control ⇢ the maze runner / thomas [1] ✓

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing?", Ruby whispered. "Are you crazy?" Thomas held you a hand, signaling for her to be quiet. He continued to walk, holding branches to let her pass safely.

"Anybody there?", he asked once more, visibly calmer. "It's, uh, Thomas and Ruby." Ruby glared, slapping him upside the head. Why would this idiot tell them who they were? Thomas paused. They'd walked into the graveyard.

"Yeah, okay, let's turn back now", Ruby said quickly. There were several wooden crosses, messily painted white, marking each grave. A boy's name was carved into each one. Instead of leaving, Thomas kneeled down in front of one. Ruby looked around them, feeling uneasy. This one was fresh. His name had been Stephen. There were a dozen other graves, some fresh. It made Ruby sick.

Thomas must have seen something that caught his eye. Ruby hesitantly followed. She didn't wanna be left behind. Not out here. They found a grave that was covered by plastic or glass. It was filthy. Inside the grave was a dusty, rotting corpse. Only half a corpse.

Let this half-shank be a warning to all:
You can't escape through the Box Hole.

Ruby gagged, stepping back. "Thomas, this is creepy. Let's go, please."

Thomas nodded, but they were stopped by a snap. Then another. And another. Closer and closer still. "Who's out there?", Thomas shouted. Ruby stepped closer to Thomas, clutching onto his arm. A boy was limping towards them, attempting to run as best he could. "Who the he—" Before Thomas could finish his sentence, the pale boy had leaped into the air and jumped onto Thomas.

Thomas was ripped out of her hold. Ruby recognized those large, angry eyes. Ben. The boy looked like some horrid beast. Ruby seemed frozen out of fear. It wasn't until Thomas screamed, Ben's teeth digging into his shoulder, did Ruby come back to life.

Panicked, Ruby dropped onto her knees and fumbled around on the ground. She was searching for a thick branch, but came up short. Thomas was able to shove Ben away, but his crazed attacker lunged once more. Finally, Ruby found a branch that would be of use. She stood, holding the branch like a baseball player with a bat. Rearing back, Ruby swung. The branch met the boy's body with a crack, and Ben flew off. He yelped in pain like a kicked puppy.

Ben moved into a crouch, snarling like a rabid dog. He was only wearing a pair of shorts, his skin ghostly white like sun dried bone. That was practically all he was. Ropelike veins still ran along his body, pulsing and green. He looked at them like he was ready to make them his dinner. The boy had pulled out a knife.

"Ben!" Alby stood there, an arrow ready to fly. "Ben, stop right now or you ain't gonna see tomorrow." He nodded towards Ruby, looking disappointed. "Drop that stick." Ruby did as told, raising her palms.

Ben started angrily at Alby. "If you kill me", he shrieked as he stood, far too close for comfort. His breath was rank. "You'll get the wrong guy. He's the shank you wanna kill. Him and his girlfriend!"

"Don't be stupid, Ben", Alby warmed calmly. The arrow didn't waver. "Thomas just got here, Ruby too, ain't nothin to worry about. You're still buggin from the Changing. You should've never left your bed."

Ben almost looked hurt. Ruby almost pitied him. Almost. "They're not like us!", he roared. "I saw them— they're... they're bad. We have to kill them! Let me gut em!"

Thomas took a step back, pulling Ruby with him. He didn't know why, but he wanted to protect her. Make sure she wasn't hurt. Alby still didn't move the bow. The arrow remained pointed at Ben's face. "You leave that to me and the Keepers to figure out, shuck-face. Right now, back your scrawny butt down and get to the Homestead!"