They ran for a while. The other Gladers kept pace for a little, but soon the non runners slowed down and the group started to spread out. Newt insisted he was fine, running at the back 'to make sure no one was left behind'. Alex knew his leg was bugging him, but she didn't say anything. Everyone ran in silence, the nerves of what they had to do next were rising. Alex looked around her at the faces of the boys, they were all mixed with determination and fear. Alex glanced behind her. She saw Matt near the back, he caught her eye, grinned and flashed a thumbs up. She grinned back. She only then noticed Chuck was really far behind.

"I'm going to run with Chuck." She said between breaths. Minho nodded. Alex slowed down, Bark following her. She kept pace with her little friend.

"Hey chuckles. How are you holding up?" He just shrugged. He was breathing really hard, his chubby face red. She looked back at him, she could see the fear, but he was trying very hard to be brave. He was such a good kid.

"Chuck. I love you." Alex blurted out.

Chuck came to an abrupt halt and looked at her confused, then a big smirk appeared on his face.

"Are you gonna kiss me like you kiss Minho? I've heard from some of the guys that it gets a little spiiiiiiicy!" He winked at her. "You might want to break up with your other Boyfriend first!"

Alex laughed so loud that from the front Thomas and Minho turned to see what was up. Matt also glanced over and slowed down and jogged iver. The prankster trio, her original trio. Her pinky swear pact boys.

"Ha! Chuckles! You're HILARIOUS!" She said dryly. "I MEANT, like a little brother, ya shank! I love you like my little brother. You too Matt! Seriously! When we get out, I'll help you find your parents! We'll see if you have siblings, Matty Pie!"

She promised. Chuck hugged her around the waist, and buried his face into her shoulder. Alex wrapped him up in a hug, and pulled Matt into the hug.

"Group hug!" Matt whispered. She could tell he was trying to keep up his easy carefree joking self, but it was cracking, he was scared.

"Thank you Alex! Thank you for being my friend. If I ever had a sister, I hope she would be like you." Chuck smiled up at her.

"Well, even if I don't have any siblings. Alex...you are mine. Thank you, for everything. Saving my life. Helping me through Ben's thing...and just...being my friend."

Alex smiled as a tear tried to leak out, she had a hand on each of their cheeks. "Any time Chuckles. And my Matty Pie! Now let's go kick some Griever butt!"

They ran to catch up with the group.

The Gladers finally made it to the blades. The non runners were turning in circles, mouths open.

"Come on! Move! We're almost there!" Minho yelled from the front. Alex and Newt ushering them all forwards, making sure no one was left behind.

They took the last corner and slowed to a stop. All the Gladers were breathing hard. Alex, with Bark beside her, made her way to the front, where Thomas, Minho, Newt and Teresa were gathered. Thomas peeked around the corner and pulled his head back fast. The blood drained from his face.

Not a good sign!

"Is there a Griever?" Chuck piped up from the back.

"Yeah." Thomas breathed.

"Well we knew we were going to have to fight. Bloody creators weren't going to let us waltz out of here!" Newt remarked.

"Wow. Thank you Captain Obvious. You've been hangin' with Tommy too long." Alex deadpanned.

"Truth" Minho nodded, pointing at Alex, he was trying hard to hide his smirk.

"Alex, that sass is not helping!" Newt rolled his eyes.

"I think it is.." She shrugged. Newt rounded on Minho, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "This is your bloody fault!"

"How is that my fault?" Minho questioned, taken aback.

"Because she wasn't this bad until she hung out with you!" he hissed.

Alex smacked Newt on the back of the head, "Newt. focus." she scolded. "Also, you said I was just as bad if not worse than Minho and I said I'd look better in his crown."

Minho gasped. "No! You wouldn't take my crown!"

Alex shrugged, "I'd look better in a crown."

"I said no such thing! I said he had competition for the crown! Not that you already dethroned him!" Newt defended.

Alex smacked the back of Newt's head again, "Newt. Focus. Blood thirsty death monsters around the corner."

Newt gasped, spluttered and then ended up glared at her.

Minho snorted with laughter. "You're right. She learned from the master!"

Thomas stepped in between the siblings and raised his voice. "Okay, there is a Griever. Pretty sure it's the one you fought the other night, Alex! It looks like a pincushion, and the claw on its tail is all bent weird."

They all peeked around the corner. Minho, Teresa and Newt's faces came back with shocked faces. Alex smiled sheepishly at them.

"How the shuck did you manage to mangle the metal like that?" Minho asked, mouth open in surprise.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Same way I shot an arrow across the Glade making it fall over, same way I punched a wall without breaking anything, could arm wrestle Alby being controlled by creators." she paused dramatically, "I'm just that shucken awesome!"

The group all groaned and rolled their eyes.

"Shuck yeah you are!" Minho chuckled and held out a hand for a high five, which she obliged. Everyone was quiet for a moment. Alex pulled out the cylinder metal key from her thigh bag, it was quietly beeping and flashing a number 7.

"CHUCK! MATT!" She called. They came pushing through the group of guys. "You take this, Chuck. Matt, stay with him. Stay behind us." Alex ordered them, handing her little friend the key. She wanted him and Matt away from the thick of fighting. They were the youngest of the Gladers. And she felt very protective of her little brothers.

"It's okay. Stay with me." Teresa said as she tied her hair into a pony. "I'm not a very good fighter, so you guys and I will operate the door. Deal?" The boys nodded.

"Once we're through, it will activate and the door will open." Thomas instructed the two.

Minho turned to Alex, his face serious, he grabbed her shoulders, "I want you to stay with them!"

Alex's eyes widened.

"I think the bloody shuck not!" She scoffed. "I'm the best fighter you have! No shuckin way I'm staying out of this fight!" She insisted.

He deflated. "Well it was worth a try." He muttered.

"We do this together, Min. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We do this together. Now let's kick some Griever butt!"

Everyone in the front group nodded.

Thomas turned to the rest of the Gladers, he thumped his spear on the ground, getting their attention. "We stay close, we stay together...we got this. We get out now... or we die trying. Ready?"

The Gladers all thumped their spears on the stone.

"All right. Let's go!" Alex yelled.

They all ran around the corner and came face to face with not just one Griever.

But four.

Everyone skidded to a halt. "Huh this is just dandy, '' Alex muttered.

"That mouth is gonna get you in trouble one day!" Minho muttered back.

"You like this mouth! And like I said before- I'm doing a whole heck of a lot of repeating today- it's this mouth or I break down and cry. So suck it up, Buttercup."

He just rolled his eyes with a small smirk, "I do like that mouth, I like to kiss that mouth."

Alex blew him a kiss. Then rounded on Thomas, yelling over her shoulder, annoyed with him. "Tommy, I thought you said there was only one!"

"There was! I don't know where those others came from!" He panicked.

The Gladers packed in tightly. Newt, Thomas and Minho turned together to try and figure out the best plan to get past. Alex on the other hand stepped forward, patted her leg, Bark followed without hesitation. She nocked an arrow. She took another few steps without anyone noticing. She was a few meters away from the group before someone finally noticed she wasn't with the group.

"ALEX! WHAT THE SHUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Newt yelled at her.

"Doing something useful!" She yelled back. "You guys keep discussing the plan. It's really working!" She sassed.

"Shuck sakes Alex! Remind me why I love you, you sarcastic stubborn pain in the ass?!" Minho huffed.

"Because you told me you like to live dangerously, and I'm a shucken smoke show daredevil, that's why Min," She shouted back as she raised her bow and pulled the string tight, aimed for the eye of the center Griever.

"She's got ya there Min." Thomas said drily.

"Touche, ya Shank." Minho said.

With a yell of challenge she let it lose. It flew true. Hit the eye. The Griever screamed and reared backwards, stumbling into the one beside it. She nocked another arrow and let it fly. This one hit the eye of the Griever beside it. She missed the third Griever's eye, hitting its forehead, but saw the head spark and smoke. She pulled another arrow from her quiver. She let it fly. A fourth Griever reared back screaming. She was really pissing them off. They were now tangled together. She heard the boys behind her yelling.

"GET TERESA AND TOMMY TO THE DOOR! CHUCK AN' MATT ARE GOING WITH THEM!!" Newt yelled from behind.

Alex just nodded in understanding as she let fly another arrow. A Griever had managed to untangle itself and came charging. Minho came rushing past her, screaming a battle cry, charging the monster. It opened its mouth and screamed at Minho. Alex let her arrow go. It cut through the air and straight into its wide open mouth. The Griever froze, it shuddered, smoke and sparks exploded from inside. The Griever collapsed and slid over the ledge.

"YOU'RE WELCOME BABE!" Alex screamed.

"YOUR THE BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER!" He hollard back.

The rest of the Grievers had managed to separate and came screaming and charging the group of Gladers. That got the group of teenagers moving. Seeing a Griever taken down was the spark that set the fire. The Gladers came storming past her, into battle.

Alex and Bark stood their ground. Her feet planted letting arrow after arrow fly, each one finding a mark. She heard the clash of metal on metal. The screams of human and monster mixing into one indistinguishable sound.

Thomas, Teresa, Chuck and Matt held off for a few seconds. Then in a train of locked hands they sprinted past. Alex had one arrow left. She pulled back and aimed, but at the last second, she heard Chuck call for help. Her target changed instantly and shot at the tail that was coming for him. She let the arrow fly with a yell of her own. The arrow pinned the tail into the stone wall. Thomas used his spear to push the Griever enough so they could make it past, and disappear into the frenzy. She stood dazed for a second.

How the shuck did I do that?

She shook her head, slung her bow over her shoulder and sprinted headlong into the battle, pulling out her knives. Her dog by her side. She ducked under one Griever swinging at its legs. She just made it out from under it as it collapsed, its back legs mangled. Frypan was right there by her side in an instant with a spear trying to push it over the cliff edge.

"WE GOT IT LIL LADY!" Frypan yelled at her. A few more boys came to help push it.

Alex mangeld a few more of its legs while the boys pushed. They managed to roll it off with a yell. Alex turned and tried to find Newt or Minho, and to make sure Tommy, Tess, Matt and Chuck were okay. She saw Minho and Jeff slashing and hacking another collapsing Griever.

She released a breath. She turned and she saw Newt, Matt and Thomas trying to push another Griever over the edge.

She raced over, knocking something sharp out of her way, and kept going. She made it beside Newt and Matt.

"THE SHUCK TOMMY! GO HELP TES AND CHUCK. I GOT THIS! MATT YOU TOO!' She yelled over the noise of battle. Bark was snarling and biting anything that came near Alex.

Thomas nodded and ducked under a leg. Newt had to duck too, avoiding decapitation. The Griever screamed at them. Alex crossed her knives over her head, blocking a Griever tail swung from behind it, over its head. As she pushed it away with one she used the other one to stab the Griever. It screamed and backed away. The tail swung the other way. In a flash of black, and a wild snarl, Bark leapt and knocked Matt backwards, as a sharp appendage almost took off Matt's head. Matt and Bark rolled and she lost sight of them in the chaos.

Alex didn't have time to go after them. The Griever tail swung back at her. She ducked, blocking it again with her crossed knives. She pushed back and slashed it. She managed to hack the claw off. Together Newt and Alex jumped forward to take it down once and for all. Together yelling defiantly, slashing and stabbing. As the Griever was flailing, it managed to slice her forehead. But they took it down.

Matching scare to the shuck box scar.

Newt pulled her away. "You okay?" He painted.

"Ya, it's just a little blood."

He looked at her skeptically, "Alex, your head is bleeding!"

"REALLY? I HADN'T NOTICED THE BLOOD RUNNING DOWN MY FACE!" She yelled back as she used the back of her hand to wipe it out of her eye. Newt rolled his eyes.

"Together? Siblings for the win?!" Alex asked, nodding at the fight.

"Together." Newt nodded. They ran back into the fight.

The Gladers managed to push a few of the Grievers over the edge of the stone cliff bridge. More kept climbing up the sides, like the disgusting spiders they resembled. For every Griever they pushed over the edge or killed, two more took its place.

"WHY ISN'T THAT SHUCKIN DOOR OPEN YET?!' Minho screamed over the racket of metal and human screams. He had shown up beside Alex, at one point, pushing, slashing, stabbing, hacking and ducking.

"I SAW CHUCK ALMOST FALL OVER THE EDGE, THEY SHOULD ALMOST BE THERE. LET'S GO!" Newt shouted back. Minho nodded and took off, followed by Newt. Alex followed.

A metal leg slammed into her back, sending her flying sideways. She hit the ground hard.

She lay there stunned, gasping, trying to breathe. There was nothing in her lungs. And they wouldn't work properly. She was positive a few stitches ripped and she cracked a rib. Someone dropped down beside her. He leaned over, rolling her over.

"ALEX! ALEX? Are you alright?" It was Matt.

He had a big slash on his face, but seemed unharmed otherwise. There was no sign of Bark. Alex just gasped, her lungs still weren't working properly. Matt tried to help sit her up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a claw coming. She still couldn't breathe. She tried to push him out of the way. She wasn't fast enough. The claw grabbed Matt around the waist and tossed him away. Like a rag doll he flew, with a shirt sharp scream. All she could do was watch as his body slammed against the stone wall. Blood splattering everywhere where his body broke, his scream abruptly cut off. His limp broken body fell into the abyss of the black Griever cliff.

Her gasping for air stopped. She couldn't breathe anymore anyways. The noise around her stopped. All she saw was blood and dying friends. Griever slim and motor oil fluid mixed with sticky hot red metallic blood of her family. She saw carnage everywhere. She felt a hand pulling her arm, she couldn't take her eyes off the place Matt had hit the wall. The person was trying to talk to her. Trying to tell her something. Her hearing wasn't working. The person stopped pulling and crouched in front of her. Blocking her view of Matt's blood splatter.

"COME ON ALEX. THEY GOT THE DOOR OPEN. LET'S GO!"

Minho. Minho was in front of her. Her wild eyes tried to focus on his face. Her hearing came back. Her head was nodding "okay...okay. but...Matt..we need to get Matt." Her brain didn't comprehend what just happened. One moment he was beside her, the next his body was splatter all over the wall.

Minho pulled her up and ran down the corridor pulling her with him. He was yelling at the other Gladers who were still standing to back up and pack together. As they ran they had to jump over bodies. She slipped in a pool of blood, she landed on her hands and knees, covering herself in someone's blood. She didn't know who's. She turned her head to the side. She immediately wished she hadn't opened her eyes. She met the cold lifeless eyes of Pedro. He was laying on his side, blood was still oozing out of his wide open stomach.

She gagged. Tears blurring her eyes, blurring her sight. The metallic smell of blood mixed with motor oil from the Grievers turned her stomach. She could taste the blood in the air. She gagged again. Minho pulled her back to her feet, and practically dragged her the rest of the way. She heard him whistle shrilly. Bark came bounding out of nowhere, she was covered in Griever goop, motor oil and blood, whether it was her own or human, Alex couldn't tell. Minho pushed her through the opening towards the back of the group. Him and Bark turned around to help the rest of the guys keep the Grievers at bay.

Alex tried to wipe her bloody hands on her pants. It wasn't working! Her breathing was coming in short gasps.

Chuck rushed up to her, grabbing her. "There is some kind of code!" He yelled urgently.

"EIGHT NUMBERS! ALEX, ANY IDEA?" Teresa yelled from a computer that was built into the side of the stone wall.

8 numbers ...8...numbers...8 sections of the maze...the rotation...! SHUCK! What was the sequence? I can't remember! Minho made me memories it! SHUCK SHUCK SHUCK!

"MINHO!" She screamed. "THE SECTIONS OF THE MAZE! WHATS THE SEQUENCE?" Alex tried pushing through the guys.

"WHAT?" he screamed back, he was at the front of the small group, with Newt and Clint and Frypan. They were pushing a Griever back with their spears.

"The sections of the maze, what's the sequence?" She yelled.

He glanced back at her, yelling in-between grunts and breathing "Seven! One! Five! Two! Six! Four!" She turned and yelled the numbers to Teresa who punched them in as fast as she could.

"HEADS UP!" Newt yelled. A Griever came crashing down from above. It landed on top of Minho.

"MIIIIIINNNHOOOOO!"

The scream ripped from her throat, she tried pushing her way to the front. He was laying on his back, holding his spear sideways. The only thing holding the Grievers mouth from ripping his face off. Minho was yelling and cursing, using every bit of strength to hold it back.

"MINHO!" Alex shrieked again. She pushed A.J. out of the way. Her heart stopped beating. Her world froze. All feeling left her body. The Griever screamed in Minho's face.

"GET. OFF. OF. ME!" Minho grunted through a clenched jaw.

She was NOT going to watch Minho have his face eaten. Newt had grabbed her, holding her back. She screamed again, her heart breaking. She felt this rush of something hot flooding through her blood system. A surge of power, with ease she pushed Newt off, making him fall. She launched forward and pulled back her fist and swung it forward into the Griever's face with a scream. The mechanical face crumpled into itself. It drew its head back enough for Minho to scramble back a little. Alex reached and grabbed onto his runners vest, yanking him up and back. He was on his feet again. She turned and shoved him backwards to safety.

A leg from the crumpled Griever lashed out. She felt the cold steel tip rip her back open. Her blood splattered into the floor. She arched her back as she fell forward with a scream of pain.

"Jeff! JEFF! NOOOOO!!! JEFF!" She heard someone yell.

Alex felt pain searing cross her back. She heard a Griever scream mixed with a human scream and a sick wet ripping sound. She felt something warm splatter her from behind. She withered in pain. She felt hands grab her and pull.

"What's the sequence?" She heard Teresa yell from far away.

"Come on!" Someone else yelled.

"NOOO!"

From right beside her she heard Minho yelled frantically, "Six! Four! Eight! Three! You got it?"

"Keep holding! Almost there, come on!" Newt screamed from the other side. All she could feel was the sharp stinging agonizing pain, and hot sticky blood. The big heavy stone door slammed shut. What was left of the Gladers backed up, Minho dragging Alex with him. The second stone door slammed shut, squishing a Griever in the process.

There was only one more door and one more Griever. They had to hold it back. It screamed, as it raced at them. Thomas was fumbling with the only spear. A broken spear. Before he could get a proper hold on it, a small black furry thing jumped over Alex and into the face of the Griever with a loud snarl of defense and challenge. The Griever shrieked and stumbled back, clamping it's razor jaws down just as the door slammed shut.

"BARK!" Alex shreaked. "NO NO NO NO!" She wailed.