Rose// Gally Maze Runner

When It Rains

For nearly two hours now, the gladers were stuck huddled in the Homestead or the kitchens to keep dry. Rain was a nuisance to be caught out in, but it was a welcomed break from work. Except for the cooks, no one ever worked in a storm. Even runners were told to come straight back at the mere sight of rain clouds. Running in the rain was dangerous for many reasons from slipping, to blurring your vision, and worst of all, muffling your hearing. Out of all your senses, your hearing was the one to keep you the safest in the Maze. You hear a griever, you start running. You see a griever, you're likely already dead.

Until now, you had been alone in the map room. It wasn't the best place to be in weather like this since the roof was unfinished, but you sprinted to it the second you felt a drop on your skin while out working in the field. The map needed to be covered with a worn tarp in case the roof got worse.

There were seven leaks that you had found so far. By now, each had a bucket or bowl placed underneath to prevent the dirt floor from turning into a mudslide. You wished you could say the two hours had passed in the blink of an eye, but you checked your watch every five minutes, hoping Minho and Alby would burst through that door to fill you in on their discoveries.

Eventually, Ben meandered his way in, claiming he was worried about putting the tarp on the map which was an odd excuse since the rain had already been going on for quite a while. His lying was pointless with how much he eyed his running gear. The others should have been back by now. It was obvious that was what really plagued him.

"Stop it," you said eventually. Watching him was like your own nerves personified.

He had been tinkering with the straps of his harness to keep his hands busy. His soft blue eyes looked up at you in shock, wondering what he had done wrong. The gear was neatly hung back on the wall. "Sorry."

You sighed and closed the notebook you often studied in. "I mean stop thinking about it. There's nothing we can do."

"I know."

"Even if we left now, like right now, in good weather, we might not make it back in time."

"You're right."

"We told them not to go. That's the most we could do. It's not our fault they didn't listen."

"It's not."

"Going after them would be a death wish. Running in the rain is against the rules. There's no way to get approval from our Keeper, and Newt would never give the green light for people to leave this late."

Ben nodded and dared to glance your way. You were feverishly thumbing through your notepad to find the page you were working on before Ben came in. At the time, you didn't want him to see that you had been creating a map of the route you had gone that fateful day. His jaw tightened when you landed on the page.

"It's dangerous," you say again.

"Alby would be totally pissed," Ben added.

"We should have never gone in the first place."

"We got lucky last time."

There was darkness swirling around both of your heads. Guilt. It was your fault those boys were even out there to begin with. If they got hurt, that would sit with you forever.

Ben put his hands on his hips. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes from assuming you were thinking the same thing. "So, we doing this or what?"

You tore the page out of the notebook. "No one can know. They'll try to stop us."

"Then let's make this quick."

The boys were only an hour and thirty minutes into the Maze when you first heard them. Shouts and curses were being thrown out around the corner. You and Ben had your spears raised, much more prepared for a fight this time now that you knew what you were up against. Expecting to see a griever charging at the others, you and Ben both froze in shock at the sight before you.