━ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EVERYONE looked at Thomas as the girl seemed to fall back into her coma-like state. "You still think I'm overreacting?" Gally said, breaking the silence.
The boys managed to get the girl out of the box and they brought her to med-hut. Newt, Thomas, Minho, and Katherine all walked in asking the med-jacks what was wrong with the girl. "Hey, man, I got my job the same way you did," Jeff answered. Newt looked at Thomas who kept his eyes on the new black-haired girl.
"Well, do you recognize her?" Newt asked Thomas. Minho and Katherine glanced at Thomas waiting for his answer.
Thomas shook his head before answering. "No."
"Really? Cause she seemed to recognize you," Newt responded looking over to Katherine and Minho. Katherine had a look on her face and she couldn't figure out why she didn't like this girl. It wasn't jealousy, because she's always wanted another girl greenie to come up so she wasn't the only one, but this girl seemed like there was something about her that Katherine didn't like.
"What about the note?" Thomas questioned.
"Yeah, we'll worry about the note later." The blonde responded.
"I think you should worry about it now," Thomas stated. Newt glanced at the brunette girl and the Asian before back to Thomas.
"We've got enough to worry about with at the moment," Newt responded, sass lacing his voice. They were stressed out. There were so many things changing at once the three who had been there the longest didn't know what to do and Thomas was just confused like he usually is, which isn't unusual for his arrival in the Glade only a day earlier.
"He's right, Newt," Jeff said. Everyone shifted their eyes to Jeff. "If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?"
"No one said that," Newt responded. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll just... we'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows." Newt tried to calm the situation as much as possible knowing that the boys would eventually start to freak out. "Somebody's gotta have answers around here."
"Ok," Thomas said before walking away. Newt, Minho and Katherine turned to look at Thomas as Newt opened his mouth to speak.
"And where are you going?"
"Back into the maze," Thomas answered. Katherine rolled her eyes as Minho jogged after the brunette boy, Katherine trailing behind him.
"Hey. Hey, Thomas. Hey. Hey. Come on. What is this with you, huh? A death wish? You just got out, and now you want back in?" Minho questioned as if Thomas was crazy, which he really was in Katherine's opinion.
"Newt said no one's ever seen a griever and lived to tell about it, right? And, Minho, now we have one. You're telling me you're not even a little bit curious?" Thomas motioned to the maze, Minho glancing at it with a quirked eyebrow. Katherine stood behind the two, listening quietly.
"Not really, no," Minho answered. Thomas turned to Katherine with an expectant look. She stuck her hands up in defence.
"I mean, I think that maybe we could use it, but it's dangerous." She answered. Thomas nodded.
"Will you come with me to see what we can find?" He asked the girl. She opened her mouth but Minho interrupted.
"You ain't takin' her nowhere. Got me, shank?" Thomas sighed and nodded. Katherine walked up to the two.
"He has a point, Minho." She said softly. Thomas waited for a few seconds and when Minho didn't say anything Thomas began to walk away which made Minho stop him again.
"So, what's the plan? You gonna go out and dissect that thing all by yourself?" He questioned. Katherine took a few steps forward to stand beside the two once again.
Thomas nodded, "I will if I have to." He answered. "Have the other runners left yet?" He questioned.
"The other runners quit this morning. After Alby got stung, they're not even in a hurry to get back out there. Why are you?" He finished his explanation with a question.
"I-I think it's time we find out what we're really up against," Thomas answered.
"I like that idea." Katherine nodded, finally speaking up. "I mean, if we don't, we may not find a way out of here." She shrugged.
Minho nodded, thinking about the two's words. "All right. But you're not going back out there alone and taking Katherine with you ain't an option. Meet me and Katherine out in the woods in half an hour." Minho nodded before walking away with Katherine by his side.
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Katherine and Minho had managed to get Zart, Winston, and Frypan to tag along and Thomas was standing there waiting for the two as he was told. "Will this be enough?" Minho asked. Thomas nodded just barely enough for them to catch it.
"Ok. Let's go." Thomas said looking at the other boys. They ran out of the woods and towards the doors. Minho stayed in front, to show the group where to go. Katherine stayed behind him eager to try to take another step closer to finding a way out.
The group looked around amazed at seeing the inside of the maze for the first time as Minho kept jogging ahead. They finally reached the corridor where the griever had been crushed and they all walked towards it. "That's disgusting." Zart scrunched up his face looking at the squashed griever, its guts spilling around it.
"Hey, there's something in there," Thomas said moving closer slightly.
"You mean besides a griever pancake?" Frypan questioned sounding disgusted at the sight. Katherine looked at Minho before moving toward it.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wh-what are you doing?" Zart said as he saw the small girl walk to the side of the griever. She paused looking at the boys quickly.
"What does it look like? Someone's gotta get whatever's in there." she rolled her eyes before standing on her tippy toes and reaching inside. She could see the griever face right beside her own and she looked away trying not to look at the horrid sight, her face scrunching in disgust.
The griever seemed to come alive and Katherine retracted her arm and stumbled back with a shriek. Minho pulled her away from the monster as the boys gasped taking a step back. "I thought you said it was dead," Frypan complained. The boys and girl all huddled together against the back wall, Minho shielding the small girl slightly.
"Was it a reflex?" Zart questioned as the boys moved apart and closer to the now completely still griever.
"You hope." Winston sassed back.
"Ok, come on, let's try and pull it out," Thomas said motioning for the boys to help him. "All right, let's go, everyone get a hand on it. Come on." Thomas instructed. The boys grabbed the leg and Katherine pushed herself in between Thomas and Minho. The brunette boy counted down and they all pushed their weight onto their feet and leaned back trying to pull the monster from between the two walls.
The boys and Katherine fell back, the girl falling into Thomas. "Sorry, Thomas," she said, the boy waving her off. She pushed herself up as she inspected the leg and what came out with it.
"You ok, Fry?" Thomas questioned sticking his hand out the boy.
"Yeah. Thanks, brother." Frypan responded as he took Thomas's hand to help him up. Katherine stepped forward, seeing the metal stuck inside some part of the griever. Minho put his arm in front of her, stopping her.
The runner took her place and walked toward it, stepping over the metal. He grabbed the organ or whatever part it was, making a squelching sound. Katherine grimaced as the boy stuck his hand inside and pulled the device out. "What the hell is that?" Thomas asked the question that everyone was thinking.
The device had a small red light blinked. "Interesting." Minho thought out loud.
"Ok, whatever it is, can we take this up back at the Glade? 'Cause I don't wanna meet this guy's friends." Frypan questioned, really not liking being in the maze.
"He's right. It's getting late. Come on." Minho standing up from his spot on the ground. Thomas and Minho lead the group, Katherine staying at the rear of the group to make sure no one was left behind. She was filled with hope that maybe this device could be the key to escaping the maze.
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hiiiiiii its me actively_inactive as y'all know i'm running gossip girls account for a little while due to some device difficulties so here you go, it was pre-written if ya'll were wondering lol
Xoxo, Actively Inactive 🥴