𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑.
[ chapter sixteen ]
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
EVELYN'S MIND OVERFLOWS WITH THOUGHTS BUT SHE QUICKLY SILENCES THEM, focussing on the task at hand and not on the fact that she's getting kicked out of the only home she's ever known, all because of a boy she presumably hates. A few metres from her, Teresa is being led over to the two large poles in front of the maze doors, two Gladers tying her to it securely. Thomas' unconscious body gets pulled over and Gally instructs for him to be left on the dusty floor.
Evelyn's hands are restrained tightly behind her back, Alec keeping a stronghold on her wrists, knowing that she can easily break free of them if she wishes. Gally had previously ordered several boys to watch over while he delivered his infamous speech, but each Glader refused - Alec being the only one who is too scared to go against the already angry 'leader'.
The Glade falls silent for a moment, the small murmurs of the surrounding boys being the noise. Evelyn swallows thick, attempting to push all her nervousness down as she watches Gally pace back and forth before stopping in front of Thomas on the ground, "This is such a waste." He sighs.
"Gally." Winston calls, squinting as the sun beams down into his eyes, slowly everyone looks over at him in confusion, "It doesn't feel right, man."
Jeff nods in agreement from beside the slopper, shrugging his shoulders, "Yeah, what if Thomas is right? Maybe he can lead us home."
Gally steps forward, shaking his head, "We are home. Okay?" He points back to the wall behind him, "I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall."
"You really think banishing us is going to solve anything?" Teresa speaks up, struggling against the scratchy ropes on her wrists.
"No." The boy deadpans, "But this isn't a vanishing. It's an offering."
Teresa let's out small shouts of confusion, wanting to know exactly what he means by that while Evelyn let's out a low laugh at the boy's absurdity, causing his head to snap to her, "What, Evelyn?"
She tilts her head, small chuckles still leaving her lips and everyone around glances at her as if she's crazy, "You're one dumb boy, Gall. This place and the creators they've brainwashed you." She rolls her eyes, "Why—"
"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the Maze after what he's done?" He shouts angrily, marching towards the girl, he half expected her to flinch at his tone but she stays tall and glares up at his eyes. He swallows, "Look around you! Look at our Glade," He turns to the other boys, "This is the only way. And when the Grievers get what they came here for... everything goes back to the way it was."
Eve shakes her head in disbelief, knowing that any words she has to give him couldn't convince him to change his opinion. Teresa, on the other hand, whips her head around to face everyone, "Are you listening to this? Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy."
Teresa doesn't know the Gladers as well as Evelyn, the brunette girl knows that the boys have never had to make a decision for themselves. They've always had someone to lead them and instruct them on what jobs that should do and how they should survive. This whole situation is terrifying to them - they're torn between two worlds, Evelyn sympathises for them.
"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back." The black haired girl continues, her voice raising as she ignores Gally, "They're gonna come back, and they're gonna keep coming back until you're all dead."
"Shut up!" Gally yells, motioning aggressively towards the limp boy on the floor, "Tie him up! Do you hear me? I said, tie him up!"
Slowly, the two boys reach for Thomas, only for one of them to receive an elbow to the lower gut, making him stumble back as his friends gets jabbed with a spear. A fight breaks out, Newt and Minho using their machetes while Evelyn raises her foot, smashing it down onto Alec's toes, giving her enough time to whirl round and kick him back onto the floor. Frypan swiftly cuts Teresa's rope and releases her as Chuck jogs over with all of their supplies.
The rebellious group, stand in a row in front of the Maze entrance, all of them with a different weapon drawn and Evelyn brings out one of her knives, her eyes scanning over the scared Gladers in front of her.
Gally throws his arms up in a huff, his nostrils flared like usual, "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
Thomas tightens his grip on the spear in his hands, "You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving. Anyone else who wants to come, now's your last chance!"
Shaking his head, Gally holds his arms out, stopping the boys from moving any closer, "Don't listen to him. He's trying to scare you."
Evelyn takes a step forward, her knife falling to her side as she lowers her arm, "He's not trying to scare you, none of us are. You're already scared. Okay? I'm scared, believe it or not." She points to the dark corridor behind them, "But I'd rather risk my life out there than staying here - cooped up like shucking animals for some petty science experiment."
Thomas nods strongly, as he steps beside Evelyn so he can address the full group again, "We don't belong here. Okay? This place isn't our home. We were out here. Alright? We were trapped here. At least out there, we have a choice. We can make it out of here. I know that," He motions his head to the people behind him, "We know that."
Hastily, Winston, Jeff and a few other boys walk over, muttering small apologies to Gally as they pass, they heads dropped in guilt. Evelyn smiles reassuringly at them, showing them a side she never thought she would - but they need it.
"Gall, it's over." She soothes sadly, biting her bottom lip as he moves his gaze to the floor, "Just come with us. Please. I love you and I can't do this shit without you. Remember, we made a promise to always stick together when you first arrived. Don't break it now, not over this."
His eyes meet hers, and he shakes his head gently, a soft small on his lips only directed at her, "Sorry, Evelyn. Good luck against the Grievers. Don't die out there."
Evelyn let's out a small gasp, shaking her head as Thomas' hand slips into hers, pulling her backwards at into the one place she's hates ever since she arrived, "It's okay, Eve. We're going be okay." He whispers as they push through the large crowd so they're both at front along with Minho, leading.
The run through different sections and Thomas constantly let's out shouts of encouragement, but Evelyn's mind is clouded with everything she just left behind and what for? For all they know, there might be nothing out there. The dark haired boy's hand squeezes her's to bring her back, noticing her eyes drift off while they jog.
The group skid to a stop at the entrance of the Griever hole, Thomas motioning for them all to push their bodies against the stone wall. Cautiously, him and Eve glance around the corner, noticing a single Griever at the end of the walkway, clearly waiting for them to near. They both turn to the group, Chuck letting out a shaking question, "Is there a Griever?"
Thomas nods, "Uh, yeah."
"You take this, Chuck. Stay behind us." Minho instructs, passing the small boy the key to the door.
Evelyn presses a hand to his shoulder, smiling down at him kindly and Teresa ties her hair back, "It's okay." She says calmly, "Juts stick with me."
"Once we're through, it'll activate and the door will open." Thomas tells the group, his fingers tightening around the spear, "Alright? We stay close, we stick together, we get through this."
The girl beside him cracks her neck and rolls her shoulders back in preparation, "We get out now, or we die trying. Ready?" Her two hands grab a knife out of her waistband, and she smirks, her tongue running over her teeth as adrenaline runs through her veins.
The group turn the corner and they all let out long strangle screams as they speed towards the Griever, their machetes and spears jabbing into it's tough skin. The creature in front of them spits at them while a loud roar escapes it's mouth. It's claw whips over the crowd, snatching up a boy and throwing him over the edge and into the abyss. Eve's eyes widen as the key gets flung from Chuck's hands, causing him to yell and sprint for it.
"CHUCK!" She screams, her eyes whipping between the small boy and the monster, "WATCH THE EDGE!" Just as she says that, his legs start to kick, signalling that he's in trouble, her head whips around to find Teresa, who's supposed to be watching over him, "TERESA! GO GET HIM THEN!"
Her eyebrows raise at the demand and she rushes over, grabbing Chuck's backpack and hauling him up and back onto the top, a Griever following soon after while they scramble away. Evelyn notices the creature before the rest as they're all cheering over the death of the previous one. She ducks under arms and weapons and skids to a stop in front of the Griever, "THOMAS!" Her face drops as another other jumps up beside it, and she realises she underestimated the situation, "Shit."
She whirls around on her heel, screaming for the others to prepare themselves for the arrival of the other two monsters. Thomas' head turns to her in worry at the shouts, "Eve?" His eyes land on the Griever's hungry ones as they follow her, their legs jabbing at the floor around her and cracking the stone slabs, "RUN!"
I should've picked a better weapon. Shit. Evelyn thinks, glancing down at the small knives in her hands. She comes to a sudden stop, causing one of the Griever's to pass her and attack the group, while the other focusses on her. Taking a deep breath, she dodges the monsters blows, ducking and jumping in different directions while devising a suitable plan. This is going to go very wrong. She thinks, roughly shoving her knives back into her pockets.
Thomas watches out of the corner of his eye as Evelyn sprints towards the monster, gripping onto its leg and climbing up it while it attempts to shake her off but she remains calm, her grip strong on the steel poles. His eyes widen once she jumps a top of the creature, it's goo sticking to her trousers as she takes her knife out again, one arm holding her on while the other raises up before stabbing repeatedly into the Griever's flesh, causing it to stagger slightly - it's movements becoming broken and slow.
Behind them, the three walls slide up, revealing the Griever hole at the end. They sprint down it, the larger group following slowly behind - their spears still relentlessly stabbing at the creature. More and more boys are whipped away, causing Thomas' heart to ache in guilt, "THOMAS!" Teresa screams, "THERE'S A CODE! EIGHT NUMBERS!"
"Eight sections of the maze." He mutters to himself, sending another rough blow to the Griever's mouth, "Hey, Minho! What's the sequence!"
"What?" The boy shouts back, his eyebrows furrowed.
"The sections of the maze! What's the sequence!"
"SEVEN, ONE, FIVE, TWO... uh... SIX, FOUR-" His shouts get cut off as a Griever drops down on top of him, the only thing stoping it from reaching him is his spear, that is sure to break any second now.
Evelyn's head whips up at the continuous yells coming from her best friend's mouth and she jumps off the fallen Griever before sprinting over. Before she can even act, Jeff is already smacking the creature, allowing Minho to crawl back but it's jaws jam down on the med jack's torso instead, whipping him around before he's flung over the edge, like the rest. A strangled shout leaves Winston's mouth, his best friend just being killed in front of him was something he'd never forget.
Minho swallows while the group continues to back up, "Uh, the code... SIX, FOUR, EIGHT, THREE! You got it?"
Finally, the three walls start to slam down, squashing the many Griever's beneath them, causing Thomas to push Evelyn protectively behind him, ensuring that a leg wouldn't snatch her up last second and drag her with it to the end. Suddenly, their enclosed in darkness, the next second the door flies open, bright artificial light burning into their faces as their wander into a corridor - more bulbs flicking in above their heads.
"What... the... shuck." Evelyn pants.
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edited the book slightly so there are more chapters, but dw all the writing is mostly the same.