a normal day in the glade... until Thomas does something not normal
♚♚♚
He dreamt the same dream as the night before. At first all he saw was the top of the box as it was sent up. But then he was seeing outside of the box and was looking down at it. The scene changed and he was looking at a brunette girl. "Thomas," he heard her voice echo in his mind. Then the everything changed again and he was watching a woman walking across a room in a full white suit. "WCKED is good," another female voice spoke and it wasn't the girl he had seen, but the woman. "Don't make it easy on them," she said again. He was thrown from different rooms to see different faces as if his mind was glitching until it stopped on the brunette again. "Thomas, everything's going got change," she spoke but her lips were unmoving. Suddenly he was staring at a boy in a water filled tank, arms thrashing around the small container. "WCKED is good," he spoke, images flashing in his brain for a second before disappearing as quick as they came. Water surrounded him, he struggled to breathe. Then he was lying on a table surrounded by surgeons, he heard whispers about how to remove the memories but only for a period of time. The girl who kept appearing lay on a table beside his own and the two reached out to connect their fingers with each other's. "Thomas, you have to choose," the old woman spoke again, her voice loud inside his head. And then he was inside the box again, pushing his body up with a gasp.
Thomas awoke with a jump, the air leaving his lungs for a moment. It was almost morning, light dim in the sky. No one would probably be up for a little while. He looked around and noticed Chuck asleep in his hammock, causing his almost panic attack to cease until he could breathe again.
He looked over his shoulder and turned when he saw three people standing beside a maze door. Alby, Newt and Minho. He watched as the the leader and the runner keepers took off running into the open maze and tilted his head upward a bit as Newt backed away from the door. Why would Alby be going into the maze? Where they going to look for Ben?
Thomas fell back into his hammock and turned his eyes to the floor where he noticed Scott had scooted closer to him. Muttering some incoherent words, Thomas dropped his feet to the ground and began getting ready for the day.
♚♚♚
"But why would Alby be going into the maze?" Thomas asked his earlier thought up question. He was sat on a log beside Chuck who was carving into the small chunk of wood again. "I mean, he's- he's not even a runner."
Newt and the Parrish guy - who had offered to take Thomas' job while he went on break for some unknown reason - stood a few feet away from the two sitting on the log, chopping at the roots of a tree with long blades known as machetes. Newt lifted his blade from the ground and turned to Thomas. "Things are different now," he answered, almost too quiet for Thomas' ears, but he heard them even if just barely. "Alby went to retrace Ben's footsteps before sundown," he spoke louder that time.
"Look, are you gonna help?" Newt then questioned, looking up at Thomas in slight annoyance, aiming his machete toward the tree root. Parrish kept quiet during the conversation, chuckling lightly at the blonde beside him before taking another swing at the roots.
"So, he's gonna go back to where Ben was just stung—" before Thomas could finish, Newt interrupted, "Alby knows what he's doing... Alright?" Newt said then after a minute of hesitation added, "He knows better than any of us."
"What does that even mean?" Thomas questioned, unable to keep a few of the infinite amount of questions locked inside his brain. They just spilled from his mouth before he could even think about it.
From beside him, Chuck glanced up to Thomas then Newt before looking back down at his statute.
Newt took another swing at the roots before finally looking back up at Thomas with a sigh. He lifted the hand holding the machete and scratched the back of his ear. "Right, it's like you've heard, yeah? Every month the box sends up a new arrival."
Parrish let the machete smack the roots again, the noise temporarily pausing Newt before the kid decided to continue again.
"Someone had to be the first, right." All of a sudden his mind made the connections and Thomas understood but let Newt speak on. "Someone had to spend a whole month in the glade, alone. That was Alby."
Newt turned back to the tree and swung once, then a second time. "I mean it couldn't have been easy." Thomas watched him, fiddling with the end of his own machete and keeping quiet. "But when those boys started coming up, one after another," he hit the roots again. "He saw the truth." Newt swing the machete two more times before looking up at Thomas. "And he learned the most important thing is we all have each other. Because we're all in this together," he stated, waving the blade toward himself, Parrish, then Chuck and finally Thomas.
Thomas looked over at Parrish then down at Chuck who was looking right back at him. The two had connected right when they first talked. Thomas was like the older brother Chuck, possibly, never had and Chuck like a younger brother to Thomas. They both nodded and knew Newt was right. Wasn't he always?
Chuck went back to carving into the wood and Newt and Parrish to chopping the tree.
Thomas dug the tip of his blade into the ground, sucking in a deep breath before pushing himself up. He walked over to the tree and kneeled down beside a thick root stuck into the ground. Without a second thought, he lifted the machete and brought the blade down hard on the root.
"Ye-ah," Newt smiled, knowing his little talk had pepped Thomas up enough to help them. "There you go, Tommy." Thomas swung twice more then looked up and noticed grey clouds forming above the glade, a storm was rolling in.
♚♚♚
The Gladers had all taken shelter under the stringers roof they had, sticks as thick as small trees holding it up so it wouldn't fall on top of them.
"They should be back by now," Thomas spoke over the sound of the pouring rain. He was leant against on of the logs, watching the maze door that Alby and Minho had gone in from. "What happens if they don't make it?" He looked from the door to Newt who stood behind him with all the new greenies.
Newt was looking at the doors by that time too. "They're gonna make it," he reassured Thomas, but his face doubted that statement.
"And what happens if they don't?" Thomas repeated, walking over to Newt and standing beside him. "They're gonna make it," Newt said again, looking at Thomas that time with a slight nod. He sounded a little more sure that time.
Both looked back to the door before Thomas walked away from Newt and headed over to the greenies. They were stuck there together for a while, why not talk to them? See what they know.
Thomas looked down at the group all sitting together. Hayden and Liam were cuddling and so were Scott and Kira. The others were all just awkwardly scattered about.
"So, you have your memories..." Thomas started out slow, looking to Scott as the boy nodded. It made Thomas scowl, "more than all of these Gladers here."
Scott was shocked at his tone of voice, Stiles never used to act like that. Maybe he was named Thomas now because he had a more rough and rude exterior, Scott wasn't sure.
"Well, we don't remember what happened and why we still have our memories, except how we got here, so stop harassing us," Liam piped up causing Scott to whip his head around and glare at the younger boy. He dipped his head in shame and Thomas scoffed. "But you remember your family. You remember what it felt like to be hugged by them. All of us here don't know if we even have a family."
As Thomas spoke, a group of kids had gathered to listen but he didn't notice them until the greenies looked at them. Thomas turned and was about to shoo them off when the rain started letting off.
He was the first one to run out of the shelter and to the wall. He took a stance in front of the door and watched inside the maze, waiting.
Alby and Minho should've been back a while ago but they were nowhere in sight.
All the Gladers stood behind Thomas, all watching and all waiting for their leaders to get home. Home, should they call it that?
It was a little while later when the gears started behind the door. Chuck looked up at Thomas in fear, gasping lightly.
It's too late.
"Look, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas tried, looking at Newt who stood beside him.
"It's against the rules," a voice spoke up near Thomas and he looked to see Gally kneeling to the side. "They either make it back or they don't," he then said, his voice cracking. None of them wanted their friends to be stuck in the maze for the night so they all looked back to the maze and kept silent, except Newt. "Can't risk losing anyone else," he informed Thomas who was just annoyed that they wouldn't even try to help their friends. They were all in it together, right? That's what Newt had told him and now here he was, not even wanting to try and find Minho and Alby.
It was when the maze doors finally started closing and a gush of wind hit the Gladers when Thomas spotted movement on the other side, "there," he pointed, eyes wide as Chuck whispered, "oh no."
"Wait, somethings wrong," Scott suddenly spoke up from behind Thomas, and the Gladers strained their eyes to get a better look.
Minho was shuffling forward with an unconscious Alby on his back, all hope draining from his face.
"Cmon, Minho! You can do it!" Chuck yelled, trying to motivate the exhausted boy. Chuck inspiring all the Gladers, they all began to yell out motivating words to Minho except Thomas and the newer group.
The way through the door became thinner as they got closer and closer together.
Minho dropped Alby to the floor and grabbed both his ankles, starting to walk backward toward the door and pulling Alby along with him.
"They're not gonna make it," Newt stated, Thomas looking to him then back to the struggling Minho.
Minho screamed in frustration while he struggled harder to pull the body as the doors closed even more, him being feet away from the opening.
Scott looked around before his eyes landed on Thomas' back. Something was about to go horribly amiss, he could feel it. And it all had to do with the boy in front of him.
Everything went silent and slow for Thomas. The only sound he heard was his thumping heart and a ringing in his ears. He jumped on one foot to the other and with no hesitation, pushed his body forward and ran into the hole between the doors. And as soon as Thomas flung himself in, Derek shoved past Scott and had done the same, into the closing walls.
Gladers screamed at the two of them to get back there with them and Scott tried to grab Thomas' shirt to pull him back out but Thomas had run too far into the hole to be pulled back now, Derek close behind him. Thomas' hands went to the thinning walls as he ran through and as he got toward the end he turned sideways just to fit, and jumped through, Derek following his lead and fell down beside Thomas at the last minute while the walls slammed themselves together with a last burst of wind.
Thomas fell to the ground in a huff and turned to see the door as it shut, the gears behind it spinning and clicking to a stop. And all was silent except Thomas' heavy breathing and Derek as he shuffled to stand.
Thomas scooted back a few feet then turned on his hands and knees to see Minho fallen to the ground on his own knees. "Good job," he gasped out, his breathing even louder than Thomas'. "You just killed yourselves." He looked from Thomas to Derek who had begun looking at their surroundings.
"Wh-" Thomas stuttered with his speech, "what?" His voice went high as he uttered the word, looking at Minho. He was shocked by his own actions. Derek rolled his eyes at the raised voice and thought it sounded like a girl's.
Minho dropped to the ground on his butt to rest his exhausted body and all Thomas heard once again was the sound of the kid's heavy breathing. Derek had continued to keep quiet, wondering why he had even thrown himself after Thomas in the first place. But the kid had been his friend and Derek protected his friends, that was probably why, he figured.
Thomas stood up beside the man but to Derek it seemed like Thomas was ignoring him for some unknown reason.
Thomas walked up beside Minho and kneeled down at Alby's unconscious self. "What happened to him?" He questioned Minho.
"What's it look like?" Minho snapped in a breathy voice. "He got stung!" Derek looked at the kid unconscious and took a step closer to Thomas. The last time he heard of someone being stung they had attacked Thomas for an unknown reason. He mentally swore to Scott he would protect Thomas and bring his friend back alive.
"What happened to his head?" Thomas had so many questions and was too busy checking on Alby that he didn't realize Minho had a somber look on his face. "I did what I had to do." He stated, looking down at his hands. Thomas glanced up at the kid and sighed a little.
An ear piercing scream echoed throughout the maze causing Thomas to snap his head around and look for the thing that made the noise but all he saw was walls, stone and vines.
Derek growled lightly, the noise nothing but a threat and bad for them all and stepped in front of the two boys. He raised his hand and focused on them with everything he had inside him but nothing happened where the claws would usually slide out.
Minho stood up calmly, already figuring his fate was death. Thomas looked at him up and down before looking to Alby again. "Ah, okay. Help me get him up," he spoke to either Derek of Minho, he wasn't picky about who listened, if either of them even would.
"We gotta go, the maze is already changing," Minho told him, ignoring Thomas about picking Alby up.
"Hey, Minho!" Thomas called out. Minho walking a few steps away before he stopped in his tracks with a big sigh. "We can't just leave him here," Thomas added.
Why would Minho act like this? Alby was their leader, their friend and he was willing to leave him behind to die a terrible death?
Minho turned around slowly to find himself staring at the face of disbelief from Thomas. And he reluctantly agreed.
And Thomas took the moment to finally acknowledge Derek while the man watched them with what looked like amusement written on his features. "So, you wanna help too? Or just stand around some more?"
Derek chuckled lightly and for a moment he noticed a bit of Thomas' old self creeping up through cracks in the stone exterior that had surrounded him. It was weird to see Thomas act so unlike himself, this new Stiles didn't make Derek want to rip his throat out every five seconds. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not.
But with a moment of hesitation, Derek finally did nod and walked over to Alby. He lifted the boy onto his shoulder and gasped at the weight. He forgot he wasn't a wolf anymore, that meant no super strength. He set Alby back down with a struggle after a second and looked up to see Thomas and Minho staring at him in amusement. Well, Thomas just looked annoyed, Minho was amused. "I thought he was lighter," Derek offered an excuse with a light shrug.
Thomas scoffed a little and bent down, wrapping his arm under Alby's armpit and around his back, his other arm under the left leg. "Get his other side," he told whoever was listening and Minho copied Thomas, his arm around Alby's other side and leg. They lifted him up and Minho led the way away from the maze door with Derek trailing behind, readying for a fight.
♚♚♚
The two were grunting loudly as they turned another corner and Derek was about to offer to take Thomas' side when he realized that he wouldn't be able to protect him if he was holding a kid up. So, he kept his mouth shut and kept following.
They headed around another corner, both boys sweating equally and panting so loud Derek figured the grievers would be able to hear them if they didn't already.
"Come on," Minho grunted, bobbing his head toward a wall opposite of them with vines covering the stone. "Just sit him down," Thomas muttered, "sit him down." They rushed over to the wall and leant on it before dropping Alby onto the ground. Thomas kept leaning against the wall as Minho kneeled down in front of Alby.
Another screech echoed around them, seeming closer than before.
Minho felt his breathing hitch, "this isn't gonna work," he muttered, nervousness clear on his face. He stood up after a few seconds, "we gotta go. We gotta go!" He paced back and forth a couple times without looking down at Alby.
"Wait, what-what are you talking about?" Thomas questioned, looking up at the pacing boy who was practically dripping with sweat due to nerves and from walking while holding Alby up. "We gotta hide him."
Derek shook his head, agreeing with Minho but also Thomas. In the short amount of time he had known this kid, he knew Alby was a good leader and a good person as well. But he was slowing them down. He was about to speak but Minho asked, "Where?" Thomas shook his head, wasn't Minho the one to know everything about the maze? "I don't know. Just think. Are you telling me there's not a single place we could take him?" He questioned in a rush.
But without warning, Minho turned back to Thomas and grabbed the fabric of his shirt. He shoved him into the wall and the impact sent a pain shuddering up his spine and into his head causing a groan to escape his lips.
"Listen here, you shuckface, alright," Minho sneered, his voice low and close to Thomas' face.
Derek almost jumped to Thomas' rescue but when he realized that Minho wasn't hurting him, but doing what Derek had always done, the man stepped back and gave them space.
"Take a look around, there's no where to go," Minho sounded nothing more than defeated. Him and Thomas stared at each other for what felt like the longest time, the Griever most likely getting closer with every passing second.
Minho let go of Thomas' shirt and took a moment before standing up. "You don't get it. Neither of you do," he looked from Thomas to Derek with a scrunched up forehead. "We're already dead."
Thomas sat beside Alby, both unmoving. That is until he noticed the wall covered in vines opposite of them. A plan already forming in his head, he slowly stood and stepped past Minho, their shoulders smacking each other as he walked toward the wall. Derek watched Thomas as the gears in his brain worked their magic, formulating a plan that would probably save all their lives. At least he didn't lose that part of himself. Thomas turned back to Minho and then looked at Derek.
♚♚♚
The two boys pulled the vine farther back while the other part of it that they had tied to Alby lifted him high up the wall. Derek stood a few feet away keeping watch, his stance prepared for a fight if it came down to it.
Both grunting, they pulled down farther which lifted Alby even higher up into the mess of vines. They did it one more time before a growl came from around the corner. Minho looked down the section with wide eyes, heart beating rapidly against his chest. "Minho, what're you doing?" Thomas asked in a panic, Minho could not give up now. Not when they were so close to getting Alby at least slightly safe. "What are you doing?" He asked again. Minho kept on staring and sliding out of a cloud made from fog was a griever. It was pretty far away but still close enough to see.
He looked to the wall in front of them, his hands loosening just a bit on the vine. "We gotta go. We gotta go." He muttered in a rush, panting loudly in fear. "No, Minho, just a little more then we can tie it off," Thomas tried to talk sense into the fear filled boy but nothing was working. He still muttered, "no," over and over again.
"Just a little more, we're almost there," Thomas attempted to reassure him but it cause him to panic more. "Sorry, Greenie," Minho whispered and without warning he dropped the vine. Thomas grasped the vine with all his weight, grunting as Alby's weight was in his hands now. Minho ran past Derek who watched him in pure shock. "Minho!" Thomas yelled as Alby's body dropped and he was sent hurtling toward the wall. His boots slammed into the vine covered wall and he was grunting loudly as he struggled to hold Alby up by himself.
Minho disappeared from sight and Derek looked back at the struggling Thomas. He ran over and grabbed the end of the vine, pulling on it some to ease the weight off of Thomas who sighed in relief. He was thankful then that Derek had run after him but also thought he was stupid and wondered why he had run in, they barely knew each other.
Thomas bobbed his head to the ground as another screech echoed even closer and Derek watched him in confusion. Thomas rolled his eyes and dropped his body, keeping a tight hold on the vine which had slowly been rubbing his skin raw. He ducked himself under the wall and scooted as far back as he could go before Derek followed him under and they both lay in silence, Thomas trying to keep his loud breathing under control.
The sound of the griever moving forward was like a rat squeaking and it was a haunting sound to hear. He looked above him and out the vines to see the "feet" of the creature which looked more like giant metal spider legs. Each time it took a step it's foot made a thumping noise on the ground and the gears inside it clicked around.
Derek kept a firm grip on the vine after realizing Thomas' plan and hopefully it would work. He didn't want to deal with an angry Scott after informing him his best friend died, if he even survived the night.
Both Thomas and Derek watched the griever's legs as it slowly passed them by.
It made another loud roaring noise as if trying to frighten its prey and at the moment, it worked on Thomas.
The two both let out deep breaths once they figured the creature was out of earshot. "Peter's uglier," Derek mumbled, but soon realized that Thomas had no idea what he meant by that. "Sorry, long story for another day."
Thomas pretty much ignored the man once more and looked around until he spotted a thick vine stuck into the ground. He pulled the vine from Derek's grip and threw the end around the stuck one. He pushed Derek with his foot to get him out of the hole and crawled out himself. He pulled on the vine and used all his strength to tie a knot to keep it in place which would hopefully stay and keep Alby safe.
Derek looked at Thomas' work in shock but shook it off quickly, this was a different Stiles, he wasn't the same, he was stronger. Probably stronger than Scott would be without his werewolf strength.
The griever let out another growl and they realized it was turning around back toward them as if sensing their presence or something.
Thomas worked faster to fully tie the knot and tightened it. Just as the griever rounded the corner, Thomas grabbed Derek's arm and pulled him against the other side of the wall around the corner where the griever wouldn't be able to see them.
The man could've punched himself in that moment, he obviously wasn't much help without his werewolf abilities. Because so far, it was Thomas protecting Derek. And Alby. He would've protected Minho as well if the kid hadn't run off like a coward.
The thumping sound made by the feet of the griever moved away from the pair and Thomas held his breath as he peeked around the corner. It had left.
He walked forward from the hiding place and looked up to make sure Alby was still tied tightly and hidden well in the vines.
Derek nodded at Thomas' handy work and pursed his lips, "now we can go."
Right as the two turned from Alby, the sound of the walls moving echoed throughout the maze. "What is that?" Derek asked Thomas who realized he hadn't been told pretty much anything about the maze. "The walls move every night, changes the sections of the maze. And those things, they're called grievers. And apparently no one has survived a night in here, which is why Minho was so jumpy..." Thomas explained quietly, not wanting to attract any grievers. He looked down a maze corridor and began walking down it, letting Derek follow close behind.
"He should've stayed with us, you're doing a pretty good job so far of keeping me alive," Derek stated, figuring he could be honest if this was his last night alive. Thomas shook his head but didn't really know what to respond with so he stayed quiet and kept his eyes and ears out for any movement around them.
He turned to look behind Derek while walking backward and when he stepped down with one foot he heard a nasty squishing sound. Thomas lifted his foot and saw slime dripping off the bottom of the shoe. He attempted to kick it all off but only some fell to the ground. Derek pinched his nose up in disgust at the sight.
Thomas looked around them, where else would the slime come from if not a griever? And where was the griever that had produced it?
A substance then dripped onto his shoulder and slid down his shirt like slime. Exactly like the slime under his foot. Derek glanced upward at the same time Thomas had and what they saw made both their hearts plummet into their stomachs. A griever hanging onto the sides of the walls was staring right down at Thomas with its tiny beady eyes.
It dropped to the ground behind him, the wind knocking Thomas off his feet as he let out a scream. The creature pounced in front of them and growled showing its small but sharp and multiple teeth inside its mouth, slime dropping off each one.
Derek grabbed Thomas' arm and yanked him onto his feet before they both started running in the opposite direction of the thing.
The griever moved three of its feet at a time, using all six to run after the prey: Derek and Thomas.
They rounded corners, Thomas in the lead with Derek bounding after him at a slower pace. The two gasped for breath as they ran, running for their lives as fear wrapped around both of them. Derek would usually be introducing his claws and canines to the creature but somehow he couldn't shift and it was driving him insane. He couldn't protect Thomas with his bare hands, he'd just die.
As they rounded into another section and continued their run, Thomas didn't realize the monster wasn't behind them anymore. And as he got to the end of the section it jumped out in front of him causing him to scream and shuffle his feet to stop and turn to the left. Derek struggled to keep up but eventually fell behind. Yet the griever passed him like he was a piece of trash and went for Thomas. This made him even more curious about the whole situation.
Thomas ran around many corners, zigzagging in his run and too deep in thought to even realize Derek wasn't with him anymore. The creature followed close behind him and he gasped to breathe.
Thomas rounded another corner until he wound up at a dead end. He cursed under his breath but ran straight for the wall and latched his hand onto a vine. Derek watched from afar as the kid pulled his whole body up the vines until he reached the top of the wall and rolled onto the flat stone, narrowly avoiding the feet of the griever.
He turned and realized there was a gap in the stone where he had ended up at but it was too late to stop now. He sped up his run and at the last second jumped off the ground.
Derek had climbed up right after the griever and saw Thomas landing on the stone that had been separated by the gap and speed again. When had he gotten so good at running? Derek panted, wanting to feel his lungs again from where they burned. He ran after the griever again and leaped over the gap himself.
Thomas ran across the weird stone that was higher up than the actual ground, his chest and legs burning from the running. He came to a dead stop at a drop off, his arms flailing around to keep him steady on the ground. He turned to run back the way he came but the griever blocked his path, his gears clanking and groaning while the mouth screeched.
Derek had stopped in his tracks once he his boots hit the ground. His eyes watched the scene play out before him and he knew what Thomas was about to do.
The kid has officially gone insane.
Thomas turned back to the drop off and ran at full speed. At the very end he leaped off the stone and was thrown against a vine covered wall. He latched his arms around the vines to keep himself from falling and Derek almost gaped, Thomas was incredibly strong for someone who had never work out a day in his life, but he had been gone for a year and anything could've happened during then. Even a miracle.
The griever copied Thomas' movements and jumped onto the wall right beside of Thomas. One of it's metal legs turned into a syringe looking device and he slammed it to where Thomas' head had been but the boy had quickly ducked away, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge.
His hands slipped and he started sliding down the vines, he would definitely have cuts and bruises if he lived. He caught himself halfway down as a forced yell escaped his throat.
The griever turned its body and headed straight on towards Thomas until he was overtop of the boy. The legs cut the vines clean in half and the two plummeted toward the ground, which was luckily on a few feet away. His body smacked down onto the stone but the adrenaline pumping through his veins made him stand up and start running again. The griever was caught in the vines.
Derek watched as Thomas ran underneath him and timed the run before he leaped off the edge of the stone and hit down beside the running boy. Thomas nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Derek and then he suddenly realized he had been alone the whole time. "Where were you?!" Thomas exclaimed breathlessly, as Derek ran beside him. "Better question; how in the world did you just do that, and survive?" Derek was in shock, disbelief written all over his features.
But Thomas didn't answer as he slowed to a stop to watch the griever and Derek followed, both just watching it until two hands clamped down on Thomas' shoulders. He jumped with a slight yell and turned to see Minho calling him crazy. Derek agreed silently with a simple nod.
They turned back to the griever as it got itself untangled from the previous restraints and all three of them ran to the right.
The walls made the noise again when it changes and they all looked up at it. "It's changing," Minho reassured the two as they continued their run.
They turned to find a wall as it moved an inch. "This wall is closing, cmon!" Minho exclaimed and both he and Derek started running through without realizing that Thomas had stopped.
They got to the other side and looked back at the thinning space to see Thomas on the complete other side. "Thomas!" Derek yelled at the same time as Minho. "What are you wait for? Get out of there!" Minho screamed at the insane boy.
Thomas ignored the yells and looked at the oncoming griever. He stood his ground as it reared back its head and screeched. "Come on!" He yelled at it. The griever galloped closer to Thomas until a few feet away then Thomas turned tail and ran into the closing space, running as fast as he could while the griever was right behind him. It became like the doors when he first ran into the maze and the room around him thinned.
"Don't look back! Keep running!" Minho yelled and as Thomas got closer to the exit, Derek didn't think he would make it. "Thomas!" He screamed.
♚♚♚
Chuck and Scott both hadn't moved from the maze entrance. They both paced a couple times but stayed near it until it was time to open. The others had either went to their hammocks, laid down to sleep by the maze or sat and stayed awake until morning, restless due to fear that they had lost four of their friends.
When the clanking of the gears started up, Chuck yelled at the others, "guys, get up!" Scott got closer to the opening door, eyes puffed and red underneath from crying the previous night. All the Gladers crowded behind Scott and Chuck, looking inside the maze in hope that their fellow Gladers were still alive. Most of them thought it was false hope, but they hoped anyway.
The ones gathered around were Chuck, Scott, Lydia, Newt, Frypan, Kira and Isaac. Isaac because he had missed Stiles when the kid went missing, but also because Derek went inside.
When the door had fully opened, there was no one in sight.
Newt looked to the ground then to Chuck, "told you, Chuck. They're not coming back," he stated, repeating the words he had spoken the night before.
Scott almost burst into tears again. He had found his best friend just to lose him, again... Along with Derek this time. Kira walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. She had lost her friends too. Her and Stiles had bonded in the time they knew each other, same for her and Derek. She buried her face into Scott's shirt but refused to let any tears fall.
Everyone except the couple hugging, Lydia and Chuck had started to walk away until Isaac turned back to the maze and spotted movement in the distance. "No way," he voiced, a grin lighting up his face. Chuck turned to see Minho and Thomas carrying Alby with Derek lagging behind and he grinned as well. "Yeah!" He exclaimed, his heart bursting in joy. "Yes! Yeah!" He laughed aloud. All the Gladers that had been there turned around and walked back, chattering excitedly. Scott and Kira parted, looking into the maze doorway. He was tempted to run to Thomas and throw his arms around him but resisted the urge and waited for the small group to come to them.
Scott, Lydia, Kira and Isaac all figured Derek had been the one who kept them alive because they knew him and, after all, he was brave, tough and strong.
They were all three exhausted after the long night of running, hiding, and jumping for Thomas. But Minho and Thomas managed to drag Alby all the way out of the maze and hand him off two a few other Gladers that set him on the ground in a gentle movement.
The three boys kneeled to the ground at once to rest their weary legs as they were bombarded with questions.
"How'd you guys make it out of there?"
"What happened?"
"You saw a griever?" Chuck had asked and it took Thomas a moment to comprehend all the questions.
Scott had stayed silent at the side with Kira, Lydia and Isaac as other Gladers joined the party. Derek patted Thomas' shoulders lightly so he wouldn't hurt him, "this kid is crazy, he saved us all," the man muttered, mainly to the greenies who were pretty much taken aback. Stiles/Thomas saving them all of them? But he was just human and Derek was a - oh. A human.
Minho agreed with a nod as Thomas finally answered the last question. "Yeah, I saw one," he panted along with his words and tried to calm his frantic heart beats as the adrenaline rush faded to pure exhaustion.
"He didn't just see it," Minho began with a nod, catching all the Gladers attention who were standing around.
It was silent for what felt like the longest period of time. Everyone stared at either Minho or Thomas making Thomas slightly uncomfortable. Derek was just waiting for Minho to finish so he could see all the shock from the Gladers who seemed to think the grievers were unstoppable.
"He killed it." Minho declared dramatically.
DAH DUM!!
I was so excited to write this chapter because Thomas running into the maze and surviving is my favorite part of the movie and I just *-*
But yes, I made Derek run in after him because why not? :3 I LIKE STEREK AS A BROMANCE SO DONT OVER THINK IT BTW XD
I also had to add Kira in there where she says Thomas is her friend too bc I love their friendship and I WANTED TO SEE MORE OF IT BUT IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN NOW AND IM SO EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT WHYYYYYYYYY
Anyway, Enjoy! XD