An extra pair of eyes or ears would have been extremely helpful because the little signs that made Thomas believe Y/N was still out there never stopped. In fact, they grew even more abundant. Today was the third day Thomas had been running the maze with Minho, and he was undoubtably confident enough to run alone now.

"Right, Greenie." Minho slowed down as they approached the inner ring of the maze. "You think you can run alone without gettin' yourself killed?"

Thomas rolled his eyes and send Minho an unimpressed glare. "Yeah, pretty sure."

"Alright. You know the rules, and be back before those doors close. Find anything? Let. Me. Know." Minho jabbed Thomas in the chest three consecutive times tauntingly before eyeing him one last time and running off.

Still slightly disoriented and confused ambling around the maze, Thomas kept his focus on one objective: to find whatever it was that was on this piece of paper. It looked like a small entrance of sorts hidden behind a thick wall of ivy. What that told Thomas was that he needed to find a piece of maze where one wall stuck out, corridors on either side of it. If he found that, he'd know he was in the right place. It would just be a matter of finding out what was so important about it to Y/N.

Thomas took three turns to the left. Those three turns was all it took before he was faced with a protruding piece of wall shrouded with ivy, paths on either side of it. Almost too convenient. It looked like an island in the middle of an ocean. Holding up the paper in front of his eyes and comparing it to his surroundings, the runner knew he was in the right place. He took a couple cautious steps forwards before stopping at the sound of footsteps again.

"Minho?"

No answer. More footsteps. The wind began to pick up. A knife from above came careening at Thomas' face, clattering against the stone wall behind him as it just barely missed.

"HEY!" He hollered out of impulse, which, was probably an awful idea. In the very least, he now knew it wasn't Minho who had thrown that knife. Thomas was sure the keeper of the runners wasn't quite that precise with his throws. Even if Minho had tried to miss by a few inches, he probably would have still hit Thomas between the eyes.

"Y/N... if that's you..." Thomas held up his arms in defence, looking upwards to where he knew the knife came from. "I'm here to—"

"Where'd you get the drawing?" A disembodied voice echoed from above. It surely wasn't one of the boys. At this point, Thomas had to just assume it was her.

"Gally. He said you left it for him the night before you disappeared?"

The girls body tensed at the sound of Gally's name."Yeah," Y/N confirmed. "And he was supposed to keep it safe."

"Can you just come down—so we can talk?" Thomas pleaded, his neck aching from constantly having to look up at absolutely nothing.

"First, a truce." Y/N demanded.

Thomas knew he had no choice. "Alright, what is it?"

"You don't tell Minho, or any of the other Gladers—Gally—about me or what I'm about to show you, and I'll stop throwing knives at you."

Thomas didn't want to agree. Really, honestly, did not want to agree. Gally, Minho, Newt, and Alby would all be beyond relieved to find out that Y/N was alive. Why she didn't want them to know? He had no idea. At this point, he didn't really have any other choice but to agree because a knife to the head didn't sound all that great.

"Deal." He shouted back up. A couple of minutes passed and Thomas stood awkwardly in the corridor, painfully aware of the eery silence. He just hoped Y/N wasn't up there planning her next shot.

A ten-ton weight was lifted off of his chest when he saw a hand grip the corner of the maze wall in front of him. She sure had climbed down that wall fast. A pair of broken, piercing Y/E/C eyes peered around the stone and straight at Thomas. For someone so freely throwing knives at others, the girl looked apprehensive and almost afraid.

"Minho isn't here, right?" Y/N asked quietly, still shielding her body behind the wall. She looked just as he remembered and Newt had described. The only difference was the now lonely look of suffering in her eyes that didn't match the formerly fiery eyes he saw in his memory.

The runner shook his head to answer her question. "I-I'm Tho—"

"Thomas." Y/N finished.

"You know me?" The runner stammered.

"I've been following you since you stepped into the maze. Minho's still loud as ever. I heard him yell your name a few times." She explained. Thomas suddenly felt self-conscious being presented with the idea that she'd secretly been watching him and Minho up until this point.

The girl still looked wary, so Thomas took a couple of steps forwards. Reluctantly, she took a couple back away.

"Minho isn't here, Y/N." He tried to console. "I promise."

The girl gave in and stepped from around the corner. Thomas stared sadly. It had been at least two weeks since she'd talked to anyone. Two weeks since she'd seen her friends, her family. Two weeks she'd been alone out here, having to fend for herself.

Caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't realized how close she'd gotten.

"How have you survived out here? One night is hard enough—" He paused. "Where were you anyways when Minho and I were here overnight?"

"Follow me." Y/N said dryly, dodging his question, as she jammed her knife into a small crack in the rock beneath the ivy. A seam split all around, a hollow groaning noise filing the air as a stone slab swung open. A gust of cold air rushed into Thomas' face and he stared into the dark abyss before his eyes. Behind that door was a pitch black hallway, leading where, he had no clue.

Suddenly, florescent lights flickered on one by one down the hall, seemingly going on forever. "C'mon." Y/N motioned for Thomas to follow.

A few feet inside of the hall, there was a door to the right. Y/N cracked it open and flicked on the lights. Inside was a bed, a bathroom, a few shelves of food and supplies.

"This is where you've been?" He asked.

Y/N nodded and tossed Thomas a bottle of water.

"Don't get your hopes up, because I know that hall looks like an exit." She said as she pulled out a large paper map out from beneath the bed.

"I've run it every day. But it goes nowhere. It's endless. No matter which turn I take or for how long I run, I always end up back here at this room." She put her hands in her hair in frustration and sighed. Thomas could tell she was on the breaking point of giving up entirely. "I don't know if I'm missing something or—"

"Why haven't you gone back to the Glade? Everyone thinks you're dead." Thomas began before he was cut of by a sharp glare shot from Y/N.

"Because, me disappearing is better than Minho finding out there is a whole lower level to the maze that is completely endless. Me disappearing is better than me coming back with no hope for an escape." Y/N muttered glumly.

"It's not just about Minho and the maze, Y/N. It's about everyone you left to think you were dead. Alby, Frypan, Winston, Newt, Gally..."

"Gally doesn't want to see me." The girl winced at the names of her friends. She obviously missed them. "I'm not going back until I find a way out."

"You can at least tell them you're alive! Get help from Minho and me! You don't have to figure this out on your own." Thomas snapped and Y/N's eyes fell to the floor. "If you think Gally doesn't want to see you...you're wrong."

"I won't let them down." Y/N reinforced, completely avoiding the topic of seeing Gally again. Thomas wanted to argue, to make her come back to the Glade today. But, in a sense, he understood where she was coming from.

"Fine. But let me help you. Everyday, let's meet here, and we'll find out what's going on." He suggested.

Y/N hesitantly nod her head. "Don't bring Minho."

"Y/N—" Thomas fought.

"Don't!" Y/N stood up, kicking the map beneath the bed. "If he finds out I'm still alive, he's going to hate me."

Knowing he couldn't argue, Thomas nodded and scanned the girl over. She looked tired and worn, cuts and bruises all over. Minho wouldn't hate her. He'd just be relieved to find her alive. Besides, if they found a way out, she'd have to faca all of her friends anyways? Why not just make it easier and get it over with now? "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Thomas, I'm trusting you." She gripped his arm tight, pulling him back. "Don't let anyone know."

"You do know that if we find a way out, they'll have to find out sometime, right?" The boy said.

"I know." Y/N nodded weakly. "But until then, they don't."

With that, Thomas knew he had to leave despite all of the questions he still had. He'd made it back to the Glade just in time.