Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Looking for Signs of Life

Thomas watched in horror as the Griever approached along the corridors of the maze. It was the product of a failed experiment, a creature stepped out of a nightmare—part animal, part machine, heaving and rattling as it went.It looked like a giant slug, with sparse hair and shiny mucus, and it shook weirdly when it breathed.I couldn't tell where it was head and where it was tail, but it was about six feet long and four feet wide from end to end. Every ten to fifteen seconds, sharp metal spikes suddenly emerged from the ball-shaped body, and the ghost fire beast shrank into a ball and rolled forward.After rolling for a while, it stopped, as if straightening the internal parts of the body, those thorns retracted into the wet skin again, and there was a dull sound.It repeats the process, advancing only a few feet at a time.

Not only hairs and thorns grow out of the Griever's body, it has several mechanical legs, which seem to be placed randomly, and each has a different function—some are tied with strong flashlights, and some have more. A horrible long needle.On one leg, there is a claw with only three fingers, which is sometimes closed and sometimes separated, and its purpose is unknown.When the Griever rolls over, these legs fold up to protect it from being crushed.Thomas wondered who—or what—could make something so hideous and disgusting. He finally understood what all the sounds he had just heard were.When the Griever rolls, it makes a whirring sound of metal running fast, like a chainsaw spinning at high speed.The spines and legs, also made of metal, make a grinding sound as they glide across the stony ground.But what made Thomas's spine shudder the most was the groaning sound made by the Griever when it sat still, like the wailing of a dying man on the battlefield, lingering and full of death breath.

Thomas saw it all, and the voice completely matched the ghost fire beast in front of him.No matter how badly he had a nightmare, he would never dream that such an ugly thing was approaching him step by step.He tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart, forced his body to remain still, and hid in the ivy.He was sure his only hope of survival was to hide and not be found by it. Maybe it won't find us, he thought, hoping.He had hope in his heart, but the grim facts made his heart fall like a big rock.It seemed that his exact location was exposed by the blade beetle just now. The Griever rolled, rattled, twisted, howled, and whirled forward.As soon as it stopped, it spread its metal legs and turned in all directions, like a robot looking for signs of life on an alien planet, its lamp casting a gloomy shadow in the maze.A memory from the past suddenly emerged in Thomas's frozen brain. He remembered the shadow he saw on the wall when he was a child, and the picture frightened him.He wanted to go back to his childhood and escape to his parents.Parents must still be alive, somewhere in the world, desperately looking for themselves.

A pungent smell rushed over—like an overheated engine mixed with burnt skin, making one sick.Thomas couldn't imagine what kind of person could build such a terrible machine and use it to hunt children. Thomas didn't want to think about it, closed his eyes tightly, and held his breath.The Griever kept approaching him. Hoo hoo... Click, click, click... Hoo hoo... Click, click, click... Thomas moved his eyes, looked down - the Griever came to the wall, just below, and stopped in front of the closed gate to the clearing, only a few yards from Thomas' right leg. Go away, please go away.Thomas prayed inwardly.

turn around. go away. go there. I beg you! The Griever's thorns stretched out again, moving towards Thomas and Alby. Hoo hoo... Click, click, click... It stopped, curled up again, and rolled directly towards the corner of the wall. Thomas held his breath, not daring to make a sound.The Griever sat directly below them, and Thomas wanted to look down, but he knew that any movement at this point would give away his location.The light on the ghost fire beast illuminated the surroundings, and the beams of light kept shooting irregularly. Suddenly, without warning, the light was gone.

The world suddenly fell into darkness and silence.The ghost fire beast seemed to be turned off by someone, it was motionless and made no sound, not even the lingering wail.Without the light, Thomas could see nothing. He became blind. He only dared to breathe gently through his nostrils, his heartbeat was too violent, and he urgently needed oxygen supplementation.Can it hear his presence?Can you smell him?His hair, hands, and clothes were all soaked in sweat.The fear in Thomas's heart was reaching its peak, and he was going crazy. Still nothing, no movement, no light, no sound.Not knowing what it was going to do next, Thomas was going nuts.

Dozens of seconds passed, and minutes passed.The strong vines strangled Thomas so tightly that he lost all feeling in his skin and chest.He almost wanted to yell at the Griever below: Kill me quickly!Or go back to your lair! Suddenly, for an instant, both light and sound reappeared.The Griever came to life, and the whirring and clicking sounded again. It started to climb the wall.