" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

eleven.

[CHAPTER ELEVEN]
stung

~

Eleanor easily caught up to Gally, who was quickly making his way across the Glade towards the source of the noise. The boy's eyebrows were scrunched together in a look of worry, his lips pulled into a deep frown.

"What's going on?" Eleanor asked, though she soon realized that it was a stupid question because he had no idea what was happening, either.

"I don't know, shank," Gally mumbled, seeming distracted as he looked around the Glade for the source of the noise. "Let's go find out." He pointed in the direction of the West Wall, where a group of Gladers were gathered around something. Eleanor couldn't tell what it was, though she did not hesitate to take off at a run right behind Gally.

As Eleanor approached the group of shocked Gladers, she was able to make out what- or more so who- they were crowded around. She first noticed a young brunette boy huddled on the ground, his eyes wide and his hand gripping a red-tinted cheek as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. It was then Eleanor noticed two boys fighting. A boy whom she recognized as Nick's friend George was being held against the ground by a fuming Alby; the dark-haired boy was throwing profanities around as he struggled against the other's grip, growling in frustration. Then, Alby seemed to snap. He suddenly brought his fist down onto George's nose, silencing the boy with the sound of bone crunching. Alby continued to repeatedly punch him, teeth bared angrily as his fists flew through the air. Eleanor watched in shock as Nick and Newt struggled to pull the dark-skinned boy away from the helpless George, her hand finding its way to cover her mouth.

Eventually, Alby seemed to give up on beating George to a pulp- leaving the boy bloody and nearly unconscious on the ground as he stood to his feet. He looked around at the group of gathered Gladers, his knuckles bruised and eyes shining with rage; he looked as though he was daring someone to speak, to give him another excuse to punch another boy's nose in.

Apparently, Gally wasn't too intimidated by his silent threat. "What the shuck happened?" the Keeper asked, disbelief lacing his tone as he stared between the two boys in front of him.

Alby scoffed, wiping his hands on his shirt as he glared at the beaten boy on the ground beside him. "The Slinthead just slapped Xander because the poor shank asked him a question," he explained with a glance towards the frightened Slicer, whose hand still covered his cheek. Eleanor pursed her lips as she looked at the young boy, feeling a stab of sympathy towards him; he looked to be no older than fourteen.

Alby turned towards Nick, who was knelt on the ground beside his friend, examining the damage to his face done by Alby. "What the hell happened to him? You were with him in the Maze, why was he acting all loco all of a sudden?"