Amnesia: A Maze Runner Fanfiction

c h a p t e r . n i n e

I sighed as I stood up for the first time in days. My legs were sore - in fact, my whole body ached, but I was determined to push past this. The faster I recovered, the faster I could get back out running - and investigating that cliff.

"How you feelin'?" Newt asked from the chair next to me, as I rested a hand on the back of it for support.

"Not so bad," I said.

"You're not going back out there."

"What?"

"I'm not even gonna listen to you complaining this time, because there's no chance. I can't risk you getting hurt again."

"Newt-"

"Anna." He sighed. "I stopped being a Runner after I got this limp. I got injured, and so I packed it in completely. You've spent the night out there; you've met a Griever; you've been stung by one. You'll give it a rest now. Alright?"

I didn't respond. He continued to stare at me, until finally gave a shrug and looked away. "Where's Thomas?"

"Huh?"

"I need to speak with him."

"Alright. But you stay here, I'll go get him." Newt stood up and grabbed my shoulders, guiding me into a chair. "Stay."

"Yessir." He gave me a look like he was trying not to smirk, before he sighed, wiping it off his face. I frowned a little as he walked away.

Jeff poked his head in to check up on me in the meantime. "Hey Jeff. Haven't seen you in a while," I joked.

"Hey, where'd Newt go? He was meant to be watching you."

"I'm fine. He's getting Thomas for me."

"Are you still seeing things?" I stared at him a moment, before nodding slowly. "Anything new?" I shook my head.

Newt reappeared in the doorway moments later - alone. "Thomas is out today. Running, still."

"Oh."

"He should be back pretty soon, though. Sun is going down, I think." I hadn't seen the sun in a while. I hadn't left this room for far too long.

"Can I see?"

"What?"

"Go outside. I haven't been outside." Newt nodded.

"Oh. Yeah. 'Course." I heaved myself out of the chair and followed Newt outside. As I stepped into the daylight, I sighed in content. It was a nice reminder to see the Glade again. Boys were all at work, living like their world wasn't the size of this one field, living like deadly creatures didn't surround them always, living like there was something worth living for.

Teresa appeared, walking towards us. I grinned when I saw her, until she got close enough. Suddenly I was no longer in the Glade - I was back in that same lab from my nightmares, and Teresa was standing there, staring at me.

"WICKED is good," she said, before everything melted away and I was staring at grass, in it on my hands and knees.

I looked up. Teresa and Newt were looking down at me, concerned. I started to clamber to my feet, taking the hand that Newt was offering me. "You alright?" Teresa said.

"WICKED is good," I whispered.

"What?"

"You saw the lab?" Newt questioned. "Was... Teresa there?" I nodded profusely.

"What's going on?" Teresa demanded.

"Her visions."

"You saw... me? What was I doing?"

"In a lab," I tried to explain. "You were saying, 'WICKED is good'."

"WICKED, like our supplies," Newt added. Teresa nodded slowly. "You know anything about that?"

"I-" she was interrupted when we heard a shout from Gally, approaching us.

"Newt!" he called. "Some shuck-face Track-hoe is having a disagreement with my Builders. I'd sort it out myself, but, ugh. You told me to tell you instead of punching guys."

"Bloody hell, alright. What's going on?"

"Well, to be honest, you'd know if you'd been helping at all today. Where've you been? The Gladers are getting annoyed. You seem awfully fine to be spending so much time in the damn medical shack."

"Alright, slim it, Gally. Let me just come and deal with this." Gally gave me a once-over before stalking off, a reluctant Newt close at his heels.

"Charming," Teresa commented as we watched them walk away. I hummed my agreement. "He's got something of a point, though. Newt's been spending a lot of time in there. And Alby's been moved to the Homestead with Clint, so he's not with him," she said.

"He's not in the medical shack all the time," I argued.

"Mmm." I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, instead gazing up at the sky. It was a stunning pink, as the sun began to set. Instinctively I glanced towards the Maze doors. As I did, I saw a Runner appear through them. Several moments later, I recognised Minho appear, with Thomas.

As more Runners poured out back into the Glade, I set off towards them. Teresa called after me, but I ignored her, instead breaking into a run. The pair of them had noticed me, and began to run to meet me.

"Where's Newt?" Thomas asked as we reached each other.

"Sorting out something for Gally," I explained. "What's up?"

"We went to the cliff today," Minho said. My eyes widened. "Newt's gonna wanna hear this."

"But in short," Thomas grinned, grabbing both sides of my face in his hands, "You're a genius." I matched his grin with my own.

"What's this?" said a voice behind me. Thomas let go of me as I turned around to face Newt.

"We took a look at the cliff today," Minho explained again.

"The cliff?"

"Yeah. And we took the Griever, uh, brain. When we brought it close, it beeped, and this red light-" he held up the device which I hadn't realised he'd been holding. He pointed to the solid red light on it. "-turned green."

"The cliff is what, then, the Grievers' home?" Teresa suggested.

"Woah," Newt admitted.

"But it's still just a cliff? No doorway, opened, or anything?" I asked. Thomas shook his head.

"So how do they use it?"

"Just because we can't see anything doesn't mean nothing's there," he said.

"You suggest we throw ourselves off a cliff into nothingness, in the hopes that we'll fall in to an invisible doorway?" Newt frowned.

"Pretty much," Minho said. "It's the best we've got in three years. This could be it: the way out."

"Or it could be certain death."

"Hey," I interrupted, as I noticed how dark it had gotten since the sun had disappeared. "Shouldn't the doors be closed by now?"