INNOVATION -
CHAPTER THIRTY - SIX

⚘ BATTLE OF THE GRIEVERS ⚘

The Grievers started rolling towards them before anybody knew what was happening. They came from all directions. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. There was no going back now.

    Thomas got the groups attention, a panicked look taking over his features. "Somehow I have to get through that!"

    Minho and Newt stared at each other in silence for a moment, ignoring the Grievers all together. The anticipation of fighting was killing Kalisa. They didn't have the luxury of time anymore.

    Teresa seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "They're coming! We have to do something!"

    Newt finally spoke, his voice coming out at barely a whisper. "You lead. Make a bloody path for Tommy and Teresa. Do it."

    Minho's face hardened, and the grip on his spear tightened. He gave a sharp nod and turned to address the rest of the Gladers. "We head straight for the Cliff! Fight through the middle, push the shuckin' things towards the walls! What matters most is getting Thomas and Teresa to the Griever Hole!"

    Kalisa changed her grip on her wooden staff, knowing it wouldn't do much damage to the monsters, which only mere yards away from them now. Newt stood next to her, holding a machete of his own, his eyes were trained on the rolling Grievers, but he spoke to her. "Promise you'll be careful, Kali."

    Kalisa picked out one of the Grievers from the pack. It was rather fat for some reason, with a large pincer begging to be destroyed. It was coming straight towards her.

    Good.

    She was going to make Wicked regret the Maze Trials.

    "Kalisa?" Newt pressed, finally glancing over to her. Kalisa blinked, realizing she never answered his question. "Yeah. I'll be careful. You too, okay?"

    He gave a grim nod, leaning into a ready stance as the Grievers neared them. "Ready!" Minho yelled, raising his barb wired club into the air.

    Suddenly, Kalisa felt aware of everything going on around her. It was as if time had slowed down upon them. From behind her she noticed Winston and Henry, side by side preparing to dash into the battle. Fry was holding a kitchen knife in front of them, flanked by several other Gladers. Behind them, Chuck was in between Thomas and Teresa.

That was good, he would be safer with them.

Kalisa's Griever was almost to her now, just a couple of feet. She could be dead within the next several minutes. Ever since she had first arrived here, Kalisa had one goal. Survive.

But now, as her senses heightened, and time sped back up, she knew that if she died here, defending her friends, everything would have been worth it. Just as long as they made it out.

"Now!" Minho ran forward without looking back. Kalisa and Newt were the first to follow, only a step behind the Runner. Behind them, the rest of the Gladers gave a battle cry and dashed after them.

The wind hit Kalisa's face as she ran. It was almost refreshing, blissful compared to what was to come.

And then the peace was gone.

Kalisa thrusted her spear straight into her Grievers chest, green pus spilling from the wound. The monster shrieked and bucked up, bringing its claws down to crush her.

The girl barely had time to dive out of the way before the metal crushed where she used to be.

She didn't have time to recover before the Griever attacked again, this time grazing her thigh with its sharp blade. Kalisa growled in pain and shoved her spear into the Grievers eye, blinding it. The Griever did not seem to appreciate this. It roared and thrashed out, knocking Kalisa back into the wall.

Just as it was about to land a lethal strike upon her, it fell to the ground unmoving.

Newt stood behind it, sword in hand. "What part of be careful do you not get?" He shook his head, almost smiling.

Kalisa let out a breath of relief, not realizing how much her heart was racing. Before she could respond, a flash of green caught her eye from behind Newt.

"Duck." She ordered, throwing her spear just as Newt hit the floor, hitting a Griever square on just before it could attack them.

Newt let out heavy breaths, eyes wide with terror as he realized how close he had come to death. "Thanks."

Kalisa nodded and pulled out her sword, grateful to not feel too much pain thanks to the adrenaline. "Watch your back." Then she ran back into the heat of the fight.

Had she looked around she would have seen Gladers fighting the Grievers with all their might. Some were winning, but others weren't having much luck.

    There were bodies on the ground, blood covering the stone floor beneath them. Screams cried out for help, human and mechanical. It was gruesome and horrible, and it wasn't even close to being over.

    Kalisa sliced and stabbed at the creatures around her, knowing that all she had to do was hold them off long enough for Thomas and Teresa to punch in the Code. But the Grievers were relentless, putting up a nasty fight against their sad weapons.

    As one squared up against her, Kalisa remembered something Winston had told her once.

"The important thing to remember is that the main blood vessels in the neck must be severed. It's like that for a lot of big animals, they end up dying from blood loss. It might be gruesome but it's effective."

It seemed ages ago since she had learned how to kill a cow, and now here she was, killing monsters without second thought. Well- trying to kill them.

Kalisa wasn't sure if the anatomy of a Griever resembled one of a cow, but it was around the same size so it couldn't be far off, right?

Deciding to risk it, Kalisa prepared her sword, narrowing her eyes in concentration as the Griever lunged for her.

She side stepped it and slashed her weapon against its stinger, fending it off from impaling her. She fought like that for a minute, dodging and defending against the monster, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Eventually, it came.

The Griever wasn't blocking its underbelly, as it was too preoccupied in its attempt to kill her. Kalisa knew she only had one chance to succeed in her plan, there was no room for mistakes.

She prayed in Winstons Slicer knowledge, before darting through the Grievers metal limbs, and under its bulbous body. It cried out in annoyance, but was unable to reach her from her position.

Kalisa waited until it lowered it's guard, clearly confused by the sudden disappearance of its prey, before she took a running start, jumped, and slashed it's neck, just as Winston had taught her.

Green goo rained down over her head, mixing in with the blood and sweat on her body. Kalisa knew she must look like a disaster, but there were bigger things to worry about.

She turned around just in time to see the Griever hit the ground, its red and yellow lights slowly dimming to dark.

It had worked miraculously. Kalisa was so relieved she almost laughed. The girl wiped the pus covered sword on her sleeve, taking only a second to study the Grievers unmoving body.

It seemed that she had been right about the similarity between the monsters and cows. However while cows necks contained blood vessels, Grievers had wires. When she had sliced, the wires had been cut, shutting down the Griever for good.

With that new information in mind, Kalisa turned back to the battle, instantly finding a new target.

Minho was struggling to pin it against the wall with two swords. The muscles he gained from running everyday certainly helped, but he was loosing his grip. The Griever was a machine, and it wouldn't stop unless it was forced.

Kalisa looked around wildly, coming up with a reckless and foolish plan. But in the haste of the moment she couldn't think of a better idea.

She grit her teeth in determination and stuffed her sword back into its sheath on her back. Minho didn't notice her as she took off at a run towards the vines against the wall he was pinning the Griever against, but he did see the dark haired girl jump several feet into the air and began scaling the wall.

    "Hey Tarzan!" The Keeper grunted. "How about you consider helping?"

    Kalisa would've rolled her eyes had she not been almost 15 feet up by now, hanging on by the ivy. "Hold onto your panties, I'm coming."

    From up above, Kalisa could see the full battle. Grievers were being taken out, but so were Gladers. Too many bodies littered the floor, the scent of blood prominent as the Grievers changed from one victim to the next.

    Thomas and Teresa better hurry.

    That was the last thing Kalisa thought before throwing herself from the ivy and onto the Grievers back.

    "Holy shit!" Minho cried out in surprise as Kalisa landed with a start onto the monsters neck.

    She winced in disgust and pain as the Grievers slime spread onto her skin. The monster itself thrashed and screamed with hatred, clearly against being handled like a bull.

    Kalisa held on for dear life, wrapping one arm around its neck for support, and using the other to pull out her sword once more.

    "Kalisa, get down from there you shuckin' psycho!" Minho cried, attempting to distract to creature with his own weapons.

    But the Griever had forgotten all about Minho. Now, it's soul focus was her.

    "Give me a second!" She yelled back, finally grabbing hold of her sword and driving it into the side of the monsters neck.

    The Griever screamed in pain, but she wasn't through yet. Kalisa put both hands on the hilt and threw herself off the monsters back, her weight sending the sword down from the neck, to its chest in a clean, deep line.

    As soon as her feet hit the ground, she removed the sword from its slimy skin. That was all it took for the Griever to go toppling over in defeat.

    Kalisa fell to her knees in exhaustion, the pain of her actions finally catching up with her. She held the side of her abdomen where she had somehow gained a deep gash and looked up at Minho, "Is Newt okay?"

    Is he still alive?

    Before Minho could respond, there was a roar from a Griever behind her. Kalisa turned around to see Newt throwing a knife at the creature, hitting it in the chest. "Take that you bloody bastard!"

    The Griever cried out again, swinging its tail and taking Newt off his feet. Kalisa was prepared to run out and help him, but before she made a move, Newt had climbed to his feet and continued attacking.

    "I'd say he's doin' great." Minho flashed a thumbs up, obviously worn out.

    "What about you? You think we're almost done?" Kalisa hissed through her teeth as she withdrew her hand from her wound and picked up her sword.

    Minho looked around with limp shoulders. "I don't know."

    "HELP ME!" There was a desperate scream from their right that alerted Minho and Kalisa's attention.

    They both wasted no more time before charging back into the battle, only to see Henry on the ground, a Griever towering over him as it prepared to commit the final blow.

    "You take the left, I'll get the right." Minho clenched his jaw, not waiting for her response before running for the Griever.

    Kalisa was barely a second behind him. They flanked the Griever, each stabbing their swords into it's side, drawing it's attention away from Henry, who was obviously injured.

    The Griever turned for Minho first, which unfortunately meant Kalisa got its tail. The hunk of metal came flying at her before she could register what as happening.

    It hit her in the chest, sending her soaring through the air and landing against the stone wall with a smack.

    She groaned in pain, feeling the white-hot burn begin to form all over her back. Kalisa slowly peeled herself from the floor, knowing Minho still needed her help.

    She had lost her sword during the fall, but it didn't matter because she had brought two.

    Kalisa pulled it out and limped forward, slashing at the Griever with enough aggression to match a bull fighter. But even though she fought swiftly, she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

    Her reflexes had begun to slow, and she was taking more and more hits.

    The Griever snapped its arm towards her, sending her final sword clanging across the ground, far out of her reach. Kalisa tried the crawl away, but she was too slow. The monster stabbed its metal limb down into her shirt, just barely missing her arm. She couldn't move at all.

    The Griever clicked in satisfaction as it raised over her, stinger prepared to end her life.

    Kalisa let out a short and quick breath, looking past the Griever and towards the grey ceiling.

    I wish I could see the sky. Just one more time.

    Then, the Griever brought its arm down.

    Kalisa squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the hit. But it never came.

    Slowly, she opened her eyes. Instantly, Kalisa was greeted with the sight of the Grievers metal instruments being sucked back into its disgusting body. The lights in its eyes went dark and it fell to the ground, limp.

    She scooted away from the beast, still in disbelief that she was still alive. Kalisa glanced around to see that all the other Grievers had been powered off as well. Thomas and Teresa had done it.

    It was over.

She let out a tiny laugh, almost under the impression that she was dreaming. Her brief moment of joy was cut short when Henry groaned from a few paces away from her.

Kalisa forced herself to her feet, not having the courage just yet to look around at the fallen Gladers.

She huffed her way over to her friend, who was already accompanied by Minho. It was eerily quiet now that the Grievers were dead. Kalisa shivered, she couldn't wait to get out of here.

"Is he okay?" She managed, leaning against the wall for support.

"He will be." Minho said, helping the Slicer to his feet. "I think he may have broke his foot."

Henry let out quiet curses as he hobbled on his good leg, most of his weight being supported by the Runner. "I feel like shucking hell."

"Yeah," Kalisa let out a breath of air, finally looking around. "That makes two of us."

Boys, young and old, every color and every race lay unmoving on the ground. Some were in puddles of blood, others were engulfed by Grievers.

Kalisa couldn't bring herself to count. It was so horrific. So awful. Wicked was going to pay for this.

"Kali?" Newt's voice called out a ways away from her. Kalisa snapped back to attention and struggled over to where she had heard him.

He stood in the middle of the corridor, several others by his side, Kalisa was relieved to see Fry, Winston, and a few others she recognized. When he saw her, his face melted into one of awe. Newt ran forward to meet her, wrapping her in his arms with surprising agility after the fight.

Kalisa relaxed at long last, the reality finally setting in.

We're free.

Newt was alive, the Maze was finished. Now all they had to do was leave. Plain and simple.

When they pulled away Newt said, "I'm glad you're safe." His eyes showed such raw emotion, Kalisa believed him instantly.

The girl smiled and squeezed his hand. "We get to go home Newt. After all this time."

"So what are we waiting for?" Minho interrupted their moment, still holding Henry.

Newt rolled his eyes, "Well you're the leader aren't you? Show us the way."

Minho smirked and passed Henry off to Winston, before stalking over to the infamous Cliff.

When she peered over the edge, all Kalisa saw was solid looking ground and vines scattered all around it. In every place except for a large box on the right side of the Cliff.

The Griever Hole.

Minho cracked his knuckles, only sparing them a short glance. "I'll see you shanks on the other side."

Then, he jumped.

WHATTT- Ya'll, I seriously hit 4k yesterday, then I woke up this morning to 5k!?!?! I cannot believe it, I am so, so grateful to everybody who reads this book! I hope this chapter had you on the edge of your seats, I did my best to make it fast paced with a lot of action. As always thanks for reading! Favorite movie of the Maze Runner trilogy?

4/9/24

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