Thomas had been quieter than normal lately. Circling the maze had left him exhausted in just about every aspect of life. Tonight, as he sat staring blankly at the bonfire the sound of his friends causing a ruckus was nothing but white noise.
The dull hum in his hears reminded him of his footsteps echoing off of the maze walls. He winced as the memory of stone grinding as the doors closed each day filled his head. All he could think about was the maze and his obsession with finding a way out. It was consuming him.
For a moment, he looked up to catch the gaze of the new greenie across the fire, tilting her head curiously at him. Embarrassed, he looked back down and let his mind slip back into a wearisome oblivion.
Y/N had been trying to talk to everyone in the Glade today, getting to know their names and a few things about them. The only person she hadn't talked to was Thomas, the boy Newt had warned her about having a bad and avoidant attitude. Regardless, she was determined to try.
"Hey!" Y/N abruptly sat down beside Thomas, taking him by surprise, her hand reached out before his face. "I haven't talked to you yet, I'm Y/N."
Taking her hand hesitantly, he tried for force himself out of his daze. "Thomas."
"Newt said you're one of the runners. He won't tell me anything else about the maze though, got any details you're willing to share?" She asked.
Thomas raised a brow and groaned. "No."
Y/N was a little taken aback. Newt had been right. This guy didn't have the best attitude at the moment. "Right. Well, you've been sitting here alone all evening doing nothing but obviously thinking about something. It has to be the maze. Thinking about the grass or literally anything else wouldn't make someone this miserable."
Thomas jumped up out of aggravation. "All I can tell you about the maze is that there's no way out and I waste every day running in circles." He snapped. "Happy?"
Y/N didn't even have a chance to answer. She watched as he walked off into the dark briskly, a hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck.
"Wow," Y/N grimaced at the sight of Thomas leaving as Newt sat down beside her. "Rough dude."
"He's having a hard time." Newt sighed sadly. "Used to be the life source of this place. All the hope for getting out packed into one person. Now, he's hardly burning. He's giving up."
"Make me a runner." Y/N suddenly demanded. "I'll bring back that hope. There has to be a way out."
Newt sucked in air between his teeth, a little surprised. "You sound just like him." He laughed a little. "If that's what you want, I don't see a problem with it. Alby and the others might, though."
"Doesn't matter." Y/N shrugged. "I'll go ask Alby to try running tomorrow. He'll probably agree because he'll think I'll hate it and give up. But, that won't happen." She winked at Newt.
"Alright," Newt put a hand on her shoulder and smiled in disbelief. "Good luck, greenie."
Y/N did exactly what she said she would. Just before Alby head off to bed, Y/N caught the Glade's leader and somehow managed to singlehandedly convince him she should give running a shot tomorrow. He explained to find Thomas and Minho in the morning and to have them show her around for the day.
The next morning, Thomas nearly lost his mind even before the sun rose. Walking across the Glade and toward the maze doors was Newt, Minho and the greenie. She was in running gear. There was no way this was happening. He and Minho didn't have time to be lagging behind because of a greenie and showing them a grand tour of the maze. They had to go further, push harder and keep trying to find a way out even though he was convinced there wasn't one.
Thomas scowled at Minho once they got close enough to read his expression. Minho smiled back as if to say 'good morning to you too, sweetheart.'
"Alright," Newt spoke up. "Y/N is joining you two for the day. Be nice and don't kill her, please."
"Not our fault if she gets herself killed," Thomas mumbled under his breath and Minho smacked him over the head.
"Stop being a smart ass and help me get Y/N up to speed with everything. We could use another runner, and a pleasant one at that." Minho snapped. He, above anyone, hadn't been impressed with Thomas' behaviour lately. "Besides, do you know what it was like for me to take on a greenie like you? Kinda horrible, but look how good of a runner you turned out to be. Patience, man."
Thomas huffed and rolled his eyes. Y/N's level of respect for him was dropping pretty quick, but she still held out hope for him.
"Be careful, alright?" Newt jabbed Y/N's side. "If these shanks are doing something stupid, don't be afraid to let them know."
"You got it," Y/N laughed.
The maze doors broke open and the three of the runners were off for the day. Newt would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. But, that seemed to be an everyday thing here.
Everything was going just fine until Thomas took one wrong turn down a section of the maze he didn't know well. Y/N and Minho followed behind him cautiously. After a while, the wind began to howl down the corridors and Thomas slowed to a stop.
"Where are we?" He asked, looking solely to Minho and never batting an eye at Y/N.
"Not quite sure, man." Minho looked around. "You're in lead, you should know."
"Well I don't!" Thomas snapped.
The wind got louder, stirring up debris making it hard to see. Then, the rain started and the rumbling of stone could be felt through their feet.
"I didn't think it was that late..." Minho looked up at the clouds rolling over. "We've gotta move."
"Yeah, but we're not going this way." Y/N stepped back and bumped into Thomas. "Griever."
"Shit," Thomas seethed. "C'mon!"
The trio ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction, not really knowing where they were going. Right now, it was survival. Everyone knew they weren't going to make it back before the maze doors shut. So, they just had to run.
Ahead of Thomas was a ledge, far up enough from the ground below that a fall would be fatal. The ledge stretched out, then there was a break in the concrete until a few metres away where an extremely thin landing was. It was just large enough for a person to be able to jump onto and land, assuming they had impeccable balance. It was far too thin for a griever to stick a landing though and there is no way it would support its weight. Right now, that seemed like a decent option that would at least give them time.
"This way!" Thomas hollered. "We can jump the gap!"
Y/N caught a glimpse of this so called gap Thomas was talking about. Immediately, she knew none of them would make it. The break in concrete was a lot further than it seemed and was far too thin.
"That's stupid!" Y/N yelled over the storm, doing just as Newt told her to. If they were doing something stupid, she had to tell them. "Follow me!"
Y/N sort of knew where she was. Around her, she recognized the walls. They'd run through here earlier in the day, just in the opposite direction. She also knew there was a pocket in the maze walls which had been covered in thick ivy. If they could get there without being seen, they could wait out the night.
"What?" Thomas stopped to look back at Y/N, struggling because of the rain pelting his face.
Y/N stood firm. She eyed him narrowly. "Listen, Thomas. I don't care if you like or trust me but if you want to make it out alive tonight, you're going to follow me."
"Don't push your luck right now, Thomas." Minho shoved his running partner in the direction Y/N was already running. "We're following her."
Thomas didn't really have any other choice and ran to catch up with the girl. A few sharp turns lead them straight to a corridor even Thomas recognized from earlier in the day. Then Y/N slowed, took a sharp dive straight for the wall and disappeared through the ivy. Thomas and Minho jumped in after her.
Immediately, Y/N crouched down and put a finger over her mouth, signalling silence. Rain continued to pelt down and the wind ripped through the maze. The griever wasn't far behind them because its wails were now only metres away. It slowed and the clanking of metal was right outside of their hiding spot. Lighting illuminated its shape over the ivy which was concealing them. Within seconds, it passed. They really had gotten away.
"It's gone." Thomas whispered in disbelief. "We got away."
"Yeah," Y/N slumped down and sighed, rubbing her hands over her chilled arms from the rain. "Now get ready for a cold night, because we're staying here until morning."
"We only have to wait five minutes and then we can keep moving," Thomas fought. "We may as well start making our way back to the Glade through the night."
Y/N eyed him in disbelief. "Are you kidding? We found a safe hiding place and you want to go play tag with the grievers?"
"That's not--Agh!" Thomas wanted to punch something. "Why did you have to come with us?"
"I'm sorry if you hate me, alright?" Y/N whispered forcefully. "But I'm not going to sit in the Glade all day doing nothing and leave getting out of this place in the hands of an indifferent, hopeless jackass." Y/N spat. "Just to clarify, I am talking about you, Thomas. Minho, you're fantastic."
Trying to avoid the conflict, Minho smiled awkwardly at Y/N with thanks.
Thomas didn't even feel like responding. He just pulled his knees to his chest and mumbled to himself.
Damp, frozen and in shock, the three runners sat with their backs to the concrete wall as seconds slid by slowly. The night seemed to drag on forever. All were too afraid to speak a single word incase a griever just so happened to be waiting outside silently. Thomas, too, was too ashamed to say anything anyways. He'd treated Y/N nothing short of horribly and yet if it hadn't been for her today, he'd probably be dead. For the rest of the night while he sat there, it was all he could think about. How much he'd changed over the past while. When did he become like this?
It seemed as if out of nowhere the clouds overhead broke, the rain stopped and the morning sun began crawling into the corners of the maze. The three, with aching and stiff bodies, lifted themselves up off of the ground and peered out into the corridor. As of right now, the coast was clear and they desperately wanted to get back to the Glade.
"Alrightey," Minho stretched out a little. "Lets take it easy. If we do, we should be back just before noon."
The keeper of the runners lead the way. After a while, Thomas fell in line with Y/N as they jogged slowly. "I'm sorry."
Y/N didn't even bat an eye. "Apology accepted."
"No, I mean it." Thomas admitted. "I was rude. I thought I had everything under control but I was way out of line. I've changed over the past while. You made me realize that."
Y/N, this time, looked at him. She knew he meant what he was saying. "Hey, you've been running a maze everyday. I think it's fair you got a little lost."
Thomas smiled a little. He already felt different. It was as if a fever had broken last night. His head was clearer and he felt lighter.
"Can we start again?" Thomas asked. "Friends? Running partners?"
The girls eyes lit up. "Deal."