Her || The Maze Runner

Twenty Eight

The first Griever jabbed it's machinery at the three Gladers, who dove towards different walls. Mara followed Minho to the Maze wall and watched as the first Griever tumbled over the Cliff and into the black pit below them. The second did the same, unable to help itself from plunging to its death. Their cries were quickly cut off as they fell, which seemed unusual. The third Griever dug it's sharp claw into the stone surface, but it's momentum had been too much for it. Like the others, the Griever fell off the Cliff edge with its scream instantly cut off. It was as if the creatures had disappeared instead of fallen.

But there was still one Griever that stopped just in time. Mara ran forward as the Griever's back spikes swung at her in fury, but she ignored them as they jabbed at her skin, nipping her flesh. She kicked the Griever hard in the back and sent it spiralling down into the abyss, leaving the Maze in silence.

Mara turned back to the two boys, both of whom were staring back at her and the Cliff. The Grievers were gone. They had killed four Grievers.

"Where the hell have you been? One minute you're watchin' the Banishing and the next you're lying on the floor with a shuck needle hanging from your shuck arm! And now you're here, a whole day later!" Minho raised his voice and hit Mara on her arm, but he couldn't hide the happiness in his voice or stop his smile from spreading across his lips. He was happy to see her, and happy to know they had killed four Grievers.

"Its not exactly... my..." Mara speech slurred, an intense pain rushing through her stomach. What now? She clutched her hands to her ripped shirt and lifted it to reveal a deep cut running from one side of her body to the other, blood oozing from its core. The Griever had gotten her, it had slashed her skin but not stung her. Or... had it? 

She fell to her knees, Minho and Thomas ran to her side. Minho dropped the rucksack wrapped around his back and pulled his top above his head. He leaned down and wrapped the top around Mara's stomach as a bandage for her major injury.

"Keep calm." Thomas held her back, trying to keep the girl balanced. Every movement hurt, it was the worst pain she had felt. Her stomach stung and dripped blood, which had already stained Minho's sweat covered top. 

"What else am I going to do shank? It must've gotten me before I kicked it off the Cliff." Mara scowled. She wasn't trying to be mean, but the distress brought on anger.  Mara looked up to the boy, who's eyes had begun to leak with tears. Was that because of her or the Grievers? She wanted to apologise, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the lacerations in her body.

"We're gonna take you back to the Glade. Back to Newt. You'll get back, don't stress that little brain of yours." Minho told her as he engulfed her with his muscular arms. The boy lifted Mara into the air, his skin rubbing her wound. Once Mara was securely in his arms he began to run, and Thomas was close behind him.

"Are there more of them? Did we kill them all?" Thomas asked with a mixture of curiosity and hope. But also fear. There couldn't be more, if there were, Mara wouldn't be able to escape her fate.

Minho looked up into the sky, it was close to sunrise already. He snorted. "Somehow we made it to sunrise, or we would've had ten more on our butts before long. I can't believe it. Seriously. We made it though the whole night- never been done before. But enough of that- need to get Mara back to the Med-Jacks now."

"We need to get Alby off the wall." Thomas said as they ran. Alby? Mara heard his name, but she found it hard to concentrate one what the Gladers were saying. She heard something about magic and the Grievers, but that was about it. Her mind had wandered to her death. She was certain that if she didn't get back soon she was going to die of blood loss. Mara could already feel herself fading, and it took all of her strength to keep awake.

"You still with us Mara?" One of the boys asked, but Mara couldn't tell who. She grunted in reply. "We're almost there, I promise."

The boys kept running for what seemed like hours and never stopped. Mara kept her ear pressed against Minho's bare chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat as he ran. It was racing, Minho was scared of something. Maybe he knew that Mara was going to die, maybe that was what worried him.

But then their pace slowed, and a familiar British accent boomed in Mara's ear."What happened? What in the bloody hell- Mara? You found her? Med-Jacks! Get your butts here now!"

Mara had only just noticed that she was against Newt with her feet mangled across the floor. Newt applied pressure to her wound, trying to save her life. She managed to open her eyes to face her best friend, a ghostly complexion.

"We have to save Alby." Thomas said with concern.

"Then go bloody save him shank!" Newt sternly yelled back, his attention never leaving Mara.

"Calm down. It's going to be okay Newt." Mara whispered to the boy holding her, but she didn't believe a word she said. She just wanted Newt to stay calm and not worry about her. If he worried, it would make him worse, and that was one thing Mara didn't want.

"Calm down? I can't, M. I can't. Please don't fade, keep your eyes open love. I can't- you can't die. I won't let you. Please." Newt begged her, a stray tear from his bloodshot eyes dripped onto Mara's forehead. With all the strength she had left, Mara reached up to Newt and wiped away a second tear trickling down his cheek.

"I'll be okay, Newt. I promise. If it's my turn to die, then its my turn to die. Please Newt. Don't cry. I don't like it when you cry. If you cry I'll have to tickle the sadness out of you." Newt let out a small sad chuckle, but he held Mara tighter, cradling her in his arms. 

"Please." He sobbed quietly, resting his forehead against Mara's shoulders. 

The pain rushing though her body had intensified so much Mara couldn't feel anything. Her body had become numb to the everlasting pain. Newt was there, but she didn't want him to see her die.

The Med-Jacks were now sitting in front of them, trying to bandage up the wound with a string of dressing. But Newt never let Mara go, he just held her as the Med-Jacks did their work. Mara knew it wasn't going to work, she was going to die. All hope had been lost. She was just grateful the Griever had gotten her and not Thomas or Minho.

"Newt." Mara called to him. The boy lifted his head and watched the Med-Jacks work, softly replying to the mention of his own name.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. I can't feel any pain. But I know its still there. I'm going to die, and we both have to accept that. Just promise me one thing." 

"Anything. Anything you want and I'll do it." Newt told her, pressing his lips against her ear.

Mara eyes were closing and there was nothing she could do to stop them. People died every day, and sometimes the people who died were people you knew personally. And one of those people, will eventually be you. No one lives forever, this was her time. It was her time to die, and she was willing to die and leave behind her mark.

"Be a good boy, don't get yourself into any trouble." She tried to smile, but a small sob escaped her lips. Newt nodded, tears flowing from the boy's eyes. Mara hated to see him so upset, but she didn't have much time left. "I'll see you tomorrow Newt. Goodnight."

A/N

Yeah, that was evil. Did Mara die? Hmmmm, maybe I am that evil to actually kill  her off.

On another note thank you soooo much for 5k and just for reading this in general! I really hope you have been enjoying this book. So, maybe I will see you in another chapter, or maybe this is the last. Maybe you'll never find out what happens next...

I'm just playing with you, of course theres more! Keep your eyes out for the next update, I'm sure you'll like it.

-Lows