This would be the time that I would wake up, but I barely slept a wink all night. Today was the day. The day we would escape.
I had ran the maze yesterday, and we had decided that there was no doubt that that was the way out.
Seeing no other option, I got up and got dressed. I took a look at my room one last time before leaving. I would never see it again. Even if we didn't get out, we would all die anyways.
Well, I though to myself, a good, cheery though to start the day out right.
Normally, there would only be butterflies in my stomach, but today, they were angry moths. I knew I wasn't gonna be able to eat anything without it turning right around.
I made my way to the kitchens, and smelled a variety of food. Fry must've been cooking up all the extra food to give us one good last meal in the glade.
Sitting down at our table, I noticed that all the boys were buzzing. I thought it was kind of weird. I'm scared, but they seem excited.
"Hey, Love. You okay?"
I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice Newt sit down by me.
I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm just nervous." I paused for a second, looking at the menacing maze doors. "Actually, nervous is an understatement. More like terrified."
He just looked at me. "You and me both."
I turned and grinned at him. "You're supposed to tell me that it's all gonna be okay. That's not helping."
He laughed lightly. "Well then, Y/N, I can one hundred percent guarantee that it will all be okay." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Was that any better?"
"So convincing," I said, laughing.
We sat in silence for a few moments. Newt picked at his full plate of food, and I picked at my nails.
I asked him about something that had been bothering me for a while. "Newt, what do you thinks out there, beyond the maze? What if there's nothing?"
He placed both his hands on my shoulders, looking me square in the eyes. "Y/N, I can promise you that there is a place for us, both of us. Hopefully together, but maybe not. We will get out of here, but I don't know what's out there. I don't know what it's like outside these walls. But, what I do know is that we will be free. We'll get to be happy and free, okay?"
I nodded, and he dropped his hands. I looked at the ground. He placed a hand on my leg, and one on my chin, making me look up at him. "Hey, we will be okay. I promise."
I just raise an eyebrow at him.
"For real this time."
I grabbed his hand that was on my leg and held it as a life-line. He turned back to his meal and kept eating with his other hand.
Even though I was still nervous, the angry moths started to go away. As they left, they were quickly replaced with hunger.
Noticing the large amount of food on Newt's plate, I snatched the muffin that was in his hand and quickly ate it.
"Hey," He said, looking grumpily at me, "I was gonna eat that."
"Too bad." I teased.
"I already bit out of it though," he pouted.
I just licked my finger. "So?"
He shook his head and continued eating. I stared at him for a few seconds expectantly.
After a few minutes, he sighed, exasperated, and slid his plate between us.
Grinning at him, I dug in.
~~~~
After breakfast, Alby and Newt gathered all the boys in the center of the glade.
"Listen up," Alby yelled, gaining their attention. "As you all know, we're leaving the glade today. For good."
Everyone, including myself, stood there quietly.
"We don't know what's outside the maze. But, we're gonna find out. Get a weapon and meet us by the north doors in fifteen minutes."
After a moment, the gladers dispersed, leaving the boys and me together.
"Well," Alby said, "Are we forgetting anything?"
Thomas shook his head. "I don't think so."
Minho put a hand on Thomas's shoulder. "Well, were gonna go take one last look at the Map room to make sure we've got everything we need."
They walked off, and Alby turned to Newt and I. "I'm gonna go make sure that Winston's got the weapons under control.
That left Newt and I alone. He grabbed both of my hands. "Are you ready, Love?"
"I guess," I said, looking at the Maze door. They looked even more uninviting today, with an unsettling calmness.
I felt him place a hand on my chin, and made me look at him. He suddenly kissed me. I kissed him back, surprised.
"Just in case," he said in a low tone after he broke it off a few moments later.
"Just in case," I repeated.
"Well, we should probably go get a spear or something." He said, putting a hand on my back and guiding me towards the center of the glade, where most of the boy were. "Gotta be prepared."
I silently nodded. Leaving the glade was bittersweet. It's all everyone's ever known.
As we got closer to the gladers, he and realized that something was wrong.
There was a bunch of yelling and moving, the harsh sound of Gally's voice rising above all others.
Newt I quickened our pace and pushed through the sea of boys. In the center, it was a scene.
Winston stood there with his hands up, Ably next to him with a machete. Gally stood there, opposite to them with one raised as well. They were yelling at each other, and the boys surrounding were yelling as well.
"What's going on?" Newt yelled, but not nearly loud enough.
"Hey, what's going on?" I yelled about louder. No one payed attention. "HEY!" I roared.
Everyone suddenly stopped and looked at me, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"What the shuck is going on?" I growled.
Alby was the first to speak up. "Gally here wants to stay in the glade. He-"
Gally cut him off. "Some of us don't want to throw ourselves down the shucking Cliff, not knowing what's down there."
His builders stood behind him, weapons also raised.
"Alby, we can't make them go," Newt said, grabbing two spears off the table and handing one to me.
Alby sighed. "Fine," He said after a second.
"Good that," Gally said, and looked around. "Anyone one else want to stay?"
No one moved or said anything.
"Y/N?" He said, raising his eyebrows.
Newt placed an arm in front of me. "She is not staying with you," He almost growled.
"Oh shuck off," Gally said. "She's not yours to control. Let her decide for herself."
"No, Gally. I'm going, I'm sorry."
He sighed then looked to Chuck. "Chuck? Please don't leave."
With a scared look, he ducked behind Thomas, holding tightly to his arm. He shook his head hesitantly as Thomas gave Gally a look of death.
"Fine," Gally retorted. "Have fun getting eaten by the grievers." He walked off to the Homestead, the others following.
Everyone was silent for a moment. "Well then," Alby said. "Everyone has a weapon, right?"
All the gladers muttered a weak 'yeah.'
"Alright then. Let's go."
"Wait," Thomas said. "Shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?"
"Go ahead," Minho sassed. Even in the midst of possible death, Minho found some was to be sassy. It honestly didn't surprised me.
Thomas rubbed his chin. "Be careful. Don't die."
"Great, we're all bloody inspired." Newt said.
"No, but seriously though, we get out now, or we die trying. Now let's go!" Thomas sprinted off towards the doors, and we all followed, fast in pursuit. I worried about Newts leg, but he seemed fine for now.
Everyone surrounding me hesitated at the maze doors, but I kept on running. I knew this place by heart.
We ran for about twenty minutes before Thomas screeched to a halt. We were at the end of the hallway right before the cliff's corridor.
He lowered his voice, but still loud enough so we could hear him. "There's two grievers down there. We got this, okay?"
He hit his spear twice on the ground, the let out a yell and ran down the corridor.
We all ran in after him, yelling.
He was definitely right. Two grievers stood there, but shrieked at the sight of us. They ran at us, and we ran right at it. Half of us went to one, and the other half to other griever.
One of them was about to pounce on us, but we stuck out spears in its jelly-like body. It shrieked impossibly louder and whipped it's tail around in retaliation. It picked up two boys and threw back behind it, and they hit the ground really hard. I watched in horror as it stabbed a boy in the chest.
I tried to block out his screams as we dug the spears deeper into its flesh, pushing it towards the cliff. Newt was next to me, his complete focus on the bulbous creature.
It continued to wave its tail around, occasionally hitting a boy. It was all I could do to hope that it wasn't Newt, Thomas, or Minho. And Chuck.
We were so close to getting it off the cliff, along with the other griever.
With a struggle, we managed to get it off the edge, but not before it whipped its tail one more time. It hit me in the side and threw me against the wall. Pain ebbing through my side, I felt someone's hands on me.
Newt stood there, almost yelling my name.
"Newt," I groaned. "I'm okay. Just help me up. We need to go."
It was horribly perfect timing. Three grievers appeared the the end of the corridor.
"We gotta go now," I said, and he helped me up.
I ran to the edge, or hobbled, more, and yelled to the boys. "Look for where I aim, and jump in same spot. Don't hesitate."
With a deep breath, I launched myself off the edge.
It was just like my vision. Grayness surrounded me, but it felt like I had been falling for too long. Was this a mistake?
I didn't have time to answer my own question, because I slammed into a black surface. Was I dead?
Suddenly, a keypad lit up. I was so relived I could almost cry.
Although, above, I heard the screams of grievers and the yells of boys. Fear racking my every breath, I yelled, "Come on, guys!" As loud as I can. Suddenly Chuck and Thomas appeared on the ground next to me, then Minho, Alby and some other boys. I felt panic creep over me as Newt didn't appear.
A few more boys dropped down, and then one landed with a grunt. It was hard to see because the only light was the keypad, but I could tell who it was because of his voice.
"Bloody hell, my leg," he groaned.
Relief flooded my system, and I ran to him. Somehow, he knew who I was, because he stood up straight and put both hands on my face. He pulled me in for a quick kiss. "You're bloody brilliant," He said.
Then, another boy landed next to us, and he was bleeding in several places. "The grivers," he gasped, "they're following us."
Newt grabbed me and pulled me backwards, the others following us, crowding in towards the keypad.
All of a sudden, a griever slammed down, crushing the boy that had warned us seconds before.
The boys didn't hesitate. Yelling, they held it back using their spears.
"Y/N!" Newt yelled. "Go put in the words. We need to get out of here!" He turned and fought with the boys, leaving me and Chuck alone.
I rushed to the keypad, Chuck following.
I typed them in as fast as I could, but every second felt like minutes.
"Float, catch, bleed," I murmured to myself as I typed them in. "Death, stiff, push."
Nothing happened.
Were they wrong?
"What do I do?" I though out loud, hysterical.
"Probably push the button!" Chuck yelled, pushing it.
There was a click, and a door opened. "Let's go!" I yelled to the boys.
They looked back, and I watched them run towards us. I ran though the door, but suddenly there was nothing beneath my feet.
Wait, was I in a...slide?
I let out a whoop, and I heard others behind me do the same.
After a few moments, I landed on a hard surface, and someone crashed into my wounded side.
I hissed, and they stood up, helping me up along the way. "Sorry, Y/N." They said, and I could recognize him as Chuck.
As other boys landed near us, I looked around. Older people sat around at desk, looking at us. Confusion was not even beginning to describe what I felt.
"Hey!" Minho yelled. "Are you the shucking Creators? You f-"
He was cut off by a door opening. A lady walked through, followed by a boy in a hooded sweatshirt.
That was her. The lady from my vision. "It's you," I said finding my voice. "I've seen you before."
She smiled. "Yes, I know. I'm glad we got to see each other again." She looked to the rest of us and continued. "Group A, you have successfully completed the Maze Trails. Well, most of you." She was silent for a moment.
Minho filled the silence again. "What the shuck are you talking about?"
"We know that you are confused. Some of you," said looking at Minho, "More than others. But we ask you to trust us. It will all be over soon."
"Why should we trust you?" I asked.
"I can't explain it all right now, but I really need your trust more than ever." She stepped back.
The hooded boy took a step forward and pulled his hood down.
Wait, was that... Gally?
"Gally?" Chuck said.
"What the shuck man?" Some boy said. "I thought you stayed in the glade."
Something didn't seem right, though. He was obviously crying.
"I-I'm sorry," I heard him blubber. "Control-" Suddenly he stopped talking and raised his hand. In it held a knife, positioned to throw.
We all took a step back.
"Woah,"
"Just calm down for a minute, alright, mate?" Newt said, subconsciously positioning himself in from of me.
"Gally, stop," I said. "Think about what you're doing."
"I- can't." He sputtered.
It was in that moment that I realized that he was pointing it a Chuck.
"Chuck, move!" I screamed as Gally launched the knife at his chest.
I was about to push him out of the way, but Alby was suddenly there. The knife plunged into his chest.
Alby fell to the ground as Newt, Minho, and Thomas rushed by his side.
Tears clouded my vision. Alby had made me a part of the glade and protected me. He couldn't die.
"Alby," Newt breathed. "Alby you're gonna be okay." Newt looked up at the people sitting and the woman. "Can somebody help? Please? Don't just sit there!" He yelled, voice cracking. "Help!" He roared.
"Newt," Alby said, his breaths coming quicker. "Thank you. You're my best friend, man. Don't forget that. Minho, Thomas, you too. Take care of them all. Newt, take care of Y/N. I'm glad to see you happy."
His chest began to convulse. Minho and Thomas were solemn, but Newt has his hand over his mouth, tears streaming down his face. I had never seen him like this before.
Chuck knelt next to him. His face was pale, and his voice was small. "Thank you,"
Alby did his best to smile. "No problem, man."
Thomas stood up and grabbed Chuck's shoulders leading and facing him away from Alby.
After a moment, Alby's chest stopped moving, and his eyes glazed over.
Newt looked at him for a moment before standing up, shaking.
I took a step towards him. "Newt, I-"
He suddenly turned and ran at Gally, shouting profanities at him. He tackled him to the ground, beating him over and over. Gally tried to fight back, but it was no match for Newt's fury.
"Newt!" I yelled along with a few others. "Stop!" All the strangers just sat there.
"What the hell is wrong with you Gally?" Newt yelled in between punches.
All of the sudden, a door burst open and revealed a blinding light.
Gun shots rang out, and there were screams.
As soon as my eyes became used to the light, I stumbled forward to find Newt.
"Come on, kids!" A male voice rang out. "We're taking you somewhere safe!" I felt someone grab my arm, but I wriggled free.
"Newt!" I yelled.
My vision filled cleared, and I saw him beating Gally's limp body still.
I rushed towards him and tried to get his attention. "Newt, stop it. You're killing him!" I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me.
He stopped punching him and looked at me. He was still sobbing. "I'm sorry, Y/N."
"Newt, it's okay. I'm so sorry. But right now, we need to go. These people are here to rescue us."
He nodded numbly, and I helped him up, ignoring the screaming pain in my side.
The other boys ran up to us, and Minho helped us. The three of us, together, followed the rescuers through the door.
I was surprised by what I saw. All around me was sand, and I seemed like we were in a desert. There were two helicopters sitting there ready to go.
"Hop in," one heavily armed guy said. The five of us, along with four other gladers, jumped in. The others went in the other helicopter.
Newt sat next to me. He had stopped crying, and had an arm around me. As the helicopter took off, I asked, "How many boys do we have left?"
Minho spoke up. "In total? About half."
We all at in silence, looking out
Of the doors. It was a vast desert, and in the middle sat the a giant building that we came from. Where was the glade? It was inside wasn't it?
Through all the confusion, I was exhausted. I nestled up against Newt, who laid his head on mine.
For this one moment, we had each other. Despite everything that happened just today, we had each other, and that was enough.
But little did we know of what laid ahead.
A/N: Aaahhhhh! That was the end of book 1! I remember writing the first chapter and this day seemed so far away. Thank you for all the support all the way through it. You don't know how much it all means to me.
Thank you all so much!
The End