forgotten│the maze runner

e i g h t e e n

  The sky was lifeless and dead. Suejin woke up in the early hours of the night riddled with confusion. She double checked her watch, then triple checked it. She looked out the window again. The sky was a dull slab of grey; the pale light of morning evidently absent. 

  She looked to her side and saw that Flo was still fast asleep, snoring softly like a baby. Her time with Jonathan had proven to be helpful; Suejin hardly had to wake up in the middle of the night to Flo's terrifying screams. She crawled out of bed, careful to not let the bed creak.

  She quickly dressed and ran down the stairs, meeting Minho outside. "Hey," she said, rushing towards him. "Am I crazy or—"

  He shook his head. "I thought I was going psycho too." He raised his head. "Would you take a look at that." He swore under his breath. "Buggin' Creators got bored or something."

  She gawked at the skies. There were no stars either. Not a single array of color other than the cursed shade of grey was present. "This has to be a joke..." She mumbled. "Maybe a bug in the system?"

  "Hell, nah." Minho scowled. "This ain't no bug. Everything those slintheads do is buggin' intentional. Nothing slips the bastards's eyes." An almost despairing look passed through his eyes. He shrugged. "Means the world is ending I guess."

  She rubbed her hands against the shoulders, looking down. "Well, that sucks." She deadpanned, dropping down to the ground. She sat with her legs crossed, still staring at the bleak sky.

  He let out a small laugh, bending down to sit beside her. "That's what you have to say? It sucks?"

  "I mean, doesn't it?"

  He shook his head and grinned. "And you get on me for making jokes in serious situations."

  She frowned. "This isn't a joke. The world is ending, and it sucks."

  "Yeah, yeah, okay." He said dismissively, flicking her in the head.

  She glared at him furiously. "I told you to stop doing that."

  "Why?" He looked at her in amusement. After a small pause, he ruffled her hair, smiling down at her. "I can't help it. It's so cute when you get mad."

  Unwillingly, a blush crept into her cheeks. "What?" She stared up at him in disbelief. Had he just called her cute? Was he on some type of crack? She stared intently into his eyes, studying his face.

  His eyes betrayed him, and the unmistakable warmth they carried spoke to her.

  Oh. She realized, her heart dropping. She had been so stupid this whole time.

  He seemed to notice the change in her expression. He gave her wide grin, breaking any sort of awkward tension. "Don't get too excited. I meant like an angry Griever. Ugly, yet somewhat cute."

  She gave him a dirty look, her previous thoughts forgotten. "Grievers aren't cute, Minho."

  "Oh." He shrugged. "Guess you're just ugly then."

  "Ha-ha." She muttered sarcastically. "Absolutely frickin' hilarious."

  "Hey." He frowned, feigning seriousness. "Don't catch an attitude." 

  She socked him in the arm, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Don't be annoying."

  "Hey guys." They looked up in unison. It was Thomas. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and stared up into the sky. He leaned down, sitting beside Minho. 

  "You're up early?" Suejin asked. It was still an hour before his mandatory wake up time. Suejin and Minho usually woke up an hour before the other Runners. At first, it had been just Minho, but Suejin joined his early wake up time once he made her his second in command.