There were flashes of white. People in white. Pullies with bodies on. Screens. Strange people were plastic masks. A woman's voice constantly saying 'Wicked is good'.
There was a girl talking to Edward, chatting with her. He was making drawings of strange creatures. Then there were screaming and muffled voices.
Thomas flashed his eyes open. A scream was about to escape his mouth when he felt a mouth cover it. He saw it was his younger brother. He gently pulled it back. Thomas calmed down.
"You okay?" Edward asked, deeply concerned.
Thomas nodded and sat up. His brother was standing right next him. He kneeled down to his head level.
"Bad dreams?" he asked.
Thomas frowned a little and nodded.
"I couldn't sleep either," Edward said too. "It felt so real,"
"See you two are up," a new voice spoke up.
The two brothers turned around to see it was Alby. "Come with me," he turned his head.
Edward and Thomas put on their boots and followed Alby across the green grass. Edward shuddered a little seeing a knife in Alby's hand. Thomas noticed and took his head.
"You see all this?" Alby gestured to the whole Glade. "It's hard to believe but it wasn't always this way," he stopped walking. The two newbies stopped too. "There were dark days. And we lost boys to fear, to panic...but we've come far since then. We established order and made peace,"
The boys looked at Alby carefully.
"Why are you telling us this?" Thomas asked.
"Because you two aren't like the others. You guys are curious,"
Edward thought about how curious they were about the open gates before they closed. "Is that a bad thing?"
Alby didn't have an answer. "I hope it isn't. But remember this you two. You guys are part of this Glade, part of our family," he took Thomas's hand and placed his knife right in the middle of his palm. The older brother looked at him confusedly. The leader turned his head, and the two brothers copied his line of vision. In front of them was one of the Maze walls. There were names. Alby's. Newt's. Minho's. Chuck's. Gally's. What really caught their interest were the numbers of names which were crossed out.
"What happened to them?" Thomas asked.
"Dark days," Alby answered sadly.
Edward shared a pitiful glance at him.
Thomas carved his name first. He put it in a big space near Newt's name and Minho's name. He stood back and gave the knife to his brother.
Edward walked forward and started carving his name right next to his brother's. He then whispered a question over to Alby to ask him something.
Thomas tried to eavesdrop, but Alby's hard glare made him back off.
Alby nodded as a response to Edward's question. He told Thomas to turn around. Thomas obeyed. Five minutes later, Thomas was allowed to turn around again.
"Ta da!" Edward cheered mildly. He gestured to the name board, right at the spot where their names were carved.
Thomas saw there were two huge letters right under neath the space between the two names.
BF.
"Brother's forever," Edward explained.
Thomas turned to him and shared a loving smile. "I love it,"
"Thanks Alby," Edward said to Alby who simply smiled. He turend around saw the rest of the Gladers waking up and getting to work. He turned back to the brothers. "For the next few weeks, you guys will be trying out different jobs until you find out which one is suitable for you. You guys can work together or separately if you want,"
"I think we'll work together," Thomas decided. He turned to his brother. "If that's what you want Edward,"
"Yep," his younger brother nodded.
"Okay. You guys will spend the first week doing Track Hoe jobs," Alby said. "Zart will give you some tasks,"
The brothers walked toward the gardens where already the Keeper of the Glade's gardener's and his workers including Newt were just getting their tools out.
"So Alby said you're going to try out gardening first?" Newt asked.
"That would be it," Thomas said.
"Well...always good to show newcomers how to garden," Zart said. "Thomas...you'll be doing some potting. And Edmund was it?"
"Edward," the younger brother corrected.
Zart picked up a bucket and shovel. "You're going to pick some fertiliser,"
Edward frowned. "Wait? What?"
Zart tossed him a bucket and spade. "Go into the forest and you'll find a small waste deposit with bones,"
"Bones?" Edward breathed hoarsely.
"Relax. It's really not that bad," Newt tried to assure. "Except the smell of course," his remark only put the younger newbie in a disgusted mood.
"Well you heard them Edward," Thomas shrugged to his little brother. "Go do your task,"
"Fine! But next time you're doing this job!" Edward complained.
"Go on little brother!" Thomas ruffled his hair.
"Stop calling me little!" the bad-tempered Edward stalked off into the woods.
Zart, Newt and the other Track-hoes burst out laughing at the funny interaction between the two.
"Are you always goanna keep calling him little?" Newt jokingly asked.
Thomas just shrugged his shoulders and gave him the 'maybe' face. He got to work with the Track Hoes doing shovelling and digging and planting.
"Has anyone ever tried climbing to the top?" he asked Newt.
Newt turned to him and saw Thomas was looking at the vines snaking up the walls of the Maze walls. "Yep. But where are you going to go from there?"
"What about the box? You know the next it comes you just jump in...
"No! We tried that. The Box won't go back down with someone in it,"
"Okay. What about..."
"We tried it. Twice!" Newt interjected, looking at him seriously with a goofy grin. "Trust me. Anything you think of, we've already tried. The only way out of there is through the Maze," he gestured to the open gates.
Thomas looked to the open gates. He sighed and just continued with his work. As he continued shovelling, he shot careful hidden glances at Newt. For some strange reason, he recognised him. He wished he remembered how.
Edward walked deep into the forest, muttering Zart's instructions out loud. He crossed a small stream when he heard crunching underneath his boots. He looked down. His stomach churned when he saw bones. It was disgusting.
It was some kind of graveyard. He looked up and saw a memorial made of wood in front of him and kneeled. The name George was engraved on the front. Edward remembered George was one of the names which was engraved on the wall with lines through it.
He got to work picking up fertiliser material for the gardens. He just filled his first bucket and turned round when he jumped at the sight of a Glader staring at him.
"Oh my god! You scared me," Edward exasperatedly sighed.
The Glader didn't respond. Edward recognised him. "Hey. You're ben right? I'm Edward,"
Ben didn't do anything but stare hardly at him. Edward noticed his face was flinching. "Are you okay? You look..."
Suddenly Ben lunged himself at Edward knocking him to the ground.
"Get off me!" Edward cried out, struggling to push the Runner off. Ben clasped his throat with a strong hang, trying to squeeze the oxygen out of him.
"I saw you!" Ben hissed. "And your brother! You two did this! You did this to us! You created them! You did this to me!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Edward screamed. He tried to break free but Ben squeezed harder. He dug his sharp nails into his wrist making him grunt in pain. He reached around with his free hand for anything to strike his attacker. He felt something made out of bone. Gripping it, he smashed it against Ben's head, and he was stunned. Edward pushed him off his body before scrambling back onto his feet to make a run.
He sprinted through the woods, screaming out for help, Ben hot on his tail. He ran down a hill. He suddenly felt Ben launch himself and him again and they went tumbling down the hill. They landed on their backs. Before Edward could get back up, Ben pinned him down. He grabbed a dagger from behind and abrupted his wrist and he cried out in pain. He tried to stab him again but Edward blocked his wrist, feeling the knife tip barely touching his face. He managed to knee Ben, stunning him.
Thomas was still talking with Newt when he heard screaming. He turned round to see his younger brother screaming for help as he burst out of the forest.
Thomas made a sprint.
Ben caught Edward's feet and he tripped again. He pinned him down again, strangling his neck. He struggled to breath.
"Hey!" Thomas tried to pull Ben off, but the angry Runner turned his attention back on him and pinned him down instead. Before Ben could do anything, he was suddenly struck in the head by a spade pole.
Newt dropped the spade then shouted: "Hold him down!" He and a few other big boys including Gally and Frypan pinned Ben down.
"Calm down," Gally seethed.
"What happened?!" Frypan screamed.
"He just attacked me!" Edward panted as Thomas helped him up.
"You okay?" Chuck asked.
Edward nodded. Everyone gathered around. Alby stood, shocked at what he was seeing. Ben unexpectantly started begging for help.
"Lift his shirt," Alby ordered.
"No. I didn't mean it," whimpered Ben.
Gally pulled up his shirt. Everyone gasped. There was a deep wound above his stomach. Everyone gasped and winced. It was black and there were purple veins crawling out of it.
"What is that?" Thomas asked.
"He's been stung," Gally pointed out. In the middle of the day?"
"Put him in the pit," ordered Alby. Newt, Frypan, Gally and Med-Jacks carried the stung Runner away towards the pit.
Thomas checked his brother again. He noticed he was clasping his wrist quite tightly.
"You're hurt,"
"It's nothing," his brother protested.
Thomas just gently gripping his wrist pulling it up and removing his hand. There was a deep gash right in the centre.
"It's just a scratch," Edward pulled his wrist away. "It's nothing,"
"It's not nothing. You should get that bandaged,"
"Clint! Jeff!" Alby shouted. The two Med-jacks dashed back over. "Treat Edward's wound,"
Edward sat down in the Homestead whilst Clint pressed a honey covered leek against his wound. His knife wound was wiped clean with some water and a cloth. A slight scratch was still on his cheek but that was wiped clean too.
"That's nasty," Chuck winced from next to him.
"Is he goanna be okay?" Thomas asked Jeff.
"He'll be fine," Jeff assured. "It's not a life-threatening wound,"
Thomas exhale and relaxed. He noticed his brother staring at him weirdly. "What? It's my job to be worried for you,"
"You don't always have to be worried about me,"
Clint approached them. "Does it need amputating?"
Thomas glared at him. No one's amputating my brother any time soon.
"Relax. I'm just goanna put a bandage on," Jeff gently wrapped a bandage round the wound then tightened it. "Clint always wants to amputate it,"
Edward glanced at her "Thanks,"
Alby approached them. "You doing okay?"
Edward nodded.
"Just keep this one for a few weeks," Jeff advised Edward giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks,"
The Med-Jacks left them alone and Alby sat next to Thomas. "It's a lot to take in," he said.
"What happened to Ben?" Thomas asked.
"It's called the Changing. It's what happens when someone gets stung by a Griever,"
"So they act all wild and uncontrollable?" Edward asked.
Alby sadly nodded. "Did he say anything?"
The younger brunette stared at him.
"When someone gets stung, they blabber things out. Things they possibly remember,"
"So when someone gets stung they recover their memories?" Thomas asked.
"Only slightly," Alby turned his attention back again back to Edward. "What did he say?"
Edward felt nervous.
"You're not in any trouble. I just want to know what he said,"
Edward took a deep breath. "He just kept blabbering out that it was me and Thomas's fault. He kept blabbering out that he saw us. And he said something about me...creating something. He acted like I was responsible for his condition,"
His words seemed to surprise both his brother and Alby.
Thomas became shocked. "How could this be our fault?" he asked Alby.
Alby was speechless. "Get some rest," he walked away.
"Alby!" Thomas called, earning his attention. "What's going to happen to him?"
When he asked that question, Alby looked sad. He turned away.
"It's better if you two see for yourself," Chuck said sadly from next to them. "It'll happen at nightfall,"
The brothers stared at each other, fearing the outcomes of Edward's stung attacker.
Sunset came to pass and everyone was gathered in front of the Maze gates with tall poles. Mihno was bringing a tied-up savage Ben forward. Ben constantly begged Minho to let him go but the Keeper of the Runners shoved him right in front of the gates.
Thomas, Edward, and Chuck were cut off from the crowd watching intently.
"Please tell me they're not doing what I think they're doing," Edward pleaded looking at Chuck.
The young boy looked up at him and just gave him sad eyes.
Minho looked towards Alby who gave him a sad but reluctant nod. He turned towards the gap between the gates and threw a bag.
There was a loud clank. Everyone watched as the gates were beginning to close. The scared Ben began to scurry backwards.
"Poles!" Alby ordered.
Everyone pointed their long spears and poles right at Ben.
Edward saw Chuck walk away.
"Push him in!" Alby ordered.
The Gladers poked and pushed him towards the closing gates. Ben kept begging them to stop but they wouldn't. They pushed him into the closing gap, and he was forced to run into the maze before he got squeezed. Through the thin gap, he took a glance back at everyone.
"Please! Please!" he screamed. It was too late for the Gladers to reconsider.
Thomas and Edward watched with shocked eyes as the gates closed. Ben was now trapped, gone forever, banished from the Glade.
Alby and the Gladers turned towards the flabbergasted brothers. "He belongs to the Maze now," he said sadly. "There was no other option,"
"Why did you have to banish him?" Edward asked. "It's not his fault that he got stung,"
"He attacked you Edward. He could have killed you. And Thomas. It's too dangerous for us to keep him here,"
"And so because of that he deserves to go there?" as much as Thomas hated how Ben had attacked his brother, he couldn't quite blame him. It's not entirely his fault. To him, it felt like the Gladers were sentencing him to death.
Alby seemed slightly awestruck by the brother's protests, but he couldn't blame them. "Sometimes you have to do what's necessary to survive. Even if your heart aches against it," he patted Edward's shoulder then walked away giving Thomas a pat too.
Thomas and Edward stood still, close to one another as everyone walked away from the Maze doors. They turned their heads back towards the closed doors, sighing. Thomas noticed Edward looked a little guilt0stricken and placed his arm around his shoulders leading him away.
After a silent dinner, everyone retreated to bed. Thomas and Edward watched as Gally was crossing out Ben's name on the wall from the other side of the Glade.
"Do you think he might make it?' Thomas asked.
"Ben? No. No one survives a night in the maze," Chuck answered from his hammock. "We just gotta forget about him,"
Edward hung his head down, feeling a little guilty.
"It's not your fault Edward," Chuck spoke up. "This isn't the first time this has happened,"
Edward looked up to him and saw a small smile. He smiled back.
"Goodnight guys," Chuck turned his back slightly.
"Goodnight Chuck," they said together.
The youngest Glader fell asleep.
The brothers looked at each other.
"Thanks for saving me," Edward said. "Even though you could have got killed,"
"If ever you into trouble again, you can always count of me to save you,"
"But then you would be in danger. If it wasn't for Newt, Ben would have killed you,"
"We're both alive. That's what matters," Thomas clasped his shoulder. "You can always count on me to be there for you,"
Edward smiled back. "And I'll have your back too," he patted Thomas's arm which then retreated. Edward looked to the side to see Alby silently sulking. He sighed. "It mustn't be easy for Alby being the leader here,"
Thomas copied his line of vision and looked at Alby too. "Quite a burden it must be. Especially with all these difficult decisions he has to make. At least he's got Newt to help him out,"
Edward flicked his attention back to him. "So you've made a new friend?"
"He's nice. And I owe him our lives,"
Edward just chucked a bit. "You know our names are quite long right?" his brother nodded.
"How about I call you Tom? And you call me Ed. How's that?"
"I like it," Thomas said. "Well Ed, we should get some sleep. Best if we just forget about Ben,"
Ed nodded and pulled himself into his hammock. But Tom didn't. "Tom, where are you going?"
"To thank Newt. I'll be back,"
Newt was slipping off his boots whilst sitting in his hammock when he saw Thomas approaching. "What's up?"
Thomas pushed his hands into his pockets. "I...never thanked you for saving my life back there. And Ed's too,"
"Ed?"
"That's my new nickname for him,"
"So you're goanna stop calling him 'little brother'?" Newt asked, chuckling.
"Nope. I'm still goanna use that,"
"You now I can hear you two!" Ed's irritated voice called from the other side. "And I don't like being gossiped about like that!"
The two slightly older boys couldn't help but chuckle a little. They quite enjoyed it.
"It was nothing," Newt said next. "That was a very brave but reckless thing you did back there going at Ben. You must love your brother a lot that you want to protect him so desperately,"
"Yes. I do,"
"Well I quite admire you for it,"
Thomas smiled, accepting the compliment.
Newt sensed a mixture of uneasiness and calmness in Thomas's eyes "I'm sorry that you guys had to watch us banish Ben. You know we had no choice, right?"
"Yeah. I do. Alby's lucky to have you as his second in command. You must help him so much,"
Newt quite liked his compliment. "I do what I can to help him. It's never easy for him. He's finds it more bearable to banish stung Gladers from the Maze rather than kill them,"
His words flicked Thomas's curiosity. Newt could already tell that he was full of questions again. He was beginning to get a bit annoyed by it. Before the new Glader could ask, he spoke first. "The first Glader who got stung was a boy named George. He attacked numbers of boys. Alby had to kill him. It burdened him so much that he built a graveyard and a memorial for him in the woods. It was the most guilt-ridden thing he had ever done,"
Thomas found the story very sad.
"You should get some sleep," Newt pulled himself into his hammock.
Thomas folded back his lips and nod. "Good night Newt,"
'Good night Tommy,"
Thomas walked away back to his hammock giving Newt another glance. He didn't realise that the second-in-command was continuously giving him a backward glance with warm eyes.
Please, please readers sent some comments and reviews. I would love to try and make this entertaining for everyone. I do hope you all are enjoying this.