𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 , thomas ¹

𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆, optimism

"Rejected? No." She rolls her eyes, "Told the harsh truth? Yes."

"He's never gonna stop trying." Alby speaks up, "He's a stubborn one and loves to ask questions about you, meaning he wants to know more."

"Yeah, well, he's not going to."

༒

Thomas watches as Newt and Zart chop at a trunk of wood, letting the bits of bark drop to the ground in heap while he sits on a fallen tree, his elbows rested on his knees and Chuck beside him, carving at the small figure.

"Why would Alby go in the maze?" Thomas questions the blonde boy, "I mean, he's not a- he's not a runner."

Newt stops what he's doing and turns to the dark haired boy, letting his machete rest by his side, "Things are different now. Alby went to retrace Ben's footsteps before sundown. Look, are you gonna help?" He snaps, motioning towards the half stripped trunk.

Thomas ignores him and continues to fuel his curiosity, "Okay, so he's gonna go back to where Ben was just stung? Wh—"

"Alby knows what he's doing." Newt cuts him off sharply, a certain tone to his voice that told Thomas he was annoyed, "Alright? He knows better than any of us."

Thomas cracks his knuckles, his eyebrows furrowing even more, "What does that even mean?"

Newt sighs, slowly reaching his hand out to the scratch the back of his neck, "Alright, it's like you've heard, yeah?" He walks a little closer, "Every month the box sends up a new arrival. But someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade alone. And that was Alby."

He returns to smashing his machete against the tree bark, knocking it off, "I mean, it can't have been easy. But when Eve and those other boys started coming up, one after the other, he saw the truth. And he learned that the most important thing is that we all have each other." He stops to look intensely at Thomas, "Because we're all in this together."

"Then why is Evelyn so hostile? She hates most of you." Thomas tilts his head, "Why?"

Newt sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose for a second, "Being the only girl, Evelyn had a rough time here and she started to hate the way she was treated. So, she decided to become better and stronger than us all, so she could reverse the roles."

Fair enough. Thomas thinks before pushing off the fallen tree and trudging down to help Newt and Zart, chopping at the roots.

"There you go, Greenie." The blonde pats his back, almost slightly surprised at the boys immediate good technique.

Out of nowhere, clouds start to form overhead and the rumbling of thunder fills the Glade while rain begins to pour down like buckets, causing all the boys to scurry away from their jobs and under the safety of the makeshift roofs.

Thomas leans comfortably against a tree branch, that's being used as a support beam, and his eyes stay on the now open maze doors, "They should be back by now. What happens if they don't make it?"

"They're gonna make it." Newt nods, his tone full of certainty.

The dark haired boy's fingers, start to frantically tap against the wood, his mind just thinking of Evelyn. He knows that she's already survived a night in the maze, and that it obviously effected her, he really doesn't want that happening to her again.

༒

Evelyn and Minho pick Alby's limp body up off the floor, each of them taking an arm and throwing it over their shoulder.

Minho curses quietly under his breath, noticing how much slower they were moving. If they keep going at this speed, there's no way they would make it back in time.

"Eve, we need to move quicker." He presses.

"Don't you think I'm trying, Min?" The girl snaps back, but Alby's feet dragging behind them keeps them from speeding up, "The last thing I want to do is spend another fucking night in the maze!"

"Yeah, well," He coughs, "right now it isn't looking so good."

She whips her head to him, burning holes into the side of his head, "Great way to be optimistic."

"Optimism won't help us." He mumbles, repositioning Alby's arm on his shoulder just before it slipped off.

The rumbling noise of the doors starting to close fills their ears and it forces them to try harder, generating the tiniest bit of speed.

"Can we send someone in after them?" Thomas rushes.

"It's against the rules." Gally states from his crouched position on the floor.

"Can't risk losing anyone else." Newt sighs sadly, crossing his arms over his chest.

The two best friends turn around the corner, both of them noticing the large group of Gladers at the end of the passage way. They both let out strangled yells, in an attempt to push themselves harder but it's no use.

Newt squints, noticing the slowness of the pair before gasping in realisation, "Somethings wrong."

The Glader's continuous shouts and yells all merge into one while Minho and Eve nearly trip over their own feet, Alby very nearly slipping out of their grips.

Thomas' jaw clenches when Eve's eyes meet his and he can see the terror and worry as the doors start to close more in front of them.

"They're not gonna make it." Newt's voice cracks slightly, once he realises that the worst is happening.

"Come on, Eve." Minho pants, his eyes never leaving the crowd waiting for them.

________________________

meh