THREE.
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It became pretty clear that the Runners couldn't function without their leader out in the Maze with them. They grew restless and crazy, deliberately making bad decisions or even not going into the Maze at all like they thought they couldn't be bossed around anymore. While some of them could still be trusted, something definitely had to be done.
Nick called a Gathering. I hated them. They were usually long and boring, and being in that stuffy room with so many people was one of the most dreadful things I could do. I was seated in the chair in front of the crescent of Keepers that time instead of in my own seat. It was strange to have the boys all looking at me instead of sitting among them.
A small buzz of voices filled the dark room in the Homestead. Nick sat in the middle of the row of Keepers, with Alby to his immediate left. A boy named Link, who was head of the Slicers, started it off. Gally was at the end. I shifted uncomfortably under all of their sideways glances and tugged at the collar of my shirt.
There were no windows in the room, causing the overbearing heat that always stuffed up the small room. The door was always closed so nobody could overhear the Gathering, making the room even more unbearable to sit in for long. The single light above our heads was dim, illuminating everyone in the room with a musky glow that was barely bright enough to show peoples' features. I was glad I had left my jacket in my room that time, and the tank top I now wore provided some sort of relief.
Nick clapped his hands and ordered for silence. "Listen up! Our concern today is Nadia's position. The Runners have been straying out of line little by little ever since her accident, and now it's getting out of hand. We need a way to fix those shanks up and show 'em who's boss."
"Nadia." The voice had come from Frypan. He was leaning back in his chair, looking completely confident as he fanned himself with his hand. "Who says she can't still be in charge? She's been the Keeper since we elected 'em in the beginning, and that shouldn't change because she can't run anymore."
My heart felt warmer after what Frypan said. He was so nice that it hurt, and I knew I'd always be grateful for him. Long live Frypan, Keeper of the Cooks.
"What's the point in having her in charge if she can't even do her job?" That was Clark. He was Keeper of the Raisers, who spent their days raising the livestock and tending to them, hence the name. He was a thin boy with coppery hair that fell into his eyes and constellations of freckles across his pale face. He also smelled like a barn.
Nick sighed and picked up his chair a bit from beneath him. He dropped it, creating a clammoring sound that shut everyone up. There was a look of complete exasperation on his face and his straw-colored hair was sticking up everywhere like he'd run his hands through it uncontrollably. I had never seen him look so tired.
"Slim it," he ordered fiercely. "You all know how this goes. Everyone says their views, we get everyone's recommendations, and then we decide. I better not hear a single word out of line, got that?"
If one thing was for sure, everyone obeyed Nick. He had a natural sense of authority to him that matched perfectly with his charisma and people skills. His mind was great; he was skilled at problem-solving and thinking under pressure. No one dared to challenge him.
Nick nodded at the silence that followed. "Good that." He leaned back in his chair and gestured to the first person in the row. "Link, you first."
Link was one of the boys that I had never really talked to. He was pretty reserved for a Keeper, and the only thing I knew about him was that he enjoyed hamburgers. The light reflected off of his dark brown hair, which was sticking up at the front in an effort to keep it out of his eyes. He was well-known for them, for they were extremely wide like an owl's, and the hazel color was beautiful.
"Nadia was injured badly, yes, but she did it while keeping Ken safe from being trapped," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Doesn't that say somethin'? She cares about those Runners, no matter how new. They're like her little immediate family. We shouldn't take that away from her."
Nick took out a notepad and a brutally sharpened pencil from his pocket. "So what you're sayin' is that she should stay?"
"Yeah," Link shrugged. "Don't see why not. Who are we to tear up a family?"
I sent Link a grateful smile, at which he pulled his lips into a small, closed-lipped grin. Nick jotted down the information and turned expectantly to the next person: Clark.
"I already said my view," the Raiser sighed, crossing his legs the way men did- one bent at the knee as his ankle rested against the other knee. "What's a Runner if they can't even run? It's like having a Slicer with no hands. You just can't do it. We should have someone trusted to take her place, someone she knows will do the job well."
Nick nodded and copied Clark's words onto the paper. For a moment, the only sound was the occasional scuffing of feet, a sniffle or two, and pencil on paper. I interested myself in my folded hands.
Frypan was next. "Alright, I already said somethin' too, but can I also comment on what Clark said? What if Nadia was still, technically, in charge, but had someone to run the Maze for her? She'd still make all the important decisions and such, while the other would train Newbies."
Nick pursed his lips in thought. "Like a second-in-command?"
Frypan nodded and pointed to our leader. "Exactly. You got one, why can't Nadia?"
Nick wrote down Frypan's ideas while Alby began saying his. It was customary for the leader to speak last, after everyone else had said their opinions so he could weigh them out.
"Nadia shouldn't be in charge," Alby argued bluntly. I felt my spirits deflate a little bit, like someone was slowly squeezing air out of a balloon. "We should let someone else do it, someone new, and give them a chance to hold the reins. Ain't no point in having a person be a Keeper if they can't even do their job, like Clark said."
The next three Keepers - Zart, Matt, and David - didn't have much to say. They kept their opinions concise and to the point, leaving no room for any question as to what they mean. So far, it was an even stance between people who wanted me to stay and those who wanted to give me the boot.
Gally sighed and dragged a severely calloused hand down his face. "I don't know." He dropped his hand onto his leg with a slap. "I actually don't know. We've never had this matter before, we've never had to handle it this way." He huffed another sigh and shrugged. "I'll just say I'm for her staying. I don't know what else to say."
That was probably one of the nicest things Gally had ever done for me.
Nick finished writing down Gally's quote, then set down the paper and pencil. His eyes stared into mine. Brown met blue. I held my breath for what he was going to say, and my palms began to sweat. I felt my heart beat a little bit faster in anticipation and dread. He spoke.
"Nadia is obviously very experienced in where she stands. She knows everything about the Glade, she knows everyone, and is the fastest Runner we have. Or, was the fastest Runner." He winced slightly and moved on. "Point is, we'll never have someone quite as valuable as she is. She's been here since the beginning, she is well-educated in the matter of running and knows every inch of the Maze by heart. Problem is, Clark's right. We can't have someone in charge if they can't perform their job."
There was an unbearable moment of silence that seemed to twist my insides in the worst possible way. I felt like my brain was being squeezed with the agony of Nick's pause. My heart increased its pace even more; the room seemed even hotter all of a sudden. The air condensed around my head, squeezing it.
"Which is why we're going with Frypan's choice. She'll elect someone to be her second-in-command, someone to be her go-to when she needs anything done running wise. They'll run in her place in the Maze and do all of the things that require moving. Do you have someone in mind?"
I was too busy smiling to respond at first, but the name fell from my lips before I could stop myself. "Minho."
Gally snickered behind his hand. "Oh, this'll be great."
Nick smiled as well, though his was much more kind. "Oh, yes it will be. Well, it's settled then. As soon as you're able to depend on yourself one hundred percent, Minho will go back into the Maze. Hopefully this'll straighten everything out." He clapped his hands once. "Gathering dismissed!"
I took in a deep breath of fresh air as soon as I stepped outside of the door of the Homestead, but the moment of peace was short-lived. Minho and Newt pounced on me not even three seconds later. They both wore anxious expressions on their faces as I steadied myself on my crutches and moved out of the way so the others could exit the building.
"Well?" Minho demanded impatiently. I suddenly felt embarrassed around him. I had jumped so quickly to make him my second-in-command, but what if he rejected the position? What would I do then?
It didn't matter. I had to tell him anyway.
"Basically, I'm still in charge, but I'm gonna have a second-in-command to train the Runners and do all that stuff," I began nervously. I turned to the Asian boy standing in front of me. "Minho, wanna be my second-in-command?"
"Me?" he asked, eyes widening in disbelief. "Why me?"
I flushed. My cheeks became warm with a heat and red tint that turned my face my favorite color. I adjusted my grip on my crutches. "Well - I just thought - since you're around me so much and - I don't know, okay! Just... will you be my second-in-command or not?"
Minho blinked in surprise. "You're blushing."
Newt jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. The blond boy had a fierce look cross his features, one that clearly told Minho not to tease me. "Yeah, Minho. We know. Now lay off it and bloody answer her!"
Minho pretended to ponder my proposition, and I was almost ready to give up when he finally responded. "Yeah, alright."
I sighed and directed my gaze toward the sky. "Thank you. Was that really so hard?"
"Yes," Minho said. I sent him a glare, narrowing my eyes to slits as my features hardened to stone. The Runner merely gave a whoop and clapped Newt on the shoulder like someone had given him a thousand dollars. "Who knew Nadia had it in her to have such a killer glare?"
Newt's eyebrows pulled together, a crease forming between them. "I've never seen her look like that before. Nadia, tone it down before your eyes shoot lasers at him."
I blinked and dropped the look, returning my features back to their normal, neutral, expression. "C'mon, Minho. Better start showing you the ropes. See ya, Newt."
I turned and went back into the Homestead through the back door. Minho and I moved through the hallways until we arrived at the front set of stairs, which I sighed at. He held onto my crutches once again as I hopped up the stairs one by one. It was tiring, but I couldn't do anything else.
"Why're we up here?" Minho questioned. We were down the hallway where all the Keepers' rooms were located, along with Alby and Nick's. I stopped at my door and twisted the knob.
"You'll see," I responded vaguely, pushing the door open. I immediately went to my dresser, where I opened the top right drawer and began digging through it. I called it "The Runner Drawer" because it was filled with anything related to my job. Old drafts of Maps were discarded in there in the distant hope we'd need them someday, along with pencils, broken rulers, and other miscellaneous objects. My hand groped around until my fingers brushed the edges of cold, metal keys. I sighed in relief and pulled them out, jingling them before Minho with a smirk on my face.
His eyes went wide at the sight of them. "Those are mine?"
I nodded and flopped onto my bed so I could inform him about each individual key. My arm motioned for him to sit beside me, and he did without hesitation. Minho's gaze was still fixated on the ring of keys like they were treasure.
"These are very valuable, and cannot get into the wrong hands," I informed him seriously, putting as much emphasis onto the words as I could. "These keys are specified for a Runner; each Keeper has a few key rings that specify for their job. This one holds the keys to the Map Room, Weapons room-"
"We have a weapons room?" Minho questioned with surprise clear in his tone. His jaw went slack in shock.
"Well, yeah," I replied blankly. "Did you think those knives you use every day came from nowhere?"
I spent about half an hour explaining specifically what each key was for, and repeated things when necessary. Minho was an astoundingly good listener; he asked the right questions and seemed fairly exited for what his new position would bring him.
I just hoped that having Minho as my second-in-command wouldn't blow up in my face.
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hopefully this explains things a little bit more: minho and nadia now share the position of keeper of the runners. minho will run, train newbies, and make sure everyone is doing their job. nadia helps with the map-drawing, and basically everything else that doesn't involve agility. she'll also get to decide who becomes a runner and who doesn't *hint hint*
i'm really glad you guys seem to be liking this story! thank you for 1k reads as well- that's pretty insane for only two chapters!
-kristyn