The First Gladers

Chapter 43: You Might Survive

 "We need to find Thomas." You say jogging along side Minho. There's only a few more hours of night. If you've survived this long there's hope you could survive the rest of the night, and hope that Thomas is still alive as well.

Minho snorts, "That Greenie is probably dead already."

Your heart sinks. He could be right.

"Maybe. But we have to at least try." You reason.

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

You slide to a stop, closing your eyes while listening to the sounds of the Maze.

"What are you do..."

"Shh!"

Silence fills the Maze except the for the sound of rustling vines and Minho's panting breaths. Then you hear it. The distant whine of a Griever mixed with the sound of a pursuit. You open your eyes and look at Minho.

"No. No, no, no. Don't tell me you want to go chase down a Griever." He sighs.

You cock your head to the side with a shrug.

"Do you have a death wish!?"

"He would do the same for us." You suggest.

"Yeah! But he's an idiot, we're not!" He stresses.

"We can be quite idiotic."

Minho groans, running his hands through his hair.

"Fine." He says, "But if I die, I'm gonna kill you."

You smirk, then take off in the direction of the Griever. The further you run the louder and more distinct the sounds become, now, you hear that there is definitely more than one Griever. The sounds of a pursuit are distinct, so after exchanging a worried glance with Minho, you continue.

After making yet another turn you spot Thomas running wildly from not just one Griever, but three. You come to a halt and watch Thomas leads them down a corridor right to a dead end, the Grievers right on his tail, you're about to call out to him when Minho places his hand over your mouth, signaling you to watch. Thomas stops abruptly, pushing his body against the wall. All three Grievers crash into a pile on the wall. Thomas switches directions, running back toward you and Minho, the Grievers slowly gathering themselves to continue the chase.

"I have an idea." Minho whispers before grabbing Thomas by the shirt and running off down the hall.

Thomas looks at the both of you in shock, then follows as you take off behind Minho. As you run you start to recognize the walls around you. Minho is leading you and the Grievers to the Cliff. The pieces click in your mind as Minho's plan becomes clear. With new intent you straighten your head and move your legs with new direction. If this works, you may just survive.

 Your footsteps fall in line behind Minho and Thomas as you run the last hall before reaching the Cliff. The Griever's murderous screeches only feet behind you. You follow suit as the boys turn the last corner, running strait toward the edge of the Cliff. You can only hope that Thomas has realized he plan by now. At the last second you watch as Minho jerks to the left, nearly escaping falling to his death. Thomas does the same to the right. You follow Minho with a quick turn. The first two Griever's plummet to their doom with howls of defeat.

You spin around to watch the third but as you turn a blade catches your shoulder as it tumbles over the edge. You reach out to grab Minho's arm, you scream as the weight of the monster rips at your shoulder. Minho grips your wrists as your body hangs over the edge, leaving only your toes on the ground. Finally, after a powerful kick from Thomas the blade yanks free of your arm and the Griever disappears over the edge. With a gasp, you collapse into Minho's arms.

As the sky begins to show the first signs of morning, Minho gently sets you on the ground, pulling bandages and a water bottle from his backpack. Thomas crouches by your side as Minho pours the water over your wound and wraps it tightly with bandages.

Without a words the three of you slowly rise to your feet and start the journey back to the Glade. You swing your arm around Minho's shoulders and let him take most of your weight as pain surfaces in your legs from your jump.

Finally the three of you reach the section of vines where you strung up Alby. You take a deep breath, fearing to look up as you expect the worst. Miraculously, you glance up to find he's right where you left him, unscathed except for his previous injuries. The urge to jump for joy bubbles inside you, although exhaustion pushes it back down. You wave on the boys as the walls start to grumble open and you slowly start to untie the vines.

Using what little strength you have left you slowly let Alby down from his hiding spot. With shaking, tired arms you somehow manage to bring him gently to the ground. You sigh and take a deep breath before putting the majority of his weight on your back as you slowly trudge back to the Glade.

Just as you're starting to wish you hadn't told the boys to go ahead of you, you turn the corner and spot Newt at the end of the hall. Immediately he leaps into action, running to greet you. With a tired grin you lay Alby on the ground and relax into Newt's embrace.

"Y/n... I though I'd lost you. Don't you ever do anything like that again." Newt whispers.

You nod into his shoulder, attempting to hide that you're blushing.

Newt then walks you gently to the med-hut, where Clint and Jeff have just left Minho and Thomas to help Alby. You almost tell Newt about your shoulder, but decide that Clint and Jeff can help you with it when they're done with Alby.

With a sigh you relax onto the med-bed as Newt starts scolding the boys for something. Any other day you would love to listen. But today is not any other day. So instead, you sleep.