in another life; the maze runner

☆twenty-five☆

A light brighter than she'd seen in a while blazed down on Mae as she was pulled into the world her and her friends had fought so hard to get to. Her eyes burned as she squinted in an effort to shield them from the sun. She still held Chuck's wooden carving firmly in her hand, grasping on to that little piece of him for comfort. 

The people that had been dragging her by her arms paused for a second, allowing her to stand up. She struggled for a moment, her shoes slipping over the grains of sand that filled space as far as the eye could see. Her arm was still throbbing with pain from the incident with the Griever, but that was honestly the least of her problems. The other Gladers were walking around with wide, curious eyes, taking in the new surroundings. The others apart from her and Thomas. 

The brunette was still being aided by the strangers in black, but at least he had stopped fighting. Mae knew how hard on him it must have been to leave Chuck, but whoever these people were, they had guns, and the smartest thing would to be to do what they wanted. 

She was barely even able to stop and look around at the vast desert before them, since she was forced into a vehicle, with a huge propeller emitting a deafening sound that made Mae want to cover her ears. It was all moving to fast for her to handle, and she felt like she was screaming at the top of her lungs, but no one cared to listen. 

Mae was shoved into the helicopter across from Thomas, with Minho beside her. Newt was a few feet away, and Teresa was next to him. Frypan, Winston and Jack were also sitting among them, all of the Gladers had glossy eyes and a whirlwind of emotion visible on their faces. 

All the others looked out the window, down at the miles of sand and the Maze from a birds eye view, but Mae's eyes were glued on Thomas. It was strange, to see the whole of the place that some of these Gladers had spent years trying to escape. It looked so small and harmless from all those miles up.

Thomas's usually determined and fiery eyes were now heavy set and filled with pain. He reminded her of a lost puppy. Although, come to think of it, she didn't remember ever seeing a lost puppy. Nevertheless, he had this far away look on his face that scared her.

Thomas was always the one with hope, the one who led them out of the Maze. From the second she saw him, she had known that he was a true leader. But right now, after seeing Chuck's life fade away in front of him, he looked more disoriented then she'd ever seen him.

The ride was mostly silent. Everyone was too tired and heart broken to really make any small talk. They were covered in dirt and grime and sweat, their eyes red and clothes ripped. The people that had picked them up explained that they meant well, and were taking the Gladers to a safe spot where they could rest and recharge. 

Mae didn't really know if she trusted them yet, but she wasn't about to question anything at this point. She was too busy watching Thomas holding back the tears he so desperately wanted to let flow down his cheeks. 

A few minutes, hours, or however much time had passed since they'd left the Glade behind, Mae carefully scooted closer to Thomas. Teresa snapped her head around to face them, causing Newt to glance over as well. 

Her cheeks flushing red, she ignored the strange looks from her other friends and stared at Thomas for a moment. He hadn't noticed, staring blankly out the window. 

"Thomas?" She finally spoke, her voice strained and her throat dry. He slowly turned to meet her eyes, and she got another good look at his face. His broken expression was enough for her to want to burst into tears again. 

"Earlier, Chuck wanted you to take this. You were- well he gave it to me. And I would rather you have it." She stuttered, embarrassed that she was barely even able to get a proper sentence out. Mae took the figure that she was grasping in her left hand and gently placed it in his hand, not waiting for an answer.