Six Feet Under.

chapter six

CHAPTER SIX: THE DEAD GRIEVER

"Jeff," Newt's voice broke the silence of their walk as he, Minho, Layla and Thomas rounded a corner in the infirmary. Layla tried not to look at Alby, who was strapped down to a bed and heaving in rapid breaths, his eyes shut in pain. "What's going on? Come on, what's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?"

Jeff sighed, "hey, man. I got my job the same way you did." Was all he could say, and none of the others could blame him for not knowing the girl's condition. They were all just kids.

Newt sighed, suddenly furrowing his brows as he faced Thomas. Minho stood next to him as he looked at the girl with a tilted head. "What, do you recognize her?" Newt asked the Greenie, causing him to face the blond.

Thomas shook his head, "no."

"Really?" Newt raised a brow, "because she seemed to recognize you."

Thomas sighed, "What about the note?" He had changed the subject, which Layla instantly recognized. Thomas knew this girl, she was sure of it.

"Well, we'll worry about the note later." Newt dismissed, glancing at the girl for a moment.

"I think you should worry about it now."

"We've got enough to deal with at the moment." Newt brushed off the thought once more. Layla was leaning more towards Thomas' side now. The note had said she was the last one ever. That couldn't have been good, and Layla had a gut feeling that something was going to happen soon that the Gladers wouldn't be liking.

"He's right, Newt." Jeff spoke up, he glanced at Clint for a moment before looking back to Newt. "If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?"

Newt stammered, thinking of an answer. "No one said that." Layla only sighed at his words. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just... we'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody's gotta have some answers around here."

"Okay." Thomas sighed, his feet taking him towards the door in a rush, leaving Layla to stare with a tilted head.

"Well, where are you going?" Newt frowned, turning to face him, like the others had.

"Back into the Maze." Thomas responded bluntly before pushing the door open, and walking outside.

Layla raised her brows and glanced up at Newt and Minho. There was a small pause before she quickly followed behind Minho as he ran after Thomas. Newt held up a hand in a 'stop' motion, "Layla, where do you think you're going?"

She turned to face Newt, raising a brow at his sudden protective-big-brother attitude, "after those idiots, of course." She sighed, not even giving him a chance to stop her from going. She followed after the two boys, finding them just as Minho stopped Thomas.

"Hey." Minho called out to the boy. "Hey, Thomas. Hey." He held an arm in front of the boy, "hey!" Layla stopped next to them, crossing her arms. "What is this with you, huh? A death wish? You just got out and now you want back in?"

Thomas sighed, "Newt said that no one had ever seen a Griever and lived to tell about it, right?" Layla frowned, about to speak but Thomas continued. "Well, Minho, now we have one. You're telling me you're not even a little bit curious?"

Minho shook his head, "not really, no." Thomas tried to walk away from them again, but Minho stopped him once more. "So, what's the plan?" Thomas looked up at Minho with a hopeful look on his face. "You're gonna go out there and dissect that thing all by yourself?"