Evelyn woke up to little puffy snores. She stifled a giggle. Chuck was curled up in the makeshift bed, he looked even younger while he slept. His cheeks squished and slightly pink. She smiled and the boy. He was so innocent, he shouldn't be in a place like this. Her eyes travelled to the others who were sprawled out on her floor.
When they were on their way back with Chuck's stuff, and they found out about the sleepover, Nick, Minho, Sonny, Gally and Jeff showed up. They sprawled on the floor. It had been a weird week and everyone just needed support.
Evelyn rolled onto her back and pulled a pillow onto her chest and hugged it tight. It still smelt like him. Earthy sunshine, laundry soap, herbs and spices. Her heart ached. Even with everyone in her room, she still felt alone. She secretly wished Newt would have come too...she closed her eyes and imagined that he was there laying beside her, his arm around her, his face buried in her hair, his body pressed up against her. It helped her fall asleep.
"Hey...Pixy?"
She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She was glad the pillow was covering her face.
"Morning Soilder." She forced the peppy happy old Evy.
He snorted quietly, the bed dipped when he sat and pulled the pillow away.
"Don't give me the fake voice. I ain't stupid."
"I'm fine."
"Feelings I'm not expressing...ain't fine. You're holding Newt's pillow over your face, wearing his hoodie and you're trying hard not to cry."
"Fine." She whispered, her voice tight and thin, her eyes narrowed and she sat up. Her voice was sharp now, quiet, so she wouldn't wake the others.
"Yeah you're right. I'm not okay. I miss him. A lot. I still care about him. And I still love him, Minho. I do! If he had said everything was over and he left Thomas behind I'd have him back! Alright? Is that what you wanna hear? People won't leave me alone. People keep asking me about it and it's really hard to cope and move on when someone is always poking into my love life!"
She took a ragged breath. Ran a hand through her hair and blinked a few times.
"I'm sorry Minho. That wasn't fair. It....it's also how am I supposed to act now around you?"
"Like we always have. You're my best friend, that doesn't change. I don't except you to change anything. You wanna vent and rage? Go for it. Cry over a break up? Go for it. Pine and wish he was back? Go for it."
She hung her head in shame.
"Come on Pixy, we gotta get up and ready. We got that Griever to dissect."
"Jeeze that seemed so long ago! So much klunk has happened?"
"Yeah, it was only 2 nights ago...also, we're still tryna process that night. You know it's going to take you and Newt time to process that.."
"How come your gentle and kind with your words to me, but you were agressive with him?"
Minho handed her the pillow back, and she held it tight to her chest. Snuggling her face into the pillow. She was still hurt and angry, but the smell was familiar and comfortable and eased her tension.
"You didn't try to kiss someone else, and then play victim. You did nothing. He needed some sense knocked into him."
She hummed.
"Come on. Time to get going, and don't step on anyone."
"Yeah! Don't step on us!"
"Where's my glasses?"
"Dude, get your feet outta my face!"
Evelyn chuckled and watched the guys all stretch and sit up, and wake up. These boys were so near and dear to her heart. They got up and folded their blankets and grabbed pillows and the entire group went off to breakfast.
"Chuck! There you are! You didn't come to your hammock last night! I got worried!" Thomas came jogging up.
"Had a sleepover with Mom and the guys."
He gestured to the guys all still in pj bottoms, bed head and holding blankets. Thomas furrowed his forehead in confusion. And then shook his head with a shrug.
"Whatever shank, as long as you were okay."
"Awww Thomas were you worried about little ol' me?" Chuck batted his eyelashes.
Thomas rolled his eyes.
"So we ready to go?"
"Dude! Doors are still closed. Coffee first. Then we do the things." Minho yawned.
"Facts." Evelyn held a hand up for a high five. Minho slapped her hand.
________________________
Minho, Thomas and Evelyn were finally ready, just grabbing water bottles from Frypan. She shrugged the backpack Minho gave her into her shoulders.
"Pixy, let me fix that, it's gonna get annoying right away. Arm up."
She raised her arm and he fiddled with the strap when Jeff, Clint, Nick and Newt came over. Newt's eyes flicked back and forth between Evelyn and Minho. He didn't say anything, but a muscle in his jaw clenched.
"You guys gonna be okay to run the Glade without me?"
"Haha. What else could go wrong?" Nick rolled his eyes behind his glasses.
"A lot." Evelyn said flatly, "Sun could turn off, Alby could dream out, the girl could go nuts, walls might crumble, fires, chaos, anarchy, wild Grievers..."
"Yeah, let's not bloody jinx it."
Her heart ached at the sound of his voice. But forced the pain down and forced a chuckle and grin.
"Just saying. I feel like I'm leaving kids at home alone for the first time."
The guys all rolled their eyes.
"Jeff? Clint? You guys will be okay?"
"Evy...we are quite capable MedJax. Stop worrying!" Jeff rolled his eyes.
"It's you that we're worried about. Your not a Runner."
"Yeah a none runner who survived a Griever but and a night alone in the maze."
"Point taken." Nick chuckled and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Spunky Pixy, speaking nothing but facts. There, backpack should be fine now." He patted her shoulder.
The doors started to rumble open. Evelyn's stomach twisted with nerves and anticipation. Nick quickly pulled her into a hug.
"Be safe!" He whispered quickly.
"Always. I'm with Minho and Thomas. I'll be fine."
She felt Newt's eyes on her and when she flicked her eyes to him, his big brown eyes were unsettled and full of anxiety. He opened his mouth slightly, like he was going to say something. But closed his mouth.
"Alright. Time to go!" Minho called.
"Be safe. Please." Newt finally whispered.
Evelyn had turned and chased after the guys. Back into the cool stone halls and into the fog. She still felt the uncomfortable feeling of being small and insignificant, being closed in and stuck. Taking a slow inhale, she steeled herself once more for the task ahead.
Minho stopped at the place Thomas had left her.
"All right. Do ya think you'd be able to get to where to killed the Griever?" He asked.
She held up her still wrapped hand, "just follow the blood."
"That's...so gross." Thomas shuddered.
"You said smart wrong." Minho corrected.
"Okay I got up...and went that way." She pointed down the hall after closing her eyes and turning trying to visualize the night.
She took off down the hall. Spotting a hand print she turned. She followed her prints until a particularly nasty smear made the guys stop.
"The shuck?" Minho gasped.
"Grievers are fast. I tried going faster. I slipped on the gravel and wacked my head."
They followed a few more. Okay that's where it trapped me."
"How can you be sure?" Thomas asked confused.
Evelyn pointed. The guys turned to look, on the dead end wall were two sweard hand prints. From where she backed up and then pushed off the wall.
"And you got around it?"
She nodded. Her eye caught something shinny and frowned. Cocking her head she walked to the wall and crouched down.
"What? What did you find? Is it part of the Griever?" Thomas hit her with a wave of questions.
Minho jogged over and squatted down beside her. Evelyn gingerly picked it up. Turning it over in her hands, careful of the long sharp needle point at the end.
"Wholly Shuck it's a stinger!" Minho gasped.
She carfully handed it over, and he turned it over in his hands. His eyes wide and mouth dropped open.
"How'd you get the stinger off?" Thomas asked.
"I didn't. I remember the tail with the claw, it was coming at me. I ducked and it named into the wall. I didn't have time to stand around and ponder it. I ran."
"Is there a way we can wrap it up and take it back with us?" He asked another question.
Evelyn slipped her tight fitting backpack off and pulled her long sleeved shirt off, she still had a tight tank top underneath, she took the stinger and wrapped it with her shirt and slid it into her bag. And her back back onto her shoulders.
"Well from here... Where'd you go?"
Evelyn got up and chewing her lip she walked back to the end of the short hall and looked back and forth. Closing her eyes she tried to rethink of the night.
"That way." She said without hesitation. At the end of the hall she hesitated.
"There!" Thomas called, and pointed.
A few more dried bloody hand prints later, she slowed to a walk and then stopped. Halfway down the hall was the Griever. Still in the same spot. And still very much dead. The guys hesitated behind her. Thomas was the first to move. Minho followed right behind him. Evelyn hesitated and then followed.
"The actual shuck is that?"
"Dammit Evelyn!"
Evelyn stopped. And wrapped her arms around her self. Her breathing was coming in short gasps. The dark patch on the stone floor made the fear and pain and panic came flooding back. The bite piercings in her side started to hurt again.
Thomas was staring at the long teeth; he stepped closer. His frown deepening, and his eyebrows furrowed. Minho wouldn't stop staring at the dried dark blood stain on the floor.
"Those things have blood still on them! And that's shucken deep! Dammit Eve!" Thomas whispered in awe and fear.
"And you just about bleed out!" Minho finally looked up at her, "look how much you lost!"
Evelyn's pale face nodded, avoiding looking at the dark stain, trying to swallow the rising panic. She balled her hands into fists to hide the shaking.
"Shuck Eve..I'm so sorry I left you! I should have stayed!" Thomas looked up from his kneeling by the head, he look so sorry and upset it made Evelyn's heart soften.
"You had no idea what would happen, Thomas."
"That seems to be a trend...'Thomas had no idea'..." Minho muttered.
"Shut up." Thomas mumbled.
"I still can't shucken believe you lost that much blood and still got back to the Glade! And your back out here like 2 days later! Shuck Evelyn!" Minho was looking at her with a mixture of awe, pride and slight fear.
"I did what I had to do." She shrugged, "It was give up and die or fight my way back."
She shuddered, trying very hard not to sink down in a hyperventilating mess. Being this close to the thing that just about killed her was getting to her.
"So did the teeth like rip you or just puncture you?" Thomas asked, still staring at the teeth, he looked back up at her.
Evelyn lifted the hem of her tank top, showing them the teeth marks. Some of them were scabbed, some still had a few stitches holding them together. She turned around and showed the back marks. Minho whistled.
"Dammit." Thomas muttered.
"Badass little Pixy!" Minho smirked.
"Hey guys?" Thomas called, "there's something in there!"
From his kneeling position he leaned forward, frowning .
"You mean besides a shucken Griever pancake?" Minho asked, wrinkling his nose, as Thomas leaned forwards and stuck his hand into the crack trying to reach whatever he was looking at. Evelyn finally worked up the courage and came over and crouched down next to Thomas and leaned in trying to see what he was looking at.
"Whoa whoa what are you doing?" She yelped as he stuck his hand inside the ripped open blubber into the wires and machine parts. Something inside sparked. Evelyn yelped and pulled Thomas away from the Griever just as the jaw of the Griever snapped shut and then fell open.
"I thought you said it was dead!" Thomas cried, scrambling to his feet, breathing hard.
"You had your hand inside the wires and machine parts, ya shuck face! You made a reflex or twitch when the wires sparked." Evelyn rolled her eyes.
"Oh. Well...uh thanks. It almost took my head off."
She nodded. Thomas was back beside the head, trying to see back into the wires.
"There's something in there...Come on, help me pull it out! Grab the leg thing here!"
Minho and Evelyn shared a look and then shrugged. Each stepping over and taking hold of the leg.
"On three." Minho said hefting the leg up.
"One. Two. THREE."
They all tugged. With a wet ripping sound the leg ripped out, causing more sparking wires and smoke from the griever goop and oil mixing with wires. Evelyn slipped on the fresh goop and guts on the floor and fell backwards, landing in a pile of slim.
"You okay?" Minho held a hand out.
"Yeah...just peachy." She muttered, she went to take his hand, but froze. And turned back to the thing that was flashing right behind Minho.
"What the.." She muttered. Reaching around him and picked up the thing that had caught her eye.
"Hey! What did ya find?" Thomas asked coming over, his eyes were as big as they could possibly be. He looked so excited Evelyn couldn't help but lift the corner of her lips into a small smile.
"No idea, but its blinking..."
It was a grey organ of some kind, soft and squishy and covered in slime. Turning it over there was wires and cables were sticking out of the bottom.
"Interesting!" Thomas muttered, staring at it.
Minho had crouched down beside them. "What is it?"
"No idea. Maybe the brain or heart of the thing?" Evelyn answered, turning it over again, she grabbed the wires and cords and yanked on them. A silver metal cylinder ripped from the organ and fell into her lap.
"The shuck?" Minho whispered.
Evelyn picked it up. She tried to wipe the slim off with her hand and wiped it on her already dirty pants. There was a green flashing digital number 4. Her face scrunched and turned it over. On the other side were letters stamped on them, bright red like blood, just like the beetle blades. The same letters. She cocked her head.
"The same letters as Heph had..." She muttered.
"Heph? Who's that?" Thomas asked.
"Lizard." Evelyn said, distracted, her thumb rubbed the slim off.
Thomas looked at Minho for more explanation. Evelyn was lost in thought and muttering to herself.
"One of the beetle blades...she uh some how turned it into a real lizard...its grey and red...she named it Hephaestus."
Thomas took a moment to process this information, he blinked a few times at Minho.
"What the actual shuck?" He asked as Evelyn got up and started walking back and forth along the wall, still muttering and lost in her own thoughts.
"You've seen the magic glowing hands?" Minho asked quietly.
Thomas nodded.
"Well when she used it on the Shanks, and the robot was in her lap or shoulder or whatever...it eventually turned it from machine to real animal."
"That's not possible!"
"None of this is possible and yet here the shuck we are."
"Well I can understand why you guys listen to her...last night at the banishing..? Dude she looked terrifying when the wind came..."
"You have no idea what she's capable of. She saved so many shanks...Including Newt's. She nearly died saving Newt's life and Nick's twice. She saved Gally's life, my life...Winston's too actually, kid named George, before the Creators used him as a shucken experiment. The guys are protective of her, she would throw her life away for anyone. She's a sister...she's literally the life blood of the Glade."
They watched her for a second.
"She wasn't always like this...she was quiet, shy, gentle, smiled and laughed."
"Shuck. And I had screw it all up." He hung his head.
"Yeah Shuckface. Ya did."
"Wow don't hold back."
"I could go on."
"Please don't."
"Guys?"
Both guys looked over. She was staring at them.
"What's up Pixy?"
"It's the same...it's the same letters on the beetle blades and on our supplies...on the Grief serum! Shuck! Guys! It's the shucken creators. They made these monsters and everything inside here. They threw us into this shucken prison, threw some poison death monsters in here...give us exactly what we need to survive and then they watch us!"
She started swearing and cursing so bad Thomas's jaw dropped and Minho puffed his chest, and smirked in pride.
"Come on Angry little Pixy, lets take this back to the Glade. It's getting late."
"Yeah...I don't wanna meet this things friends." Thomas said nervously, glancing around.
She tossed the metal cylinder to Minho and they took off back to the glade, following Minho and the bloody hand prints and blood splatters and puddles on the ground. One particular spot made both guys stop and stare for a moment. Where she had sunk to the ground for a moment before forcing herself on.
They crossed back into the Glade where Newt, Nick, Sonny and Gally where waiting for them.