She was more than happy to see Alby looked good as new when she stepped into the Med-Jack tent that morning. He had even moved; lying on his side now, facing away from her. Teresa was against the wall at the end of the bed, dozing on and off, but perked up when she saw Cleo.
"I brought you breakfast." The blonde sank down to be eye level with the other girl and held out the steaming plate of Frypan's cooking.
Teresa took it gratefully, shoveling it in. Cleo moved to sit beside her, stretching her legs out in front of her. She rubbed at the tender ankle, glad that it was finally getting somewhere healing wise. Her eyes trained on Alby's sleeping form and she let her body relax.
"He's doing better," Teresa spoke between mouthfuls, "Jeff thinks he might wake up today."
The news was music to Cleo's ears and she gave the girl a smile. Teresa returned the gesture. Cleo assumed they were friends, things were never uncomfortable or awkward, even though they hadn't spent much time alone except for now. Still, Cleo's wish had come true. Teresa was kind and helpful and the first girl in three years. Cleo would take it until she was proven otherwise.
"You don't have to sit with him all day," She reminded the girl, "I could give you a tour of the Glade, find you a job that you like. Now that Alby is better, we don't have to monitor him as much."
Teresa finished off the last of her breakfast, settling the tin plate on the ground beside her. If Cleo remembered correctly, Teresa had taken the early morning shift. Meaning she had been her for a good five hours already. Maybe a nap was in order.
"I like it in here. Clint and Jeff are nice, and I help when I can."
Cleo nodded, knowing that it was more of an excuse than an answer. Her mind wandered to Thomas and Minho, hoping their run would go smoothly today. After the last few days they had had, a break would be nice. Maybe even calm Gally down a bit. Gally. Piecing things together, Cleo came to a realization. She wasn't going to push Teresa if the girl was content at the moment but as she stood up, dusting off the back of her pants, she made sure to let the girl know she was a part of the Glade too.
"This is your home now too, Teresa. Don't let anybody try and push you around," She stepped towards the door, "Especially Gally. He's all talk."
Teresa smiled at her, sending her a wave as she ducked back out into the morning sun.
It was normal to hear sounds from within the Maze and they usually didn't pay any attention to it. But something about today made heads turn. Cleo was one of the first to come up to the entrance, joined moments later by Chuck and the Keepers. They still had an hour until the sun would begin to set and the doors would close, but they all grew antsy waiting for their Runners to return.
Time seem to drag on before Thomas and Minho came jogging out of the Maze, panting and sweating. Their pace slowed to a purposeful walk, their greeters following along behind.
"What the hell's going on out there?" Newt asked first, keeping up with the two.
Gally lagged behind some, with Cleo and Chuck, throwing out an accusing assumption, "What the hell did you do now, Thomas?"
"We found something, a new passage," Thomas replied, ignoring the insinuation, "We think it could be a way out."
"Really?" Cleo piped up from the back. She exchanged a hopeful, yet quizzical look with Chuck.
Minho nodded at the front of the group, "It's true. We opened a door, something I've never seen before. I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chuck pushed his way to the front, Thomas slowing his pace to look at him, "You're saying you found the Griever's home? And you want us to go in?"
Thomas clapped a hand down on his shoulder, "Their way in could be our way out, Chuck."
It was Gally's turn to push through, pointing an accusing finger, "Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side. Truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he had done, as usual."
None of them expected Thomas to turn around as quickly as he did, clearing the space between him and the larger teen, "Yeah, at least I did something, Gally. I mean what have you done? Aside from hide behind these walls all the time?"
Gally puffed out his chest. There was no way he would let this Greenie get the best of him, especially not in front of everyone, "Let me tell you something, Greenie. You've been here three days, all right? I've been here three years."
"Yeah," Thomas shot back, "You've been here three years and you're still here, Gally! What does that tell you?"
The rest standing around, glanced at one another. Even though the insult was directed at Gally, they were all victim to the same idea. They had all been hiding behind the walls. Instead of focusing on getting out, they began building a home. They had become okay with the idea of being trapped. Thomas was the first to honestly fight that logic. The first to challenge whoever had put them in here. And for the first time since he arrived, Cleo agreed with Gally. Something was off about Thomas.
The fight between the two boys had been cut short with Teresa's arrival. Alby had woken up and the boys settled their dispute long enough to follow her back to the Med-Jack hut.
When they arrived, he was sitting up. His back was to him and Cleo could see it was riddled with tension. Latching onto Chuck's shoulders, she decided to keep them both in the back. Newt and Thomas were the only once to get near him.
"Alby, are you all right?" Newt sat beside his friend, eyebrows furrowed together in worry.
Alby never said a word, didn't even acknowledge he was there. When Thomas approached, crouching down, his demeanor changed. Shoulders hunched more and Cleo could have sworn she heard him cry.
"Alby, we might have just found a way out of the Maze," Thomas kept his voice low, moving closer when Alby didn't respond, "Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here."
Alby sniffled and shook his head, "We can't," everyone stepped closer to hear him better, "We can't leave. They won't let us."
There was a moment of commotion outside, but they were all to absorbed in Alby to care.
"What are you talking about?"
"I remember." He stated blatantly.
Thomas swallowed, "What do you remember?"
"You." The words echoed through the hut, everyone looking at one another, "You were always their favorite, Thomas. Always."
And as he continued, sobbing and blaming Thomas, the noises outside became more frantic. Cleo and Gally were the first to step outside, the others not far behind them.
"Winston," Minho grabbed onto the first person he could, "What's going on?"
"It's the doors," The boys replied frantically, "They aren't closing."
Cleo spun around immediately, bending down to eye level with Chuck, "Go to the Council Hall and start barricading the doors."
Chuck nodded.
"Winston, you go with him." Gally instructed.
Winston grabbed the boys shoulder, pulling him towards the Hall.
"I'll start gathering everyone up, get them to the forest." Cleo stated, not waiting for any kind of response. They watched her run off, before Gally pushed past, following after her.
She had made it halfway across the field when the familiar sound of gears twisting and turning stopped her. She watched as the walls in front of her, hidden halfway behind trees opened. Turning, she found the other two were doing the same. Boys ran from the trees, screaming and Cleo became panicked. From within the trees she could see it. The Griever plowed down saplings, undergrowth and vines doing little to slow it down. Her breathing picked up, her heart beating a mile a minute. Something snaked it's way around her waist and she screamed, fighting against it.
"Cleo! Cleo! It's me!" Gally's voice was almost lost behind the screaming and screeching of Gladers and Grievers. He let go of her waist, but quickly grabbed a hold of her arm, dragging her towards the middle of the Glade. Two boys, Builders and his friends, were waiting at the box, holding open the doors.
"Get in! Get in!" She lowered herself carefully into the box, the darkness below her making her stomach drop. The boys filed in after her.
Gally pulled the doors down, shutting them in the box as the screaming continued above.
"Gally! Let me in! Let me in!" Doug, one of the Slopper's appeared above them.
But before Gally could open the door, he was swept away by a Griever. Cleo hadn't meant for the yelp to come out, cowering herself behind Gally and trying to block out the sounds above them. Their friends. Dying. And here she was hiding. Chuck.
The thought of the young boy tore her away from Gally, her fingers lacing with the door above them. She was pushing it open, when Gally grabbed onto her once again, pulling her back into the box.
"Are you crazy? You're going to get yourself killed!" He scolded her, keeping an arm tight around her waist.
"I have to get to Chuck. I have to make sure he's okay." She struggled in his grasp, hot tears sliding down her cheeks and into her mouth.
Gally held her tightly with one arm, the other extended upward, keeping the door shut firmly.
"If you die, it's not going to do anything to help Chuck. Just calm down. He'll be fine."
Cleo shook uncontrollably. Please. Please. Please, don't let anything happen to Chuck.
When the noises from outside had dwindled until disappearing, Gally pushed open the door, and looked outside. With a nod of his head, Cleo scrambled past him and out of the box. She was momentarily stunned, twisting around to take in the full effect of the Glade. Her home. In complete ruin. Flames swallowed huts and trees, smoke covering the ground around them. She let out a silent sob, taking a step backwards.
"Council Hall." Gally muttered dryly, pushing her towards the direction of the building. She had to jog to keep up with his long strides, barely able to make out anything in front of them. Finally the silhouettes of people appeared and she heaved a relieved sigh.
"Chuck!" She raced past Gally, colliding with the boy. His arms wrapped around her waist tightly, and she buried her face in his curly hair, crying and thanking God that he was still alive. The dull thud of Gally's punch pulled them away. While the boys pushed him back, Cleo and Chuck joined Teresa at Thomas's side.
"You heard what Alby said! He's one of them!" Gally accused, spitting venom at Thomas.
Cleo examined his jaw, barely making out the bruise forming on his skin.
"One of who?" Minho shouted back.
"He's one of them, and they sent him here to destroy everything, and now he has!" Breaking free, Gally stormed towards Thomas, "Look around, Thomas! Look around! This is your fault!"
"Back off!" Cleo shoved at his chest, pushing him back into the grasp of Minho and the others. She turned back to Thomas, already trying to defuse the situation.
"Maybe he's right." Thomas muttered, glancing at the object in Chuck's hand.
Gally was still pouting behind them and a million things ran through Cleo's mind. She stepped closer to the boy in front of her, watching as he lifted the large needle from Chuck's grasp.
"Thomas, what are you doing?"
"Maybe I'm bad luck." There was a ghost of a laugh, a reference to their conversation the night before, and plunged the needle into his thigh.
She screamed, lunging forward. The others around them, silencing. As he dropped to the ground, she caught his head, body trembling. Teresa and Chuck crouched down beside them, Gally moved away from the others. His temper had subsided, if only for the time being.
"Chuck, get the other syringe!" Cleo ordered, resting Thomas's head on her legs. No. No. No. This can't be happening. Not him. Not now. She raked her fingers through his hair, "It's okay. Thomas, I'm here."
We're getting close to the end guys! Two more chapters and then the first book is finished. Thank you so much to everyone that had read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. It means the world to me!
In other news, has anyone see the new episode of Teen Wolf? Do you guys watch Teen Wolf? If you do, what did you think?
Let me know what you think, both about the chapter and the show (if you watch it)! Xx
