They Don't Own Me

Chapter 12

With a new determination, Ivy took off down the halls. She picked up her pace but not enough to wear herself out. Ivy mentally recited the lefts and rights she took, making her way back towards the Maze doors.

Ivy jogged down a long hall, keeping her eyes fixed on the turns she was going to be making shortly. Suddenly, a Griever jumped out of one of the side halls. It shrieked loudly before slamming Ivy into the stone wall. Ivy grunted in pain, catching herself when she landed on the ground. She looked up to see the Griever coming toward her. Her eyes widened when she saw the Griever's stinger appear.

She rolled out of the way, dodging the sting. The Griever tried to stab her again but Ivy pulled out her machete and sliced at beast. The foul creature shrieked in agony, rearing up. Ivy smirked a little - she had cut the Griever's stinger off. The Griever turned back to her, swinging one of it's arms at her. Ivy quickly got to her feet and ran from the creature, who began to follow.

Feeling a throbbing pain in her stomach, Ivy looked down to find a tear in her shirt, which was slowly starting to turn red.

"Shuck," she muttered, placing her hand over the cut.

She pushed herself to run faster and ignored the pain. She turned down a hall and ducked behind a curtain of vines. Ivy held her breath as the Griever ran passed her, disappearing down the hall. Ivy sighed and walked back into the corridor.

"I can't keep doing this," she said. "I need to get out of here."

She suddenly got an idea and, after putting her machete away, turned to the walls. Grabbing hold of the wines, she began to climb up. There were several times where she had to stop in order to give herself a rest and to push the pain in her stomach away.

When Ivy was almost up the wall, she heard the clanking of Griever's claws on the stone floor. She looked down and her eyes widened when she saw another Griever.

I just can't get a break, can I?

Ivy continued to climb, trying to be as quiet as she could. Ivy hoisted herself on the top of walls. She took a deep breath and started to walk across the top of the walls. She used her knowledge of the halls to find her way back to the Maze doors. When she got there, she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She had managed to make it the rest of the way without running into another Griever.

Ivy glanced down at her watch. It was almost midnight; it had taken her almost three hours since she had first hidden from the Grievers. Ivy shook her head, wanting to concentrate on getting back in the Glade. She was almost there, she just needed to get off the wall.

She managed to find a clump of vines and began her slow descent down them. It took her awhile, but she eventually reached the end of the vines. When she looked down, she saw that she was still almost a dozen feet in the air. Ivy groaned, resting her head against the vines.

Now what? she thought.

Suddenly, something below caught her eye. Two figures were lying on the ground. She smiled when she saw that they were Newt and Minho.

"Newt!" she called. "Minho! Guys, up here!"

Neither boy moved. Ivy tried several more times to get their attention, but the boys were sleeping too deeply and she was too far up. Ivy huffed before an idea popped into her head. Wrapping a strand of vines around her wrist, she used her free hand to pull her shoe off. Ivy turned her body and chucked the shoe. She laughed when it hit Minho in the head.

The boy jerked awake, sitting up. He looked at the shoe in confusion before looking up. Ivy waved her hand, getting his attention. She watched as Minho quickly went to Newt, shaking him awake. The blond refused to get up, rolling over to try and go back to sleep.