Redamancy (Minho | The Maze Runner)

六 : Grievers

The next day she awakened from a touch of a hand on her shoulder, and her eyes darted open. Her body clock was such that she woke up on time for each day without needing anyone to help, so she panicked a little inside. She turned quickly to face whoever it was, before another hand was placed over her mouth.

Qiufeng let a squeak of fear escape her, but then relaxed at the sight of Minho shushing her. "It's just me."

Once he had let go of her mouth, she sat up and breathed deeply, calming herself down. Glancing up to the Korean boy, he beckoned to her as he started walking away. What could he possibly want from her at this ungodly hour? Even the runners were still sleeping!

She gave him a suspicious look that he responded to by rolling his eyes, but followed him anyway, blanket draped around her and all.

After getting out of the Homestead and successfully not waking anyone else, Minho broke into a run across the glade. Qiufeng followed, reluctantly bringing herself to run so early in the morning. He stopped once they had reached the west wall.

"Okay Feng," he said once they had neared the humongous wall, and Qiufeng felt herself raising an eyebrow at the new nickname. It was better than 'greenie' she supposed, but still.

"Feng?" she repeated before he could continue with his reason for bringing her out so early.

"Saying your whole name is mouthful," Minho replied simply, giving her an amused smirk.

"Minho is a mouthful, how about just 'Min'?" Qiufeng folded her arms.

"No." He made a face and continued before the other could interject anymore. "So you probably know about everything you need to know inside the glade, but seeing you curious about the Maze a few days ago made Alby worried and so he wants to make sure you know what's out there."

Minho stepped up to the wall and pushed away the thick ivy, revealing a dirty window about two feet wide. She raised an eyebrow at the revelation but obliged and stared into it, intrigued by the endless corridors and mysterious air, but after a while it... Got boring. She glanced back to Minho.

"Wow. Very interesting," Qiufeng said monotonously, tugging her blanket closer to her.

"Just wait," he said, seemingly not amused any more than she was.

She stood there looking at the window like an idiot, thinking about all the sleep she was missing. Minutes passed, and there was still nothing that looked of any interest. Until she heard it. There was an eerie metallic sound coming closer and instinctively she backed away from the window, uncertainty etched into her face. Whirling and sounds of gears turning, she felt her stomach twisting as the sounds grew louder. Then finally, she saw it.

Eyes widening, she stood frozen in place as she stared at the half machine, half flesh creature. She could roughly make out saws and blades protruding along its body, but goodness knows what she had missed in the dim lighting. It was painfully slow in passing, as if it knew that it was being watched fearfully behind the glass and seemed to enjoy her mental torment. It seemed like eternity until that creature had passed entirely. She continued staring at the window, opening her mouth to say something. Nothing came out but a strangled gasp.

Her several days here had been light hearted, happy even, but now the girl realized the severity of the situation she was in. Everything outside the walls screamed of danger, now that she had saw that monstrosity.

"Still feel like going out there?" She heard Minho ask, but couldn't find something to reply with.

Qiufeng felt herself tearing up a little and Minho, sensing something was wrong, stepped to her side. He hesitated, but awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay." He reassured, squeezing gently. "Nothing gets through those walls."