Aegis | The Maze Runner / Minho ✓

three

"Slim it," he ordered fiercely. "You all know how this goes. Everyone says their views, we get everyone's recommendations, and then we decide. I better not hear a single word out of line, got that?"

If one thing was for sure, everyone obeyed Nick. He had a natural sense of authority to him that matched perfectly with his charisma and people skills. His mind was great; he was skilled at problem-solving and thinking under pressure. No one dared to challenge him.

Nick nodded at the silence that followed. "Good that." He leaned back in his chair and gestured to the first person in the row. "Link, you first."

Link was one of the boys that I had never really talked to. He was pretty reserved for a Keeper, and the only thing I knew about him was that he enjoyed hamburgers. The light reflected off of his dark brown hair, which was sticking up at the front in an effort to keep it out of his eyes. He was well-known for them, for they were extremely wide like an owl's, and the hazel color was beautiful.

"Nadia was injured badly, yes, but she did it while keeping Ken safe from being trapped," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Doesn't that say somethin'? She cares about those Runners, no matter how new. They're like her little immediate family. We shouldn't take that away from her."

Nick took out a notepad and a brutally sharpened pencil from his pocket. "So what you're sayin' is that she should stay?"

"Yeah," Link shrugged. "Don't see why not. Who are we to tear up a family?"

I sent Link a grateful smile, at which he pulled his lips into a small, closed-lipped grin. Nick jotted down the information and turned expectantly to the next person: Clark.

"I already said my view," the Raiser sighed, crossing his legs the way men did- one bent at the knee as his ankle rested against the other knee. "What's a Runner if they can't even run? It's like having a Slicer with no hands. You just can't do it. We should have someone trusted to take her place, someone she knows will do the job well."

Nick nodded and copied Clark's words onto the paper. For a moment, the only sound was the occasional scuffing of feet, a sniffle or two, and pencil on paper. I interested myself in my folded hands.

Frypan was next. "Alright, I already said somethin' too, but can I also comment on what Clark said? What if Nadia was still, technically, in charge, but had someone to run the Maze for her? She'd still make all the important decisions and such, while the other would train Newbies."

Nick pursed his lips in thought. "Like a second-in-command?"

Frypan nodded and pointed to our leader. "Exactly. You got one, why can't Nadia?"

Nick wrote down Frypan's ideas while Alby began saying his. It was customary for the leader to speak last, after everyone else had said their opinions so he could weigh them out.

"Nadia shouldn't be in charge," Alby argued bluntly. I felt my spirits deflate a little bit, like someone was slowly squeezing air out of a balloon. "We should let someone else do it, someone new, and give them a chance to hold the reins. Ain't no point in having a person be a Keeper if they can't even do their job, like Clark said."

The next three Keepers - Zart, Matt, and David - didn't have much to say. They kept their opinions concise and to the point, leaving no room for any question as to what they mean. So far, it was an even stance between people who wanted me to stay and those who wanted to give me the boot.

Gally sighed and dragged a severely calloused hand down his face. "I don't know." He dropped his hand onto his leg with a slap. "I actually don't know. We've never had this matter before, we've never had to handle it this way." He huffed another sigh and shrugged. "I'll just say I'm for her staying. I don't know what else to say."