Her || The Maze Runner

Thirty Two

Mara turned to her side to face an empty bed, the Sun's heat washing over Mara's back and scorching her skin. She turned over towards the light and from its position, she could guess it was about midday. Midday? No one was allowed to sleep in that late, so why was she only just waking up? Maybe she was just getting special treatment.

She pulled the thin sheets off her body and sat up, stretching her arms up into the air. Mara crawled out of bed and reached into the box under the bed opposite her, picking out a fresh pair of clothes and throwing them onto the bed above.

She let her hair down and brushed through it after replacing her fresh clothes with the ones she wore. After a minute or two of sitting in silence Mara stood and immediately clutched her stomach. Her instincts had expected there to be pain, but of course none came. She didn't get it, how could there be no pain?

Mara slid on her boots and began her descent into the Glade. As she walked she found her mind wandering, slipping out of reality, when all of a sudden, a certain word lodged itself into her head.

Float.

The word stood out to her, sticking out in her head. She repeated it over and over in her mind. Why that word? What was so special about the word float? Mara shrugged it off, it was probably just something else she wouldn't be able to figure out. A memory she couldn't recollect.

She found Newt near the front door of the Homestead talking to another Glader. He sent the boy off after realising that Mara stood behind him.

"Mornin' sunshine. Get a goodnight sleep?"

"Actually, I did." Mara smiled as she approached Newt. She looked around the Glade, but none of her friends seemed to be around. "Where is everyone?"

"Look around love; everyone." Newt laughed, gesturing to the boys working around the Glade. Mara sighed and rolled her eyes, despite letting out a low chuckle. "Minho's in the Maze, and I think Chuck's over by the buggin' Slammer with Thomas. Servin' his punishment. I still think it's a load of klunk to leave the shank locked in there for savin' Alby and Minho. Bloody bollocks." 

"I'm gonna go see how he's holdin' up." Mara said. Newt nodded her off as she began her short walk to the Slammer.

The concrete building was strangely standing in between the Homestead and the north wall, hidden from the rest of the Glade by long, ragged bushes. She remembered where it stood from Ben's Banishing, she remembered seeing him walk from the building to meet his fate. The building bared only one tiny window and wooden door, which was locked from the outside by a big rusting latch.

Mara approached the small window and peeked inside. Thomas sat with his back to the furthest wall, popping his cheeks. He looked extremely bored, which wasn't a surprise since he'd had to spend a full day inside it.

"Hey shank, how's it goin'?"

"Thank God." Thomas smiled when he noticed Mara, rising to his feet. "Been hauled up in here for a good few hours."

"Don't worry, you've got plenty of time left." Mara winked. She wished him luck, and definitely didn't envy the boy. He walked over to the window and peered through, his eyes meeting hers. Thomas smiled softly, his mood changing to become much cooler and more emotional.

"I'm glad you're alive, Mara. Watching you die..." Thomas shook his head and his eyes began to well up with tears.

"Shh. Don't talk about it." Mara said, holding her finger to her lips. She didn't like to see him upset, especially when he was upset because of her. All she wanted was for Thomas and the rest of the Gladers to be happy and out of the Glade. She wanted them to be free from the grasp of the Grievers and go back to their families. "How 'bout changin' the topic? For example, why did you go crazy in the Homestead? Why did you run out into the Maze, after Minho?"

"Did you... hear anything then? When we were in the Homestead. From the girl?" The boy's eye's left Mara, turning to the floor.

"No, did you? Did she say something to you?" Mara wanted her eye's to reach his again, to regain that connection of trust. He didn't move, he just shook his head and kicked the wall between them with his foot. He didn't answer. "Thomas?"

"You won't believe me."

"I can't not believe you if you don't tell me in the first place Tommy boy." Mara told him with sarcasm. Thomas finally looked back up at Mara.

"She was in my head Mara." He began, pointing at his head with his left hand. His voice was laced with a nervous cry and his eyes shone with fear. Something inside of him sprang forward and grabbed Mara's attention, something Mara couldn't describe. It was as if from that one sentence she could feel his emotions and pain. The boy was damaged and broken, but she didn't know why. Maybe it was the Maze, maybe it wasn't. "Her voice, it must be her's. The girl in the coma. Teresa."

"Teresa?" Mara asked, the name jogging her memory of the girl in her dreams. She was the one that had spoken to her before, and Mara hoped she would speak to her again. "Maybe you two have some sort of special connection."

"You believe me?" Thomas seemed curious, narrowing his eyes. "What do you know Mara? What haven't you told me?"

"She was in my dreams. I know her, I recognise her but I can't place her face." She stuttered, annoyed at herself for not being able to recollect how she knew the girl with a name. Teresa. A name she knew, a name she recognised and longed to know why.

I'm a friend.

Mara spun around to look for the voice, but there was no one there. Of course, she knew exactly what had happened. The girl was there. She was inside her head, talking to her as if they were friends. Mara knew her voice, her soft voice. It was one she had heard earlier, but she had only just realised.

Teresa had been repeating the word float in her head, it had been the girl that had told her that one word, but why was it so special? Had Thomas heard it too?

"W-" Mara shushed the boy before he could continue to talk. The girl was speaking again.

We did this to them. Please wake me up.

"Did you... hear that too?" Thomas asked in awe, his eyes widened. Mara slowly nodded. How could they talk inside their heads? How was that possible? It didn't make sense, Thomas could hear her too. What did she want? Maybe there was a reason she was reaching out to them, maybe everyone in turn would hear the girl. Mara didn't know what to believe. 

"I'm gonna go." Mara said and Thomas pulled a face. She wanted to see the girl herself, to look at her face and body. She wanted to study this girl's face until she remembered her. She wanted to remember everything.

"What? Where are you going? Didn't you just hear that too? Mara!" The boy shouted as Mara began her walk back into the Glade. She wanted to tell him, but she felt like she shouldn't.  Mara just kept walking, not stopping when Newt acknowledged her or when Adam purposely bumped into her as he walked past.

She spent the rest of the day with Teresa, watching the girl. The only movement was the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, in and out. Then a twitch in her finger, sliding up her arm and head.

Teresa's eyes flickered open, sucking in a deep breath and sharply sitting upwards.

Mara stumbled backwards, knocking her chair over as Thomas did when Teresa spoke to him. She was awake, the girl in front of her was awake. Mara didn't know whether to get Newt or say with the coma-free girl.

The girl's head snapped towards Mara, her mouth moving but without sound. All of a sudden the girl screamed, her voice piercing through the air. "The end is near. Run, Mara. Run!"