𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ⁻ ᵗᵐʳ

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐕

    "But listen to me- I don't want another buggin' word about you dying and all that heroic Klunk. If we're gonna do this, we'll take our chances, all of us. You hear me?" Newt said sternly.

    Thomas held his hands up, looking relieved. "Loud and clear. I was just trying to make the point that it's worth the risk. If someone's gonna die every night anyways, we might as well use it to our advantage."

"Well thats awfully cheerful." Kalisa muttered, gut twisting at the thought of loosing another friend.

Thomas just shook his head and started off for the Box, just as Newt had asked. Kalisa waited a second longer, sensing Newt had something on his mind. "You know, if it were any other Glader, I would think they were insane." She stated, watching the boy in blue took a seat on the bench next to the elevator.

"Not Tommy." Newt said simply. "He's dead serious about making the sacrifice. We can't let him Kali."

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes as a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her. "He's the only one who knows about what we're walking into. If we loose Thomas, we'll be blind."

"If I can convince those shanks, the best time to go would be at night. We can hope that a lot of the Grievers might be out and about in the Maze- not in that hole of theirs." Newt explained, seeming tense but determined nonetheless.

"Good that." Kalisa smiled in agreement, noticing the worry in his eyes didn't disappear. She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants and stepped closer to the taller boy, having to stand on her toes in order to lightly kiss his jaw. "They'll listen to you."

    Newt momentarily was stunned before he blinked and stood taller, a light blush spreading over his cheeks. "I hope you're right, love."

Then he pulled away from the comfort of her presence and walked back to the Gathering Room, anticipation of what was to come building behind him.

Kalisa stayed by the Homestead door for several long minutes. She couldn't bring herself to walk away just yet, not when the most important decision of their lives were being made just beyond the Gathering Room door.

However, it didn't take long for someone to find her, dragging her out of her pit of worry.

"Kalisa, there you are!" Chuck lit up upon seeing her. "Henry's looking for you to help him polish the rust in the slaughter fridge, whatever that's supposed to mean."

Kalisa turned around slowly upon hearing his voice. "The slaughter fridge is where we keep- well, where we used to keep all the slaughtered animals for storage before handing them off to the Cooks." When she saw Chuck's disgusted face she laughed. "Sounds fun right? Wanna come?"

"Uh- pass." The kid shuddered. "How about we go caroling to cheer everyone up instead? I don't really know any songs, but I'm sure we can make some up!"

Despite her day, Kalisa burst out laughing. "I'm not sure they'd appreciate that kid,"

Chuck shrugged, "Who cares, I'm bored. Let's start with the Builders!"

༻✧༺

    Chuck was only able to complete the first verse of what he called 'The Ballad of the Traumatized Adolescence', before the two were booed away from the Builders.

The kid didn't take it personally. He shrugged it off and ran away for the kitchens, claiming to have worked up the appetite for a sandwich. Chuck had offered to make Kalisa one as well, but she kindly refused, spotting the Keepers exiting the Homestead from a distance.