Error | The Maze Runner / Newt ? ?

{0.7}

"I don't know about you, amigo, but I'm not going back," Theo shot back in reply. "My hip's hurting from all this walking, and I am not letting this all be for nothing."

Of course- Theo's hip. A sudden realization pricked at my heart and deflated it like a balloon. How was Theo going to travel the entire hundred miles to the cure?

"Theo's right," Minho said, which was the first time I'd ever heard him speak Theo's name. "And so is Thomas. No way we're going back. Spread out a couple of feet from each other, then run. Hunch down, and if something comes near your head, hit the living crap out of it."

No one dared to argue. We spread out just as he told us, and ran.

I tried not to think too much about the blood of a dead boy that was still on my skin.

-/-

I had forgotten how much I hated running. I hated it even more so when I had no idea where I was going and if I was going to be attacked by a metal ball that would slice off my head or not.

Only one more person was a victim. It was Xan, but I could only tell because of the sharp sound of his screams that echoed in my skull.

We kept running, having no choice but to ignore him. It made the nausea in my stomach worsen, my mouth tasting coppery as I breathed in the dusty air. My lungs hurt from the long distance we were covering, my short legs having to move twice as fast as anyone else's. My sore muscles ached already.

I slammed into Minho's back, feeling as if I had run straight into a wall. He spun around and blindly grabbed my arm before I toppled backward. I could hear his pants coming rapidly from his mouth as he yelled, "Stop!"

"Why?" Frypan questioned, trying to cover up his wheezing.

"'Cause I almost broke my shins on something up there!" Minho released my arm. "I think it's a staircase."

"Well, let's go up 'em!" Frypan suggested way too cheerfully.

"Ya think?" Minho replied with the usual spark of sarcasm. "What would we do without you, Frypan? Seriously." I could almost hear him rolling his eyes. Much more quietly, he muttered to me, "Dylan, follow behind me up the stairs."

I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me. When an awkward lapse of silence caused me to realize my mistake, I croaked out, "Okay."

I could feel the air shift as Minho turned around. The slight metallic sound of his feet pounding up the stairs rung in the air as if the steps were made of thin metal. I followed directly behind, feeling slightly weary that I couldn't see where I was going. More pounds of feet chorused behind me.

A bang sounded from directly in front of me, causing me to slam into Minho again. The person behind me grunted as they hit me, and several more followed.

"Ow!" Minho exclaimed.

"You okay?" Newt asked from below.

"What'd...you hit?" Thomas questioned through labored breaths.

Minho huffed. "The shuck top, that's what. We hit the roof, and there's nowhere else..." He trailed off. I could hear him sliding his hands along the surface of the ceiling above us. "Wait! I think I found—"