| chapter 37: the creators |

DAWN

There was light in front of me, but it was so far away. My feet were dragging me through the darkness but I wasn't going anywhere. I heard a voice behind me, screaming my name, making me look over my shoulder.

'Dawn!'

I gasped for air and opened my eyes. My breath was heavy, as if I'd been running for miles. I blinked, trying to get away the blur that lingered before my eyes. Newt's face was the only thing in my view. He looked worried, but there was also relief on his face.

'W-what happened?' I asked, while gasping for air.

He smiled. 'We won. Thomas punched in his magic code, all the Grievers are lying here for dead.'

I tried to stand up but a sharp pain in my shoulder stopped me from moving, a hiss left my lips.

Newt looked worried at my shoulder. 'How did that happen?'

I looked at the wound as well. Blood covered my shoulder and part of my arm. A little silver metal part of the Griever's spike was still stuck in the wound.

'I can't pull it out, it might start bleeding if we do,' Newt said. 

I nodded and bit my lip. 'So, what? I have to walk around with a piece of Griever in me,' I groaned

'It appears so, just be careful and don't move it too much. I'm no Med-jack, sorry,' he said, and took my hand.

I winced and closed my eyes, took a deep breath and then I let Newt pull me up.

'Lean on me, okay?' He whispered.

I nodded, nausea threatening to overwhelm me.

'Come on,' Newt said, and slowly we walked to the others.

Everywhere I looked there were Grievers lying on the floor. They looked dead. It was weird and scary at the same time.

'He did it!' Frypan yelled.

He was standing at the edge of the Cliff with another few Gladers. There weren't much left... Winston, Frypan, Minho, Newt and another few Gladers unknown to me.

'Let's go then,' Minho said and he turned to the cliff. I frowned when I saw the four ivy ropes. They hung in the air. Into nothing, and formed the doorway to the Griever Hole.

'Try to jump through that, because if you don't...well let's not talk about that.' Minho said. Then he took a leap, bend his knees and jumped. His body flew through the sky before it disappeared into nothing. I heard gasps from the Gladers behind me.

'Your turn,' Newt said to me. 'You think you can make it?' He looked at my shoulder.

'I don't have much of a choice, do I?' I whispered and squeezed his hand to let him know I was fine. I threw one last look over my shoulder. My stomach turned around at the sight of bloody human remains and dead bodies. A shiver crawled down my sine and I turned back to the Cliff. I tried to do the same as Minho while moving my shoulder as little as possible.

I took a leap, bend my knees and jumped. For a few horrible seconds I was weightless. I gasped, afraid that I would miss the Hole, but then a weird feeling, as if I was pushed under water came over me and then I fell down on the ground. A pained shout escaped my mouth as a sharp pain went through my shoulder.

'Dawn!' I looked up and saw Thomas standing beside me, covered in blood and Griever sludge. He helped me to my feet and I gave him a careful hug. 'You did it,' I whispered, realising he saved my life. If he'd been a few seconds later, I'd be dead.

Thomas shrugged. 'We did it,' He said, making me smile.

Suddenly Newt landed on the spot I'd been in a few seconds ago. He stood up and was followed by Frypan. Then Winston and the others. We made twenty-one together.

'The rest?' Thomas asked, his voice soft.

'Half of us,' Newt said, his voice weak. 'Dead.' The silence that followed was heavy as everyone grieved for their fallen friends.

I turned my gaze to the ground and felt so guilty for feeling relieved that I was still alive.

'You know what?' Minho broke the silence, standing up a little taller. 'Half might've died, but half of us shucking lived. And nobody got stung, just like Thomas thought. We've gotta get out of here.'

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay strong. Minho was right, we were still alive and we were going to end this.

'Let's get out of here,' Newt said. 'Right now.'

'Where do we go?' Minho asked.

Thomas pointed down a long tunnel up ahead. 'I heard a door open down that way.'

I stared into the darkness, my heart beating nervously.

'Well, let's go,' Minho said and the older boy turned and walked into the tunnel without waiting for a response.

Newt nodded, gesturing for the other Gladers to follow. One by one they disappeared after Minho into the dark.

'I'll go last,' Thomas said. No one argued.

Newt took my hand and walked with me into the tunnel. Chuck followed us, then Teresa and Thomas closed the line.

After a minute or so of shuffling along in complete and utter darkness, there was a shriek from ahead, followed quickly by another. Their cries faded away as if they were falling...I felt something tightening around my chest. What was happening?

Murmurs made their way down the line. The Glader before Newt and me turned to us. 'Looks like it ends in a slide up there, shooting downward.'

Newt turned around to tell Chuck behind us.

I narrowed and stared into the tunnel, trying to see it. One by one I heard the Glader's shouts fading away. Then it was my turn. Nervously I turned to look at Newt. He gave me a small nod. Then I took a deep breath and slipped down the slide.

Wind hit, knocking the air from my lungs. My stomach swam with nerves. Who knew to what new horrors this slide would bring us? My body shot down and suddenly I noticed the slide was slick with an oily goo that smelled awful, like burnt plastic and machinery. I closed my eyes and tried to keep my shoulder from moving too much, but every turn blew a new horrible pang of pain through me.

The tunnel began to twist, turning into a rough spiral, just enough to slow me down. I was still falling. Time seemed to stretch out, endless. Around and around I went, down the tube. Then I heard a sharp cry before me and this time there was no echo. A second later I flew out of the tunnel and landed on the ground.

I groaned when a flash of pain numbed my body for a moment. Then I blinked and tried to stand up, but my body refused. Carefully, more slow this time, I tried again. Finally I stood, although I felt really sick, dizzy and my shoulder was burning. Behind me I heard someone throwing up. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds and decided not to look around.

Soon all the Gladers were on their feet and my eyes widened once I saw where we were.

We were standing in a huge underground chamber big enough to hold nine or ten Homesteads. From top to bottom, side to side, the place was covered in all kinds of machinery and wires and ducts and computers. 

On one side of the room, to my right, there was a row of forty or so large white pods that looked like enormous coffins. Across from that on the other side stood large glass doors, although the lighting made it impossible to see what was on the other side.

'Look!' Someone shouted.

A row of twenty darkly tinged windows stretched across te room horizontally, one after the other. I felt my stomach turning, my head hurting and my heartbeat rising when I saw what was behind them. Thousand emotions ran through my body, fighting to find a place to put themselves. Behind each window, a person, some men, some women, all of them pale and thin, sat observing us, staring through the glass with squinted eyes. I shuddered.

They all looked like ghosts. Angry, starving, shadows of the people they once had been, but I knew they were not ghosts. They were the people who'd sent us all to the Glade. The people who'd taken our lives away from us. The people responsible for so many deaths. For Lisa's death...The Creators.