The Maze Runner: One-Shots

War in the Glade (Thomas)

"What's going on?" You panic and look to Chuck, as if he'd have the answer.

He shakes his head and shrugs. You bite your lip and start running towards the blaring alarm on the box like the other Gladers. The Greenie came up last week, the box shouldn't be here again.

Gally is the first to pull open the doors and look inside. Most people were expecting some kind of early Greenie or note, but instead Gally holds up something...odd.

His bewildered and confused expression would usually make you laugh but you were as confused as he was. He was holding up a gun.

"Is that..." Clint trails off and Gally shakes his head.

"No, this isn't a normal gun. There's something different about it..." He turns the black shiny weapon over, inspecting its sides and features. There was a large oval kind of space above the gun and it looked like it was holding something in it. Is that where the ammo would go? You didn't know, you'd never actually shot a gun that you could remember.

"There's a note," Gally says. He reads it aloud for the Gladers to hear. "It says: 'They're for training'."

This makes everyone even more confused.

Someone pushes through to the front. Thomas, your boyfriend.

Thomas walks up to the box and helps Gally out. Once he's out, Thomas's eyes light up like a child's on Christmas.

"They sent us these??"

Thomas snatches the gun out of Gallys hands and immediately everyone takes a couple steps back in alarm. You watch Thomas closely as he positions the gun against his shoulder and aims at a tree in the Deadheads.

"Thomas! What do you think you're-" Gallys cut off by Thomas firing the gun. Except, it wasn't loud. It was quiet, almost like a clicking noise. People step around Thomas as they get a look at the tree he'd shot.

You step next to Thomas and cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at the tree and shaking your head. "Nice shot."

"Thanks," he beams.

The tree had a blue paint splatter on it, the size of your hand.

The Creators had sent you paintball guns.

***

"STOP! I'll throw you all in the shuckin' pit tonight!" Alby roared. The Gladers ignored him and he throws his hands up in frustration and storms away.

You aim your gun at Minho, who was aiming at someone else from behind a tree. You fire and watch as a yellow splatter bursts over his back and hurriedly duck behind your rock.

You hear a, "AW COME ON!" where Minho had been and you start to laugh.

You turn to Thomas who sat next to you, aiming at Winston. He whoops as he hits his target.

Thomas turns around to face you and you burst out laughing. Sometime when you had looked away, he'd smeared mud over his cheeks in stripes.

"This isn't war, slinthead," you giggle.

He shrugs. "Close enough." Without warning, his fingers smear mud across your cheeks too.

"Agh, Thomas!" You squeal out of surprise. He claps a hand over your mouth and you glare at him.

"Shh, you'll give our position away," he whispers and takes his hand away. Probably a good thing because you were close to biting him.

You shake your head as you go back to aiming at the other Gladers, muttering under your breath, "Why am I dating that?"