Daughter of the Maze // Newt

I stood at the east entrance, looking out into the slowly brightening corridor. My best friend Minho stood behind me, his arm resting on my shoulder as if I were an armrest.

"Well, shank" Minho said, glancing at his new watch that had come in the Box two nights ago along with the usual monthly supplies. "'Bout time we get runnin' eh?"

I nodded once. "Slow up a bit, though, neither of us's run since the whole 'no Greenie' situation."

He smirked. "All the more reason to make sure you remember who's faster." He tapped his watch before sprinting down the corridor.

"Minho, get back here, you'll tire yourself out!" I called in exasperation. He was always fastest at the beginning, unlike me. But if I got started nice and slow, and sped up gradually, I could run for hours, maybe even days if I wanted.

I started at a faster clip than usual to make sure I wouldn't lose sight of Minho. Sure enough, after around two miles, he started to slow. I scoffed and ran up next to him, still at my usual pace.

"What did I say, mate? You need to run farther, not faster." He glared at me, his face red with exertion.

"Fine," he panted. "You may be...slightly...correct." He slowed to my pace, and we stayed like that for several hours. Around 14:00, according to Minho's watch, we stopped for a quick water break.

We each chewed on some of the dried meat Frypan liked to send with the Runners. Something about "protein." I would've preferred some of his truffles any day.

Minho stood quickly. "Did you hear that?" He whipped his head from side to side. I stood and turned in a circle, examining the area.

"No..." I trailed off, my ears straining for any sound. I heard something a ways away, getting closer. "Wait...I do. Don't sound much like a Griever, though. Sounds a bit like shoes, running on the stone."

"Another pair of Runners?" Minho thought out loud. "I thought we were the only ones assigned to this sector." He jogged slowly to the nearest turn. "Sounds like it's coming from this way."

I nodded. "Onward, then." We ran down the corridor and turned left at the end. We went on like this for a while, until we reached an unfamiliar dent in the wall. "What the bloody hell is this? We've been in this sector a million times, and I've never seen this before."

"Well, the Maze changes every night, don't it? Maybe it is new." Minho shrugged. Then he froze. "Dude." He gestured for me to come closer. I walked over and he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"There's someone above us. A girl. I am telling you a joke that you find very funny." He leaned away and looked at me, smiling as if he had told a joke. I forced a hopefully convincing laugh in the midst of my confusion.

A girl? Was he being serious? I glanced at his right hand, which was counting down from five. I nodded, gesturing up with my eyes and then pointing quickly at his knife before disguising the move by scratching my neck.

When he reached one, I whirled around with my knife drawn and pointed upwards, Minho doing the same behind me. I almost dropped my knife in shock. There was a girl, clinging to the ivy twenty or so feet up, surprisingly silent. She met my eyes, then Minho's.

"Hello." She said simply. A flash of silver flew down and my knife was suddenly out of my hand and impaled right in the toe of Minho's shoe, pinning it to the ground. He dropped his knife in shock as I waited for him to cry out in pain.