16

                                    

                                          

Newts POV
                          
I stare at the doors which now stand together, forming a wall and blocking me from Y/N. I stare in stunned silence for a moment. She left. She ran into the Maze, willingly. 
                          
I run to the door and slam my fists against it, screaming her name desperately for what must've been hours, until my knuckles are raw and bloody. 
Sliding my back down the wall, I hug my knees to my chest and bury my face. The other boys all went to bed, so now I sit alone in the dark, sobbing. I try to tell myself she can make it, she's done it before. And she is amazing, if anyone can survive it's her. But there's still an ache in my chest, at the possibility that I'll never see her again. 
                          
Y/N was the last thing keeping me here, she's my light, my everything. And even though I've only known her a month, I know I love her. She makes me happy in a way nobody else can, and without that happiness I'd have nothing. She heals me, and loves me, and I don't know how I'd be able to live with her gone. 
                          
I think back to when I jumped, about a year ago. There was nothing to live for. I had no hope, no happiness; I forced myself to get up every day. But then Y/N came and I didn't have to fake a smile anymore. The thought of living without her again makes fresh tears stream down my face. 
                          
"I love you Y/N", I whisper as if she was right beside me, "I love you so, so much. Please don't leave me"

                          
Your POV

                          
The darkness is heavy around you, and you had to squint to see anything— a couple times you ran into the wall when turning a corner.
                          
But besides the darkness, it wasn't that bad. You were slightly on edge but not as much as before. With the knowledge that you'd survived a night before you felt reassured, as if you couldn't die because you had done it once. You strut around the Maze, actually kind of enjoying yourself. You felt free and rebellious, and every time you turned a corner your heart would jump with a rush of adrenaline. And you loved it. 
                          
After about two hours you started to tire, and you were debating sleeping—although it is risky. You found a spot at the foot of the wall, where the ivy fell like a thick blanket, and you curled up in it. The weight from the vines was comforting, and it lulled you into a deep, dreamless sleep. 
                          
———————
                          
You awake to your face wet and sticky and a mechanic whirring in your ears. You groan, and sit up, and come face to face with a griever standing over you, it's goo dripping from its blubbery body. 
                          
You almost screamed but you clasped your hand over your mouth, trying not to make too much noise.
Then something hits you: why aren't you dead yet? The Griever could easily kill you right now, and it's unlikely that it hasn't noticed you; so why aren't you dead?
                          
Slowly and carefully, you slide on your back away from the underside of the Grievers stomach. As you wiggle away from the creature, you notice the bone-like skeleton through its translucent skin. You're almost away from the Griever, but you notice a blinking red light in the centre of its chest. 
                          
For some stupid reason, you feel the need to investigate, so you reach your hand into the layer of sludge covering the Grievers body and sink into its flesh. It doesn't even flinch. 
                          
Your hands clasp around the blinking device and you rip it out of the Grievers chest—which takes some effort to rip the wires off of— to examine it. 
Although, when you snap the wires there's a loud groan and the Griever collapses on you, knocking the wind out of you. 
                          
Groaning, you squirm away from the things limp body and get to your feet, grimacing at the amount of slime all over you. You take a closer look at the Griever heart thing, noticing the number 3 flashing on a tiny screen. Putting it aside for now, you toss it into your backpack and look up at the sky. There's an orange tint to the lightening sky, and you take that as a sign morning is coming, and you start to head back to the Glade.