The walls threatened to close in on me the further I ran. I followed Gally's trail. I had no idea how he knew where he was going or why he'd chosen to leave the rest of the boys behind.
I called out his name multiple times but not once he stopped or looked around. I followed his zig zagged trail, running in and out of different hallways. As my heart beat pumped with more force I realized something; he'd never met a single dead end.
The thick vines that stretched out from the Glade became more scarce. the walls grew colder and blank, which would make it harder to retrace steps. An unsettling bubbling boiled in my stomach. A sense of poisonous warmth planted in my core and sprouted out through the rest of my body. I was reminded once again of the horrors from the night before and so many years ago. Except they only made appearances in my thoughts, I refused to let any image infiltrate my sight.
My breathing stiffened and a cramp was forming in my side, forcing me to slow to a jog. Even with my best attempts to push through it, I had lost. I couldn't slow down. It was hard enough trying to keep up with Gally as it was. I had almost taken the wrong turn a few times and missed him. The sprinting figure in the distance in front of me was starting to grow smaller and smaller as he continued to move.
"Gally!" I cried out one final time before he took a sharp left. I had lost him. The adrenaline had blocked out my enflamed legs until I collapsed on the dusty cement ground. My cramp had worsened and didn't stop when I laid across the ground. Sweat dripped down my back. I felt the cold floor press abasing my skin, giving me a somewhat relieving feeling in such an anxiety ridden place. My burning hot cheek pressed against the ground as sweat dripped down my forehead. I imagined the sun above me shrivelling me up, my body evaporating into thin air. It was all I wanted in this moment, to give up.
For the past three years I had given everything my all. You needed to put your best efforts in every single day in the Glade just to survive. I was never given a break, none of us were. That wasn't Alby's fault, it was the creators. I was almost jealous of the boys who had died in the griever attack. I should have let that griever kill me. It was doing me a favour and I had refused.
The sun beat down on my skin and the ground was no longer cool. I rolled over onto my back, my eyes were struck by the intense bright sky. My hand covered my eyes to provide some shade but the light was still unbearable. I knew I would never catch up to Gally, even if I had continued running I'd probably lose him to the maze.
The intrusive thought of losing Gally and more of my friends kept breaking through. I needed to ignore it, block it out, but the more I tried to distract myself the stronger the thoughts grew. There was no way Gally could know how to get through this labyrinth. Minho and the other runners would know, but Gally would probably get lost. A hungry griever could attack him. He'd survived the night once, but surely not twice. How would I get out? I don't know my way back and the grievers-If I encountered one a third time it would be the last.
My mind continued racing as I laid motionless on the ground with nothing but the rapid movement of my chest. I wanted to just close my eyes and vanish. I couldn't take on another panic attack. I shut my eyes and wished for all of this to go away.
The sun warmed my body more than it needed to. The floor flattened my back, restricting the movement of my chest rising and falling as my eyes somewhat adjusted to the sky. As I hopelessly stared off into nothing in particular, a flicker caught my eye. I looked over to where it came from then it flashed again. It was a small purple light high in the sky. I squinted my eyes to get a better look and it flickered again. It seemed to be almost electric, like a tiny spark from above. The closer I looked the more I saw it spark then shrivel up.
As I sat up, focused on my discovery, the entire blue sky flashed with thousands of these purple and blue glitches. Then suddenly, the sky had disappeared.
In a flash, the sun was gone, along with the blue hue and clouds above. A sea of light grey swarmed me. There was no ball of light, but the grey sky...or ceiling, still provided a dim light. As if it were a blanket over top of us with bright lights behind it that I couldn't see. I only had a moment to question the strange event when a voice popped into my head.
GO!!!
It was a voice that wasn't mine, yet it wasn't even a voice at all. more like a sensation, an instinct.
GET UP!!!
Quickly, I stood to my feet, almost involuntary. One foot moved in front of the other until I'd reached a jog. It was strange; my limbs were moving and I could feel them, but I wasn't the one doing it. I forced myself to stop in my tracks but my legs kept wanting to move. I pushed against the restraints of my legs, it was like I was trying to shift a cement block.
I pulled against this sensation that was pushing me forward. Finally, I gave in and let go, allowing my legs to carry me wherever they please. I started to sprint faster than I had ever gone before. The walls rushed past me as I ran at incredible speeds down the corridor. I looked up and the grey sky still loomed over my head.
Suddenly, I regained control of my limbs once I came to a fork in the maze. I stopped and looked in all the possible directions-
LEFT
It all felt so familiar. I'd been here before, yet it was all brand new to me. The feeling of remembrance rushed through, but no memory of this part of the maze resurfaced.
LEFT
I followed the instinctive feeling and continued on. Once again, my legs took control over me and I didn't fight back this time. I had a feeling that whatever strange sensation was, was taking me to Gally.
As my legs carried me without my command, rainbows of colours started to dance around the vignette of my eyes and the tunnel slowly closed in.
In a matter of seconds, I was trapped in a black abyss. A sea of darkness drowned me and there was only the faint sound of heavy breaths. My aching arms and legs were gone, it was only me and my consciousness-if you could even call it that.
Marty
A voice breathed. It didn't come from any particular direction.
Marty
Without warning, a white light surrounded itself around me. It was as if someone had turned on hundreds of studio lights and shone them right to my face. For a while, I was surrounded by only white light until it cleared like clouds. My eyes still hurt, but I could start to form what was in front of me. Tall, dark, brown figures stood in front of me as the light still cleared away. A sense of home washed over me. I felt could reach out through the clearing hole and touched what I now knew where trees.
The fog of light vanished and I was home, standing in the middle of the Deadheads. It was darker than usual. I looked around me, but in every direction looming trees continued on for eternity. I looked up and met nothing but thick layers of deep green leaves.
Marty
The voice startled me, causing me to jump back.
You shouldn't have left
A shiver ran up through the back of my heels and swiftly made it's way up my back. The voice had direction now and sounded more human. It carried an eerie familiaerity with it. I spun around once again to meet the owner.
Only ten feet away, the figure of a boy stood half hidden behind one of the larger trees. Slowly, it stepped out of the shadows into the dimly lit environment, but still kept its distance. The creature's clothes were torn and stained with so many bodily fluids that it would be impossible to determine the original colour. What would have looked like hair on it's head sat greasy strands mixed with dirt and dried blood. It's one arm that it revealed from behind the tree was completely torn off. Only a nub of bone and torrid muscle reminded.
This is what happens when those walls close on you Marty
Blue gooey mucus flew out from it's mouth when it spoke. The pasty fluid dripped down it's blue stained chin and onto it's shirt wher the goo had saturated before.
"Ben..." I huffed at the unrecognizable being.
I trusted you. You were supposed to save me
The body that was once Ben limped towards me. His bones cracked and snapped with every step while his remaining body part squashed together like thick mud. I stepped back from him as he inched closer.
They're all going to die, because of you Marty
"No!" I screamed, "It's the creators Ben. There was nothing I could do-"
You wouldn't let this happen to Gally would you? IF HE'D BEEN STUNG YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ABANDONED HIM!!!
I stumbled backwards across the soaking, muddy ground that clutched on to my feet. Ben staggered to me faster than before. His one remaining arm swung around, trying to claw at me.
YOU KILLED ME YOU KILLED ME YOU KILLED ME YOU KILLED ME
His voice bellowed and gurgled as more blue bile flew from his throat. My feet became heavy and trapped in the dense sludge. My balance gave up as I fell backwards into the soil on my back. My attempts to yank my feet out were useless as Ben towered over me. As he brought his arm back for one final slash, the tunnelled colours from earlier resurfaced and swarmed me before Ben attacked.
I inhaled sharply as my head flew back like a fresh bullet shooting out of a muzzle. My eyes reopened once again. My lungs couldn't absorb enough air to feel satisfied. My rapid breaths slowed as I felt the ground beneath me. It was cold. The floor was dry and pasty against my sweating palms. The feel of the maze floor was strangely comforting. Ben was only a hallucination. He was dead, but it wasn't my fault.
I glanced around the surrounding grey walls. The sky hadn't changed. I wiped away the pesky cold sweat that dared to drip into my eye. It felt thicker than it should.
A red dye smeared across my finger tips. I tapped around my forehead until I felt a sting, I'd been cut somehow.
I was surrounded by nothing but concrete, dust, and the occasional small rock out of place. I was sitting in a large section of the maze. Each wall was an even distance. The square wasn't quite as big as the Glade, but menacing enough to belittle me. Far off behind me, a sharp rock sat upright on the ground. The top of it stained crimson. Slowly, I stood up, partially afraid I'd pass out once again.
I hobbled over to the rock, the out of body feeling had left, hopefully for good. I bent down and picked up the rubble, examining it. The blood on it was dry. My eyes followed the messy trail my cut had made along the ground. I must've tripped a while ago and somehow knocked my head on the stone and continued tumbling. It was my best bet.
As I fingered the devilish stone in my hand, a harrowing cry came from deep within the walls. I recogniszed it in a second. Just before the male voice yelled again, a chilling metal whirr sounded. A griever had found Gally.
I dropped the rock in place and started to run as quickly as my aching body could take me. Gally's screams continued and sounded louder and louder. As much as I didn't want him hurt, there was no way I'd find him if I couldn't hear him. I hesitated every now and then, choosing the most likely path were the voice came from.
The griever's petrifying shriek rang deep in my eardrums. I needed to get there sooner.
I stopped at a fork in the maze and waited for one more sound. A final hiss came from my right and I continued to follow it. I slowed down as I saw the tail of the raging monster tuck behind a corner and leave the scene. As I approached it, a red puddle started to make itself clearer.
I stood over the blood-drenched ground where a trail had continued around corners in the maze. I looked back at where the griever had just taken off, and with one final huff, I followed the red stream.
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