Winston Maze Runner Novels & Stories

" No alarms. If the rest of the unit sees Marcus bleeding before the grid is clear, the purists will bolt into the ridge." The lower bypass smelled of old iron and sulfur. Marcus and three of his supply runners had already cleared the first biometric lock when we cut the lights. The dark didn't last three seconds—only long enough for Ezra’s vanguard to drop from the overhead ventilation shafts... It was a slaughter. Marcus was on his back in the shallow water of the drain, his boots kicking uselessly against the rusted grate as I walked up. He had two rounds in his stomach, his hands slick with his own dark blood as he tried to look up at the catwalk.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I woke up with a start at the sound of my alarm. Crap. I gotta get a move on. I pop my waffles in the toaster. Then run in the bathroom to do my hair and put in my contacts. Once I’m dressed and my backpack is on. I head out the door with the waffle hanging from my mouth. I’m about to break into a jog so I can make it on time when a voice calls out to me. “Hey, cool your jets, I’ll give you a ride,” Bartise called out.

A text from Dexter: "Madison's on the move. Something spooked him. Get clear NOW." "We need to move faster," I tell the group. "He can barely walk," Zara protests. "Then we carry him." Rylan takes Kael's other side. "Come on." We pick up the pace as much as we can. Behind us, I hear sounds echoing through the tunnels. Shouting. Running footsteps. Madison's wolves realizing their prisoner is gone. "Almost there," Sebastian urges, leading us through the final turns. We burst out of the tunnel into the bank's basement just as the sounds of pursuit grow louder. Sebastian slams the hidden door shut, and one of the warriors bars it with a steel beam.

Kain removes the probe, leaving me trembling, still cuffed. “Night one complete,” he says, voice low. “Tomorrow, the neural maze—where you’ll run, and I’ll hunt.” He leaves me on the frame, the cameras still rolling, my body exposed, the network still buzzing with my shame and desire, already craving the next violation. My bare feet slap against the humming floor of the neural maze, a shifting labyrinth of holographic walls that flicker with distorted images of my own naked body—sweat-slicked, branded, dripping from last night’s calibration.

She nodded, trusting⁠ me, and I forc‌ed myself to chan⁠ne‌l every ounce of det‌ermination into the⁠ ne⁠xt step. The staircase op⁠ened onto the main floor⁠. Shadows clung to every corner,‌ crates and debris creating⁠ labyrinthine paths. I scann⁠ed quick‌ly, notin‍g the exit‍s, the obstacl‍es‍, and the‍ lurking th‌reats. Preston⁠ had turned this warehouse into a maze, psycholog‍ical and‌ physica‍l. “St⁠ay behind me,” I instructed. “⁠We move care‍fully. Every sound c⁠ould give u‍s away.”

“I used to work as a med-boy when I was a kid.” “What about Baker?” Winston’s posture turned rigid before he refocused once again. “I’m still looking for him.” he pulled one needle out carefully. “Now, we have...one, two, three, four,...shit...you have fifteen needles?” Mira laughed feeling her head getting lighter. “He truly wanted my blood.” “Someone’s coming,” Winston said, stopping himself from continuing extracting the second needle. The wooden doors flung open, revealing Baker and his sinister smile. “I knew you weren’t part of the troops. Now, you’re going to die. Master would be pleased.”

I had no time to even process anything. Cael crouched by the central table where a rough map of standard maze layouts had been carved into wood. “Listen carefully,” he said. “The maze changes every sixty seconds. Paths close and new ones open. Somewhere inside are three crest tokens. Each token returned to center earns points. Defensive constructs guard them.” “Constructs meaning?” I asked. “Stone wolves,” Jessie said. I stared at her “Wolves?” She smiled. “Big ones.” Roran, who rarely spoke, grunted. “Hit hard too.”

Marcus's POV I banged open the door to the cabin, slamming it against the wall with a resounding crash. The silence that followed was deafening pressing in on us like a hammer. Winston lingered in the doorway, his eyes looking around nervously. “Marcus, I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said anxiously. “Coming here, looking for the secret passageway—it feels wrong.” I turned to him, my expression hard. “If you’re scared, Winston, you can go back. But I’m not leaving.”

➳ Pernwél With the preparations for Rune’s presentation as Beta female, Jake and I hadn’t had time to ourselves. I hadn’t talked to him about what had happened in the forest and how it had influenced my decision. I was so ecstatic about it all that I had jumped into his arms the moment he came looking for me and our kisses and touches had consumed us.

“What is it?” She looked at him. “A maze.” Kai groaned loudly. “Of course it is.” The wall suddenly split open. A dark corridor stretched ahead. Covered in rust. Dripping water. Low whispers echoed from inside. Tess grabbed Lena. “I don’t want to go.” Lena looked at her. “We don’t have a choice.” The white screen flashed above them. COMPLETE THE MAZE OR REMAIN BURIED Noah looked offended. “That feels unnecessarily aggressive.”