| Gally X Reader | Forever and Always | Tmr | The Maze Runner |

Chapter 21: Ella

Olivia's Pov

It's been two weeks since Ella arrived. She mainly tags around with me and helps me occasionally in the Kitchens. Gally and I had become the closest to her, and Newt and Minho tell me on many occasions that Ella is like our kid and we are the parents. She still sleeps in my hut, and I sleep on the floor next to her because she gets frequent nightmares. The floor is really uncomfortable, so I haven't slept properly in a while. Gally keeps trying to convince me to sleep in his hut so I won't be so sleep deprived, but I refuse. He told me Ella can come to me and wake me up when she has a nightmare, but I know she would be too frightened to walk across the dark Glade alone.

"Hey, Gally!" I say cheerily as I walk to him. He stops what he's doing and gives me a hug.

"I was thinking" he starts. "What if we took it in turns to watch Ella? She trusts us two the most so it wouldn't matter who was sleeping with her"

"No, you need proper sleep, Gally. Thank you, though"

"So do you"

"Yeah, but at least I don't try and murder someone if they have the audacity to breathe the same air as me when I don't get a good nights sleep" I laugh.

"I don't do that!" he protests.

"Maybe not quite that extreme, but you're even grumpier than usual when you're sleep deprived"

"I'm not that bad" he says.

"You are" I ruffle his hair then go off in search of Ella.

"Ella! Where are you?" I call out. I walk around the Glade to all her favourite spots, but I can't find her. "Ella?!" I start to get panicked, so I start jogging, which soon turns into a full on sprint. "ELLA?!"

"Woah what's wrong?" Gally takes hold of my arm to stop me running.

"It's Ella!" I pant. "I can't find her anywhere! I've been looking for twenty minutes!" I frantically turn my head to try and spot her.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, darling. Look at me" He holds onto my chin and forces me to face him. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Let me help" He takes hold of my hand and we revisit her favourite places.

"She's not here" I groan and rest my head on Gally's chest.

"Maybe Newt will know. Come on"

We ask Newt, but he doesn't know. Soon, pretty much all the Gladers are looking for her but she's not found.

"There's one place we haven't checked yet" I stare down at the ground and nervously shuffle my feet around.

"What is it?" Gally asks, tucking a stray bit of hair behind my ear.

"The Maze" My voice comes out in practically a whisper.

"Why would she be in there?"

"She's nowhere in the Glade. The only logical place is the Maze. I'm going to check"

"What?! NO!" He takes hold of my wrist. His grip is so tight I'm sure it will bruise. "I'm not letting you" he says firmly.

"It's not open for discussion"

"The Doors will close soon!"

"All the more reason to hurry"

"Liv-"

I get free of his grasp and sprint away before he can stop me. I head towards the Maze and soon reach it. I twist and turn through the corners, calling out Ella's name, but I hear no response.

After a few minutes, I need a break so I stop to regain my breath.

I've never been in the Maze before so I take in my surroundings for the first time. The atmosphere is thick, in complete contrast to the Glade. An empty feeling resides here, sending a shiver down my spine.