Like promised, I tell Zee goodbye and give her a tight hug every time I leave to go run.

Not only because I promised, though. Winston also told me that if I don't say goodbye, she can't work properly and starts ranting all about what could happen and what her last words to me were.

"Be careful," she says, cupping my face. I try to squirm away, but she's holding me tightly.

"And don't die," I finish, like always.

"Exactly! I've got your back, chosen one. Go save the world."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, whatever you say— nah, quote, Maui."

She smiles. "You're welcome. Okay, good luck to you too, Ben! Bye, Hei Hei!"

"Bye, Pua." Before I run after Ben, I readjust my backpack one last time, cast a look at Zee, then enter the Maze.

It's nothing new today. We will be checking out one of the outer sections, so it'll be a long run, but that's it. I don't expect anything special.

"Sometimes, I miss Newt," Ben suddenly announces. "Running with him was nice."

I hum in reply, unsure what else to say. I hate talking about this subject. Every corner of the Maze already reminds me of what happened here. All the ivy. The walls. I don't need Ben reminding me as well.

"At least he doesn't have to run anymore. Like, barely ever again," I try.

Ben pulls a face at me. "You're making it sound like you dislike running. I thought you loved it."

"Not when it's in a Maze, in which we will never find a way out."

"There is a way out, man. Somewhere. We haven't finished looking everywhere yet. Don't tell me you're giving up."

A shrug is all he receives.

We run in silence for the following minutes. Sooner or later, we've arrived at the outer sections. Blades—gigantic, rusty metal—tower over us. The distance between them is big, sunlight illuminating the shadows even better. 

"Here we go," Ben sighs out.

It takes a while to run through the whole section. By the time we're done, sweat is soaking my clothes. Disappointment hits me like a brick. Again, we haven't found anything. Just wasted time and energy on this place.

Suddenly, a low, guttural growl echoes through the corridor, freezing us in our tracks.

My blood runs cold. A Griever.

"Ben, we need to move," I whisper urgently, but it's too late. The monstrous creature emerges from the shadows, its body glistening. Mechanical legs clatter on the stone floor as it moves towards us.

The sight of it sends a jolt of adrenaline through my system, but I force myself to stay calm. "Run!" Ben shouts, and we take off, sprinting down the corridor with the Griever hot on our heels.

The Maze walls blur as we push ourselves to the limit. My mind races, searching for any escape or tactic, but the Griever is nearly unstoppable. And it came as such a surprise that we never had time to prepare.

It lunges forward, and I barely have time to shout a warning before it slams into Ben, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Ben!" I halt immediately.

He tries to crawl back up, but the Griever is already upon him.

I don't think. I just react, grabbing a broken metal rod from the ground that must've come from one of the Blades and charge at the beast. Swinging the rod, I strike the monster in the face.

It screeches in fury, its attention snapping to me. I narrowly avoid a swipe of its legs, and strike again. The creature roars in pain, but it's far from finished.

"Minho, look out—" I don't have time to react before the Griever barrels into me. Its massive body knocks me to the ground.

The world spins, and pain explodes in my side as I hit the hard ground. The Griever's limbs pin me down. Its mouth opens as it prepares to strike the final blow.

Desperation takes hold, and I struggle with everything I have, kicking and thrashing beneath the creature's weight. Just as the Griever raises its deadly stinger, Ben tackles it from the side, throwing it off balance.

I roll away, gasping for air, and manage to get back on my feet. Together, we pry off the Griever with whatever we can find—rods, rocks, anything. Our hands are shaking so badly that we fail throwing our daggers at the monster.

The Griever swipes at me again, and though I try to dodge, I'm too slow. The appendage catches me across the head, and I stagger back, a sharp, searing pain blinding me. My vision blurs, and I feel myself falling, the world tilting sideways.

I hit the ground hard. I can hear Ben shouting my name, yet his voice is distant, as if coming from the other side of the Maze. My thoughts shatter apart. I can barely focus as Ben continues to fight off the Griever.

Somehow, he manages to drive it back. A mad scream leaves his mouth when he bores his dagger in its skin.

The creature snarls one last time, then gives up and hides away, vanishing into the shadows.

But I can barely process this. Everything around me feels strange and distant, like I'm not really there. Like... all my thoughts are slipping through my fingers as sand. Melting like snow on a summer day. Like any sort of pain disappearing when I see Zee.

Ben rushes over, his face pale and strained with worry. "Minho, stay with me, man. Minho!"

I try to respond, but the words don't come. Black dots interfere with my vision.

"Don't you dare pass out on me, Minho," Ben's voice breaks.

My attempt to groan fails. I feel paralyzed. I am unable to move. Everything is heavy and aching.

"Minho!"

What exactly happened to me again?

The pain in my head is unbearable. Ben's eyes, full of terror, are the last things I see before everything flickers completely black. I do my best to stay conscious. It's just that the world tilts and swirls, a sickening feeling in my stomach.

I want to throw up. At the same time, I want to get up. Or at least move a little bit. I want to get out of here, right now.

I'd also like to know who's currently tugging at my shirt like crazy. Who's that, yelling at me?

I don't get the chance to tell them to stop it, because I get pulled into a darkness.