I always come out of the Maze on time. My life depends on it. No matter how much pain I'm in I skate like no one has ever skated before.
Not tonight though. One mistake, one accident, almost certainly killed me. One of my laces was untied. Before I noticed it got caught in my skate, and I hit my head on the ice. I ended up laying there unconscious for a good few hours. By the time I woke up I only had three minutes to get back. Despite being on the complete other side of the Spring I refused to give up. I pushed myself faster than I ever had before.
As expected it wasn't enough. The doors closed, and I was trapped there. To make it worse the Griever's can fly so there weren't exactly many hiding places.
Still, I hadn't gone through all this hell to just accept death with open arms. I decided I could keep myself low on top of the walls. So I set my skates on the ground and began my transcend up the wall. Even though it was covered in snow there were vines hanging down.
I grabbed hold and forced myself up. Several Beetle Blades skitted past me as I did which made the pang of fear in my chest impossible to ignore. If they were spying on me they knew where to send their Greivers.
I tried not to let that throw me off as I kept climbing. There were many instances where the ice on the vines pulled me down, sometimes to the bottom.
That wasn't going to stop me though. I started over, twisting and turning my body to get the right position to prevent myself from falling. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead, but I wasn't planning on dying or getting stung tonight.
After what seemed like forever I made my way to the top. I carefully crouched to the ground.
All of a sudden something that has never happened before started happening. The walls weren't just moving. They were splitting open directly where I was. I frantically tried to scramble down, but just as I grabbed hold of the vine I was submerged into darkness.
I felt myself falling into what seemed like nothingness. Would I really die by falling to death? How did this happen? Why did this happen? So many questions would never be answered as I'd take my last breath.
I closed my eyes and waited for the harsh impact. Instead, I landed on something soft and fluffy. I tried to stand up, but the force of something unknown was keeping me down. The world was still nothing but darkness, and no amount of squinting was helping.
Then, the brightest light I've ever seen started to shine. I put my hand in front of my face to see a computer screen. In the middle was a woman. Her hair was tied back in a neat bun, and she wore a lab coat with the words WCKD plastered on it. This was what had been written on random sections of the wall.
I was seeing the face of the Creator.
"Hello. The first thing I'd like to do is congratulate you for making it this far. No one has ever shown such passion and determination to live when they were kept there overnight. That's why you have been chosen for something special. When I am gone you will see two buttons. The green one will kill you. You'll never have to live another day trapped behind walls. The red one will send you to a completely different Maze. You will never see your friends again. Instead, you will make new ones. You will start anew. Good luck Y/N. Choose your fate, but choose carefully. There may be more than you think to them."
The woman disappeared with a clicking sound. As promised in front of me appeared two buttons.
The decision should be easy. After all, I had done everything I could to survive. Except, a huge part of the reason why was helping my friends figure out how to get out. If I left a piece of me would be missing.
If I left I would get to wake up tomorrow. I'd get to breathe, sleep, and maybe more. All I had to do was choose.
My hand hovered over the green one. No matter what I didn't want to live without them. They were the only reason I bothered to live. Without them I am nothing.
I squeezed my eyes shut and went to press down when it disappeared. My hand went through air. I opened my eyes to see the words
Error-Choice Unavailable
flashing on a tablet. I reluctantly pressed the other one. I just wished my friends knew how sorry I would forever be for abandoning them.
I wish they knew I would never be able to be happy without them.
Aris's P.O.V
"She'll make it out. I know she can do it. Y/N's the strongest Skater here. She won't just quit,"I argued.
"What don't you understand? Nobody has ever survived a night out there. Morn her loss, and get over it. It's not like she wouldn't do the same,"Beth snapped.
"Shut up. Just shut up. She'll be out here in the morning. You'll see. Sonya, tell her Y/N will make it out,"I pleaded, turning to look at my friend. Her eyes filled with devastation. She didn't believe in her either.
"Aris, I know you love her, but she most likely isn't coming back. It's hard to accept, but it's the truth,"She said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged her off.
"You'll see. You're all going to see. She'll live whether you have faith in her or not. How could you even say something like that? How could you doubt her?"I exasperated, still in disbelief that she didn't think Y/N was going to make it out. Didn't they know that she never gave up? Even when she was in the hardest situation she'd always find a way out, and she was going to do it again. Even if nobody believes in her I always will.
"There's a lot in there we don't even know about. Sometimes in life we don't know how to deal with it. You love her so much you think she's indestructible, but she's not. Don't get your hopes up,"Harriet spoke up.
I was done with this entire conversation. I don't think she's indestructible. I just know she'll do anything it takes to make it out.
If for some reason she isn't there tomorrow morning I'm going to break the number one rule. I'm going to find her.
♡ Time Skip♡
I spent that night pacing back and forth. It seemed like centuries until light shone. Finally, the walls opened. I stood there waiting for her. She'd be standing there. Maybe she'd be injured, but she'd be alive.
I held my breath in anticipation as they revealed nothing. Only ice and vines were seen. She wasn't there.
"Aris, are you okay?"Sonya asked gently.
"I'm going to find her,"I said, as determined as she would be.
"No. You can't go in there. You don't know your way around,"She protested. I shook my head no. Before she could react I sprinted into the Maze. I could hear her shouting my name, but I tuned it out. I had something much more important to focus on. Something I needed just to make myself wake up in the morning.
I had to find Y/N, and when I did I'd bring her back. I'd prove that they had been wrong.
So I did just that. I made turn after turn, making sure to keep note of which way I went. Despite the slippery ice threatening to send me flying face forward I went as fast as possible.
Unfortunately, gravity had other ideas. I slipped and fell to the ground. I groaned in pain as my face hit the ice. Drops of blood dripped from my forehead. The crimson slowly filled the ice before mixing with it the way water would. I couldn't help but feel hypnotized as I watched it keep splattering to the floor.
That's when I spotted it. More specifically I saw what had actually cut me open. It wasn't the force of the ice. I fell directly onto a skate. I picked it up and turned it in my hands. Written in black smudged ink were the words
Y/N's only! Do not touch!
My face lit up with joy. I looked around to see another one of her skates by the wall. It was sitting on top of her bag. I dug through it to see if I could find any clue of where he's had gone. It was just what you would expect. Water, food, and a compass.
There was something that had never been here before though. I helped her pack it yesterday morning. There definitely hadn't been a green button. Whatever was going on was brand new, but it seemed to confirm it.
Y/N wasn't here, but she was alive. We just didn't know where yet.
♡ Time Skip♡
"Aris? What the hell were you thinking?"Harriet scolded as I came back holding her things.
"She's alive. She's not there, but she's alive. Somewhere we don't know, and maybe even can't see. I don't know where, or how, or why she vanished, but it doesn't matter. She's breathing, and she'll be okay. As long as we pay attention to what gets sent up in the box and changes we'll save her, and-"
"Aris. Slow down. You're talking gibberish. Tell us what happened."
"She's alive. I don't know where, but I can prove it,"I explained, searching through her bag. I pulled the button out as I looked at her with pleading eyes. She had to believe me. It was the only way to save her.
"What is this?"She asked slowly, taking it out of my hand.
"I don't know. I found it in her bag with her skates. It wasn't there when she left so either someone else put it there or she found a clue yesterday,"I said in one breath.
She turned the object over to examine it. I gave her a hopeful look. I needed her to help me find Y/N. I don't know if I could do this alone.
"A button? That's your proof that your little girlfriend isn't dead?A stupid random button?"Beth scoffed.
"Not just that. Her stuff was neatly placed near a wall. She did something last night. Something huge so she could live, and I'm going to find out what."
"But-"
"Beth. That's enough. Aris is right about a lot of this. Something is going on, and it involves Y/N. She left her stuff there in purpose. This is how we save her,"Sonya interrupted.
I heaved a sigh of relief. I had the first step down. Gathering help from others.
Now I just had to figure out what the other steps were.