Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Griever
Someone shook Thomas awake.He opened his eyes suddenly and saw a face approaching.The surrounding area is still shrouded in the shadow of the morning that has not yet lighted up.He opened his mouth to speak, but was covered by a cold hand, too tight to open.Panic spread until he saw who it was before him.
"Shh, rookie. Don't want to wake Chuck up just yet, do you?"
It was Newt who came—he seemed to be the second in command here, and the air was filled with the tone of his getting up early in the morning.
Although Thomas was a little taken aback, the alertness dissipated immediately.He couldn't hold back the curiosity in his heart, he didn't know what the child wanted.Thomas nodded, trying to express agreement with his eyes, and finally Newt let go of his hand and stood back.
"Come on, rookie," the tall boy murmured, bending over and pulling Thomas up—he was so strong that he nearly pulled Thomas' arm off, "should show you something before you get out of bed. "
Thomas was sleepless at the moment. "Okay." He just said, ready to follow him right away.He knew he should remain skeptical, had no reason to trust anyone, but curiosity got the better of him in the end.He bent down quickly and stepped into the shoes. "where are we going?"
"Just follow me, just follow me."
Several times they slipped past sleeping children, and Thomas almost tripped over them.He stepped on someone's hand, which resulted in a groan of pain, followed by a hard blow on the calf.
"Sorry." He whispered, ignoring Newt's dissatisfied expression.
They stepped out of the grass onto the hard gray flagstones of the courtyard, and Newt ran for the west wall.Thomas hesitated at first, wondering why he wanted to run like this, but he soon came back to his senses and followed at the same pace.
The light was dim, but all obstacles loomed as black shadows, so he galloped all the way.When Newt stopped, he stopped too.The two stood on the edge of a high wall that towered over their heads like a skyscraper—another inadvertent blur that remained in his erased memory.Thomas noticed tiny red lights flickering, moving and stopping, coming on and off along the wall.
"What are those?" He lowered his voice and said, not sure if his voice was trembling as he felt, the flashing red light was secretly warning something.
Newt stood two feet in front of a thick patch of ivy against the wall. "You'll know when you need to know, rookie."
"Well, it would be stupid to send me somewhere where there's no point and no answers," Thomas paused, surprising even himself, "Sink," he continued, throwing all the Sarcasm is baked into the word.
Newt laughed, but stopped shortly afterwards. "I like you, rookie. Now shut up and let me show you something."
Newt stepped forward, reached into the thick ivy, and parted several strands of vines from the wall, revealing a dusty window below—a square window about two feet wide.At this time, the window was pitch black, as if it had been painted black.
"What are you looking for?" Thomas asked softly.
"Don't worry, boy, it'll be there soon."
A minute passed, and another minute, and then many minutes passed.Thomas fidgeted a little, wondering how Newt could stand there quietly and patiently, staring into the darkness where he couldn't see anything.
Just then, it changed.
An eerie gleam of light came through the window, casting flickering rainbows of light on Newt's body and face, as if he were standing by the edge of an illuminated swimming pool.Thomas was motionless, looking hard, trying to make out what was in the window, something choked his throat.what is that?he thought.
"That side is the maze," Newt murmured, eyes wide open as if in a daze. "Everything we do—all our lives, rookie—is built around the maze. Every day we love, Loving every second, we're all for the maze, to solve all the hidden secrets. It's going to have answers, you know? We want you to see it all, to make you understand why you can't screw it up, why these The walls are closed every night to make you understand why you can never go outside there."
Newt took a step back, the vine still in his hand.He motioned for Thomas to come to his place and look out the window.
Thomas did so, leaning forward, touching the cold glass with his nose.It took a second for his eyes to see the moving object on the other side—see through the dirt and dust what Newt wanted him to see.When he did this, he felt his heart rise to his throat, as if the cold wind was blowing in front of him, freezing the air in an instant.
A large and thick animal the size of a cow, with no obvious shape, twisted and wriggled on the ground of the outer passage.It scrambled up the other side of the wall and jumped up the thick glass of the window with a thud.Thomas screamed and backed away from the window—but the thing bounced back, and the glass wasn't damaged in the slightest.
Thomas took two deep breaths and leaned forward again.It was too dark to see clearly, but strange lights emanated from nowhere, revealing indistinct silver spikes and reflective bodies.Protruding from its body were protruding arms with prongs bearing tools: a saw blade, a pair of large shears, and long shafts—the purpose of which could only be guessed.
This Griever is a terrifying mixture of animals and machines. It seems to sense that someone is watching it, it seems to know what is inside the high wall of the glade, and it seems to be eager to enter the high wall and feast on human flesh.Thomas felt a cold fear welling up in his chest, spreading like a tumor, choking him to breathe.Although his memory was wiped, he was sure that he had never seen such a terrible thing.
He took a few steps back, and the little bit of courage he had just found last night was gone.
"What is that thing?" His internal organs were trembling, wondering if he could still eat.
"We call them Griever," Newt replied. "Scary stuff, isn't it? Thankfully, Griever only comes out at night, thanks to these high walls."
Thomas swallowed, wondering if he would ever be able to leave the place.His desire to become a walker was greatly discouraged, but he had to do it.Somehow he was convinced he needed to do this.It felt so eerie - especially after what he had just witnessed.
Newt stared casually out the window. "Now do you know what is hidden in the maze, my friend? Now you understand that this is not a joke. You were sent to the glade, rookie, and we hope you survive and help us accomplish our mission here. "
"What kind of mission?" Thomas asked, though he dreaded hearing the answer.
Newt turned his head, staring into his eyes.The first rays of dawn fell on them, and Thomas could see every detail of Newt's face, the tautness of his skin, the furrow of his brow.
"Find your way out, rookie," Newt said. "Scissor the dreaded maze and find your way home."
Two hours later, the gate was reopened, with a rumbling roar, accompanied by the shaking of the earth, until the gate was fully opened.Thomas sat at a crooked, battered picnic table outside the big house, the Griever haunting him.What are they for?What are they doing at night?What are the consequences of being attacked by such a terrifying thing?
He struggled to get out of these images and turn his attention to something else.Walkers—they just left without a word, rushed into the maze at full speed, and disappeared around the corner.He picked up eggs and bacon with a fork as he pictured them, not talking to anyone, not even Chuck—he sat quietly beside him.The poor boy tried everything he could to start a conversation with Thomas, but he refused to respond, he just wanted to be alone for a while.
He couldn't figure it out, his brain was overwhelmed trying to make sense of this seemingly impossible situation.How could a maze with high walls be so huge?Dozens of kids still can't crack it after trying for who knows how long?How can such a structure exist?And the more important question is, why?What purpose might such a thing serve?Why is everyone here?How long have they been here?
Although he wished to put all these aside, the evil Griever still haunted him.Whenever he blinked or rubbed his eyes, its ghostly shadow would jump before his eyes.
Thomas knew he was a little bit smart-he could feel it in his bones.However, there is nothing in this place for man to understand, except for one point - he is destined to be a walker.Why did he have such strong feelings?Even now, after he witnessed the Griever that lived in the labyrinth?
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he woke up from his contemplation.He looked up to find Alby standing behind him, arms folded.
"Shouldn't you be refreshed?" said Alby, "after the view from the window this morning?"
Thomas stood up, hoping in his heart that this would be the moment for an answer—or perhaps, for something to distract him from his desperate thoughts. "Enough to make me want to know more about this place," he said, just hoping not to provoke the person in front of him, having seen Alby's rage the day before.
Alby nodded. "The tour starts now, me and you, Shank." He was about to take a step, but stopped, and held up a finger. "Don't ask me any questions until it's over, understand? We have a whole day time for you to nag."
"But..." Seeing Alby's raised eyebrows, Thomas swallowed the words again.Why is this guy acting like an asshole? "But you have to tell me everything - I need to know everything." Last night, he decided not to mention it to anyone, the place was eerily familiar, he had a strange feeling that he had been here before - he remembered things about it , telling this to others doesn't seem like a good idea.
"I'll tell you what I want to tell you, rookie, let's go."
"Can I come?" Chuck asked from the table.
Alby bent down and twisted the boy's ear.
"Ouch!" Chuck screamed.
"Don't you have any other work to do, fool?" said Alby. "There's a lot waiting for you."
Chuck gave him a blank look and said to Thomas, "Have fun."
"I'll do my best." He suddenly felt sorry for Chuck, and wished everyone could treat the kid better.There was nothing he could do about it, though, and it was time for him to go.
He followed Alby, hoping that this would be the beginning of the official tour.