Stolen [The Maze Runner Fanfiction]

L. Till Death

There has to be dozens of them, all lined up on either side of the corridor, surrounding the path to the griever hole. I groan in frustration, there is no way we will be able to beat them all.

"Oh no." Minho says beside me.

"Well, we knew we would have to fight." Newt replies, waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

"Would it be too much to hope for that they'll only kill one of us?" Kate asks.

"Probably."

"Well I'm gonna hope anyways." She answers flatly. I hear moans and groans as the rest of the group catches up. Strangely, the grievers don't charge, they just sit there waiting. I wish I could use the fire trick again, but against this many, it would be useless. My way only works if the grievers are polite enough to come at us one by one, which I highly doubt they will.

"Maybe they'll only take one." Alby says thoughtfully, having pushed his way to the front of the group. But something about the way he says it puts me on edge, like he's thinking about testing it out for himself.

"I'm not going back." He whispers, his eyes wide with fear. "I can't go back."

"Alby.... What are you-" Newt starts to ask, but before he can finish his sentence Alby runs forward, launching himself at one of the grievers. "No! Alby!" Newt screams, trying to run after him, but Thomas catches him by the shirt and holds him back. The monster attacks Alby, and soon others swarm around it, turning the scene into a rolling, spinning pile of pale green and deep red. I turn my head to the side and bury it in Minho's shoulder, unable to keep my eyes on the horror unfolding before me. I've seen grievers, but I've never seen anyone get eaten by one, and it's awful. Alby's screams of pain are mixed with metallic whirring and clicking until they're abruptly cut off, followed by a disgusting snap. I will myself not to vomit.

"He bloody sacrificed himself." Newt says absently.

"And let's not waste that." Thomas says gently, putting his hand on Newt's shoulder. It had been decided, due to their telepathic abilities, that Thomas and Teresa would type in the code.

All hope that it would only take one diminishes when the grievers roar to life. whirring and clicking as they begin to slowly approach the group.

"Alright everyone, make a path for Thomas and Teresa." Minho yells, over the whirring of the grievers. Lucky shanks, they don't even have to fight. I know that theirs is an important job however, and I ready myself to battle the oncoming grievers. I pull a large knife from my backpack, and hold a spear in the other.

"Let's go!" Minho yells, and the crowd surges forward. I start to run with them, but I'm stopped dead in my tracks by someone grabbing my arm.

"No matter what happens today, I love you." Minho says, pulling me quickly to him and kissing me roughly. I try to remember everything about it, commit it to memory, just in case. "Now we have to go." He says before taking off towards the nearest griever.

What if I never see him again?

Panic fills my chest, but I push past it, charging at a griever of my own. It runs forward to meet me, jabbing wildly in the air with its arms. I dodge them, dropping to the ground and sliding seconds before I reach it. I skid underneath it, stabbing my knife straight up through its head. It lets out an earsplitting moan before going limp. I slide out the back just before it collapses on me, narrowly avoiding falling over the edge of the cliff. I stand up quickly and turn to face the next griever, this time lacking a knife.

I tune out the screaming, the battle cries, whirring and clicking, and focus on my target. A griever that nearly has Mallory pinned to the ground. I feel a sharp slice go through my arm, but I ignore it, shoving my spear into the grievers head. It shrieks and recoils, allowing Mal to slip out from under it. She nods her thanks and joins me, prodding the griever until it starts backing up.

"Push it over the Cliff!" I scream over the ensuing chaos. Mal nods and shoves her spear into the grievers body, forcing it backwards. I do the same, and soon the griever is scooting backwards inch by inch. We duck and maneuver around the grievers arms, succeeding in avoiding critical injury, but receiving plenty of scrapes and cuts in the process. I feel another griever's blade slice my back, before its attention is focused on another glader. I wince in agony before returning my efforts to the griever in front of me.

"One more time!" Mal shouts, holding up her fingers and counting down. On three we both shove as hard as we can, sending the griever tumbling over the edge. I turn around and duck just in time to avoid being decapitated by a flailing griever. I dive quickly out of the way to keep from being knocked over the cliff.

Hurry up Thomas! What the heck is taking them so long?

The griever tries once again to grab me, and I block it with my spear, turning it sideways to intersect the griever's blade. The spear breaks in half, shattering into two pieces around me.

Shuck. I think as the griever swings it claw, knocking me to the ground. It attempts to stab me but I roll to the side, only to be stopped by another one of its flailing arms. Now I'm trapped between two arms, with a blade headed straight for my face. I cover my head with my arms, though I doubt it will do any good.

Well, life was nice while it lasted.

Suddenly the griever stops moving, collapsing in a heap on top of me.
"Well it's about freaking time Thomas." I shout out loud, though I know he can't hear me. I sit in dark silence for a few minutes, covered by the griever, just trying to catch my breath, before I hear my name being called.

"Skylar!!! Skylar?!" I can hear Minho frantically shouting my name from somewhere to my left. He's ok. I think with a sigh of relief. "Skylar!" He screams again, and I can hear the panic in his voice. He thinks I'm dead.

"I'm here!! But I'm stuck? Can you get this thing off of me?" I yell back, my voice muffled by the grievers body. I can only hope he can hear me, as I struggle to free myself from the griever.

"Skylar?" He shouts again, but this time it's more of a question,  and he's a lot closer.

"Yes, yes it's me now help me get out!" I scream, claustrophobia causing me to begin to panic. I hear footsteps close by, but then they pass.

"Skylar where are you? Keep talking so I can follow your voice." He calls out. So he can hear me.

"I'm over hear! Underneath the griever! Come get me! I can't breathe!" I yell, still trying to wiggle out from under it. "Where are you?!" Finally I hear footsteps again. "I hear you walking! you're right next to me!" I shout. The footsteps stop, and then suddenly I feel the griever being pushed off of me.
Quickly I scramble out from underneath it, shuddering and trying to brush off all of the slime, but it's no use, I'm covered head to toe in griever slime, mixed with blood and dirt. Lovely.

"Thank God you're ok." Minho says, pulling me into a hug as soon as I'm standing. I hug him back, beyond grateful that we both made it out alive. My body starts to shake as the adrenaline fades, leaving me weak and exhausted.  Both of us have cuts and slices everywhere, our clothes torn to shreds during the battle.

I pull back and turn around, looking to see what surrounds me. I gasp at what I find, horror filling my body at the scene laid out in front of me.

Dead.