Early the next morning Amelia, Ben and Minho were to set out to explore the maze. Alby and Amelia stood near the wall with the names. They had lost so many of their fellow Gladers. So many people had died along the way. Some were killed and some took their own lives. Being cooped up in a maze with no way out, could drive anyone to insanity.
Amelia felt guilty since going in and exploring the maze was her idea. An idea that got so many of them killed.

The girl traced her fingers over one of the newly scratched out names. Alex.

He was the one they lost a few days ago. Amelia had noticed the change in his behaviour. He had become more distant, staying by himself. But even with her knowing she couldn't stop him from taking his own life.

She could not lose another one.

“How long will we keep this up? For how long will we give them hope?” Amelia asked her friend and Alby looked at the girl. He did not want to do this but doing this was the only way to not spread panic and to keep them all grounded.

“For as long as we have to.”

Amelia was not sure if she could stay in this place that long. She turned around to see Gally and Newt near the doors waiting for them. They were here to send her off again like they do every morning when she goes out into the maze. She didn't even know how they knew she was going in. Did they know the runners schedule?

Alby caught sight of the two boys and he chuckled. “Those two are already up,” Alby said as they made their way toward them. Amelia chuckled, shaking her head. Minho had to be the one to tell them when she'd be going into the maze. That's the only explanation as to how they knew.

Alby stopped in front of the boy. “Shouldn't you two be sleeping? You have a long day ahead of you,” Alby reminded the two.

“Yes, but we wanted to send off Lia. Make sure she stays safe out there,” Newt said, his eyes drifting to Amelia who gave him a reassuring smile. She was always safe out there. “I always stay safe. It is not my first time out there.”

The three of them had never set foot outside the Glade so the maze seemed scary for them. While for Amelia, the first day she arrived she ran into the maze looking for a way out. She wasn't scared of the maze, she was scared of never finding a way out.

“Be careful, please.”

“I always am, Gally. Don't worry,” Amelia gave him a smile that hopefully will put him at ease.
Minho and Ben joined them almost right on time. “Ready to leave now?” Minho asked and he looked between the three by Amelia's side.

The brunette nodded her head. “Let us go.”

She turned to Gally and Newt. “I'll see you two later tonight. We do need to have talk.”

“Talk? I don't like the sound of that,” Gally said and Amelia chuckled. “You will like this talk.” She send the two a wink before she, Minho and Ben ran into the maze.
Ben smirked ready to tease the girl.

Newt looked at Gally who looked just as confused as him. Alby just smiled at the two boys as he patted their backs. For as long as he had known them, they had been in love with his best friend. They had made it pretty clear to everyone who arrived with the box that she was off limits. While most of the boys never looked at Amelia in a romantic way, there were the few who did and those few never lived a carefree day in the maze.

Alby shook his head as he turned to walk off leaving the two at the doors.

* * *

The three stopped in front of the white grey semented wall just a few miles from the entrance of the Glade. They've only been running a few miles and by the looks of it, Ben already seemed tired.  They had always split up around here. It was the one place they could find every time they exited the Glade. Minho and her usually split up while she usually advised other runners to always stay together. Her and Minho knew the maze so it was easier for them to navigate. The others still had a harder time.

Amelia glanced up at the sky.
“Let us meet before the doors close. Be careful,” Minho said and his eyes drifted to Ben and then to Amelia. “All right but if either of us aren't here by that time, just go. Do not wait,” Amelia said. It was safer to get back to the Glade than be stuck in the maze with the other two who didn't make it back.

Minho was skeptical but he nodded anyway. “See you two later then,” Ben said before he ran straight. They have decided to explore the first three sections they find.

Amelia nodded at Minho before she ran left and he went right. The maze had changed again, so it was the same pattern.

She ran the network of passages and looked around. She had memorized the walls and the way it moved. Over the past three years she had become accustomed to how the maze changed. She knew when they were set to change and which passages would be different from the previous day.

Amelia was now nearing section five, if she had remembered correctly. Last month she had explored section two, three and six. It had been a while since she had been near section five.

The brunette rounded the corner to see the huge number five. Sector five was open. It did not look as much has changed. Just like any other the other walls there was huge Ivy vines on the walls. She ran her fingers over the thick ivy vine.

Amelia neared the big number five and immediately stopped in her tracks when she heard the familiar metallic grinding sound coming from Sector five. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was.

A Griever.

She immediately ran away while not making a sound. She passed through the labyrinth in section five. A griever in broad daylight was very unusual. Something must have happened for a griever to still be out. Did something go wrong?

She rounded the corner when her eyes fell on another Griever just outside sector five. The griever had the grotesque appearance of a giant slug, but periodically metal spikes push through the skin. It also has random metal arms capped with destructive tools.

The girl had started to panic. The day had just started and she already encountered a griever in broad daylight.

Why was this happening? Were the creators of this maze testing them or what? Why are they doing this?

The girl immediately hid away before it could see her.

Her heart dropped to her throat. She had only encountered a griever once when she had first explored the maze with another runner who had unfortunately lost his life.
She was able to get away by hiding but after that day she was traumatized.

She just had to make sure they do not sense her. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. The metallic grinding sound was nearing where she was now hidden.

She looked down the path from where she came. Amelia had avoided the one griever now she encountered another. It's rare to encounter one and she had just encountered two. What were they doing?

Her eyes moved up to the ivy vines. If she hid herself, the griever will avoid her. She had to think fast. Amelia jumped up to grab on to the ivy vine but she accidentally hit her knee against the wall. The girl groaned but she pushed her fist into her mouth to not scream. She looked down and her knee had started to turn red. She jumped again and grabbed on to the vine before she pulled herself up. It had been hard to push her body up with her knee that was now burning.

She hid between the vines, making herself invincible.

Her eyes fell on the side just when the mettalic arm came into view. Amelia closed her eyes to not see what happened next. She tried hard to calm her pounding heart but it was difficult with the situation she was currently in. She did not want to see the griever. Amelia held on to the vine with all her might. She made sure her foot would not slip.

Amelia slowly opened her eyes when she heard the metallic grinding sound fading into the distance. The griever had passed her. The girl waited ten minutes to ensure the griever was far away. Her heart was still pounding in her ribcage, not once letting up.

Amelia untangled herself from the vines. She looked down and jumped down. Her ankle twisted to the side and she internally screamed. She couldn't scream. She cannot alert them of her whereabouts.
The girl groaned, and winced. It looked like today was not her day. First her knee and now her ankle. Her hand moved to her necklace to make sure she still had it on her.

She looked behind her and went the way she had came from. She cannot run, so she had to walk back to the Glade now.