Saudade // The Maze Runner // Thomas [IN EDITING]

Chapter 8

My face went slack with shock.

"You did what?" I exclaimed.

He cracked the code. We can get out of here. I can see Thomas for real. I thought frantically, and my heart nearly missed a beat when I thought about seeing Thomas face-to-face.

Minho didn't even respond, but simply grabbed my arm and dragged me into the Map Room. Laid out over the model of the Maze were hundreds of the maps the runners had drawn.

"..so what'd you find?" I asked, not immedatly seeing his discovery.

"The maze is a pattern!" He said excietly, "We thought it wasn't, we thought that the walls moved randomly, but they don't! Each day, a different outer section is open, and the walls rearangnge to make it possilble to reach its entrance. There are eight sections."

In one swipe, Minho whipped all of the maps onto the floor, revelaling the model of the Maze below. He grabbed a few rocks from the floor and using a sharp pebble scribbled numbers onto them. He then placed the labeled rocks, one at each outer section, until there were none left in his hands.

"I thought that the Maze was repeating itself in a slow and confusing cycle, but in reality doors were closing and opening. Some of the maps looked the same, but the places couldn't be reached again to get a solid idea of how it looked." He finished.

He rested his palms on the table, leaning heavily as he took his first breath since speaking. I didn't know what to think, so I just stood there, open mouthed while Minho caught his breath.

Then, my face broke into a large grin, before I wrapped my arms around Minho's waist, lifting him up. He grabbed my sides and slung me over his shoulder before running out of the Map Room and to the Homestead.

"Minho, let me do-" I pleaded, but was cut off by his yell.

"Tonight is a night of celebration, Gladers! Grab Gally's moonshine and let's have a bonfire!" He hollared, and the Gladers streamed out of the Homestead, smiles light up on their faces. Several boys had crates of Gally's bitter drink, and were holding it above their heads like trophies. Other boys ran to get dry wood and soon had a large pile of branches.

Alby came downstairs and looked tired, probably from dealing with Gally. His face brightened when he saw the impending celebration and he grabbed a torch, lit it, and threw it at the bonfire, igniting it.

Flames raced up the branches until they reached the top creating a flaming pyramid of heat. The boys broke out the moonshine and soon everyone was relaxed and having a good time. Everyone was smiling and laughing - some a bit too loud to be sober, and it was honestly the most fun I'd had since I left the glade.

Then, Gally screamed a bone-chilling wail. Everyone paused, looking at the homestead, and only the crackling of the fire could be heard. Slowly, conversation resumed and the level of noise once again reached a comfortable level.

I decided to check on Gally and give Clint and Jeff time to relax, so I made my way up to the Med-Jack's room in the Homestead.

Gally was lying on his back, his skin tinged greenish and his veins garishly prominent. His face looked strained and his biceps and fists were flexed to their fullest extent, tendons popping. I shooed Jeff and Clint away and seated myself beside Gally's bed. Every few seconds he would twitch, and his face would contract into a grimace as his muscles clenched.

It was obvious he was in pain, and outside the happy laughs and sounds of celebration continued. He didn't scream often, only about once each hour, but when he did it was terrifying. His eyelids would open, the whites of his eyes visible, and he would writhe animalisticaly on the cot, his fingers clenching as if he was grabbing for something.