𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍 | Gally | ✓

Chapter Nineteen

The walls threatened to close in on me the further I ran. I followed Gally's trail. I had no idea how he knew where he was going or why he'd chosen to leave the rest of the boys behind. 

I called out his name multiple times but not once he stopped or looked around. I followed his zig zagged trail, running in and out of different hallways. As my heart beat pumped with more force I realized something; he'd never met a single dead end.

The thick vines that stretched out from the Glade became more scarce. the walls grew colder and blank, which would make it harder to retrace steps. An unsettling bubbling boiled in my stomach. A sense of poisonous warmth planted in my core and sprouted out through the rest of my body. I was reminded once again of the horrors from the night before and so many years ago. Except they only made appearances in my thoughts, I refused to let any image infiltrate my sight.

My breathing stiffened and a cramp was forming in my side, forcing me to slow to a jog. Even with my best attempts to push through it, I had lost. I couldn't slow down. It was hard enough trying to keep up with Gally as it was. I had almost taken the wrong turn a few times and missed him. The sprinting figure in the distance in front of me was starting to grow smaller and smaller as he continued to move.

"Gally!" I cried out one final time before he took a sharp left. I had lost him. The adrenaline had blocked out my enflamed legs until I collapsed on the dusty cement ground. My cramp had worsened and didn't stop when I laid across the ground. Sweat dripped down my back. I felt the cold floor press abasing my skin, giving me a somewhat relieving feeling in such an anxiety ridden place. My burning hot cheek pressed against the ground as sweat dripped down my forehead. I imagined the sun above me shrivelling me up, my body evaporating into thin air. It was all I wanted in this moment, to give up.

For the past three years I had given everything my all. You needed to put your best efforts in every single day in the Glade just to survive. I was never given a break, none of us were. That wasn't Alby's fault, it was the creators. I was almost jealous of the boys who had died in the griever attack. I should have let that griever kill me. It was doing me a favour and I had refused.

The sun beat down on my skin and the ground was no longer cool. I rolled over onto my back, my eyes were struck by the intense bright sky. My hand covered my eyes to provide some shade but the light was still unbearable. I knew I would never catch up to Gally, even if I had continued running I'd probably lose him to the maze.

The intrusive thought of losing Gally and more of my friends kept breaking through. I needed to ignore it, block it out, but the more I tried to distract myself the stronger the thoughts grew. There was no way Gally could know how to get through this labyrinth. Minho and the other runners would know, but Gally would probably get lost. A hungry griever could attack him. He'd survived the night once, but surely not twice. How would I get out? I don't know my way back and the grievers-If I encountered one a third time it would be the last.

My mind continued racing as I laid motionless on the ground with nothing but the rapid movement of my chest. I wanted to just close my eyes and vanish. I couldn't take on another panic attack. I shut my eyes and wished for all of this to go away.

The sun warmed my body more than it needed to. The floor flattened my back, restricting the movement of my chest rising and falling as my eyes somewhat adjusted to the sky. As I hopelessly stared off into nothing in particular, a flicker caught my eye. I looked over to where it came from then it flashed again. It was a small purple light high in the sky. I squinted my eyes to get a better look and it flickered again. It seemed to be almost electric, like a tiny spark from above. The closer I looked the more I saw it spark then shrivel up.