We stood in silence once again and just stared at the walls. The air felt tense, just like before. Although we were all almost certain of what the opening doors would conclude, we all collectively ignored that and continued to patiently wait.
I heard a distant sound, recognising it as the familiar cogs turning. The doors began to slowly open, creaking as they moved, almost mocking us that they had swallowed another three members of the Glade.
They finally came to a halt as everyone peered into the maze to get a better look. No one was there. Looking around I could see everyone's faces drop, once slightly hopeful, now completely destroyed.
My eyes moved to Chuck who put his head down low and stared at the floor. He looked so broken.
"I'm sorry Chuck, they're not coming back." Newt said, trying to comfort him by gently placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. People started to turn around and leave so eventually I did too.
"Oh my god." My head flipped back towards the entrance, not recognising the boy who spoke.
"YEAH!" said Chuck, triumphantly as three boys appeared through the fog of the maze. The others began to turn back, realising what was going on.
They made it.
Thomas and Minho staggered into the Glade, carrying a still unconscious Alby over their shoulders. They all looked exhausted.
The boys flopped to the floor, finally letting Alby fall onto the grass. Everyone rushed over to their sides, questions being thrown at them with immense speed.
"What happened?" "Is he okay?" "What did you guys see?"
"Did you guys see a griever?" Chuck asked, staring at the two boys. Newt had told me what a griever was, although I had a tricky time picturing it as it didn't really make much sense.
"Yeah, I saw one." Thomas replied, still out of breath.
Minho looked at Thomas and huffed slightly. "He didn't just see it. He killed it." All eyes shot to Thomas as he went slightly pink, pushing his lips into a thin line.
--
It was busy in the homestead, bustling with people not being able to quiet themselves down. I sat by a wall, facing towards where Gally looked like he was about to announce something.
"Things are changing. There's no denying that." Stating the obvious once again, Gally starts speaking, making people quiet with his words. He looked at Thomas for a second, before adverting his gaze to the group of boys.
The boy continued "First, Ben gets stung in broad daylight. And then Alby." He paused for a second, gesturing his hand at Thomas before speaking again.
"And now our Greenie, here, has taken it upon himself to go into the maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here."
"Yeah...but he saved Alby's life." Frypan began, slowly.
"Did he? For three years we have coexisted with these things. And now you've killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us?"
It looked like he was about to come to a stop when he continued.
"And all of one day after we receive this shank, we get the she-bean here." Everyone turned their heads to me, including Newt. "And just like him, she has no problem with breaking the rules." I glared at the boy, now realising how Thomas must have felt after being singled out.
"What do you suggest we do? About Thomas I mean." Newt said quickly adding the last part before hitching his eyes towards mine.
"He has to be punished. And so does she if you ask me." I narrowed my glare, wanting to tear his head from his body.
"Come on Gally!" I heard people say behind me, clearly annoyed at what he had just said.
"Minho." Newt started, trying to simultaneously shush the others around him. "You were with him. What do you think?"
Minho cleared his throat "I think...in all the time we've been here, no one has ever killed a griever before. When I turned tail and ran...this dumb shank stayed behind to help Alby." He stood up slowly, making it clear he was not finished with what he was saying.
"Look, I don't know if he's brave or stupid..."
If you ask me, there's no difference.
"But whatever it is, we need more of it. I say we make him a runner." Voices behind me started to pick up again, either agreeing or protesting. I distinctively recognised Frypan's voice, he sounded disgusted at the remark.
Gally erupted again, angrier than before. "If you want to throw the newbie a parade that's fine. Go ahead. But if there is one thing I know about the maze it is that you do not..." He was cut off by the sound of cogs turning again. It wasn't the doors closing, that sounded different.
I stood up abruptly. "What is that?" I asked, standing next to Newt.
"The box. It's coming back up." He said as I stood there a second, stunned, before racing out after him to see what was going on.
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A/N: Apologies for this one being shorter, just felt like the right place to end this chapter i guess:) Happy reading <33