Error | The Maze Runner / Newt ? ?

{0.7}

A click cut him off, and I was blinded by searing brightness that caused my pupils to shrink to a minuscule size. My eyelids squeezed shut, but it was no use. Orange light danced behind my skin and a scorching hot heat drifted down on me.

Minho shut the door with another click. Spots of color blocked my vision.

"Shuck me," Minho commented. "Looks like we found a way out, but I think it's on the freaking sun! Man, that was bright. And hot."

"Let's just crack it open and let our eyes get used to it," Newt suggested. I heard the sound of his footsteps coming up the stairs, then felt his presence right beside me. His arm brushed my own. "Here's a shirt- wedge it in there. Everybody shut your eyes!"

Minho pushed the hatch open a grunt. Newt quickly stuffed the shirt into the right corner, having rolled it into a ball so it allowed light to enter. I felt as if a million flashlights were being shined into my eyes, but my vision was starting to clear up. A few tedious minutes passed until I was able to see clearly.

"Anybody blind now?" Minho asked. "I feel like my eyeballs are roasted marshmallows."

I nodded as I blinked away tears. The brightness of the outside world seared at my eyes, and the dust in the air didn't help at all. Newt rubbed his eyes from beside me.

"What's out there?" Harvey questioned.

Minho shrugged as he peered outside. I was a little bit too short to see much except the cloudless sky above, so he definitely had the upper hand. "Can't really tell. All I can see is a lot of bright light – maybe we are on the shuck sun. But I don't think there are any people out here." A pause. "Or Cranks."

"Let's get out of here, then," Winston urged from the very bottom of the steps. How he got below Thomas, I wasn't sure. "I'd rather get a sunburn on my head than be attacked by some ball of steel. Let's go!"

"All right, Winston," Minho replied. "Keep your undies on– I just wanted to let our eyes adjust first. I'll throw the door all the way open to make sure we're okay. Get ready." He took one step upward so his shoulder was pressed against the hatch. "One. Two. Three!"

His legs straightened as he heaved the door open. Light and a bone-dry heat burst into the stairwell, the door creating a grinding, squealing sound as it opened. At first, all I could see was white. Then my eyes adjusted even further, and I felt my skin beginning to bake already.

Newt grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him, back into the shadows and out of the box of direct light. I felt better instantly.

"Aw, man!" Minho exclaimed, wincing as he ran his wrist across his forehead. "Something's wrong, dude. It feels like it's already burning my skin!"

"He's right," Newt added as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know if we can go out there. We might have to wait until the sun goes down."

Groans of complaint rose up from the Gladers. A sudden outburst from Winston broke through them, causing me to snap my head toward the bottom of the stairs as he yelled, "Woah! Watch out! Watch out!"

I felt time slow down as my gaze followed where Winston was pointing. Directly above Thomas, a silvery liquid was forming into a ball right from the metal ceiling. My stomach dropped. I couldn't figure out why Thomas was just watching it solidify above him and wasn't moving. Newt gripped onto my wrist, preventing me from darting down the stairs and pushing him out of the way like I so desperately wanted to.

Like I wasn't able to do with Chuck.

A scream burst from my lips as the ball dropped downward. But, at the last second, it zipped horizontally and attached itself to Winston's face like some sort of leech. His horrific screams blended in with mine as he tumbled down the stairs.

gif is the squad

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this is probably one of my favorite chapters i've ever written ngl

make sure to check out my relatively new minho fanfic, aegis, if you haven't already! some minor characters from this book may or may not make an appearance...

questions:

-do you miss winston?

-on a scale of 1 to absolutely-freakin-terrified, how scared would you be if you were dylan and the boy with the metal ball on his head was pinning you down?

-do you like thomas and dylan moments or minho and dylan moments more?

-who is your favorite minor character in this book?

+dedication: intergalactic because their comments are HILARIOUS and never fail to put a smile on my face

-kristyn