"Hey, Gal Pal." Ariella smiled but Gally noticed it seemed more force than her usual brightness. She wasn't herself but that was understandable giving she was grieving the loss of her friend.

"Hey, El." He greeted his little sister, looking at her with pity.

"Have you seen Minho?" She asked and his face dropped for a moment but the blonde didn't notice as she stared off into space. "He wasn't in bed when I woke up this morning and i've looked everywhere."

"Minho and Alby went into the maze to re-trace Bens steps." Gally reluctantly told her. Gally knew what Ella was going to do, so grabbed hold of her wrist, stopping her from running into the maze as well.

"Let me go, Gally!" Her voice filled with pain.

"I'm not letting you run in there. Alby and Minho will be fine, they know what they're doing."

"I'm a runner! I should be with them, it's not safe." Ariella yelled, smashing her fists against Gallys chest as she tried to pry herself free from his iron grip. Thunder rumbled over her shouts, the rain pouring down heavily. The weather was doing nothing to comfort Ariella's thoughts as she knew all too well how much harder it was to run the maze in the rain.

"Have you calmed down now?" Gally asked seeing as she had stopped hitting him.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Ella asked, her tone filled with nothing but concern for the runner.

"They'll be fine." Gally assured the blonde, hooking his arm over her shoulder. "Come on, we need to get under shelter."

The gladers gathered under the shelter, spending the afternoon playing games and talking. Ariella got to know the new Greenie better, using him as a distract her away from the worries eating away at her.

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Thomas asked her, looking over at the maze doors.

"Yeah." Ella couldn't tare her eyes away from the maze, just hoping Minho and Alby would run through at any moment.

"What happens if they don't make it?"

"They're gonna make it." Newt answered. He knew how much Minho meant to Aria so tried his best to assure her that they will come back even if something inside him said they might not return.

"And if they don't?" Thomas asked again, standing closer to Newt.

"They're gonna make it." He repeated firmly. "You okay?" Newt asked the girl sitting near him, watching has she tried to hold herself together.

"I'm fine."

"You're a terrible liar." Newts thick british accent spoke as he sat beside her.

"He has to make it, Newt. I don't want to think of life without him." Her usually chirpy voice was dull and hopeless. No one had ever seen Aria like this before, she was always the happy one helping everybody.

"I know." Newt sighed placing his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "He'll make it."

Ariella stormed up from her seat, walking out to her and Minhos spot in the trees. She didn't care if she got sick from the rain she just had to get away from everyone. She needed space by herself, away from everyone's chatter about the chances of her boyfriend making it out alive or not. Newt and Gally were the only ones bringing her comfort but even then that wasn't enough. All she could think about was that she needed him. She needed his arms holding her tight, ensuring her that everything was going to be alright. But he's wasn't with her. Instead she was alone being able to do nothing but hope he was alive and safe.

The rain had now stopped but her clothes were soacked through, her hair sticking to her face. Ariella's brown eyes stayed fixated on the doors, too scared to look away. The runner picked a dandelion from the ground, admiring the plant. "Come back to me." She whispered, closing her eyes as her breath blew against the seeds, sending them flying gracefully into the wind.

"We're gonna go wait by the doors, you coming?" Gally softly spoke as he walked over to the small teen.  Ariella just simply nodded, standing up from the ground, her body dripping from the rain that drenched her.

"Come on guys, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas asked as all the galders gathered around the doors.

"It's against the rules. Either they make it back or they don't." Newt said sadly.

"Let me go in there, Newt." Ella spoke up.

"Can't risk loosing anyone else." Newt dismissed the idea straight away not wanting anyone else to get hurt.

"She's a runner, let her go." Thomas argued for her, the girl sending him a thankful smile.

"She's not going anywhere." Gally disagreed, pulling his sister closer to him. He was scared that if he let go he'll never see her again, knowing she'd do anything for Minho.

"No. No. No." Panic flooded Ariellas senses as the large concrete doors began to close.

"There!" Thomas exclaimed pointing into the maze. Gallys grip on Ella's waist tightened as Minho's grunts could be heard as he appeared from around the corner, carrying Alby with him.

"Something wrong." Aria's voice shook, seeing Minho struggling to support their leader.

"Come on, Minho, you can do it!" Chuck shouted encouraging words at the runner.

"Gally, let me help him!" Ella pleaded, trying to pull herself away from his grip but it was no use. "Please."

"Minho, you got to leave him!" Gally shouted. He knew there was no stopping Ella so the only thing to do was hope that Minho left Alby in the maze and run through at the last second.

"They're not gonna make it." Newt realised as they all continued to watch Minho struggle.

"I love you, go." Gally kissed the blondes forehead as he let go of her. It was the hardest thing Gally had to do. He knew their survival chances were low surviving the night in the maze but Aria would have never forgive him if he continued holding on to her.

"I love you too." She smiled at him, before she ran through the gap in the walls, making her way to the two.

"Thomas, no!" Ella heard Chucks voice shout, causing her to whip her head around to see Thomas running right behind her as they made their way through the narrow gap.

"You just killed yourselves." Minho said in between his breathes as he gasped for air, clearly exhausted from carrying Alby.

"You're an idiot if you thought I wasn't gonna run in here after you." Ariella said sombrely as she ran over to the asian pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Gally shouldn't have let go." Minho muttered against her lips as he pulled away.

"He didn't want to, but he knew i'd never forgive him if he didn't."

"What happened to him?" Thomas asked, looking down at Albys unconscious body that was sprawled out on the maze floor.

"What does it look like?" Minho snapped. "He got stung."

"What happened to his head?"

"I did what I had to do." Minho panted, still not having caught his breath. Ella grabbed his hand, stroking her thumb against his knuckles to assure him, he did the right thing. Ariella's hold tightened around him as she heard the distant sound of a grievers deafening screech.

"Help me get him up." Thomas said.

"We got to go. The maze is already changing." Minho stumbled as he began to walk off, his legs weak from a days worth of running.

"Min, we can't just leave him here."

"He's as good as dead either way, this will just slow us down." Minho argued against his girlfriend.

"We have to at least hide him." Thomas tried to reason, already supporting Albys body against his. Ariella was quick to help him, hooking Albys other arm over her shoulders.

"Grab his legs too." Ella instructed Tom so that it would be easier to walk with him.

———

"He's so heavy." Ella whined, already feeling the ace in her joints as her, Thomas and Minho walked through the ivy infested maze. Minho tired to take over from Ariella to carry Alby but she refused to let him help as he had already dragged him so far before her and Thomas entered.

"Sit him down." Thomas said exhausted. The two gladers gently placed Alby down, making sure he was leant against the grey stone wall.

"This isn't gonna work. We gotta go." Minho stated, after hearing the Grievers screech getting closer to them.

"Wait, what are you talking about. We gotta do something." Thomas argued against Minho.

"Listen to me, shuck-face, all right? Take a look around. There's nowhere to go." Minho said through gritted teeth, slamming the greenie against the Maze wall. "We're already dead."

"Hey, slim it!" Ella's voice was louder than usual making the boys instantly shut up and looked over to the blonde standing next to the Ivy. "While you were bickering like imature children I actually came up with an idea. We can hide him amongst the ivy."

The three grunted loudly as they pulled against the rope they had made from the roots of the plant, yanking Alby further up into the greenery.

"We gotta go. We gotta go. Right now." Minho panicked, looking around the corner to see a Grover heading their way.

"What is it?" Ella asked but then the familiar sound of the mechanical whirling of a Griever sounded dangerously close to the trio. "Yeah, we gotta go. Tie it off."

"I'm sorry, Greenie." Minho apologised, grabbing hold of Ella's hand and pulling her away.

"We got to split up."

"No, i'm not leaving you." Minho dismissed the thought.

"Go, i'll be fine. Promise me you'll come back to me."

"I promise y-." Minho promised. Ella cut him off with a deep kiss, a couple of stray tears falling down her face as she pulled away from him.

"I love you, Min, go."

"I love you too."

As soon as Minho had rounded the corner, the blonde went running back to Thomas. She couldn't live with herself if she just left him there. She watched as he struggled to keep his grip on the vine, the runner acted quickly and grabbed the end and began to help him again.

"You came back?" Thomas smiled in relief.

"Minho might just kill me for this if we survive." Aria mumbled as they tied off the rope.

The clicking sound of a Griever became closer and closer until it was almost on top of them. Ariella didn't have time to think, she grabbed hold of Thomas pulling him under the wall so that they were camouflaged in the green ivory leaves. The metal tapping of the Griever's legs hit against the concrete as it walked by the two. The gladers both shook in fear, there was a high chance that this could be the last time that the two were ever alive and that thought alone was terrifying. Aria prayed that Minho would make it out safely when the doors reopened in the morning. The noise disappeared, the two gladers cautiously coming out from within the Ivy.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die." Ariella repeated, pacing up and down as panic overwhelmed her.

"Come on." Thomas mumbled, grabbing hold of the blondes hand and dragging her behind the wall.

"We're so dead." She whispered out, not helping their situation at all.
The two stumbled through the maze both utterly terrified for what the future may hold.

"Why the fuck have you stopped?!" Aria whisper shouted, looking back at Thomas whose foot seemed to be covered in some gooey substance.

"What is this stuff?" Thomas asked her but Ariella wasn't paying attention as she slowly moved her head upwards, scared to what she will find even though deep down she knew the answer.

"Oh shit!" She mumbled as she saw the terrifying creature hanging above them. The griever was a cyborg looking creature with a slug like body with spikes coming out from its back.

Ariella grabbed hold of Thomas' hand as the two sprinted off, hoping to somehow out run the horrifying creature.

"We're gonna die." Thomas repeated Ella's words from earlier as the realisation hit him.

"This way." Aria grabbed hold of his shirt, yanking him the opposite way from where he was going which would have only lead him to a dead end. "We're gonna have to jump."

"Are you crazy?!" Thomas exclaimed looking at the distance they would have to go.

"A little bit." The blonde muttered staring over the edge before walking backwards. "Now or never, Tom." She ran up to the edge and let out a scream as she leapt forward, grabbing hold of the vines. Unfortunately the Griever had followed them and had also jumped over and began climbing up the ivy wall alongside them. The Grievers weight tugged the Ivy off from the walls that towered through the maze, pulling the two down with it. Ella cringed at the audible sound of her bone popping out of place, the pain almost unbearable.

"We got to go!" Thomas helped Ella up from the floor as she clutched her wrist in pain. Thomas grabbed Ella's none injured hand and pulled her around the maze until they stumbled into someone, all yelling in fear as to what they've just ran into.

"Crazy son of a bitch." Minho muttered seeing Thomas. "You went back for him." Minho then twigge seeing his girlfriend standing next to him.

"Enough of the chit chat, we gotta go." Ella went off running, holding her left wrist up to her chest as pain surged through her.

"It's changing, pick up the pace." Minho ordered as he heard the rumbling of the maze walls changing. "This sections closing we can loose it down here."

Minho and Ella ran through but Thomas stayed still, the clogs in his head turning around as he came up with a plan.

"Tom, what the fuck are you doing? Get your ass over here!" Aria shouted at the brunette.

Thomas waited a few seconds longer for the Griever to catch up before he started to run. The gap in the wall became smaller and smaller along with Ella's hopes of the Greenie to make it out of the Maze alive.

"Move your ass! Come on, Greenie!" Minho yelled.

"And you called me crazy." Ella chuckled lightly. Thomas laid down against the cold concrete floor, gasping for breath. He had just killed the Griever, trapping it in between the closing walls.