chapter eight:
Run Shank

"Bloody no." Elizabeth stared at her twin brother with a frown. Wondering what the hell no meant by Newt. Did it mean that the blond girl could go into the Maze with Minho or did it mean that she couldn't? She didn't really understand the word since she refused to believe Newt.

"Wait. Why am I asking you? I am my own person, I can make my own decisions." Newt didn't like what his sister was telling him. He just couldn't let her into the Maze, he couldn't risk losing her.

"No. Remember we must have order." Newt argued. Elizabeth rolled her eyes while she formed a plan on how to escape Newt's clutches.

"Fine. It's not like Alby would actually let Minho take me out of the Glade." Elizabeth agreed.

***

"He said yes," Elizabeth announced the next morning. Minho looked at the blond girl and was sure that Newt didn't let Elizabeth go.

"That doesn't sound like Newt. That shank is always blabbing about the order." Minho pointed out. The blond girl smirked letting Minho know that she lied.

"He said no, but I'm still bloody going," Elizabeth replied. Minho rolled his eyes before he tossed Elizabeth a backpack.

"Let's get you a weapon before the Doors open. I'm not gonna give you the whole Runner experience since you're not a Runner." It was Elizabeth's turn to roll her eyes before she followed Minho all the way where they hid their weapons. Her eyes stared in awe at the archery equipment.

"Nice?" Minho asked, taking out two good daggers and handing them to the female Glader.

"I have to use them," Elizabeth answered while twirling the daggers in her hand. She wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing while she stared at the bow and arrows. She stopped before putting one of the daggers inside her pants. Right at the waistline. Her attention was taken away from the archery equipment and moved onto Minho. Elizabeth furrowed her brows while she examined Minho. How his shirt sleeves seemed tight around his arm which showed off his muscles. It made her wonder how she never noticed this.

"Checking me out?" Minho smirked when he noticed Elizabeth staring at him. The blond girl's eyes widen when she realized what she was doing.

"No!" Elizabeth denied. "I'm sure you were checking me out."

Minho rolled his eyes before letting out a scoff. "You wish. There isn't exactly must to look at."

Elizabeth's mouth opened and closed while she narrowed her eyes at the Asian boy.

"I have that effect on people. Now come on, Shank. We got running to do."

***

Elizabeth felt in her place while she ran in the corridors with Minho. He even gave her a small notepad and a pen, which she doodled on while she ran. The girl smiled at her impressive drawing of Newt yelling before she made a turn. She looked up only for her smile to be wiped off her face because she somehow managed to get lost and separated from Minho.

"Well, isn't this bloody brilliant," Elizabeth mumbled. She flipped the page on the notepad before she wrote down a note. "I really need to ask for a bloody map next time."

Dear Minho or fellow Runner or Griever,

I somehow managed to get LOST! HELP! I'll cut vines and hopefully, you can find me before a Griever or a witch finds me. PLEASE HURRY!

Hurry Up, Shanks!
Elizabeth XX

P.S. Ignore this if you are a Griever. Or witch. Or anything that wants to kill me.

The lost Glader finished off the SOS note with a small doodle of herself screaming for help. She put the note on the floor and hoped it was noticeable before she turned around and started to cut ivy.

Elizabeth walked for an hour or so before she stopped and sat down on the floor. She pulled out her water bottle and an apple before she consumed it. The girl was smart to not to drink all of her water before she took out her notepad, hoping that it had an answer. Elizabeth flipped passed the paper with an angry Newt before she spotted the page full of doodles. She laughed when she saw something she wrote.

What do you call a cow with no legs?

Ground beef!

Her laugh died down before she realized that the only helpful thing on there was the note Minho made her take.

Left, left, right. Walls changed.

Elizabeth then remembered what Minho told her about a woman. How she kept her right hand on the wall until she escaped the labyrinth. He also mentioned how that if they did that in the maze, they would end up in the Glade. Elizabeth smiled, glad that she actually listened to Minho. She got up before she put her right hand on the wall and started to walk. The concrete wall felt a bit rough under Elizabeth's hand before she felt a cool feeling. She frowned before she stopped and looked at the sign.

WORLD IN CATASTROPHE: KILLZONE EXPERIMENT DEPARTMENT

They were the same words that repeated in Elizabeth's head. She then understood that WICKED was and is those six words. One thing was for certain, WICKED wasn't good. Elizabeth continued on, feeling a cool surface every once in a while before seeing it was the same sign. She was on a roll before she stopped at a cliff.

"Beth!" She heard someone yell. Elizabeth turned around to see a sweaty Minho running towards her.

"Minho!" Elizabeth's voice was raspy from the lack of talking. She came to her senses before she sprinted off towards Minho.

"Where were you!?" Minho yelled at the blond, once they met up. Elizabeth noticed his features were upset and worried.

"I was taking notes and I guess I wasn't paying attention and took a couple of wrong turns," Elizabeth explained, not telling Minho about her drawings.

"And you didn't stay in one place! All you did was leave a note with a drawing on it!" Elizabeth stuck the tip of her tongue out, looking at Minho. She pulled out the notepad really quick and drew a stick figure.

"You gotta admit. My drawings are bloody awesome." She waved the notepad in front of Minho face before he took it out of her hands and took a look what was in it. He stared at the drawing of Newt before laughing.

"I got to admit, this is a picture that shows how Newt is going to react when we get back to the Glade," Minho stated before the two took off running towards the Glade. The boy made sure Elizabeth was in front of him while yelling the directions.

***

The two were close to the Glade, according to Minho before they spotted a Griever. The two froze and started back away slowly. The Griever turned around and ran towards them. Elizabeth's eyes widen before she turned around and ran. She only stopped when she heard a scream.

"I'm going to regret this," Elizabeth mumbled. She turned around to see that Minho was on the floor with the Griever ready to poke him.

"Hey ugly!" Elizabeth shouted. The Griever looked at Elizabeth before going after her. The blond immediately took off running, heading towards the Cliff. She was lucky to remember where it was. Once she was at the edge she turned around to see the Griever closing in on her. She challenged the Griever, which took charge towards her before she threw herself to the side. Elizabeth watched as the Griever fell in the hole. She smiled before she remembered about Minho. The girl took off running heading towards the area she left Minho.

Elizabeth spotted the sight of Minho on the floor. Her eyes widen when she saw the deep cut on Minho's leg. It was bleeding and lucky for Minho, Elizabeth was a Med-jack. She took off her shirt and immediately wrapped it around the injured area and made sure it was tight.

"It's okay to cry, Minho," Elizabeth told the boy while she examined the cut. It looked deep enough for stitches, she just hoped she could get Minho out in time to get the things she needed. She turned her head to face Minho, to realize he was staring at her chest. "Eyes up here."

Minho snapped his eyes to look into Elizabeth's brown-greenish eyes, realizing what he was doing. "The Glade, Shank!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes before she stood up. She felt a breeze on her stomach before she looked down. She then remembered that she was in a sports bra, which she was lucky for. The blond girl extended a hand towards Minho, which he took before they stood up.

***

"Bloody hell," Newt spoke out loud. Some of the Gladers turned their heads to see Elizabeth helping Minho entered the Glade. Some of them were staring at Elizabeth's chest.

"Eyes up here!" Elizabeth yelled. Newt had already reached Elizabeth and Minho when the Gladers realized what was happening.

"That's my bloody twin sister!" Newt added in. He helped his sister on taking the injured Glader to the Med-jacks before asking the important question.

"What the bloody hell happened out there?"