The Maze Runner: Acadia

Chapter Seven

      Someone shook the girl awake. Her eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at her, everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of early morning. She opened her mouth to scream but a cold hand clamped down on it, gripping it shut. Panic flared until she saw who it was.

      "Shh, Greenie. Don't wanna be wakin' the whole Glade, now, do we?" It was Newt; the air reeked of his morning breath. Though she was surprised, any alarm melted away immediately. She couldn't help being curious, wondering what this boy wanted with her at this hour. She nodded, doing her best to say yes with her eyes, until Newt finally took his hand away, then leaned back on his heels.

      "Come on, Greenie," the tall boy whispered as he stood. He reached down and helped the girl to her feet—he was so strong it felt like he could rip her arm off. "Supposed to show ya somethin' before the wake-up. Was gonna show you yesterday but you were, er, not doin' so well." Any lingering haze of sleep had already vanished from the girls' mind.

      "Okay," she said simply, ready to follow. She knew she should hold some suspicion, having no reason to trust anyone yet, but the curiosity won out. She quickly leaned over in her hammock, swinging her legs over and slipped on her shoes. "Where are we going?"

      "Just follow me. And stay close." They snuck their way through the dark floor of the forest, the girl almost tripping several times. As they crossed the small, but packed, area of various sleeping bags and hammocks, she stepped on someone's hand, earning a sharp cry of pain in return, then a punch on the calf.

      "Sorry," she whispered, ignoring a dirty look from Newt. Once they left the lawn area and stepped onto the hard gray stone of the courtyard floor, Newt broke into a run, heading for the western wall. She hesitated at first, wondering why she needed to run, but snapped out of it quickly and followed at the same pace.

      The light was dim, but any obstructions loomed as darker shadows and he was able to make his way quickly along. She stopped when Newt did, right next to the massive wall towering above them like a skyscraper—another random image that floated in the murky pool of her memory wipe. The girl noticed small red lights flashing here and there along the wall's face, moving about, stopping, turning off and on.

      "What happens when you touch a Beetle Blade?" she whispered as loudly as she dared, wondering if her voice sounded as shaky as she felt. The twinkling red glow of the lights held an undercurrent of warning. Newt stood just a couple of feet in front of the thick curtain of ivy on the wall.

"When you bloody need to know, you'll know, Greenie."

      "Well, it's kind of stupid to send me to a place where nothing makes sense and not answer my questions." she paused, surprised at herself. "Shank," she added, throwing all the sarcasm she could into the syllable.

      Newt broke out in a laugh, but quickly cut it off. "I like you, Greenie. Now shut it and let me show ya somethin'." Newt stepped forward and dug his hands into the thick ivy, spreading several vines away from the wall to reveal a dust-frosted window, a square about two feet wide. It was dark at the moment, as if it had been painted black.

"What're we looking for?" she whispered.

      "Hold your undies, girlie. One'll be comin' along soon enough." A minute passed, then two. Several more. The girl fidgeted on her feet, wondering how Newt could stand there, perfectly patient and still, staring into nothing but darkness.

Then it changed.

      Glimmers of an eerie light shone through the window; it cast a wavering spectrum of colors on Newt's body and face, as if he stood next to a lighted swimming pool. She grew perfectly still, squinting, trying to make out what was on the other side. A thick lump grew in her throat. What is that? she thought.