Chapter 11
I ran though the deadheads not even caring where I was headed. The tears had overflowed and were streaming down my face like a salty river. As soon as the old tears had been released fresh ones took their place, clouding my vision and making it nearly impossible to see where I was going, but I continued stumbling until I ran into something hard. It took me a moment to realize that the thing blocking my path was not a what at all, but a who.
"What the shuck? Sage?" Minho asked worriedly putting his hands on my shoulders to attempt to steady me. At that point dry sobs began to wreak themselves through my body causing me to shake uncontrollably. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around me, supporting me so I wouldn't fall.
"Shhhhh." He attempted to soothe me whilst rubbing my back softly. He continued this until my sobs had turned into shallow breaths.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He pulled away after making sure I could stand on my own.
I shook my head and rubbed my eyes in attempt to clear them of the evidence I had been crying. "If Newt ever comes near me again I'm going to kick his ass so hard his tonsils and testicles will be neighbors."
Minho suppressed a grin "I would beat up the shank for whatever he did, but it appears you can take care of yourself. Your bad side is not a place I would want to be green bean."
I let out a dry laugh "No, no it's not."
"The doors are going to open in a few minutes, I need to go, you're alright if I leave?"
I nodded "Yea, thanks for you know, being here."
"Anytime greenie, and don't forget to shuck up whatever jobs Alby gives you today, you're going to need all the help you can get if you want to convince the keepers to allow you to become a runner." He added
"Shouldn't be too hard, I've already proven I can't follow directions very well."
"That's the spirit shank" he grinned before he turning and jogging in the opposite direction
"And Minho?" I called after him. "Don't tell anyone about what just happened alright? The last thing I need is everyone thinking I'm an emotional weak little girl."
"Wouldn't dream of it greenie" he called over his shoulder as he headed towards the map room.
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After Minho left me, I took a few minutes to collect myself before heading back out to the homestead. By the time I made it back, most of the gladers were wrapping up breakfast and going off in various directions to work.
"Hey green bean!" I heard a voice call, tearing me out of my thoughts. I turned around and saw Alby approaching me. He clapped me on the shoulder when he reached me, smiling "I just wanted to let you know that last night at the keepers meeting we made it a rule that none of the boys are allowed to touch you, and if they do they'll be banished like Reagan."
"Banished?" I asked unfamiliar with the term, I had heard it been mentioned, but not an explanation of what it entailed.
He nodded grimly "You'll see tonight, no one survives a night in the maze."
I opened my mouth to tell him off about making that rule without my consent. It should be up to me to make decisions regarding my personal life, but I bit my tongue. I knew if I mentioned it they might get suspicious and if Alby or Gally found out that Newt had been briefly involved with each other, it would give them grounds to banish Newt. and as much as I despised him, I did not want that to happen to him.
"So this morning you're going to be in the kitchen with Frypan" Alby continued, not noticing that I was temporarily lost in my own thoughts. "And this afternoon you'll be with Gally and the builders."
He directed me towards the kitchen before leaving me, telling me that he had "Important matters to discuss." or something like that, I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying at that point, because the runners had just emerged from the deadheads and were making their way towards the doors into the maze, which were grumbling and preparing to open. Immediately i found the blonde mess of hair but before my eyes could travel down to his face I mentally slapped myself and turned around to head towards the kitchens.
**************************************************************************************************** As it turns out, I wasn't very good at cooking to begin with, so shucking up whatever jobs Frypan gave me involved little to no effort. By the time lunch rolled around I had burned an entire pot of stew, broken an assortment of bowls and plates, and dropped a full platter of rolls and meat onto the dirt ground. When the boys began arriving for lunch he all but shoved me out of the kitchen with both hands saying that he would be fine serving everyone by himself and he didn't need anymore help.
I looked around and when I didn't see Gally, concluded that he must be still working. I recognized a boy named Winston, whom I had been briefly introduced to at the bonfire, and decided to sit next to him until Gally arrived.
"So you're the uh, keeper of the slicers yea?" I asked awkwardly attempting to make small talk. He nodded silently, and continued shoveling stew into his mouth.
"And um, how long have you been here?"
He stopped eating long enough to turn and look at me "A year and a half."
I felt the blood drain from my face. I'd known that they'd been stuck in the glade for a while, but I'd assumed it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months, not a year and a half.
After that Winston didn't say anything, just went back to eating his food, and leaving me to do the same.
Lunch passed by quickly and before I knew it I was working with the builders. It was quite comical to watch Gally try and be patient as I repeatedly found was to mess up what even I was tasked with doing., no matter how simple it was. When he gave me a bucket of paint to carry to the homestead I accidently tripped and dumped the paint onto one of the gardeners who had the misfortune to be walking in front of me when I fell. When he asked me to hold a piece of wood so he could hammer a nail into it, I lost my balance and whacked him upside the head with it. When he asked me to try and do the hammering, while he held the wood, I missed the nail and hit my hand, causing my finger to swell up, and I was sent to the medjacks for ice, and not allowed to do anything for the remainder of the work day.
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After the runners had all returned and the sun began to set, the boys began gathering at one of the doors. I quickly stood up and ran over.
Many of the older boys were holding long rods with a plank of wood tied horizontally on the edge. That's when I heard the pleading. 'Please Alby, it was a mistake, it won't happen again I promise."
Alby arrived at the doors, but he wasn't alone. He was dragging Reagan along. The boys hands were tied behind his head and hneis face was swollen and bruised, obviously Gally had gotten a few good punches in last night before someone intervened.
Alby continued dragging him along until he was directly in front of the doors, next to Minho, who threw a bag of some sort into the maze, before cutting the rope holding Reagans hands together, and backing out of the circle to pick up his own rod.
As if on cue the low rumbling began, and the now familiar noise of the doors closing ensued.
The glader all held their poles out in front of them and began slowly walking towards Reagan, pushing him closer and closer into the closing doors.
"Please." tears began streaming down his face, and he began pushing against the wood trying to break himself free. "Alby, Please."
Alby gritted his teeth and continued pushing, not paying any attention to his pleas.
As the doors grew closer and closer, with Reagan still in between them i felt my heart begin to race.
The keepers gave one final push, pushing the boy completely into the maze with just enough time to retract their poles before the doors slammed shut with an echoing boom that resounded around the glade.
It was only then that Alby's words from this morning made sense and I could hear his voice in my head as I recalled them.
"No one survives a night in the maze."