Six Feet Under.

chapter two

CHAPTER TWO: THE SEARCH FOR BEN

The next morning, Layla stood with Minho by her side, and Ben up front. Today they would be splitting up. They only did so occasionally, and only with Runners who Minho was sure wouldn't get lost—and Ben knew the Maze well enough to go off on his own.

When the Maze doors opened with a deafening, yet familiar sound, they immediately took off. They split up a few turns in, once coming up to the first fork on the path. Layla stuck with Minho, like she usually did. It was always best for her to stick with someone else, as on occasion she mixed up her left and right, and would lose track of where she was.

One of the reasons she was a Runner, however, was due to her insane attention to detail. It was ironic given that she missed quite a lot on occasion, but when important things came up, she always saw them. She could take note of the occasional writing on the walls, despite not being able to read it properly. What was it again? W.K.D.C.? No, that didn't sound right. But Minho had memorized it with ease, and Layla took pride on finding it.

She also noticed when something about the ivy had changed. Small things like piles of it being stuck to the ground. The Runners could only assume the Grievers had been the cause of that—they'd rather not think too far into how it was done.

Minho slowed to a stop, Layla following suit. "Let's take a break here." He decided, panting slightly. Layla was immediately on board with the idea, and walked around in circles for a bit as she let her legs calm down, before she sat next to him and leaned against the left wall.

Layla's eyes scanned over the walls as she ate and drank a couple sips of water. She was looking for something new, anything that was calling to her. She looked at each crack in the wall, each ivy leaf, each pebble on the path—nothing different today. Upon coming up short, she looked to her feet and continued to eat.

The break wasn't very long, but it was long enough for Layla to finish a ham sandwich and half her water bottle. Minho had eaten an apple, as well as a few veggies from the garden, before drinking some water and suggesting that they get back to work.

Layla got to her feet and shook out her legs before catching up with Minho, who was a few paces ahead of her.

Minho was probably—no, definitely Layla's closest friend. They had gotten along almost immediately, and she was glad that she got to spend every day with him. If she had gotten a different running partner, she'd probably of grown bored of her job very quickly (no offence to Ben).

But suddenly, her best friend stopped in his tracks, looking around wildly. Layla knew why, because she heard it too. A panicked scream tore through the air, followed by an eerie silence. Layla and Minho stood completely still for a few long moments, before Layla turned to face him. "Was that... Ben?" She realized, panic filling her chest.

Minho seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he turned to face her and nodded his head rapidly. The two made a silent decision to retrace their steps and go off to find Ben. They ran as fast as they possibly could, nearly losing their footing by how fast they turned the corners.

When they made it to the first fork, they stopped, pausing at the new sounds they heard. The sound of heaving breaths could be heard, but they were heading back to the Glade rather than coming from where Ben was. Layla turned to Minho, "he's going back to the Glade?" She asked.

He paused, frowning, "is he hurt?" He asked. It would make sense, too. If Ben had been injured, the first thing he would need to do would be to return to the Glade if he could... but why would he be hurt?

Layla couldn't think of an answer, she only ran. They weren't very far from the Glade now, and running the rest of the Maze went by in a blur.

Then, Layla and Minho stood at the Maze doors. They had arrived far earlier than usual, and Ben wasn't in sight. She panted, her eyes scanning the fields. "Minho," she breathed out, turning to face him. "Your call."