Déjà Vu 1 - Remembering | TMR

[0.1]-Finching Grievers

Whirrrrrrr
Click-click-click
Whirrrrrrr
Click-click-click

"You've got to be finching kidding me." I had barely gotten any sleep, and all I wanted right now was a nap. I didn't have time to deal with a Griever.

I weighed my options, and getting taken by the thing wasn't the worst one out of all of them. I was definitely not going to fight it with the limited number of arrows in my quiver. Or the tiny knife in my pack. I couldn't outrun it; I was too tired for that. And no one had outrun a Griever and lived to tell the tale.

My heart ached at the memory of my lost comrade Juliet. 

I snuck a quick look at the Griever. Right in the middle of my path, of course, in all of its disgusting, pulsating gloriousness. I groaned as loud as I dared. Why today? Why me? I knew that I had to make it back because I was sure as finch wasn't going to hang out with the thing. But I wasn't going to confront it.

It wasn't moving, almost like it was waiting for me. Did it have a rose hidden like it was going to ask me out? I gave a small smile and wondered if this really was the time for jokes. But if I was going to die, at least I'd still have my sense of humor.

I hadn't been this close to a Griever, and I didn't want to come any closer. I'd be stung or worse.

Kicking a rock, I looked down at my watch. I was losing time quickly. I  grabbed my water bottle out and kicked another rock, making it echo in the long halls of the Maze. This situation really sucked. Even being Keeper of the Runners didn't boost my confidence. I knew the girls looked up to me, but I was terrified of the creatures living within these stone walls. I was just a little better at masking it.

I thought of Terra and the last conversation we had. She had figured out this new planting thing called Three Sisters Farming, was so proud of herself. The corners of my mouth pulled up. Drawing strength from her and her confidence in me, I got an idea. 

I gave a small prayer to whoever was listening. Shifting my pack, I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. I would either make it through alive and be heroic or die and be remembered as an idiot. Gee, what a choice.

Realizing that standing here thinking of the past was unhelpful, I started to scale the thick ivy growing along the walls. I had to hide in them once before, and just barely made it home in time. Harriet chewed me out for not being more careful, but what broke me was when I went to talk to Terra. She was a mess, to put it lightly. I hadn't realized how close I was to her. After that, I swore I wouldn't put her in such a position again. But here I was, having to outwit another Griever. 

Was this the universe being funny? 

My limbs were shaking like a leaf. I was tired from the entire day of running, and my remaining strength was waning too quickly. You'd think after two years of running I'd be lasting longer. Perhaps the only thing keeping me going was my fear of the monster that seemed to be tailing me. And the fact that I couldn't let Terra down. Climbing quick, I tried not to make a sound. I wasn't sure if the Griever saw me, but I knew practically nothing about them, so my plan wasn't very thought out. Mediocre, at best. 

"Just a little more, come on, Lauren." I started whispering words of encouragement. I was so close. Once I turned around the corner, I would drop and start running as fast as I could.

Thud. So much for a quiet drop. I didn't even turn around to look if it had heard me.

Whirrrrrrr
Click-click-click
Whirrrrrrr
Click-click-click

It did.

Running even faster than what I thought was possible, I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline flowing through my veins. No wonder people got high off this. I stopped thinking so much and let muscle memory guide me out of the Maze. I was close enough to the Doors that this part of it didn't move. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized only a couple more turns to go.