Her || The Maze Runner

Forty Six

Why the hell was he chasing them through the Maze? Maybe it was his Runner instincts, but Mara still didn't understand. Her first instinct was to run after Minho, and so was Thomas, but a thud under the middle bed caught her attention.

"What the...?" A confused and familiar voice rang through the room. 

"Tommy, go, I'll take care of Newt." Mara turned to Thomas, who nodded in understanding before running to the door and out into the hallway. Of course Mara wanted to find Minho and stop him doing something stupid, but Newt was conscious, bloodied up and under a bed.

At once, Mara ran over to the bed and grabbed Newt by his arm. She could feel him fighting back; he didn't know it was her. "Newt, it's me Newt, they've gone." He relaxed, allowing Mara to help pull him out from under the bed. Newt didn't move, he just lay there on the wooden floor, staring up at the ceiling as his chest rose and fell, trying to suck oxygen into his body.

"Can you stand? We're not quite finished for the night, yet." Mara whispered. Newt grabbed her hands, using the strength he still had to sit up.

"I'll be okay." He winced as he stood, using Mara and the bed next to him to stand up. "Fill me in."

Mara told Newt what had happened while she helped him across the room and down the stairs. She had wanted him to stay in the room, but he wasn't going to allow it, and there was no point arguing with him when she had done the same thing plenty of times. They stopped by the first aid kit, grabbing an old towel for Newt to hold to his wound, and then they made their way outside.

Boys littered the Homestead and the rest of the Glade with chaos;  crying in corners, stammering around in shock, some just lying on the ground doing nothing. One area of the Glade that was surrounded the most was, to Mara's surprise, the Map Room.

Mara nodded towards the building and Newt lifted his head to look at the room. Newt had regained his balance, but he still wasn't back to normal. Still, he told Mara he was okay, and made her go to Thomas so he could check what all the commotion was about. She agreed, he could handle himself well.

"Hey Newt?" She said, and the boy turned back to her. There were voices in Mara's head again, but this time it was someone she hadn't expected. Say your goodbyes it told her, and she didn't want to take any chances.

The boy turned back to her, narrowing his brows. "What's up, love? Make it quick, gotta check out whatever's goin' on."

"Just remember," She smiled, walking over to the boy and grabbing his free hand. In the moment, Mara didn't know what to say. Did she pour out her heart, or just simply say goodbye? She didn't want Newt to be suspicious, but she still couldn't just not say anything. "I love you. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I'm just going to the other side of the Glade, love." Newt chuckled. "And for the record, I love you too." He winked. Then, he dropped Mara's hands and jogged over to the Map Room.

Mara sighed and her face dropped, its smile was long gone. What if she didn't see him again? Stop it, she told herself; of course she would see him again. But, why would she have to say goodbye if she was going to see him again? What if she wasn't even going to see any of the Gladers ever again? It could just be another one of WICKED's tricks, or maybe it was just Teresa messing with her. She hoped.

After a few deep breaths, Mara ran ahead to Thomas, who was staring at the Door Minho had ran through. He turned back to face Mara as she approached him, his face screwed up into a ball of shock and worry.

"Minho followed it out there!" He shouted, holding his hand up to the hallway.

"I know, idiot, I saw him too." Mara rolled her eyes and smiled as she reached him, but she didn't stop. "Don't let Newt follow me. And you, don't follow me, either. Stay out of trouble, buddy." She said, running into the Maze with the boys' voices calling out to her, telling her to come back. It was her choice to follow Minho into the Maze, her and the voice in her head.

Run it said, but it wasn't hers. It was her mothers. Keep running and don't stop. This is over for you; this part of the experiment is over. You are ill, Marie, you are very ill. It shall all be explained soon, but if you stay in the Glade you will infect others, including Newt. For now, make your way to the Cliff, further instructions will be given when you reach your destination.

Mara didn't want to listen, but she had to. The message replayed in her head until it sank in. She was ill, and it was contagious- which was never good. There was no way she was going to stay if it was going to hurt the others. But one thing stuck out in her mind, her mother had told her "this part of the experiment'. And that only meant one thing; something Mara had always had at the back of her mind, but had hoped wasn't true:

The Maze was only phase one.

Purposely, Mara avoided Minho's usual path through the Maze- if he saw her he would try to make her go back to the Glade. She ran without a flaw, maybe it was something from an old memory sparking or maybe she just had a good memory from her time as a Runner, but she knew the way to the Cliff. 

The fresh air brushing Mara's skin as she ran was relaxing, even though she was in a stressful situation, running seemed to pull the stress from her mind. She turned corner after corner, until she saw that all too familiar blank space, ending in nothingness.

Mara slowed to a stop, awaiting further instructions. As she expected, her mother's voice was back inside her head, giving her directions for what to do next.

Good. Now here comes the part you may not be so keen to do. You're going to jump off the Cliff. 

"What?" Mara gasped, taken aback by her task. Jump off the Cliff? That was a suicide mission, it was either jump and fall to her endless death, or jump and fall down the Griever Hole so she could be demolished by the beasts.

What was she supposed to do? One part of Mara was daring enough to do it, what did she have to lose? But the other part of her replied and answered her own question; she would lose Newt and her friends, she would lose the opportunity to save everyone else from living in the Glade for the rest of their lives. If she went back, if she really was ill, she could risk everyone's lives. She didn't know how ill she was, or if it was even a bad illness, but she guessed it had something to do with the hallucinations and the pain she felt only a few hours before the Griever attack.

Mara could feel the tears running down her face; her decision was fatal. Whatever she chose, how could it end in a good way? How could her life, end in a good way? All she wanted was a normal life, one she could remember and live without fearing anything. A life with school and teenage tantrums and not worrying for her own life.

Marie? You must jump, move slightly to the right and jump. Her mum's voice was in her head again, telling her what to do. She didn't want to be told what to do anymore, she wanted to do what she wanted to do.

With another sigh, she turned around to face the direction of the Maze she had just come from. As she suspected, a Beetle Blade hung on the wall to her left, watching her every move. She stormed up to the creature hanging in the ivy, and to her surprise, it didn't run away like it normally would have. it just sat there, watching her. That was how her mother knew what she was doing, her mother and god knows who else were watching her, making sure she did as they wanted her to.

"Stop controlling my life!" She yelled, pointing directly at the bug. "Stop controlling everyone's lives! You're ruining these boys' lives, you understand that, right? Everything you're doing is destroying them, even killing them! And you're just letting it happen." Mara took a deep breath, she was trying to stop herself from crying but it wasn't working. She closed her eyes, then reopened them, taking a different approach with a low, quiet voice. "How could you let this happen? You just let the Grievers tear people apart, taking their lives away from them. These boys have families! You took them away from everything!" Her voice was rising, getting louder and louder.

Please, Mara. Just jump.

"Fine! Have it your way!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, not trying to hold her emotions back anymore. Mara stormed up to the Cliff's edge, and despite everything, she did what her mum had been telling her to do:

She flung herself off the Cliff without a second glance.