"So when did you- you know- fall in love with her?" Thomas smirked, knowing he had him right where I wanted him, with his head in Fionaland.
"Woah," Newt defeated with his hands up, "What?"
"I may be slow to getting to know things around here, but...
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"What the hell's going on out there?" Newt asked before we even took our first steps back in the Glade. The maze shifting echoed through camp. I sat on the ground, the exhaustion biting into every muscle.
"What the hell have you done now, Thomas?" Gally snarled, checking me quickly for any new cuts or bruises until I swatted him away.
"We found something, a new passage. We think it could be a way out." Thomas smiled with pride, even with Gally's negativity.
"It's true." I backed him up, "The metal device, it was like a key or something."
"We opened a door, something I'd never seen before." Minho agreed, we were too focused on keeping our lives on the run back to ponder the details.
"I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day." Thomas theorized.
Chuck nearly stopped in his tracks, "Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa... You're saying you found the Grievers' home? And you want us to go in?"
"Their way in could be our way out, Chuck." Thomas said hopefully.
"Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side." Gally scoffed. "The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he has done, as usual."
Thomas did a full 180 turn, coming inches away from Gally's face even though he was shorter, "Yeah, at least I did something, Gally. I mean, what have you done? Aside from hiding behind these walls all the time?"
"Let me tell you something, Greenie. You've been here 3 days, all right? I've been here 3 years!" Gally didn't back down, getting even closer to his face. I tried to push them apart but they had gone past the idea of backing down.
Thomas grinded his teeth,"Yeah, you've been here 3 years and you're still here, Gally! What does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently."
"Maybe you should be in charge, what about that?" Gally said sarcastically, spitting venom. I knew the next step in this battle was more than verbal. Newt added himself, putting himself between the boys as I tried to lead Gally away.
"Hey!" A voice called, doing a less than helpful attempt to stop the fight. I couldn't see over my shoulder but I heard Gally screaming in my ear. If we hadn't stepped in, surely someone would have a black eye by now. Gally grabbed my sides, lightly pushing me out of the way to get at Tommy.
"Hey, it's Alby! He's awake!" The same voice finally said something of value.
All our attention suddenly flipped. The boys dropped their fight, but Newt and I still maintained a five foot distance between the two boys as we all ran to the homestead. All of us fought to get through the door first, finding Alby silently sitting on his cot.
Newt spoke to Jeff first, "Has he said anything?"
"No."
"Alby" Newt started, soft and sweet, sitting next to his best friend and leader. "Alby, are you all right?"
Alby didn't even flinch. I was like we weren't even there to him. I wondered if surviving the changing was worse than dying in it. I mean, the side effects could be a list as long as the line for breakfast in the morning.
"Hey, Alby." Thomas knelt down next to him, trying to get any type of response. "Alby, we might have just found a way out of the maze. Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here."
"We can't." Alby choked out, my mouth dropped slightly pushing past Gally to put my hand on Alby's arm softly. He looked like hell, and that might have been an understatement.
"No, Alby, it's a real lead. I saw it myself." I promised him.
"We can't leave. They won't let us. You should understand that the best."
The lines on my forehead knotted with confusion, as Thomas asked the question on all of our minds. "What are you talking about?"
Newt looked over at me. He wanted to talk to me. I saw it in his eyes, only me. I nodded, hoping that later we would try and decide the moral perll of one of our oldest friends.
"I remember." Our once fearless leader admitted through trembles.
"What do you remember?" Gally asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You." He finally looked over at Thomas. The tear falling from his eye and sending shivers down my spine. "You were always their favorite, Thomas. Always."
"That's it. Blue, let's go. Get away from him." Gally yelled, pulling me to my feet at putting himself between Thomas and I.
"Gally." Thomas tried to object but his mind was made.
I was pushed to the back of the group, closest to the door. It also made me the first to hear the commotion starting to stir outside. I frowned, looking out the nearest break in the wood that made up the homestead, I saw Zart running with Brandon not far behind, both carrying heavy weaponry. "Guys... I think we have a problem."
Alby whimpered, "Why did you do this? Why did you come here?"
I ran out, WInston was the first boy I saw. He was carrying a torch and I had to grab his arm to get his attention, "Winston, what's going on?
"It's the doors. They aren't closing." He muttered with a million panicked thoughts running through his head.
"Shit..." Was the only word that came out of my mouth.
"We really shucked it this time." Minho commented, starting at the open gate. As if the world wanted to kick us in the face one more time, all of the gates started opening. One of each side, making a free passage for the grievers once they got here.
"Really? You bastards are killing us now? You had to wait three shucking years before you did it?!" I screamed at the sky, flipping off the clouds.
Thomas ran over, placing a well planted slap across my face, the proper wake up call, "Hey, get your shit together, I need the real Fi. Right now, not this version."
My jaw dropped with the slap but it certainly did the trick. "Right. Thanks, Tommy."
He grabbed Chuck by both of the shoulders. "Chuck, go to the Council Hall and start barricading the doors."
He didn't fight it one bit and instantly started sprinting. Newt nodded, "Winston, you go with him."
Gally grabbed some of the builders putting in his orders, "Get the others. Tell them to go to the forest. Go hide, now!"
I bounced back into survival mode, "Gally, let's go. We needed all the weapons about ten minutes ago."
"Yes, Ma'am." He obeyed orders following me in a full sprint to the homestead.
"Don't die, shanks!" I yelled to the boys, pushing the thought that those words might be the last I ever spoke to them. My lips turned its shouts into a prayer, "Please."
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My favorite chapters are coming up. I'm so excited.
