, he suddenly ran into Minho.
He bumped into the Keeper of the Runners. He fell back.
"Edward!" Minho grabbed his left hand and pulled him back up onto his feet. "What the cluck are you doing here?!"
"I'm here for my brother!" Edward retorted.
"How did you get here?"
"I climbed up the ivy onto the wall!"
"You walked onto the wall?"
"Where are my brother and Alby?"
"Alby was stung!"
"So you left him? If you let my brother as well..."
"I told him to come with me! There was a Griever closing in on us! I had to run!"
Edward huffed, annoyed at his cowardliness. "Where did you see him last?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"You're goanna get yourself killed!"
"I don't care! I'm not leaving my brother behind!"
Still Minho didn't answer. "If you wanna get yourself killed, go ahead!"
Edward just growled and rushed off in the other direction, determined to save his brother. How dare Minho just leave him and Alby like that?
Suddenly when he turned a corner, he saw a giant sluggish creature with metal spider legs and a long metal tail. It emitted a screeching roar behind a set of small sharp teeth.
He screamed.
He turned around and ran into a corner, the Griever closing in behind him. Just then he turned again and found himself at a dead end. He tried to run back the other way, but the Griever was blocking the way. It growled, drawing closer and closer on him.
He stumbled back against the wall, fear overtaking his body. Seconds later all he could see was the Griever's small face right in front of him. It roared slimy saliva into his face. It raised its scorpion tail, reading an injector which Edward suspected must be how it stings its victims and makes them go crazy like Ben.
But just then, the Griever drew back and disappeared behind into the shadows. It didn't kill him. Edward was shocked, petrified. Why didn't it kill him? He was too shocked by what had just happened that he forgot Thomas for just a second.
Moments later, he heard roaring from up above and loud grunting. Looking up, he saw a scorpion tail wiping in the air and legs poking out from above. It was a Griever chasing someone.
Probably...
"Thomas," Edward breathed.
Thomas had been running from the Griever for quite a while. He found himself at the edge of a cliff. He tried to turn back but the Griever was blocking his way. It growled at him. With no choice, he leapt across the gap to the wall opposite him and clung onto the ivy. Hearing roars behind him, he looked back and saw the Griever jumping across to kill him. It landed right over him. Its tail with the stinger tried to inject him but he dodging it. Its legs started prodding the walls. He relocated his body from side to side to avoid when suddenly he felt one of its sharp legs scratch his back. It gashed down his back, ripping his shirt.
He screamed in pain.
Before it could try and slash him again, he fell the ivy snapping from above. He began to slide down. Suddenly the whole ivy wall came apart from all the weight and he landed with a thud on the ground, the Griever right above him. He managed to roll out the way. He tried to get back up but his back was bleeding so much and he was too weak to move again.
He tried crawling away but a giant shadow towered over him. The Griever raised a pincer ready to kill him.
"Hey!" a loud voice shouted. "Come and get me!"
Turning his head, he saw Edward in the distance waving out to him, to the Griever.
The Griever roared and started rushing after him.
"Edward!" he screamed. He tried to stand back up again but he was too wounded. He grabbed an ivy vine that was still attached to the wall and pull on it to stand up. Reaching behind his back, he felt masses of blood bleeding down his back. He reached behind and touched his back and pulled his fingers in front of him. It was covered in so much blood.
He had to get it treated soon and quickly.
Getting his strength, he started screaming out: "Edward!"
Edward ran around a corner, leading the Griever away. He huffed and puffed, his mind half on hoping that Thomas was alright, his mind half on surviving. He managed to draw it far enough away from Thomas. Just then he came in front of a wall and got an idea.
"Over here!" he goaded the monster.
It roared and rammed at him. Edward jumped to the side and it banged its head right into the wall. It cracked and just then hunks of stone began falling onto it.
Edward sprinted as far away as he could from the monster to get back to his brother. He just turned a corner when he ran into...
"Thomas!"
He rushed to his brother somewhat leaning against the wall a bit.
"What the hell are you doing here?" his brother hissed.
"What am I doing here?! I am came here to save you! And it's a good thing I did!"
"How did you get up?"
"I climbed the ivy up the wall. Now come on Tom! WE gotta go!" he slung Thomas's arm around his shoulders and started pulling him alone.
"Just leave me behind," Thomas begged.
"No way. You said you were going to get back to me again so I'm not leaving you any time soon! Man Minho had no right to abandon you and Alby like that! Is he arlight?"
"Yes. I pulled him up the ivy wall. He's safe,"
"If I see him again..."
"You'll do no such thing!" his brother warned.
Just then when they turned around again, Minho bumped into them again.
"You crazy sons of...!" he was interrupted by Edward.
"How about instead of complaining you help me get Thomas to safety?!" Edward snapped. "He's hurt real bad!"
"It's not that bad," Thomas tried to assure.
"I don't think so," Minho said coming to his side. He looked at his rapidly bleeding back. "Man, that's going to leave a scar,"
"Come on!" the little brother snapped. He and Minho started pulling Thomas away but Thomas was tyring his hardest to walk on his own.
Just then they heard a Griever again.
"We gotta move," Minho urged. "And this time I'm not leaving,"
"Good. Cause I was already goanna threaten you not to," Edward warned him.
"Enough Ed!" Thomas sanded. "Guys! I can run! It's not that bad!"
Believing him, Minho let go and Thomas was able to free himself from Edward's arms.
"This way!" Minho started running ahead and the brothers followed him but Edward kept a careful eye on Thomas in case he should fall.
"This section's closing!" Minho warned the brothers. they were closing in on two walls that were closing in on each other. "We can lose it,"
He dashed ahead.
Just then the brothers looked behind and saw the Griever closing in. They looked ahead at the closing walls and then to each other. They nodded.
"Come on!" Thomas shouted to the Griever.
"Catch us if you can!" Edward goaded the monsters.
The Griever roared and started chasing after them. Grabbing each other's hands, they sprinted along the pathway towards Minho.
"Come on!" the Asian teenager roared. "Come on! Don't look back!" he shouted.
The walls were closing in every second. The Griever was beginning to get squeezed right as he was closing right behind Thomas and Edward.
"Thomas! Edward!"
Thomas and Edward leapt together to the ground floor just as the walls closed behind them. They landed with a thud with strange gooey stuff splashing over them.
They coughed and grunted in pain.
Edward turned his face to Thomas who looked so warn out. Blood was overflowing his shirt. He managed to push himself up. He helped Thomas up too.
"You guys okay?" Minho asked in front of them.
"Yeah. We're fine," Thomas answered.
"Apart from the face we're covered in goo," Edmund gaggled touching all the slime that had splashed all over them. He turned around. There was a thin gap between the walls. The tips of metal legs poked out from between. So did organs and other disgusting things.
"Is it dead?" he asked.
"Yeah," Minho answered earning back his attention. "You guys killed it,"
Thomas and Edward stared at each other with bewildered gasps. Leading that monster between those moving walls to kill it now made their guts very giddy.
"Come on," Minho said. "Let's go back for Alby.
What did you all think of Thomas getting slashed on the back? And Edward being unharmed by the Grievers? Hope you all found this entertaining. Please don't be a ghost reader. I would love to hear some reviews so I can make this very entertaining.