I Know Places [Thomas The Maze Runner]

[23: The Home Between Homes]

Elle couldn't tell how long they'd been in the helicopter. The sun had long set, obscuring their view of the ground and making it impossible to tell where they were and how much time had passed.

Sitting between Newt and Thomas, Elle was exhausted. Everyone was fading in and out of sleep, equally fatigued and drained from their escape from the Maze. With heavy limbs that felt like lead, Elle moved slowly, as if her body struggled to keep up with her mind. The muscles in her legs and arms ached, and her hands shook with leftover adrenaline and anxiety.

Thomas, emotionally exhausted from watching and feeling Chuck die beneath his fingers, had fallen asleep long ago. When his breaths calmed and the tears stopped falling, he took one look at the Gladers and slumped back against the supplies he was leaning on. Elle was relieved when she heard the soft sounds of Thomas sleeping, and even happier when some of the other Gladers followed suit.

Even though she desperately wanted to join them, sleep was evading her. All she could think of was Chuck's face when he took his final breath and the last words he'd spoken to her. I love you. His sweet voice was genuine and vulnerable, and Elle felt his loss deep in her gut. It poured out of her like a rainstorm, filling her with consuming sadness that soaked her to the bone. Every inch of her body ached, and every part of her heart hurt. It was complete agony, and Elle would have to learn to live with it.

The helicopter ride was smooth sailing for the most part. Anytime the helicopter dropped an inch, Elle felt her stomach swirl like she might throw up. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, hoping and praying to whoever was out there that they would make it through the helicopter ride and find safety wherever they landed. Even as she worried about their futures, Elle's mind drifted back to Chuck like clockwork.

Around two hours after they left, the helicopter took off from the Maze, the people who rescued them told them to get to their feet. "Get ready!" a man shouted, alerting the Gladers. "We haven't got much time when we land! Everybody up now!"

Elle scrambled to her feet, ignoring the painful twinge in her calf and wincing. She'd lost her backpack earlier and had nothing but the clothes on her back left, so Elle woke Frypan and Winston up. Minho, who hadn't slept a wink the entire flight, shoved Thomas's shoulder and woke him up. "Thomas! Wake up! We gotta go! Come on!"

Thomas scrambled to his feet, startled by how things had changed since he went to sleep. It was pitch black outside, and he could only see what was illuminated by their saviours' headlamps and the LED lights on the ground.

With the help of one of the men, Elle jumped out of the helicopter and sank her boots back into the soft sand of the desert. She remembered from the video Ava Paige made that the sun had scorched the earth and wondered if everything was now a desolate desert environment. She followed the instructions of the people who saved them, following Minho as they ran through the sand. Squinting, Elle tried to keep the sand from blowing in her eyes and obscuring her view.

"Cranks!" A loud voice screamed from behind Elle. She whipped her head around, frightened by the sudden explosion of gunfire behind her. It was like a jolt to her system. As if she'd stuck her hand in an electrical circuit and a shock went through her body. It was a loud, deafening sound that echoed in her eardrums, making it impossible to locate. "We got Cranks!" They shouted in warning.

"Keep going!" Someone grabbed her arm and pulled Elle along. She nearly tripped from the sudden movement, but let them drag her in the opposite direction of the gunfire. The same man pushed Thomas beside her. "Gotta move! Not safe out here, kid!"

Another person yelled, "Got a swarm to the flank!"

"Go, kid! Go, go! Set a perimeter! Hold them back on the right side!"