Thomas' POV
An hour after Clara, Alby, and Minho ran back out into the maze it started raining. Newt said it hadn't ever rained there so it made us all even more nervous than we had been. Gally had been the one who asked the question on all of our minds, what did it mean?
We all gathered under the homestead keeping an eye on the door that they had run off through hours earlier. The other runners had already returned and the tension in the crowd was growing as it got closer and closer to time for the doors to close.
"What if they don't come back?" I asked Newt.
"They will."
I looked at him and noticed his gaze hadn't shifted from the doors.
"Yeah, what if they don't?" I asked again.
This time he slowly looked at me. "They will."
I could see the fear in his eyes and knew he was terrified of the alternative. It was hard to tell if he was scared of losing Clara, his friends, or if it was because he'd be the new leader.
I spent the next few hours in the medihut with Chuck, who was now wide awake asking about where Clara was and everything that was going on. I filled him in as best as I could without scaring him. His eyes darkened considerably however when I told him Clara was still out there. He looked outside and instantly knew how terrible this situation was. I patted his shoulder sympathetically with a small smile.
"Don't worry Chuck. They'll make it back."
Chuck met my eyes as his eyes started to water. "What if they don't?" His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke and I could feel my heart clinch in pain.
"Just try to get some more rest buddy. Clara won't be happy to find out you haven't been listening to Jeff and Clint."
He nodded slowly and a few tears trickled down his cheeks. I took the opportunity to step back out into the homestead where Newt had began to pace.
The rain eased up minutes before the doors were supposed to close. They still weren't back. I should have been with them, this wasn't fair. I should have been there to protect her.
Clara?
I had tried reaching out to her several times over the past few hours with no response but that didn't necessarily mean they were in trouble. She only just learned the basics of it when I was with her in the maze so she hadn't been able to practice just yet or anything.
"Shouldn't we do something?" I asked the large group gathered in front of the door. I stood beside Newt anxiously waiting for them to round the corner. The tension in the air was palpable, making it even worse.
"It's against the rules. They either come back or they don't." Gally replied, kneeling on the ground as if he needed the support.
"We can't risk sending anyone else out there." Newt mumbled.
I glanced around the group of pale boys surrounding me, all of them looked like a wreck with their leader, Clara and Minho still out there.
The sudden burst of wind indicated the doors getting ready to close. It was a slow process so they still had time. I could practically hear everyone stop breathing as we waited.
Finally, we saw something round the corner. Something wasn't right though. Minho and Clara were fully supporting Alby, practically dragging him along. They wouldn't make it if they kept ahold of him. "You have to leave him!" I yelled out.
Clara shook her head slightly and I heard Newt suck in a sharp breath.
"Damn it Clara run!" He yelled out.
"Come on guys!"
"You can make it!"
"Leave him!"
"Run!"
Everyone around us started yelling encouraging things to them but nothing sped them up. The doors were over half way closed. They weren't going to make it. My eyes met Clara's and I instantly knew what had to be done. At the last moment I pushed through the closing doors narrowly escaping Newt's grasp and collapsed on the ground when the doors slammed shut less than a second after I squeezed through. Clara had collapsed on the ground beside Minho in defeat a few moments before when they realized they wouldn't makeit. They were both breathing heavily, her body was practically trembling against his.
"Way to go, greenie. You just signed your death certificate." Minho said.
A/N: I apologize for this one being so incredibly short but the next one will be longer and a very, very exciting chapter. I'm really looking forward to the next one guys :)