SACRIFICE {Newt | The Maze Runner}

i. Farewell

Song: TO BUILD A HOME; the cinematic orchestra

     "SIX months," Hillary concluded sadly, finishing up on the cast around Joanne's badly broken leg, "until she can run again."

"Six months?" her patient asked incredulously, her mouth hanging open in devastation as tears traced down her cheeks, "Orla, I'm one of your best Mappers and you know it. Override her."

"Even if I could, I wouldn't," I smile sadly at her, "I don't wanna screw up your leg anymore."

Closing her teary eyes, Joanne leant her head back against the wall of the hut, exhaling slowly and wiping her cheeks dry with the back of her hands.

"Please?" she begged, raw desperation seeping into her broken tone.

"No, Joanne," I moved to leave the hut, lowering my tone to speak to Hillary, "make sure she doesn't leave."

The blonde Keeper of the Stitchers nodded, before whispering back, "I'm still confused as to why she was out in the Maze on her day off. Got any ideas?"

"None," I huffed, sparing a glance back at Joanne, "if I have any lightbulb moments, I'll come find you."

Pushing the door open, I stepped out into the Glen, the familiar, tantalising scent of bacon gently wafting towards me from the Kitchens. Most of the girls were still asleep in their hammocks, the Mappers and Cooks were usually the only ones awake this early.

Taking my steaming plate of food from one of the Cooks, I slid into a seat beside Emmeline, my running partner already halfway through her eggs and bacon.

"What was Hillary's verdict on Joanne?" she questioned.

"Six months until she can run," I explain, "but knowing Joanne, she's gonna sneak out somehow, she's always trying to do her bit."

*

By the time Em and I had reached the Walls for our daily run, a lot more of the girls were making their way over to get food.

Sliding a few of my beloved knives into holsters on my leather running vest, I tightened the straps and sent a quick nod to Em, who was doing the same.

At the same time, we straightened and ran through the colossal gap in the concrete, the grass changing to smooth stone beneath our booted feet.

The run was exactly the same as every day: Em and I would slump against the walls just over halfway and eat our lunch and naturally, Section 3 was open today.

However, the question of what Joanne had been thinking of when she entered the Maze alone yesterday never left the front of my mind.

She was probably one of the most dedicated girls in the Glen, but she knew the rules of the Mappers better than anyone and it confused me.

"Or, did you hear anything I just said?" Em's voice pulled me from my reverie, I sent her a slightly embarrassed shake of the head, "I was saying that this Newbie better be a good runner if we're losing Joanne for six months."

"Shuck, I forgot about the Newbie." I confess, the pair of us still pacing down the stone labyrinth.

"It shows." Em sniggered, her voice lightly punctuated by quick breaths, "You hate the Newbie day more than anyone."

"It's just someone else to protect though, isn't it. Someone else we'll eventually let down and someone else that will end up dead."

The last turn of our route brought us into the Glen, the sun still hanging high above the square green. Hillary was standing, terrified, at the Walls, Sonya and Harriet beside her.

"We know why Joanne was in the Maze." Sonya confessed, her face paling every second.

Harriet cut in, "She went through the door, go now!"

Exchanging a quizzical look with Em, the dark realisation dawned on me, my feet pounding back into the Maze in search of her. I kept screaming her name as I went, the adrenaline blotting out my breathlessness.

"Joanne! It's me! Where are you?" my words echoed empty through the stony corridors, rising up into the air before dying into silence, "Joanne?"

"Leave me alone!" she yelled back, her voice confused through the Maze, seeming to come from every direction at once, "Just go!"

"Let me help you!" I beg, "I understand now, I understand."

"No! None of you ever did, that's why you should leave."

Her voice suddenly became sharper, like a lens coming into focus and I knew that I was headed down the right corridor.

"Joanne, please!"

She entered my vision, her body almost indistinguishable from the vines near the top of the Wall, her arms outstretched as if she was battling wind.

"You could never understand, Orla. I just want it to end. All this running when there's no exit, it's pathetic!"

I barely had time to move as she lightly stepped onto the balls of her feet, slowly pitching herself forward, "Get them out." she croaked, her last words gently coasting through the air.

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A/N - GROUP B IS BACCKKKKKK! Also this chapter is sad and also awfully written so my bad.

Thanks so much to anyone who has ever supported this book, you all mean so much!!

- Soph xx