" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

twenty-eight.

[CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT]

~

Eleanor ran like her life depended on it, and she didn't stop until she saw the comforting daylight as she tumbled out of the dense forest. She immediately gained the attention of several Gladers as she collapsed on to the ground just outside of the Deadheads, her lungs burning as she struggled to catch her breath. She felt as though all the air was being sucked out of her lungs every time she tried to breath more in, and the world spun around her as she watched the familiar face of Rick appear in front of her vision.

"Hey, hey-" the dark-haired boy shook her gently in attempt to snap her back into reality. The girl was obviously frightened by something, and her raspy breathing and wide eyes were only drawing more and more Gladers to her with each passing second. "What's the matter, Eleanor? What'd you see?"

"It's- it's Ben," she whispered, looking up at Rick with wide eyes as she pointed over her shoulder. She turned to face the Deadheads as a deranged scream pierced through the air, and she was tempted to run back into the forest to help Thomas. It was then she noticed Alby disappearing into the trees, clutching a bow and arrow in his hands.

For several minutes, no one made a sound. They all waited for Alby to appear from the Deadheads once more, with Thomas and Ben both at his side. Rick rubbed comforting circles in her back as he sat on the ground beside her, and her breathing was slowly returning to normal. She hated how she felt so useless because of her asthma, and she hated how she had been so quick to run like a coward at the sight of Ben. He could have seriously injured Thomas, and she would never forgive herself if that happened.

Eleanor looked away from the trees as she noticed someone kneel down on the ground beside her. Newt stared at her with his face scrunched in concern, taking her out of Rick's arms and pulling her into his lap. "You're all right," he whispered to her softly, rubbing her back in a similar way that Rick did to calm her down. Eleanor didn't answer him, for her gaze was glued to the Deadheads once more. It was eerily silent, and her heart hammered in her chest as she watched for any signs of the boys.

Finally, after what seemed like lifetimes, she could see the figures of two boys appear out of the shadows. Alby and Thomas quickly made their way out of the Deadheads, their faces both pulled into a similiar look of sadness and fear. Thomas rubbed the skin of his neck, where Eleanor noticed blue and purple bruises beginning to form. Ben was no where to be seen.

Immediately, Eleanor pulled herself out of Newt's grip and stood to her feet. "Where's Ben?" she asked, though she felt as if she already knew the answer.

Alby turned to look at her, and for the first time since she met him, his dark eyes shone with understanding as they met hers. "He's dead," he said quietly, and it was then Eleanor noticed that although he still carried the bow in his arms, there was no sign of the arrow. The boy's hands shook violently, and she didn't have to ask to know what he did.

Just as she had, Alby had killed a boy to save the life of another.

~

The early morning sun shone down on Eleanor's shoulders as she busied herself with work at the Blood House the following morning. The Glade was shaken by Ben's sudden death, though no one questioned Alby's decision to kill him. It was justified, and everyone understood that. Eleanor was just thankful that Thomas was alive, for she would never be able to live with the guilt of running away and leaving the Greenie to be killed.