I'll run away with you. | the maze runner [newt]

1.3

I could barely sleep that night. All I did was toss and turn. Sometimes I'd get up and look at the sky for a while but it got me nowhere.

It was morning when Alby greeted me and started giving me a tour of the Glade. He explained how everyone contributed in their own ways. Everyone got a job and somehow everyone complied to it.

"We've got many jobs, woodcutters, gardeners, cooks and the runners."

"Runners?" I asked.

"They run around the maze, to find us a way out." 

"They must suck at their job then, considering you've been stuck here for years."

"It's harder than you think, they try their best."

I at the opening in the walls. Apparently it opened again early in the morning. Alby told me it's what happened everyday, they just hadn't figured out why.

Looking around the Glade I couldn't understand how everyone went along with it, how they just did there job and obeyed. I couldn't understand how nobody tried to go into the maze.

"Frypan's excited to have you help him out in the kitchen. He sure needs the help."

"You want me to cook? I can't cook." I actually didn't know if I could cook but it sounded nothing like me.

"You will be fine, Frypan's good company."

"What if I want to be a runner?" I asked. I wanted to leave the Glade and never return. I knew I could run, I proved it the second I ran out of that metal box.

"Nobody wants to be a runner. Things are different out there in the maze, it's dangerous and definitely not a game. For now, stick to what you're told to do."

"Aye, aye, captain." I said sarcastically.

Alby was right about something, Frypan was good company but cooking was definitely something I didn't enjoy doing.

Frypan was cheerful and he sure knew how to cook. The food smelled delicious and it made me realize how hungry I was.

I cut up some vegetables and stirred in pan for awhile but my thoughts were elsewhere. Frypan talked about the meals he made and about how he barely had any ingredients to make them with. From the way everyone greeted him when they walked by I could tell Frypan was someone everyone liked and appreciated.

"For how long have you been here?" I asked out of the blue. His eyes widened, like he almost forgot I had a voice too.

"It's been a year and a half I think."

I nearly choked hearing him say the words. I couldn't imagine being there that long.

"You will get used to it."

"Used to it? I don't wanna get used to it. I wanna get the hell out of here." I pushed the vegetables off the table in frustration.

"Hey, what have those tomatoes done to you?"

I could feel my cheeks getting red and started picking the vegetables up with my tail between my legs. Frypan grinned.

"I get it, I've been there."

"Have you ever tried to go into the maze?"

Frypan started shaking his head. I could tell he didn't like talking about the maze, just like everyone else in the Glade.

"It's a dangerous place. The only ones allowed in there are the runners."

"Who are they?"

"Minho, the keeper of the runners, fastest of them all. Then there's Ben, hardly know the guy. Lastly there's Hank and Dan."

"How did they become runners?"

"They're fast, they were chosen carefully. It's not very often we find a suitable runner."

"How hard could it be?"

"It's not just running. The walls, they move. You can't lose your head out there or it'll go wrong easily. You know why we never go out there at night?"

"No."

"Once the sun goes down and the door closes the Grievers come out. They sink their teeth into anything they can get their hands on. Of course I've never seen one, no-one has, well at least nobody alive has seen one."

"Then how do you know they exist?"

"You can hear them at night, growling."

Frypan was quick to change the subject and told me everything about all the Gladers. I could barely keep up as there were so many of them.

The day went by slowly.

After dinner I decided to go for a walk. My fingers touched the cold tall wall. I looked up at it, feeling tiny next to it.

"How was your first day?"

I recognized the voice straight away and faced towards Newt. I could tell he tried to figure out what was going on in my mind right away.

"It's was fine, I got assigned a job with Frypan, cooking's not really my thing."

"Is Frypan getting on your nerves?"

"Not really, he's been really nice. It's just— I feel useless, all I want is to get out of here."

I looked in the direction of the opening in the walls. Newt must've noticed as he sighed and said "You don't want to go in there, Julia."

"Why not? I know it's dangerous, but isn't it worth it knowing it's our way out?"

"I used to be a runner."

I had to admit I was surprised. I had never thought about Newt being a runner. I could see he was strong but everyone could see how he struggled to walk properly. I hadn't asked about it but that didn't mean I couldn't see it.

"The glade wasn't always like this, Julia. We went through dark days with people losing their minds. Almost everyone lost hope, I did." Newt's eyes showed sadness. I could feel myself getting nauseous. It made me uncomfortable seeing Newt upset.

"Hopelessness can do strange things to someone, when you feel like there's no way out you will start thinking about the worst things."

I hated it. I hated them, the people that put us in the Glade. How could someone be that cruel?

A shiver ran down my spine thinking about what Newt said. My hand grabbed his instinctively, I didn't know if it comforted him but it did comfort me.

"But I didn't get my way out, instead I got stuck with this limp. It wasn't until Alby took control of things that my senses came back to normal. He's the reason a lot of us are still alive."

He turned to look me deep in the eyes, there was a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

"I know you want to get out of here, Julia. We all want the same. But you can't just run in there, that place messes with your head."