in another life; the maze runner

☆ five ☆

"Mae? Can you hear me?"

Muffled whispers. The steady sound of  medical machinery. Several figures wearing white lab coats, and one girl hovering above her.

"Mae, you're alright, don't worry," The girl coaxed. She had bright blue eyes and raven colored hair, her face was sprinkled with faint freckles.  Although she couldn't tell why, she knew this girl.

"Everything's going to change, Mae."

__

"Rise'n shine, Greenie!" Mae opened her eyes to see Newt crouched down at her eye level, waving his hand in front of her face. She narrowed her eyes and swatted his hand aside, staring past him to take in her surroundings. The Glade was bustling with its usual morning work, most of the boys having already woken and begun their day. The realization of where she was hit her like a brick. Again. The fact that she was stuck in a huge stone box with fifty boys was going to take some getting used to.

"Hi, Newt," She yawned, sitting up and trying not to loose balance as she perched on the side of her hammock. The blonde stood with a dopey grin on his face, watching her in anticipation.

"You took quite a beauty rest, didn't you. You're lucky it's your first day here, because I wouldn't let any other shank get away with this," He joked. Mae ignored his teasing, her eyes darting from boy to boy, examining the work they did. She stood slowly and looked to Newt with purpose.

"Well? What job do I get to do today? Maybe I can work in the med jack hut for a while. Because I was doing pretty well-"

"Not so fast. You're coming with me today, you're going to be livin' the track hoe life for a bit." Newt explained, causing the girl to wrinkle her nose in disappointment. He just chuckled and turned on his heel, stalking off to the gardens. She hesitated, but then followed after him reluctantly.

Several Gladers waved and greeted Mae, and though she was slightly overwhelmed, she tried her best to respond to them every time. Once Newt had showed her what to do, she settled into the routine. She was working with him and another boy with pale blonde hair, Zart. As Mae completed her task with the vines, Newt explained more about the job.

"Zart here is the Keeper of the trackhoes," He went on, working on his own project involving the plants. "In my opinion, it's one of the most peaceful jobs we got." Newt declared, glancing up at the girl when he finished speaking to see how she was doing.

Gardening wasn't really her favorite, but she didn't mind hanging out in the sun for a little, and the trackhoes were some of the most pleasant boys she had met since she got here.

"This is a pretty nice place to work," Mae sent a reassuring smile to the blonde.

Satisfied with her answer, he leaned down to pick up a bucket and a shovel and took them to her, interrupting her work. She looked at him in confusion, stopping what she was doing to take hold of the tools.

"Since you are so willing, why don't you do me a favor and get some fertilizer? Should be just through there in the forest," Newt pointed to the trees. Mae, happy to get some shade for a change, accepted the quest and started off for the woodland.

The forest was much different than the rest of the glade. In addition to the decreased sunlight, it had an eery feel to it. The ground consisted of damp dirt and moss, and the ominous trees seemed to loom over Mae as she trudged forward.

Once she reached the spot where she could only assume the fertilizer was, she leaned down and began to scoop it up with her shovel, working quickly.

There was a snap of a branch under a shoe, which caused the girl to whip her head around to address the source of the sound.

In front of her was a boy with unusually pale skin, and darkened veins running along his neck. His hair was slick and his eyes red, as if he had been consumed by some disease. Mae noticed he had been wearing running attire, and she soon realized who he was.

"Ben?" She croaked, alarmed by his physical state. He said nothing, just moved in closer to her, his chest heaving with each breath he took.

She stood up, abandoning the bucket of fertilizer, and held her hand out to him in concern.

"Are you all right?" Mae questioned, trying not to show her fear. Whatever was going on with Ben, she knew it wasn't good.

"It's all your fault," He spoke through gritted teeth.

Eyes wide with shock, she stood her ground, completely lost in confusion. Mae took a shaky breath and lowered her hand.

"You, your sister, Thomas, ALL OF YOU!" Ben shouted in rage, now close enough to where he could shove her backward. He sent her sliding onto her back, knocking the wind out of her.

Scrambling to her feet, Mae felt as if the world were spinning. She didn't have a moment to sort through her dizziness though, as the troubled boy was already on his way to attack her again.

She did what any sensible person would do.

She ran.

Inhaling deeper, faster, the damp air filling her lungs less with each strangled breath, she ran. A jarring pain shot up and down her leg with each foot fall, but she ignored it. She hurled her arms forward with each step, as if by some miracle it would make her go faster. She was making her way out of the forest with Ben hot on her tail. As soon as the sunny field came into view, she mustered up all the energy she had left in her chest to scream, for anyone to help.

Although she had caught some boys attention, they wasted too much time wondering what the problem was. Ben had finally caught up to Mae, stretching his arms out to push her into the grass. The impact of the fall left the girl gasping for breath, as he had landed right on top of her.

He let out a grunt in frustration as he held her hands down, preventing her from escape. In the mean time, Newt had finally acknowledged the panic and a crowd had circled around the pair as Ben wrestled her on the ground.

In a moment of pure adrenaline, Newt used the shovel he had been working with to knock Ben in the head with it, giving Mae enough freedom to roll out from under him.

Gally and another builder had since taken hold of the boy who had been on top of her, not flinching as he thrashed and groaned in pain.

Still shaking from the events that had taken place, Mae stood slowly, allowing Newt to grab her shoulder in protection.

Alby made his way to Ben, and the other Gladers moved out of the way to watch what he would do.

"Lift his shirt," He said with a knowing look, trying not to let emotion get the best of him. Gally did as he was told, despite Ben's pleas to stop.

Everyone looked away at the sight of what was under his shirt. Mae's breath caught in her throat and she felt her eyes swell up with hot, stinging tears. There, on his stomach, was a purple wound, with the veins surrounding it matching. It was almost as if some giant wasp had injected him with venom, that was beginning to spread throughout his body.

"He's been stung."

I finally updated 🏃🏻‍♀️