"Minho! Where are you!?"

My grip around Ben's wrist tightened. 

While we've been out to explore a new hallway Ben had discovered, a sudden chasm had opened up, cracking the floor beneath our feet into two. 

A gaping hole, out of nowhere, disobeying every law of physics like a teenager would disobey their parents. 

Not that I knew anything of parents or biological families. 

The only family I knew right now was dangling of a cliff's edge, grabbing onto my arm for dear life.

The earthquake that had been shaking the floor as cracks parted it open, had thrown me and the boy off balance, making us stumble and almost fall into our deaths. 

I was lucky enough to catch myself by holding onto the towering wall next to me, but for Ben, fate wasn't this generous. 

He had tried to stop in time to not run into the gaping abyss in front of him, but his own momentum had hurled him over the precipice. 

Now I was holding onto his arm, with his fingernails painfully digging into my skin. 

"Minho, you sick son of a bitch!"

I could feel my palms getting sweaty. Ben was slipping out of my grip. Trying to stop myself from slipping, I rammed my heels into the ground. 

Minho had disappeared a few seconds ago, right after the ground had opened up. 

Anxiety roared inside of me when the terrifying thought of him falling into nothingness flashed up before my eyes. 

He was right behind us, where did that shank run off to?!

Gasping for breath, I tried to steady my stance. 

I couldn't hold on like this. 

Ben looked at me with his eyes wide in fear. My knees began to tremble. 

I forced my body to steady itself, until my legs buckled and fell onto the gravel ground, stomach first.

My mind was racing, desperately searching for anything that could possibly help us. 

Hold on, hold on. Minho will help us. Don't let go. 

"Minho!" 

Ben was heavier than me. I could barely hold onto his wrist, and he was starting to pull me down into the seemingly endless darkness with him.

"Help. Please" His voice was nothing but a raw whisper. 

Tiny rocks cut through my skin, ripped my shirt. I felt tears swelling up in my eyes, until I furiously blinked them away. 

Small stains of blood marked the ground with smeared, red streaks. 

I cried out in frustration. My skin was sprinkled with sore bruises from his hands clutching around my arms. 

I held his wrist just as tight. Desperately searching for something to stop us from falling to our deaths, I reached out behind me. 

Finally, my fingers caught hold of a cartilaginous root, followed by the feeling of ivy vines, where I harshly wrapped my hand around. 

It worked for a second, steadying my posture, before gravity dragged me down again. As stubborn as it was. 

I screamed out in pain, my body protesting against the brutal feeling of my arms nearly being ripped out of my shoulders. 

"Minho!" 

"Grace...?", Ben's eyes were red, his face twisted in fear. 

"I'm not... letting go of you!", I clenched my teeth as tears rolled down my cheeks. 

My muscles were burning as if every cell in my body had been replaced by pieces of hot coal. 

Every thought spun around my brain like wild birds trapped in cages. 

Hold on, hold on!

Ben's hand suddenly lost its grip and he fell.

I saw his mouth forming a silent scream, before he disappeared out of my view. My heart dropped faster than he did when everything fell into slow motion, frozen in time. 

But before my brain could realize what happened, I saw somebody hurtling next to me and grabbing onto the falling figure of Ben.

I let out a yell of surprise, before I rushed forward to help Minho to pull up the boy. 

With a harsh jolt, the two of us managed to drag Ben back onto safety again. 

The second all of us stumbled back, I grunted from exhaustion and sunk onto the floor, my back leaning against one of the many walls of the Maze.

Ivy itched at my neck, but I felt like I would never bring myself to stand up again, even if I wanted to. Which I didn't. 

Ben was shaking and gasping for air as if he was trying to breathe in every last bit of oxygen in this world. He was paper pale, coughing until I thought he might throw up any second.

Breathing heavily, I tugged a loose strand of hair behind my ear and wiped my wet palms on the ripped trousers that were dusty from rolling in the dirt. 

Too bad for the creators when they find out that I've once again destroyed another pair of pants. I've probably cost them more clothes than my actual life was worth. 

"Minho, you shuck face!" 

I took a deep breath, already chewing on my bottom lip. 

The boy just laughed but he too was out of breath, wiping his sweaty forehead with the palm of his hand. 

"It's not my fault that you two are too stupid to not get lost! I thought you two followed me after that cliff popped up, and the next second you're gone!"

I rubbed my hurting muscles. 

"Where the hell were we supposed to follow you?! You just disappeared! I thought you died!", my voice cracked a bit. 

"I turned left... I mean, there was a corridor", Minho explained quietly. 

There sure as hell wasn't one. 

My face must've spoken out my thoughts, because the Asian kid scratched his neck, with confusion in his eyes. 

"You sure?" 

I nodded. "The creators did this. They played their mind-tricks on us, those fuckers", I hissed, angry at the people who sent us here. 

But my eyes landed on Ben who was still shaking uncontrollably and my rage quickly disappeared again. 

I scooted closer to the boy, carefully putting my hand on his back. 

"Ben hey, it's okay. It's okay", my voice was low, trying not to startle him too much. 

The blond boy gasped, a wild look behind his eyes, suddenly reminding me of pictures from shell-shocked soldiers. 

He glanced up at Minho and me, trying a weak smile. 

"Thanks guys."

I laughed still slightly out of breath. 

"Thanks to Minho. I nearly died with you. You're heavier than I thought" 

Not the best time for jokes, but my mouth sometimes worked faster before my brain could stop it. 

Minho chuckled quietly. 

"At least were all safe...for now" 

He looked up at the clear, blue sky. 

"But we better get going, before the doors close."

I looked down at my arms. Small scratches made their way down to my palms. Everything was burning. My lungs, my muscles, the cuts. 

Awesome. This is how candles must feel all the time. 

But Minho was right. We shouldn't challenge our luck too much. 

I forced myself to get up and start jogging, which felt like having to wake up in the middle of the night.

With Ben and Minho both safe and sound by my side, I couldn't stop my thoughts from spinning.

 We nearly died. 

And all because of the creators. 

They cracked open the ground. They led Minho away from Ben and me, only to make their sick little TV show a little more exciting. 

I huffed out the anger that bubbled inside of me, when we turned the last corner, finally entering the Glade, its green trees sleepily swaying in the breeze. 

I couldn't help but grin. 

At home at last. 

We kept our pace, and I instantly had to squint my hurting eyes from the sudden brightness. The sun was as warm and welcoming as ever. 

I noticed how much I cherished every second of it. 

Didn't surprise me at all, I had to be honest. 

Near death experiences, am I right? Typical tuesday. 

I almost laughed at myself. 

Even before we took the first steps on the dry grass, I could see Chuck standing near the entrance with another guy in a blue shirt I didn't recognize.

Today must have been the day where the Box sends up new resources...and a new Greenie. Poor guy, now he had to handle Chuck's tick of scaring others during their bathroom time. 

But a new Greenie also meant that Chuck got promoted. 

Finally. 

About damn time he got rid of that stupid nickname. 

Greenbean... who's idea even was this?!

"Ay, Chuck!", I yelled grinning widely and waving at him. The kid turned, a big smile on his face as he waved with both arms. He yelled something back while laughing. 

Chuck was one of my closest friends in the Glade. For me, he was what I imagined a little brother to be. Even if he got a kick out of spooking others on the toilet. 

I guessed this was what brothers were supposed to be like.

 The second he got up in that Box, I've always had the urge to protect him at all cost from that moment on.

When any of the Gladers dared to be mean to him because he was clumsy from time to time, they would find themselves with the Medjacks the next day. 

From that one day he'd managed to make Theo run after him in anger for the second time, I instantly felt like I would kill everyone in the Glade and then myself, if anything happened to the small boy.

"Ayyy, buddy! Level up!" 

I high-fived him while laughing when I saw his excited face. 

"Hey Chuck. New Greenie, huh? How does it feel to be promoted?" 

Ben asked with a small smile as we ran past the two boys. 

Said Greenie seemed about the age of sixteen with short, dark hair and soft brown eyes.

Something in the back of my mind tingled as I looked at the new boy. Like a memory wanted to escape whatever door the creators built in my head but I couldn't quite grasp it.

He had a look of confusion on his face, with his brows furrowed when he turned his head to look at us. I could see Minho silently judging him with a curious face as the three of us jogged by.

"Feels great, Ben" 

Chuck smiled and waved slightly. 

Then he looked at me and my ragged clothes and his eyebrows shot up to below his curly hairline.

"Heya Grace. Rough day?", he started yelling again because of the distance we were putting between the two boys. 

I tried to grin, but it turned out to be more of a grimace. 

"You could say so. Don't get Greenbean too confused!" 

Okay, it was fun to say. 

He tilted his head, but laughed too. 

"I won't"

We kept running at our calm pace, until we met Alby. The one and only. Our leader.

"So. What happened?", he asked as soon as we stopped, with his arms crossed like a father that was discussing a serious topic with his impatient children. 

I laughed awkwardly and ducked my head, glancing down to avoid eye contact. Sometimes, Alby would stare without blinking, making me anxiously fidget with my fingers before I eventually answered. 

"We had a small inconvenience" 

Minho scoffed. 

"Small? You two nearly died!" 

Alby looked between Minho and me, his eyes stern. "Died? What do you mean, died?"

"Okay I may have understated it" 

"You definitely understated it!"

But before we could argue more, Alby harshly shushed us. 

"Okay, enough! Get yourselves together now! You three will tell me about your trip later, and you won't leave out any details, am I clear?", he looked at every one of us, before continuing. 

"Now. Grace, you go and wash of the blood. Ben? You should get some rest, you look like klunk. We've got a new Greenie and you all should be able to be at the bonfire" 

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. 

"I don't need to-"

But his face quickly made me shut up. 

Before any of us could say something else, we suddenly saw the other Gladers hurrying towards the entrance of the Maze. 

I heard stressed-out shouting and nervous mumbling. The sudden uneasiness made me eerie. 

We quickly neared the group of boys, who were crowded around the new boy in the blue shirt. 

Somebody was speaking. 

"Hey, stay calm. Calm!" 

It was Gally, holding out his hands like he was trying to calm down a startled deer. 

"Where you headin' to?", I asked with my hands buried in the pockets of my deranged pants. 

I carefully tried to approach the new boy, who was stumbling and backing off like a scared animal that got constricted.

 "Hey what the hell is wrong with you guys?!", he shouted, enraged by the crowd of people blocking him from the entrance. 

"Just calm down alright?" 

I saw a blond boy holding out his arm in a manner of we-don't-want-to-hurt-you. 

Newt.

"No! Why won't you tell me what's out there?"

Blue-shirt guy paced back and forth, searching for a gap in the wall of Gladers. 

A familiar déja-vu feeling made me frown. I've had a similar conversation on my first day.

"We're just tryin' to protect you, man" 

Alby stood tall in front of the Greenie, serious and with an air of authority. 

"For your own good." 

"Calm down and we will tell you everything. Big promise!" I stepped forward, next to Newt and Alby.

 "You guys can't just keep me here!" 

I could feel his frustration boiling.

"I can't let you leave", Alby answered. 

"Why not?!" 

He got cut of.

The walls started to rumble.

It started. 

Almost instantly, I put my arm in front of Chuck. 

I did it without thinking about it. It was a reflex. Mother instincts? 

A strong gust of wind made the walls howl with echos. It blew the hair out of my face and made me close my eyes from the dust that swirled up. 

The Greenie turned around to look at the looming hallway. 

"What the hell...?" 

I heard a small trace of fear in his voice.

With a loud growl almost sounding like a sleeping giant, the doors started to close. Slowly but sternly, the indestructible stone walls blocked out more and more of the dimly lit view. 

I scrunched my nose at the disgusting sound that made my ears rattle. 

They closed with a satisfying click, the echo chiming through the Glade, reverberating off the other walls that were surrounding our home. 

It went quiet.

Nobody said a word, only staring at their feet beneath them, lost in their own thoughts. Until Gally eventually broke the silence. 

"Next time, I'm gonna let you leave" 

And with those words, he went back to the shelters, slowly followed by the others. 

The drama was over, so everyone went back to their tasks. This is how we usually ended arguments in here. 

Greenie was still looking at the stone walls in disbelief. 

Yes, those were trapping us inside the Glade, which wasn't that amazing. But at the same time, they were keeping out the horrors of the Maze, which were much...much worse than being trapped in here. 

"Welcome to the Glade", Alby lowered his head as a greeting, before he left with the others.

"You will get used to it. Trust me." 

I gave the Greenie a pat on his shoulder, a small smile on my lips. 

Joining Chuck and Newt who were already waiting for me, I spread my arms in a dramatic way. 

"You two are too kind"

"Oh, shut up. You've got some explaining to do", Newt tried to look serious, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile. 

Chuck was reaching his hand for mine, which I gladly took. 

Newt looked at my clothes, which looked like I've been attacked by an aggressive cat.

"I don't know how you keep doing this.", He sighed with feigned annoyance. 

I had to chuckle. 

"You wish you knew, don't ya?"

"Maybe I do, but maybe I don't"

Next to me, Chuck laughed. 

With Chuck's soft grip around my hand and Newt by my side, I finally felt safe, in some way. 

I knew I would never forget the eerie feeling that stuck with me since I first entered the Maze. But with them -With my family- I could manage to push those thoughts away. 

It felt good to talk about something else than the constant threat around us, but instead joke about the stupidest things. 

A bit childish, yes...maybe. 

But we had enough time to worry about other things, so why not enjoy the little moment of comfort. 

A/N: I don't have much to say, really.
Except for CHUCK IS HER LITTLE BROTHER NOW AND YOU CAN'T CHANGE THAT! HAVE FUN WHEN THE LAST CHAPTERS HAPPEN, HA!

I had to write this three times during editing because Wattpad kept breaking down before I could save it and then I burned my hand on the computer. I think I cried like four times today.