The Fighter 》 The Maze Runner

Thirty-Five

Float. Catch. Bleed. Death. Stiff. Push.

We spent the whole night cutting up Frypan's cooking sheets and tracing each map. Those were the words that came out before it started repeating again. While we were doing that, Gally called a Gathering. Most of the Gladers think it Thomas' fault that we're all dying and agreed to banish him. He even told us to join his side or get banished with him.

I wanted to throw Gally into the Griever's nest. We couldn't do anything but wait till Thomas wakes up. We went to the Slammers and let Teresa in. She kept his head on her lap the rest of the night. At least he's starting to wake up.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked.

He didn't get to answer because Chuck added, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Thomas sat up, "What happened?"

"Do you want the good news or bad news first?" I asked as I placed my arm on the bar.

"Good."

"Ok, good news...we found the code to leave this place. Bad news...Gally made himself leader. He said we either stand by his side or get banished with you at sunset."

Thomas slowly stood up, "The others agreed to that?

"Gally has convinced everyone that you're the reason why this happened." Teresa said.

"Well, he had been right so far."

Minho furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you talking about?

"This place...it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids," The memory of WICKED taking Chuck and me away from our home came to mind. "They'd give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And people were starting to disappear, every month after the other - like clock worth."

"They were sending them up into the Maze." Newt concluded.

"Yeah, but not all of us."

"What'd you mean?"

Thomas kept looking at all of us. I could see the guilt in his eyes. "Guys, I'm one of them. I was worked with the Creators. I've watched you guys for years. The entire time you've been here, I was on the other side of it." Thomas looked at Teresa. "So were you." He met my gaze. "And you."

The ground looked more interesting at the moment. "What?" Teresa asked.

"Guys, we did this to them."

"No....that can't be true."

I took a deep breath, "It is." Newt grabbed my hand. I looked up at him before looking back at Teresa. "I saw it, too."

Minho sighed, "Shuck, Tiger."

Teresa took a shaky breath, "Why would they send us up if we were with them?" That is what I want to know. If Thomas, Teresa, and I were with them, why would they send us up? Why would WICKED send us up?

Thomas shook his head, "It doesn't matter."

"He's right, it doesn't matter." Newt said. He gave my hand a comforting squeeze. "Any of it. Because the people we were before the Maze they don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. What does matter is who we are now, and what we do right now. You went into the Maze and found a way out."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't Alby would still be alive."

"Maybe. But I know if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing...then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that."

Thomas looked at all of us before nodding, "Okay - Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first."

We all nodded before we let Teresa out. She, Chuck, and Minho walked away. Newt got up, "You coming, Danny?"

I looked at Thomas before looking back at him, "Yeah, just...give me minute." Newt kissed my forehead before leaving. I looked back at Thomas to see his head hanging low. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" He asked as his head shot up. "I haven't done anything."

"You saved my life a couple of times." Thomas gave me a confused look. "Before I got stung, I was being chased by a Griever. A voice pops into my head and tells me to jump from this small cliff. This voice told me how far I was away from the Glade, which turn to take. If I'm going to be honest, I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for that voice."

"Then, maybe you should be thanking that voice instead of me."

I chuckled, "I am, Shank. It's you. I don't know how you did it, or what you did, but you got inside my head and kept me away from danger. I never thought I would be able to thank my savior."

"Is that why you kept looking at me when I came out of the Box?" I nodded. "Man, I thought it was because of my good looks."

We both let out a little laugh. "Gally is shuck in the head if he's Banishing you. But I'm letting you know, now...I'm on your side 100%. I'll be there if you need me because that's what friends are for. And you've been my friend even when my memories were swiped."

Thomas gave me a small smile, "Thanks, Dan."

》》》》

A/N: The great escape is next!!!!