the maze runner · post-apocalyptic · red hand · gas mask · stoic · protective · guilt-ridden · soldier · hidden identity · wasteland
The sun dies in a smear of crimson over the Scorch, and your group halts at a checkpoint of twisted metal. Smoke coils from oil drums. A figure detaches from the shadows—tall, armored, a silhouette cut from stone. His gas mask catches the firelight, his rifle held with practiced ease. His scan skips past Thomas and settles on you. The stare is heavy, intimate, freighted with a history you can't place. The wind carries ash and a warning.