Into The WICKED Maze | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

48. A friend must go

In the evening, the time had come. Just before the gates closed, all the gladers gathered in front of the entrance to the maze. I knocked cautiously on the door of our hut and before I could open it, Minho came out and without a word made his way to the Slammer where Ben was still, waiting for his banishment. I followed him silently and could literally feel his tension.
In the brief moment I had seen his face, I had been sure his eyes were a little red. He had been crying and I was angry with myself for not being there for him. But at the same time I knew that he had wanted to be alone.
We reached the Slammer and found a whimpering Ben begging us to let him go. Still without a word, Minho grabbed him and pulled him out of the hole, not even looking at him. I also reached for him and held him by his bonds. So we made our way to the gate.
When we reached the gladers, he was uttering pleas incessantly, his voice altered by the Changing.
"Just listen to me! Just, please, listen to me!" Then a little more clearly, "Please, Minho! Anna!" And as we walked past Alby, he hissed, "Alby!"
Newt looked at me with pity in his eyes and I quickly looked away again before the tears could make their way into my eyes.
When we arrived in the circle of gladers, they pointed their spears at us to keep Ben away. The keepers, Alby and Newt stood behind us, their poles that they would use to push him into the maze still pointing to the sky, and Ben dropped to his knees.
Minho took out a knife and cut the bonds while I stepped aside a little, picked up the bag of supplies Fry Pan had packed as usual, and then held it out to Minho.
He took it and looked me in the eye for the first time. I was startled because I could see nothing but desperation in them and I knew he needed me now. So I joined him at the edge of the maze and waited.
Now he threw the bag a little way into the maze, all the while Ben whimpered to himself and begged us to help him. Over and over he said my name and each time it went through me like a stab.
I saw Chuck and Thomas come running, the new guy looking quite horrified as he seemed to understand what was going on. But neither of us could help it, after all, we had to protect ourselves.
The sound announcing the closing of the gates rang out and Ben screamed louder and louder in desperation. He looked up at us and it almost tore my heart apart to see him looking at Minho. I felt the latter seek my hand, grabbed his, which was wet with sweat, and squeezed it.
"Poles!" shouted Alby, and the keepers pointed their poles at Ben, who now, still screaming, turned to look up at them in horror.
"No, no, no!" he kept screaming and Minho squeezed my hand even tighter as I pulled him out of the circle between two slicers. Chuck, who had been standing next to Thomas until just then, turned and left.
Now Ben was on his feet and trying to break through the keepers' poles, but Newt and Alby kept pushing. So with their combined forces they pushed him further and further towards the gate while he screamed, "No, please! No! Please don't! No, I can get better! Please! Just listen to me! You don't understand!"
"Push him in!" Alby shouted and they pushed him further and further back until he was between the now closing walls. Only when he turned and ran into the maze before the walls could crush him did they pull back their poles.
The last thing I heard before the gate was completely closed was Ben's final screams. Then everything was silent.
No one said anything, everyone stared at the ground. Minho took me in his arms and I buried my face against his shirt to hide my tears.
At some point Alby began to speak again, as if to explain to Thomas what had just happened.
"He belongs to the maze now."
With those words, he leaned his pole against the wall and left the circle of gladers. The others did the same and followed him. Minho and I also made our way to our hut, where we simply lay down on our beds and stared at the ceiling.
Only Thomas stayed and looked at the wall behind which Ben had disappeared.
When it was already dark, we left the hut again, still in silence. I didn't know what to say to Minho and he seemed to feel the same way. Gally was crossing out Ben's name on the wall and Winston and one of his slicers were holding two torches so he could see something.
I looked away quickly because I didn't want to burst into tears again. I had cried enough lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling. So we just quickly got some bread and water from the kitchen and then disappeared back into our hut.
Sometime during the night, when I still couldn't sleep and was wondering if Minho felt the same way, he broke the silence between us for the first time since this afternoon.
"Remember when Ben had his entrance exam with us?"
Tears immediately welled up in my eyes again at the thought. "Yeah... He was faster than you." That was meant to sound teasing, but it backfired badly.
"But not faster than you," Minho said and I had to smile a little, even though the tears continued to run down my cheeks.
Now he sat up and looked at me, which made me sit down too and wipe away the tears.
"Everyone was cheering for you because you were so fast. And me, I was standing there feeling pretty stupid because this shank had been faster than me." He paused and looked at me, lost in thought. I thought I saw a tear on his cheek.
"I think I was afraid for a moment that he would take my post away from me and I swore I would never be nice to him.... And then everything turned out differently.
It was like he knew me and I was really sure at times that we must have known each other before the maze. And without me realising it, he was suddenly my best friend."
"You guys were great together..." My voice broke, even though I tried hard to speak calmly.
"He always knew what I was thinking. Sometimes I really thought he could read my mind."
Now Minho wiped his face with his sleeve and I was sure I hadn't made a mistake just then.
"He always looked up to you, Minho. And I'm sure you were connected by more than just the maze."
"And then I was the one he begged and banished him anyway." This time his voice broke and I got up and sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, he knows you had no choice. We had to do this. Believe me, it hurts so much to know he's out there now, but I also know that deep down, where he's still the old man, he knows we had to do it. If we hadn't done it, Gally and Winston would have. It was right to pay him this last tribute."
Minho gave a choked sob.
"Did you see the way he looked at me?"
Yes, I had. And at the thought of Ben's distraught face, tears welled up in my eyes again and I couldn't suppress a sob either. I didn't know what to say and I felt like I couldn't say anything either. So I simply wrapped my arms around Minho and pressed my face against his shoulder. He also hugged me now and so we sat there, both sobbing.
We had not only lost our runner. We had lost our friend.