"They haven't closed?" She squeaks.

"And the sky is grey." Chuck adds, everyone turns to stare at him so he quietens down, "sorry."

"What does this mean?"

"The Grievers can get in." Newt's voice sounds more fearful than Ada has ever heard.

"We need to get everyone into Homestead, board up the windows and doors and hide." She says, her brain going at fifty miles a minute.

"I'll start gathering people up." Chuck runs off.

"What the hell are we gonna do? Boarding windows won't keep them out, not for a whole night," Ada runs her hands through her hair, "without the sun we'll starve before long even if we survive tonight."

"Thanks for the bloody optimism," Newt retorts, "just round everyone up."

An hour or two later and every Glader was huddled in the Homestead, it was a few stories high with each floor being something different.

The bottom floor split into two halves, one half was the Slammer and the other was sleeping area, above was the MedJacks and more sleeping area. The Slammer currently had two occupants - Ada and Teresa.

After the Maze doors hadn't closed Alby had sought the pair out and had them thrown in, though frankly, they felt, it was the safest place in the Glade.

The two girls had a weapon each, snuck to them by Thomas, who seemed to have grown fond of Teresa. They were sat beneath each window, knives in hand waiting for a Griever to stick an arm in.

"Are you okay?" Ada whispered across to Teresa, it seemed like a stupid question but it was all she could think of.

"I'm- I'm fine. I think I just heard a Griever." Upon hearing this Ada grips onto her blade tighter me listens. Sure enough she can hear the click of the Grievers as they creep their way around.

She pulled herself onto her knees just in time to see Alby storming across the Glade, "what is he doing?" She squeaked and Teresa peaked through her own window.

"He looks mad,"

"Heard he was Stung, that he has his memories now. He hates me, thinks I'm evil." Ada slumps back to the floor, Teresa reaches out and grasps her hand.

"He doesn't hate you. He's scared, fear makes people do things, things they'd never think of. Right now, Alby is terrified."

Ada curls up in a ball to try and get a few hours of sleep, surprisingly she slips away pretty quickly.

"Ada." Teresa nudges Ada, her voice full of urgency, "the Grievers are here."

The sleeping girl pushes herself up, looking like something out of a zombie movie, she forces herself into her knees so she can pear through the window.

"I think- I think I see Gally. Shit," she curses, "whatever he wants, it can't be good."

But he walks straight past the two girls and into the main part of the Homestead, "he's going for Thomas, isn't he? He must think he's part of this."

The girls wait a minute or two and they hear yelling, crashing and then- nothing.

"Look." Teresa says, her voice full of awe, "Gally's being taken by the Griever."

"Is that Minho?" All Ada can see is one of her only friends from this place sprinting after a group of crazed mechanical machines, "MINHO! MINHO NO!" She throws herself against the door but Teresa pulls her back.

"It's no good, he's gone now. He's strong, he'll come back." The new girl strokes Ada's her like her mother used to and eventually she falls into a dreamless sleep and it's nice.

About half an hour later Thomas' face appears at the bars, "Teresa?"

"I'm here," she says, "Ada's asleep on my lap." The smile in her voice is enough to tell him that they're both fine, "what happened up there? I saw some kid run in, I think Ada called him Gally and then there was crashing and he got taken on a Griever and then Ada went mental because some kid ran out after them."

"Gally came in, yelled some stuff about the Grievers killing us but only one a night and then dived on a Griever. The guy who left with Gally was Minho, he's back now. He just wanted to check something."

"What did he check?"

"If we have a way out."

"And do we?" Teresa was getting annoyed at his blatant vagueness and with his last answer she practically threw Ada off her lap and ran to the bars, the prospect of escaping too much.

"Possibly. But it's dangerous." He runs a hand through his hair, "I've got to go. Someone set the Maps on fire."

Teresa nods and turns to see her friend lying on the floor, an not too pleased look on her face.

Teresa explains everything to Ada who laps up the information, "I guess Minho went to find out if the Grievers took Gally through the Griever hole."

"Griever hole?"

"Yeah, it's the Grievers way out of the Maze, could be ours too."

"You think it's a way out of here?"

"Yeah."

"Then why haven't we tried it already." Ada had been nervous the Glader would shy away from the immense danger the Griever hole presented but she seemed almost excited.

Moments later they can hear voices coming from outside the Slammer, "just let them out!"

"Why should we care about your shuck girlfriend Tommy?" Newt.

"Because she can help, with things." Great argument. Ada thinks, that'll get us free.

Something dawns on Ada "Wait, he's just trying to get you free! The little shit!"

Teresa laughs a little, "hey morons, we can hear you know?"

"Right charmer you've got there." But the doors clang and they're free, Teresa goes to Thomas' side straight away and Ada stands in the doorway.

"We heard about the Griever hole. There being a way out?"

"Yeah, I followed Gally to the hole, it took him right through. Just where we saw the others go. It's our out." Minho says but the others don't seem impressed.

"You want us to jump through a hole, where we've literally seen Grievers go? What if we get in there and there's no way out. Just us stuck with Grievers?" Chuck asks, his voice full of disbelief.

"Chuck, what are you even doing here? This is a meeting, go do something useful." Newt says harshly, the younger Glader slumps off. Ada watches him and once he's fully out of earshot says, "we need to go into the Maze, see if the walls moved overnight."

"What?"

"You want to send people out there?"

"Slinthead."

The barrage of insults flies at Ada and she wait for them to die down before saying, "we need to be sure it hasn't changed, that nothing's opened up overnight. I'm still advocating that we go through the Griever hole but considering other options seems smart too."

"I agree with Ada," Minho says, stepping towards her, "I'll gather the Runners and tell them to pack for overnight. I'll have them running in twos though, don't want anyone getting stuck."

Newt folds his arms and mutters, "fine."

Thomas' face has gone white but he says he'll go.

The three of them set off in search of the others, "Ada, I'll have you with me. Thomas go with Ford." He drifts off, pairing various other Runners together and surprisingly, once they've been gathered, they all agree it's time to delve in.

They set off into the maze and run.

And run.

And run.

Nothing new arises and after hours of exploring the two sections they set off for the Glade. Ada can tell Minho is getting more and more aggravated with each step and eventually he turns to her and yells, "this is useless! We're buggin trapped. They're never letting us out."

She grabs his shoulders, forcing him to look at her, "I know shits rough but those kids, the Gladers, they look up to you. Respect you and they need you to have faith at the moment, okay?" Ada thinks, wracking her brains for anything that may help, "in the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins. Not through strength but through persistence."

Minho just pulls away and runs off, Ada sprints after him.

When they make it back to the Maze they are surprised to find the Gladers hard at work, all of them doing their jobs, I guess it's better than wallowing in self pity, Ada thinks.

Eventually Newt is fetched and he approaches them with a look that begs for hope.

"Did you find anything?"

"No. The Maze is a big shuck joke!" Minho is on the verge of yelling. Ada grips his arm.

"Min, if you're going to have a tantrum, piss off and do it somewhere quiet, where the other Gladers can't hear you but I'd prefer you stayed put. I don't think we can get out of here without you."

Minho pulled his arm away and stomped off to the Homestead.

"Find anything new?"

"Nah, same Maze as yesterday." She shrugs, "Grievers get anyone?"

"Adam." Ada feels bad for not knowing who he was, there was about 50 guys but still. Ada loses herself in her thoughts, when she comes back she realises the ex-Runner had gone.

Her thoughts turn to the hopelessness, she'd tried to have a brave face for the others but really?

She knew they weren't getting out.

The only escape was suicide and she didn't mean the Griever hole.

She sets off, reaching for her machete.