Her || The Maze Runner

Forty Seven

An ice cold temperature shot through Mara's skin, pricking her flesh like pins as she entered the Griever Hole. It was as if she had jumped feet first into a pool of freezing water, or dipping her body in ice. Everything around her went even darker than it had been, and she landed feet first on a slippery surface- which she lost her balance on and fell backwards with a thud.

Mara's head lifted up and she narrowed her eyes, trying to take in everything around her. She couldn't see anything but the pitch blackness, her senses were weakened and all she could do was follow her mother's instructions.

Stand up, and walk forward. Her mother told her, but it was when her voice rang through her head Mara realised what she had done. She had jumped into the Grievers' pit. Why the hell had she done that? At any moment one of the horrific creatures could jump out at her and rip her to shreds. But what if that was what WICKED wanted? If Mara really was ill, it would be easier to just end her life than cure her.

Reluctantly, Mara stood up. There was no point in trying to get back to the Maze; it was too far above her, and she would never find her way back in the darkness. She couldn't even see it above her. All she could do was follow the instructions she was being given and hope for the best- which was very unlikely.

She took a deep breath before doing anything, then gulped. A strong damp and stale atmosphere revealed itself to her as she took her breath and attempted to gather her bearings. Her left foot found its grip to the floor, and then she lifted it, moving it forward and deeper into the Grievers' home.

A few feet in front of her, a dull green glow shone a from a small square of glass and fell against the floor- which she could now see was covered in shining oil, making it impossible to tell what the floor actually looked like. Beneath that, a keyboard was set into the wall at an angle, making it was easy for someone to stand and type on it. Was that... the exit?

But it all seemed to easy. Just follow the instructions, and you get to leave. Surely, there had to be a catch? The Grievers weren't even fighting her, they just let her walk right through their home without a care.

Even so, Mara continued down the tunnel, closing the gap between her and the keyboard. That's it, her mother encouraged her, and Mara could hear the smile in her voice. It seemed sincere, but she didn't know what to believe; the woman wasn't her friend, she was an enemy.

"What now?" She whispered, afraid to speak too loud in case she woke the beasts that slept all around her. Her voice was timid and nerve-filled, she had given up her fight, but that didn't mean she was done fighting forever. If she was leaving- which she now knew was correct- she would face her mother and the rest of WICKED, and then she could say what she wanted. Her mother wasn't going to kill her, she was sure of it.

You know the code, Marie. It's been told to you plenty of times. She told her, and Mara knew exactly what she was talking about. The words. The rhyme Teresa had told her, the words that had been forced into her mind.

Mara stepped up to the keyboard and placed her hands in the keys. She looked up to the dimly illuminated screen, which told her that a pass code was required. It was a five by five box, separated into smaller boxes for each letter go in. With another steady breath, Mara pressed the first key, followed by the rest of the word.

How could she be so calm about everything? She didn't understand how she hadn't fallen apart completely yet. Never the less, she kept typing;

FLOAT

CATCH

BLEED

DEATH

STIFF

PUSH

Something was wrong; it wasn't letting her type the word 'push'. However many times she tried it, it wouldn't work. What was going on? Mara felt her heart physically drop and her stomach churned- she was now certain that it was a trap. The whole thing had been fake- a ruse. There was no exit this way, it was just false hope.

A loud thud erupted through the room, and Mara spun around. The Grievers. They were waking up.

"You know what, mum?" She spat and shook her head in disbelief, knowing the woman was listening. "I'm not even going to use Glader slang for this, so go fuck yourself, you absolute bitch."

Mara swung back around to face the computer with a new objective- survive. Maybe she had missed something, maybe there was still a way out. But what could she do before the Grievers got her? She had nothing to defend herself with, no protection or weapons.

Taking another approach, Mara stepped back to analyse the computer fully. And then, something took her eye. A small button was sitting right there, in front of her eyes, just underneath the screen and the keyboard. How could she have missed that?

She collapsed to the floor so she could see the button properly in the dull lighting. But then the clicking sounded behind her; the Grievers were awake. Mara tried to block it out, tried to focus on what was in front of her; a small red button attached to the wall only a few inches above the floor with three black words printed across it.

KILL THE MAZE

It was so obvious- how hadn't she seen that? If she pressed the button, she was going to save her life- hopefully- but what did it mean by kill the maze? Did it mean, shut down its power, or would it kill everyone else too? It was her choice; press the button and risk everyone's life, or let the Grievers tear her apart. And that, was an easy decision.

She crawled backwards, leaving the button un-pressed. Mara knew what she was doing- she didn't want to risk the Gladers' lives. But then she stopped, what if it saved them? They didn't want to spend the rest of their lives in the Glade, surrounded by the Maze. What if pressing the button helped them? It could get them home, back to their families and memories. It could save all of their lives.

Mara did what she did- she had to. In the moment, she felt like it was the best thing to do; she pushed the button, and nothing happened.

"Well that was a waste of a decision." Mara chuckled, through everything, she found it funny and she didn't know why.

But then, the place fell silent, the Grievers' stopped. Maybe something, anything, was about to happen. Maybe she had made the right choice. Maybe she had saved herself, and the rest of the Glade. Or maybe, she had just been selfish and killed everyone else.

From the silence came a disturbing creek of hinges. Something had opened up.

Mara had found the exit to the Maze.

20K. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL TESHEARGATEHSRHRTGNRTNRTNARDBARG THANK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!! <3 <3

Can you tell Im excited? Seriously though, 20K? Thank everyone who is reading this, it means soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to me its ridiculous. Just

Oh yeah, did I mention I hit FREAKING 20K? ;)