Elle was doing her best with the Builders. But after two hours of work, she had to admit that Building wasn't the right job for her. Gally and the other Builders had been nothing short of helpful and patient, but it was clear from the very beginning that they weren't going to let her anywhere near the more dangerous tools. Elle was one of the clumsiest people they had ever met; even with a simple hammer, she kept accidentally hitting herself and caused more accidents than she contributed. In short, she was slowing down their process of building the addition to the Homestead rather than helping them move quicker.
"Why don't we take a break," Gally suggested, grabbing the tool from Elle with wide, exhausted eyes.
Elle's eyes jumped to the boy and she frowned. "No," she argued stubbornly, shaking her head. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of things!" Elle pointed to the uneven piece of wood she was cutting with a hand saw as evidence. The Builders were making her do busy work by having her cut up wood, and even that was a mistake because none of the pieces were usable.
"It's no use," Gally mumbled. His eyes widened when he heard Elle gasp, overhearing his comment. "I meant because of the weather," he explained quickly, pointing up. "The sky's been grey all day long, I think we're going to have some rain. There's not enough space in the Homestead for us to continue our work, so everyone's going to have a short day."
It was true. The Glade had been blanketed in dark shade courtesy of the looming clouds above. Elle couldn't help but be excited to hear the news about the rainfall. She did her best to clean up her work before being ushered to the Homestead by the other Builders. Even though she worked harder than any other Greenie had with the Builders, Elle wasn't doing them any favours by sticking around.
Half an hour later, the Gladers all huddled under the roof of the hammocks just outside the Homestead to watch the rainfall. Most found a spot inside the Homestead, but Elle, Thomas, Chuck, Newt, and others willingly sat outside.
"Do you think it's real?" Elle asked, holding her hand out and allowing the raindrops to slowly fall onto her open palm. The raindrops were cold and heavy, coming down quickly and pattering onto the roof of the Homestead. "Or is it just another one of those things the people who put us here made?" she added, inspecting the silvery droplet as it ran down her palm and dripped to the floor.
Newt frowned. "I don't know. At this point nothing would surprise me anymore," he said pessimistically and sighed.
"How would they even make fake rain?" Chuck pondered, staring up at the grey sky in fascination.
Elle grinned, pleased someone was entertaining her guesses, and shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"I think it's real," Chuck decided, glancing over his shoulder to meet Elle's eyes. "That way, it feels like wherever we are is still a part of something real."
Smiling sadly, Elle patted him gently on the head before moving to stand beside Thomas. Like always, he had that worried, concentrated expression on his face. His eyebrows were permanently pulled together as if his face was always as stressed as he was. The clouds blocked the sunlight all day, but Elle could feel her internal clock telling her that the sun would be setting soon. One look at Thomas's face told her he'd realised the same thing.
"So," Elle began, trying to come up with something to distract him. "What's your favourite colour? You know, since you've had about three days to think about it."
Thomas ignored her. "They should be back by now," he said. His fingers nervously drummed on the tree trunk he was leaning against as he turned to Newt. "What happens if they don't make it?"
Everyone looked at Newt, who was in charge in Alby's absence. His hair was damp from the rain, as he was one of the last people to make it to shelter, and his eyes were trained on the Maze opening. "They're gonna make it," Newt stated firmly, staring ahead intently. His unwavering gaze contrasted his confident tone, and Elle realised he wasn't sure he was telling the truth.
Thomas left Elle to stand beside Newt, frowning. "And what happens if they don't?" he repeated his question, the nerves making his voice quiver.
Newt finally tore his eyes from the Maze to meet Thomas's stare. "They're gonna make it," he insisted.
More than anything, Newt was trying to reassure himself. Part of him knew that if Alby and Minho weren't already back, given how close it was to sundown, there was a good chance that something was wrong. Instead of voicing his concerns to the group, he kept them to himself. Even though Newt was worried, he knew he had to trust the boys to return. Anything else would drive him crazy. Before returning his stare to the Maze, Newt peeked at Elle. She was already giving him a knowing look that told him she wasn't convinced by his act. Newt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Elle knew everything, which sometimes made him uneasy.
Thomas nodded his head, clearly not sold on the idea. He returned to sit next to Elle, who was twisting daisies into a chain. "Green," Thomas said after a moment. Elle discarded her daisy chains to give him her full attention. "My favourite colour is green," Thomas elaborated. She smiled. Newt told her she had bright green eyes. Elle didn't know if she was the reason for Thomas's favourite colour, but she liked to believe it was a contributing factor. After all, he was the reason for hers. "What's yours? Since you've had three days to find a favourite," Thomas teased, using her joke from earlier.
"Brown," Elle said immediately. Thomas tried to hide his smile, pleased by her answer. "Like the trees in the Deadheads, Chuck's crazy hair, your and Newt's eyes. It's a dark, nostalgic colour," she explained. "But it's also a sad colour. Like the soil you bury people in, or faded blood stains on your clothes..." Elle frowned, wondering why the thought brought up so many images of blood. She remembered the horrible, blood-stained state that Ben had been in when he was banished.
"My eyes?" Thomas echoed, unabashedly grinning now. "I mean, I didn't think they'd be as great as Newt's, but I appreciate the shout." He smirked when Elle chuckled. "Anyway, they're certainly not as great as yours. Bright green..." He trailed off, observing Elle's eyes flitting around to observe the rain. "Almost too good to be true."
Familiar, that was the word. Elle's eyes were familiar.
Nearly half an hour later, when the clouds dispersed and the rain slowed from a heavy downpour to a drizzle, they knew Minho and Alby were running extremely late. The sun, now close to setting, barely did anything to light up the Glade once the clouds disappeared and the rain stopped. The different structures of the Glade dripped with the water droplets that had collected on them.
Newt and Thomas were right to be concerned; Minho and Alby hadn't returned, which meant nothing good. Once the rain cleared, everyone gathered near the opening of the walls, waiting for a sign of Alby and Minho. The Gladers all stood in complete silence. Nobody wanted to say what they were all thinking: there was a chance their friends would spend the night in the Maze if they didn't return on time. Soon, everyone was outwardly panicking in the absence of their leader and Keeper of the Runners.
Chuck stared anxiously at Thomas, urging him to say or do something. The older boy sighed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Come on, guys, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas broke the silence, looking to Newt for help.
"It's against the rules," Gally answered. His powerful voice was uncharacteristically. He was one of the first Gladers to stand at the opening of the Maze when the rain ceased and was crouching on his legs tiredly. "Either they make it back or they don't." He met Elle's gaze and smiled regretfully.
"We can't risk losing anyone else," Newt elaborated, rubbing his arm as he realised their situation. If Alby didn't return, Newt would be forced to be the leader. Not only would he have to mourn two of his closest friends, but he would also have to be strong and encourage all the Gladers to go on with their lives. It would be up to him to make the hard decisions.
The familiar mechanical rumble of the Maze doors closing echoed through the Glade, followed by a gust of wind that made everyone look away as leaves and dust blew in their faces. Elle's heart dropped to her stomach, panic rising in her chest as she realised they were out of time. A part of her hoped they were all wrong; that the Maze wouldn't close unless Alby and Minho made it back first.
"Oh no," Chuck said under his breath, shuffling backwards as the doors began to close.
Now, everyone was desperate. The Gladers who were previously sitting or squatting on the floor got to their feet, shuffling to look into the Maze in a last-ditch effort to find their friends.
Thomas squinted, examining the small part of the Maze that he could see with the closing doors. "There!" he shouted, pointing into the darkness as he spotted two figures coming their way.
Instantly, everyone felt a small shot of relief when they recognised Minho and Alby. "Wait no, something's wrong," Newt observed, noticing that Minho was carrying Alby on his back. He was grunting and groaning in pain; the effort of hauling their leader through the Maze took a toll on him. Minho staggered towards the Glade, struggling to balance with Alby's weight on his back.
"Alby's hurt," Elle gasped, hands raising to cover her mouth. Though it was from a distance, the Gladers could hear Minho's pained groans from the exertion of carrying Alby through the Maze. Alby was unconscious, and Elle wondered if that meant he was stung by the same Griever who got Ben the day prior. "Do you think he was stung?"
"Come on Minho, you can do it!" Chuck yelled, doing his best to motivate and cheer on the Runner.
It was all the other Gladers could do to help without breaking any rules, so they joined in. The group screamed, cheered, and shouted every word of encouragement they could think of, hoping it would help. Elle yelled with them, clenching her fists as Mihno dropped Alby and tried to drag him along the floor because he didn't have the energy to carry him any longer.
Chuck's voice was louder than anybody else's. "Come on, you can make it!" he encouraged, shouting as the wall doors continued closing, narrowing everyone's picture of Alby and Minho.
"Minho, you gotta leave him!" Gally yelled at Minho, knowing his friend would never abandon their leader willingly. Elle knew, too, that Minho had no intention of leaving Alby alone in the Maze. Even if it meant one of them was safe, the Gladers cared too much about their friends to anyone him to a certain death, especially their leader.
"They're not gonna make it," Newt realised, shaking his head in horror as he watched the gap close. There was barely enough room for Alby and Minho to make it through the gap, and they were too far to reach it anyway.
Minho screamed, tired and agonised from everything he had gone through that day. Elle's heart clenched, an unbearable emotional pain causing tears to build in her eyes. Her breath quickened, her heart pounding as nausea ripped through her stomach. Thomas stared at Minho. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he realised he had an opportunity to help them. At the same time, dread cursed through Elle's mind when she realised they wouldn't make it in time.
In seconds, Thomas yanked Elle over to him, muscle memory working faster than his brain could comprehend as he met her glazed-over eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her. Elle's brows furrowed, shocked at the sudden pressure on her lips, and then he was gone. Before she could process what Thomas had just done, he surged forward and squeezed through the closing gap in the Maze.
Newt's reflexes acted first, stepping forward to grab Thomas, but he wasn't quick enough. "Thomas, no!" Chuck yelled as several other Gladers moved to stop the Greenie from entering the Maze.
But it was too late. Newt missed the back of Thomas's shirt by a millisecond, and Gally grabbed Elle around the waist to stop her from going after him. She cursed angrily, irritated that the boys were strong enough to hold her down every time she wanted to intervene. First Frypan when Ben attacked Thomas, and now Gally. The Gladers watched Thomas sprint through the tiny gap, barely seeing him fall into the Maze before the walls shut with a deafening bang. The echo was like mad laughter taunting Elle as she stopped fighting Gally and let him carry her weight, lifeless in his arms.
She was the first to speak after the Glade fell into silence. "What..." Elle muttered, raking her hands through her hair as she realised what Thomas had done. Mind reeling and head spinning, she met Newt's eyes. Gally carefully released his grip on her waist, setting her on the ground. Her legs buckled and she nearly fell to her knees.
Chuck stepped forward to try and comfort Elle, but he didn't know where to begin or what he could do to help. "Elle..." he trailed off, looking at the girl with wide, vulnerable eyes.
"What the hell just happened?" Elle whispered, pressing her hands against the closed doors. "Hey!" she shouted. Everyone jumped at the sudden increase in volume, staring at the only girl in the Glade with bewildered wide eyes. Instinctively and without reason, Elle started hitting the Maze wall with the open palms of her hands. "Open up!" she yelled, slapping the hard stone repeatedly as if she could magically open them with the force of her hands. Her blood pumped in her ears, anger taking over from the confusion and panic. "I know you can hear me! Whoever put us here, open up! Those are our friends!" Elle sobbed, kicking at the walls and using her whole arms to smack them. "You can't leave them there to die! They're our friends!"
"Elle," Chuck whimpered, tears sliding down his face as he watched his friend lose her temper. Every Glader near her held their breath. She was saying, doing, and expressing everything they were feeling. She didn't care what anyone thought of her and happily let the Creators know what she was thinking, and the Gladers were in complete awe of her. "You're going to hurt yourself," Chuck tried to get Elle to stop. He reached out and gently tugged on the back of her shirt.
Newt agreed."Elle," he caught her attention, stepping closer. Chuck winced and backed away. "Elle, he's right. It's not worth it. There's nothing we can do now." When she ignored them, Newt clasped her arms as gently as he could to stop her. "Stop it!" His voice was firm, holding the same authority he used when telling off the Gladers. The tone was enough to make her snap out of it. She met his eyes, panting. Her eyes were wild and her chest heaved as she caught her breath.
Now that she was no longer overtaken by panic or anger, Elle took a moment to process what happened. The more she calmed down, the more she regained control of her senses. Slowly, the feelings in her body came back, and she realised just how much her hands, feet, and elbows hurt from hitting the wall. Elle wiped her face with trembling fingers. "They're gone," she said, slumping to the ground. "All of them. Just like that..."
The last thing Elle wanted was for all the Gladers to think that girls were over dramatic and emotional, but she was pleasantly surprised by their lack of judgement. The boys next to her mirrored her state entirely. They either sat or stood in disbelief, wondering what just happened and needing a moment to deal with their complicated feelings. Moreover, nobody was staring at Elle like she was crazy. They looked at her with compassion, not wanting to see their Greenie suffer.
"I'm so sorry," Elle apologised, looking up at Newt. He had tears welling in his waterline, barely holding on enough to stop them from falling. She knew he had to put on a front for the other Gladers since he would be their leader if Alby didn't make it through the night. Even so, Newt was struggling just as much as the others. "Newt, I'm sorry," she repeated. He knew she didn't just mean she was sorry about him losing Alby, Minho, and Thomas. He could tell with one look that Elle understood his intricate feelings and thoughts better than anyone else.
"It's going to be okay," Newt whispered, kneeling in front of Elle to offer her comfort. In the three days he had known her, all she did was try to help and comfort others. He reached around her shoulders in a hug, not wanting to make her uncomfortable with the sudden sign of affection. She reciprocated by minimally stretching her hands up to hold onto his arms. He was the only thing keeping her steady in that moment. "Tommy's gonna be okay."