[1] Let Me Go ➝ The Maze Runner ✓ (WATTYS 2015 WINNER!)

*Griever in the Glade*

*Griever in the Glade*

No. Not again. Just like in my dream, when Glenn returned. I looked at Newt in alarm as he pulled me into a crouch.

"Is... is Glenn here?"

He shook his head, glancing warily at the others. They were cowering in the corner, peering out of the window for any signs of the griever.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. If there's only one, we'll be able to handle it. We need to get some weapons, though," he hissed as Minho crawled over.

"Rowan and I can get the weapons. You try and get everyone in here."

Newt shook his head, gripping my arm so as to stop me from going. "It's too dangerous."

I gritted my teeth. "Newt, please. I can handle it; I've got my powers, remember?"

He considered it for a second, before loosening his grip. "Be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, people are dying whilst you're stood there being all lovey-dovey. You coming or what?" Minho growled impatiently, glancing frequently through the window slits.

"Okay. Let's go."

I threw Newt one last glance before following Minho out of the Slammer. In the distance, I heard the shrill scream of a Glader and the whirring hum of his attacker.

"Are you sure there's only one?" I breathed, as two bulbous bodies emerged from the fog in front of us.

"Apparently not," he hissed in return, yanking me into a copse of trees. We both pressed our backs against the bark, breathing silently. My heart was thudding profoundly hard against my chest, and I was struggling to keep my footing on the marshy soil.

The whirring drew closer as the grievers approached our cover, and my heart jolted against my ribcage. It was right there. Right next to me. I could feel the dull vibrations resonating along the ground as they scuttled forward.

I held my breath.

They rolled by.

I steadied myself against the tree.

They were almost past us.

Then my foot twitched and a twig snapped under it.

Shuck.

The grievers whirled round with irrational speed, and I was pushing after Minho through the forest as the creatures raced behind us. There was no way we'd outrun them in this tricky terrain. The undergrowth coiled perilously beneath my feet, ready to snag me back into the arms of our pursuers at any moment.

Minho stumbled in front of me, and I almost collided with him. But I managed to dodge past the runner and drag his sleeve forward.

"Keep running!" I yelled in his ear.

"We'll never outrun them!" He gasped, clutching his chest as the smoke from the fires clogged his lungs.

"Not if we run in a straight line. You see that wall of trees down there? Turn left at the last minute, then I'll see if my shucking powers have any effect."

He gasped and spluttered, but nodded in agreement. It was the only plan that sprung to mind; might as well give it a go.

As soon as we reached the dense line of trees, Minho and I hurtled to the left, where I proceeded to get snagged back by a protruding root and tumble to the ground.

"Keep running!" I gasped as I scrambled onto my feet and turned to the dazed grievers, now a sprawling mess of mechanical legs and glistening spikes.

I focused my mind and energy into a single bulb of power, and glared at the griever, now roused from it's daze. Then I put as much pressure as I could onto the alien machine, clenching my fists by my side, until the creature collapsed with a shriek, gradually settling into a silent, unmoving state. The other griever was back on its feet, and I wasted no time in whirling round and springing through the forest. My head was spinning from the effort of taking the griever down, and my movements were beginning to grow sluggish as I struggled to find my way through the copse of trees.

Then a great surge of dizziness sent me stumbling into a tree, and a familiar buzzing sound erupted inside my head, spreading pain along my temples.

There was a vague yell in the distance, and a thud, and then a shriek. And through the mist that clouded my sight, Minho's face appeared in front of mine, his lips moving slowly as he yelled unheard words.

And then everything rushed back in a blend of colour and noise, and I was running again, side-by-side with the runner, the griever clinking viciously behind us.

"What happened?" Minho gasped over the sound of our frantic breathing.

"I... I think I disabled it, with my mind. Then I went all dizzy and I couldn't move or see properly. I'm okay now, though."

Minho glanced at me skeptically. "You sure?"

I nodded and we soon broke out of the shade of the trees and into the burning glade.

"Lets get these weapons, quickly!"