in another life; the maze runner

☆nine☆

"Teresa. Look at them, look at what it's doing to them. Those are our friends," Mae snapped, her eyes narrowed in complete and utter annoyance. She was pointing to the screens in front of her, begging her sister realize what they were watching.

"We're doing what's right."  Teresa interjected, avoiding eye contact with her sister.

This statement angered Mae further, causing her to stand up out of her chair abruptly.

"I'm not being a part of this anymore. I can't sit here and take notes and study them while they're lost and confused." She seethed, her voice lowered.

__

Thankfully, her dreams hadn't woken her up in the middle of the night as they did before, but they still left her feeling shaken and out of order when she rose in the morning. For a second, she forgot all about the fact that Thomas, Minho and Alby had gotten stuck in the Maze over night. She had just been laying in her hammock, raking her mind for answers as to what her and Teresa had been arguing about.

"Mae?" Her peace of mind didn't last long. Chuck was standing above her hammock, his usually cheerful expression replaced with an anxious, lost one. Seeing him so unlike himself helped her remember what had happened the day before. She sprung to her feet, almost bonking heads with Chuck in doing so, and looked past him to the doors.

"They're not open yet," She observed aloud. Chuck shook his head, taking a look at the now- closed in walls himself.

"Look, I know Thomas was your friend and all-"

"Was? He's not dead yet, Chuck. Stop acting like it. And besides, I haven't even known him that long. I just hope they're ok," Mae interrupted him quickly, starting to walk past him and through the field toward where the Maze doors would open soon. Most of the other Gladers had the same idea, seeing as their leader was gone. Chuck finally caught up to the girl who stood with her arms crossed, and he bent down for a moment to catch his breath.

"I'm just..." He panted. "Saying, if they're alive, it would be a shucking miracle..." He breathed, standing up straight. Mae ignored his comments. Obviously, she knew it was very far fetched that any of them were alive, let alone Thomas, who had never been in the Maze, but she refused to start mourning him until she had rock solid evidence that he was gone.

"I don't think they're coming back, Mae." An accented voice spoke from behind her, which she immediately recognized as Newt's. She turned to look at him for a moment, before snapping her attention back to the walls in front of her. She exhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a second.

She wanted to say something, she wanted to criticize them for not having hope. But she knew that they knew more about the Maze than she did, and if they really thought Minho, Alby and Thomas weren't coming back, there had to be a reason why. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she glanced back in Newts direction.

"I just really hope you're wrong." She spoke simply. Newt didn't know how to respond, he just stared at her with pity embedded in his big brown eyes.

As if on cue, the sound of rickety machinery began as the maze doors slowly slid open to reveal...

Nothing. An empty passageway, just like every other in the Maze.

Mae felt her heart drop into oblivion. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her stomach somersaulted all over again. This feeling, this devastation, she had gotten pretty familiar with from the moment she woke up in the Glade. It was if someone had purposely put a bad luck charm on her, someone who wanted her to panic and weep. Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed that most of the Gladers had stalked off, back to work, like it was just another day. Like they hadn't just lost their leader and the Keeper of the runners.

"I hate to say it, but I told you so. Let's get you some food, c'mon," Mae heard Newt's voice, but all she could concentrate on was the seemingly vacant Maze.

"Mae," He spoke again, this time taking hold of her shoulder and turning her away, towards the Glade. Reluctantly, she let him lead her away from the doors, still numb from the realization that the Keeper, leader and Thomas hadn't survived the night.

"No way..." Mae heard someone, namely Zart, whispered. This caught the girls attention, and she immediately whipped her head around to find out what he was referencing.

And there, to nearly everyone's surprise, were two figures limping along toward the Glade. They were carrying a third, who rested lifelessly between their shoulders. They continued hobbling forward, and when their faces finally came into light, it was clear who they were.

Thomas and Minho were carrying Alby.

Alive.

Cheers erupted from the boys filling up the silence that had taken over not more than a moment ago. Without even realized it, Mae had smiled so hard her cheeks began to hurt.

Thomas and Minho were grunting as they hauled Alby into the Glade finally, lowering him onto the ground softly. Everyone was anxious for answers, showering them with questions all about their night in the Maze. Newt was quick to check them over for injuries, happy to know his friends were alright (aside from Alby). The Med-jacks hurried over to examine Alby, while the others looked to Thomas and Minho in anticipation.

"Did you guys see a Griever?" Chuck asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, I saw one," Thomas answered through his heavy breaths. Minho looked up at the group from his knee where he kneeled, a mischievous smirk sprawled across his face.

"Oh he didn't just see it," He started. "He killed it."

I'm sorry this chapter is pretty short, I have writers block rn :/