Her || The Maze Runner

Fifteen

Mara turned back to the boy cowered by the tree, his head in his knees.

"Hey kid," She called out as she jogged back over to the greenie who looked up to her as she ran. Once she reached him she sat on her knees and gave him a polite smile. "How you holdin' up?"

"How am I holding up? How am I holding up, seriously?" The boy cried, his eyes narrowing before he cradled his head in his hands.

"No need to get snappy," Mara told him, reaching out for the poor boy. He looked her age, maybe older but she couldn't quite tell. She wanted to know more about him, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him anything, it wasn't as if she would get answers anyway. He wouldn't remember. She felt sympathy for the boy, for every single boy in the Glade, but she didn't want to show it. If she did, it would probably just embarrass the boy, she knew it would have embarrassed her. "I get how you feel, we've all been there."

The boy's attention snapped upwards as a metallic clicking sound came from the branches. It was a beetle blade. Mara remembered the name, and had seen plenty of metal bugs crawling around the place, but she had never seen one up close without it running away. Sadly, that day wasn't going to be her lucky day as it disappeared from sight.

"What was that?" The boy asked as he craned his neck to try and see the bug that had scuttled away.

"That was one of them beetle blades." Someone said, making both Mara and the greenie look at the owner of the voice. It was Chuck, who then dawdled over and sat next to Mara, facing the newbie who wore an expression of confusion.

"A beetle what?" The newbie asked, turning to Mara for the answer.

"Beetle blade." She answered with a slight smile. It felt good being the one answering the questions for once, and not being the most clueless one in the Glade.

"Won't hurt ya unless you're stupid enough to touch one of them." Chuck paused. "Shank."

Another shrill scream echoed through the Glade from the Homestead, making all three heads turn to the shaken building. Mara looked back at the greenie, his skin paled and white. She didn't blame him, the boy's screams were long and painful to listen to.

"What's going on over there?" The boy said, pointing towards the Homestead and the screeching.

"Don't know," Chuck shrugged, but he seemed to know more than he was letting on. Maybe Alby had told him not to tell the Newbie anything. "Ben's in there, sicker than a dog. They got him."

"They?" The newbie asked, but that wasn't what Mara wanted to ask, and it wasn't what had surprised him.

"Ben's in there?" Mara remembered him, he was the boy that was friends with Minho, a runner. She had only talked to him that once, but everyone she had met so far that had gone through the changing hadn't greeted her friendly.

"Yeah. Didn't you know?" Chuck questioned her, doubting what she had said. Ever since everyone had found put about Mara's dreams the Gladers had given her a higher status, treating her the same way they treated Alby and Newt. Maybe it was because they thought it was a sign, but it wasn't. She knew that.

She was just Mara, if she was even that.

"Who's they?"

"N- yeah. Well, I knew someone was in there, but I didn't know who. So... no, I did not know Ben was in there." She stuttered. Chuck gave her a stupid look, telling her he knew she was trying to cover up her mistake in front of the greenie.

"Who are they?!" Newbie practically shouted, his eyes were bloodshot and wet but his restraint was working. Mara turned to the boy with those eyes she felt she knew. Why had she been so selfish? She needed to be there for the boy, not try to discover how she knew him. He needed someone to be there for him.