Him || The Scorch Trials

Twenty Two

An intense feeling of claustrophobia hit her once her back touched the fallen stone, her body intensely wrapped with walls.

She tried to do as Jorge had, moving slowly upwards. Her hand gripped the stone tightly, but she knew that if she held on too hard the entire thing would fall. Again, she took a deep breath, and then lifted her feet off the floor.

Her right foot sat above the ground, planted on a single piece of debris sticking out while her left leg dangled, looking for something steady to press onto. It hung there for a moment or two as she searched for something to attach it too, but there was nothing but a thin ledge to hold only her toes.

As steadily as possible, Mara gently pushed down on the ledge with her foot, trying to keep it secure. She looked up towards the bending light, using her strength to pull her body upwards. It left a straining feeling in her arms, but she didn't care about that. All she cared about was making it to the surface without killing herself accidentally.

Mara slowly made her way upwards, trying her best not to look at the floor or the crumbling rocks. She was trying not to think of how she could fall at any moment; the more she thought about it the more likely she was going to actually hurt herself.

Soon she fell into a rhythm of climbing; right hand, feet, left hand. It seemed to get easier as she got closer to the surface- her body was relaxed but her mind was still on edge. What if she did fall? What if she made it and someone else fell? They had already been separated from Thomas and the Crank, but she at least wanted to stay as a whole with the others.  It was hard to think about, but it was all that was running through her head.

Her mind ran back to reality, turning her focus to the rocks in front of her. She had climbed half of the way to the surface, but now came the more difficult part; somehow she had to squeeze her body through the thinnest of gaps to her right before continuing upwards.

With a feeling of anxiety, Mara inched closer to the gap, searching for a way to gently push her body through the crack.

She pressed her body against the wall, turning awkwardly to fit her shoulder through the gap. All she had to do was get through it and make her way towards the surface. Surely that shouldn't be too hard.

Mara shuffled sideways, rocks and stones crumbling beneath her feet as she moved. It was falling apart, and one wrong move was going to kill her. She could feel her feet slipping from stability, she could see the different scenarios playing in her head. Either she would make it to the surface, or she wouldn't.

Now she was halfway through the gap, her head tilted upwards to avoid being scraped against the hardened rock in front of her. She only had to get the other half of her body through then climb upwards to the surface, and she was so close.

Again, she shuffled slowly across, trying not to look down at the area she was standing upon for fear of seeing hardly anything. She already knew that her feet were hanging onto hardly anything, and she didn't need visual conformation, which no doubt would just make herself feel worse. So instead she just moved across, clasping onto the wall behind with both hands for support.

Something grabbed her from underneath, pulling at her ankle. It made Mara lose her balance, plunging her down through the rocks.

She let out a shriek of shock, kicking at the thing that had wrapped its grip tightly around her leg. The others were shouting her name, asking her what was wrong, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't help. The hand was pulling with all its might, trying to yank her down into the unknown. Immediately her mind told her it had to be a Crank, maybe even the Crank that had brought down the stairs and caused her to be in that position in the first place.

Mara grabbed onto what seemed to be a steady piece of rock above her head, holding on for dear life with one hand while the other tried to swat away the grasp of the thing below. It wouldn't let go; it was determined to capture her and bring her down to its level.

"Jorge, help me up!" She squealed, throwing her head upwards to where she knew the man would be standing. She didn't know if he had heard her, but she could only hope he had. "Jorge! Come on!"

The rocks and debris were peeling away, and if she didn't get up soon it was going to crumble beneath her. She had to climb, there was no other option except let the thing take her, and she didn't want to stick around to see what it wanted.

She tried to elevate her body, trying to use the hand as a step upwards. Her hand strained upwards to reach a small ledge peeking out of the stone. It was just out of reach, so instead she hung by the other hand, smashing her foot into the side of flesh and bone.

For a split second the Crank released its grip, and so she took that as her chance.

Mara kicked off the hand, pushing her body upwards to reach the ledge above. She seized the rock tightly, using every muscle in her arm to hold her body up. Every part of her arm burned with a fierce pain, but it wasn't going to make her let go. She was determined to survive, and there was no way she would let the thing below take her away.

As if on que something nipped at her, trying to get a hold on her body, but this time it came from above. Her head snapped upwards, looking into the eyes of a man reaching from above. Jorge.

"Take my hand." He demanded, extending his hand downwards for Mara to grab. She threw her free hand onto his, clasping onto it with a strong grip.

She could feel her body being lifted upwards by the Crank above, as well as the newly found grasp of the Crank below. They were fighting over her body, almost stretching her flat out with their strength. Her body was nauseated with aching pain due to the pulling of her limbs, and there was nothing she could do about it but hope Jorge would win.

-

Thank you guys for being so patient with me, sorry about not updating for so long. I've been struggling to write this chapter, but it's finally done and I hope you guys like it.

So, I don't know about you guys, but the Scorch Trials film came out ten days ago here and OMG IT WAS AMAZING. If you haven't seen it (what why) then I strongly recommend you do because it was beautiful and perfect AND THE ENDING WAS SO DRAMATIC. NOW WE HAVE TO WAIT TWO YEARS UNTIL THE THIRD ONE WHAT I CAN'T.

I'd love to hear you guys' opinions on the film, do you like the differences? I thought they were amazing and I was actually surprised in a good way as to how good it was.

I'm gonna stop rambling now, thank you guys :)

-Lows