RECKLESS [The Maze Runner || Newt || Book 1]

24 - Run

"We gotta go, Thomas! We gotta go now come on!" Minho said, the panic in his voice rising.

"Just a little more." Thomas responded as he and Clara kept pulling the ivy, moving Alby further up the wall. But Minho turned his head again, looking at the Griever and fear overtook his body,

"Sorry guys." He said before he bolted, leaving Thomas and Clara holding the ivy. She looked to her right, the griever was getting closer to them, she quickly scanned her surroundings trying to find a place to hide and she noticed a small gap under the wall they were facing.

"Thomas, down there!" She shouted, pushing him down to the floor and scrambling down next to him, Thomas was still holding onto the ivy as they both crawled into the small hole in the stone. 

Clara squished against him, trying to hide completely beneath the ivy, she regretted not turning around though. They were lying so close together their noses were touching, and she felt his breath on her face, but he held it as the griever got closer, and Clara squeezed her eyes shut. She heard it walking by them, the clicking of its metal claws on the stone floor, the terrifying groans coming from deep inside it, the metallic whirring that sounded with its every step. It released a deep roar that sent shivers up Clara's spine, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to try and muffle her breathing. 

After a few horrifying seconds it walked away from them, the click, click, click moving further and further away from them. They slowly crawled out of the gap, Clara checked around the corners to make sure they were clear while Thomas tied the ivy down, securing it in place.

"Thomas, hide!" She hissed as she heard the griever coming back. She grabbed his arm and pulled him around a corner, they stood completely still with their backs against the wall and listened as the griever clicked around, moving away from them. Thomas peeked around the corner and moved out when he didn't see the griever anymore.

"Come on!" Clara whispered, turning around, and walking towards the opposite end of the passage, she heard Thomas's footsteps behind her, and she kept going, she still remembered every route in the maze from when she was a runner, it was like muscle memory. 

But suddenly she stopped as she stepped in something, Thomas bumped into the back of her, not watching where he was going but he looked down as he realized he'd stepped in the same thing she had. Clara shifted her gaze down and saw the familiar green goo on the floor underneath her shoe, she saw Thomas shaking the goo off his shoes and she gulped as she slowly turned her head upwards. 

Her stomach dropped as she looked up and saw a griever's body above them, she shoved Thomas out of the way as the griever dropped down from the walls, landing above her, its claws gripping the ground around her body. She quickly scrambled out from under it, narrowly avoiding one of its claws as Thomas pulled her up. The griever wailed at them, its mouth opening so wide Clara could see the sets of teeth that filled it, she quickly turned around, pulling Thomas with her as she sprinted away.

"This way!" She shouted, turning right and running down a corridor. She turned left into another passage, hoping to lose the griever in all the twists and turns but her hope was crushed quickly as it jumped out in front of them. She skidded slightly before turning into another passageway, running as fast as her legs could carry her, she heard Thomas panting behind her and didn't bother turning around to check on him, continuing to navigate the twists and turns of the maze. 

They came to the end of a corridor, and she saw that it was a dead-end, and she froze, she'd made a wrong turn somewhere. She turned to her left and saw a path leading to another dead end and her breath hitched as she realized they were trapped. The griever turned the corner, coming towards them and she stared straight at it, paralyzed with fear. 

Thomas grabbed her arm and pulled her with him, turning into the dead end, she didn't understand where he was going until he jumped off a large stone and grabbed onto the ivy, pulling himself up. Clara followed him, jumping up and hoisting herself up onto the ivy, the griever just underneath her, swiping at her legs with its claws. Thomas pulled her up over the edge of the wall and they started running, jumping over a large gap and up onto a higher ledge, they sprinted across the top of the maze walls, the griever dangerously close to them. 

But suddenly Thomas stopped, and Clara scrambled to a stop behind him as she realized what he was looking at, below them was a steep drop down to the maze floor. She looked at the wall that was further away from them, another one covered in ivy, and then over at Thomas, he nodded at her, indicating that he had the same idea. 

The pair backed up before sprinting as fast as possible, jumping off the edge of the wall and grabbing onto the ivy on the opposite wall, Clara slid down, the ivy burning her hands and she landed at the bottom but as she looked up, she realized Thomas was still up there. She spun around and watched as the griever leaped up and onto the wall, landing directly over the boy. She gasped as she watched its tail swing up into the air, twisting before it stabbed at Thomas, who quickly moved his head out of the way, avoiding the sharp needle. He lost his grip and slid down the ivy and the griever slipped down with him, snapping its jaws at him. 

The two of them landed on the floor in a patch of vines, Clara rushed forward and pulled Thomas to his feet. The pair of them backed away, watching as the griever struggled a few feet away, its limbs tangled up in the ivy. Suddenly she felt a pair of hands on her shoulder, and she screamed, jumping back before she realized it was Minho.

"You guys are shucking crazy! Come on!" He shouted before turning and running away, Clara and Thomas followed him, moving as quickly as possible, getting away from the griever before it could untangle itself from the ivy. A loud rumbling sounded through Clara's ears,

"It's changing Minho!" She shouted at the keeper, who slowed his pace for a second, trying to gauge his surroundings,

"Yeah, I know, let's go! Quickly!" He shouted back, running forward, and stopping at a left turn. "This section is closing, come on! We can lose it down here!" He sprinted forward as the giant walls started moving towards each other. Clara ran a few steps into the closing corridor but turned when she realized Thomas wasn't behind her, he was still standing in the same spot they were in before, staring at something in the distance.

"Thomas! What are you waiting for? Get out of there!" She heard Minho shouting. She turned around, running up to him and grabbing his arm trying to pull him with her but he resisted.

"Thomas, what the fuck are you doing?"

"We can trap it, between the walls!" He answered, and she realized he was looking at the griever in the distance, 

"COME ON!" He screamed at it, and it started galloping towards them. She tugged on his arm again and this time he went with her, they sprinted towards Minho at the end of the corridor as he shouted at them. 

Clara reached the end before Thomas and she spun around, noticing how close the griever was to Thomas and realizing that his plan wasn't going to work, the griever was going to make it out before the walls crushed it. She looked down and remembered the knife she was carrying on her hip, she quickly pulled it out of its holster and turned back towards Thomas, screaming at him,

"THOMAS! ROLL!" He looked up and saw the glint of her knife in the moonlight and obliged, he quickly dove forward, tucking himself into a ball and rolling out of the closing passageway. Clara threw the knife in his direction, and it flew above his head, landing directly in the middle of the griever's head. It reared backward a few steps before it tried to lunge at them, but the walls slammed shut, crushing its body between them. One of its legs was sticking out, twitching slightly. 

Clara slumped against the wall behind them, trying to catch her breath as she buried her head in her knees and she heard Minho whisper under his breath.

"Holy shit"