The other Gladers murmured their conversations in hushed tones, an intense feeling of dread hung over them like thick fog. Thomas held on tighter to Newt's hand. Waiting…

"Bring him out!" Alby shouted, startling Thomas out of his thoughts.

He looked around the Glade for a sign of Ben, his trepidation almost reaching its peak, as he wondered what the boy would do when he saw him.

From around the far side of the Homestead, three of the bigger boys appeared, literally dragging Ben along the ground. His clothes were tattered, barely hanging on. A thick, bloody bandage covered half his head and face. Refusing to put his feet down, or help the progress in any way, he seemed as dead as the time Thomas had seen him. Except for one thing.

His eyes were open, and they were wide in terror.

"Newt," Alby said in that strange calm commanding voice of his. "Bring out the pole."

Newt nodded, and Thomas reluctantly allowed him to remove his hand. Thomas didn't want to let him go. In a time like this, he felt empty and inconsolable without Newt beside him. But he was gone, moving for a small tool shed used for the Gardens. Thomas would have to cope alone.

He turned his focus back to Ben and the guards. The pale, miserable boy still made no effort to resist, letting them drag him across the dusty stone of the courtyard. When they reached the crowd, they pulled Ben to his feet in front of Alby, their leader, where Ben hung his head, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"You brought this on yourself, Ben." Alby's tone suggested that he didn't want to do what he was doing. He turned his head and Thomas followed his gaze to see Newt walking back toward them, holding several aluminum poles, connecting the ends to make a shaft maybe twenty feet long. When he was finished, grabbed something odd-shaped on one of the ends and dragged the whole thing along toward the group. A shiver ran up Thomas's spine at the metallic scrape of the pole on the stone ground as Newt walked.

Thomas was horrified by the whole affair. He couldn't feeling responsible, even though he'd never done anything to provoke Ben.

Finally, Newt stepped up to Alby and handed over the end of the pole he was holding. Thomas could see the strange attachment now. A loop of rough leather, fastened to the metal with a massive staple. A large button snap revealed that the loop could be opened and closed, and its purpose became obvious.

It was a collar.

Thomas watched as Alby unbuttoned the collar then, wrapped it around Ben's neck; Ben finally looked up just as the loop of the leather snapped closed with a loud pop. Tears glistened in his eyes; dribbles of snot oozed from his nostrils. The Gladers looked on, not a word from any of them.

"Please, Alby," Ben pleaded in a shaky voice. "I swear if I weren't sick in the head from the Changing, I would've never tried to kill him. Please, Alby, please."

Alby didn't respond to Ben; he turned Ben around so that his back was to everyone and he faced the exit, then he pulled collar onto his neck making sure it was both firmly snapped and solidly attached to the long pole. He walked past Ben and along the pole, picking it up off the ground as he slid its length trough his palm and fingers. When he reached the end, he gripped it tightly and turned to face the crowd.

Be stood trembling, crying, a roughly cut collar of leather wrapped around his pale, scrawny neck, attached to the long pole that stretched from him to Alby, twenty feet away. The shaft of aluminum bowed in the middle, but only a little. Even from where Thomas was standing, it looked surprisingly strong.

Alby lifted his downcast eyes and spoke in a loud, almost ceremonious voice. "Ben of the Builders, you've been sentenced to Banishment for the attempted murder of Thomas the Newbie. The Keepers have spoken, and their word ain't changing. And you ain't coming back. Ever." A long pause. "Keepers take your places."

One by one, boys stepped out of the crowd and walking over to the pole; they grabbed it with both hands, gripped it as if readying for a tug-of-war match. Newt was among them, as was Minho, who Thomas now knew was the Keeper of the Runners. Winston the Butcher took his positon. Also amongst them… was Gally, and Thomas found himself curious. What was the Gally the Keeper of?

Once they were all in place—ten Keepers spaced evenly apart between Alby and Ben—the air grew silent.

"Pleeeeeease!" Ben struggled with the tight collar around his neck, looking so terrified and pathetic that Thomas couldn't believe it was the same guy who had tried to bite his throat off the day before. And then Thomas realized… It wasn't.

And that did it.

"NO!" Thomas screamed with such force that he surprised himself. All eyes turned his way. There was total silence, and now that Thomas had their attention… He didn't know what to do with it. He stood frozen for a second. Shocked by his by his own outburst. But he knew that he couldn't stand by and let this happen. Just gonna have to wing it.

He stepped out of the crowd running over to Ben's end of the pole.

"You can't do this," Thomas said. Ben looked surprised at the person who had come to his rescue. "This is wrong."

There was a long silence. So long that Thomas began to get a little uncomfortable. But he stood his ground. Even Ben was quiet, still clutching the collar, but no longer struggling. His chest was heaving, his eyes still wide and fearful, but now there was something else there as well. Hope.

Newt simply stared frozen expressionless, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. And Thomas realized that he probably couldn't, because surely nothing like this had ever happened before.

"Get out of the way, Greenie," Alby finally said, annoyance in his voice.

"No." Thomas said calmly but with a much force as when he'd said the word before. "I—"

"Move!" he yelled.

"No." Thomas realized that he was shaking and tried to stop himself, but simply couldn't manage to do so.

"Move! Or we'll throw you out with him!" Alby growled.

"No!" Thomas was just as loud now. "I can't let you do this."

"You can't let us? Who do you think you are, Greenie? The Keepers have spoken. Ben is Banished!"

"I'm the guy he tried to kill!" Thomas pointed out. "Shouldn't I have some say in his conviction?" There was silence again. Alby still looked angry, but he also looked like Thomas had stumped him with that question. Thomas could feel everyone's eyes on him, but he refused to look away from Alby. In the end the end his word was final.

"He's got a point," Winston the Butcher said, his grip loosening on the pole. "Maybe we should have a Regathering." And Thomas felt his spirits lift to have someone—even if it was creepy Winston—leaning toward his side. He also thought he could see Alby's determination wavering.

"Ben was messed up from the Changing when he attacked me. He doesn't deserve this," Thomas said softly now, trying to convince Alby.

"This shank doesn't even understand the Changing," Gally spoke up, looking just as ugly and ferocious as ever. Thomas wanted to throw something at him.

"No. I don't. But I do know that you cannot exile him," Thomas said pointing at Ben and forcing his voice to remain calm, "for a crime he committed when he was clearly delusional. Obviously he's rational now. You cannot murder him—because that's what this is. This isn't banishment; this is murder. Those monsters are going to kill him and you know it. If you do this, your actions are just as bad, if not worse than the one you've convicted him of." Thomas could see his words winning over more of the Keepers. But still not Alby. And still not Gally.

"He is rational, Alby. We saw that at the Gathering." Newt spoke up, Thomas almost smiled. If anyone could change Alby's mind it was Newt. "We could make him tell us about his Changing. Obviously there's a reason he wanted to kill Thomas." Alby was silent again, but Thomas could see that Newt's word had affected him. He would be quiet now and just let Alby think about it. It was so quiet Thomas could hear the animal in the distance.

"Newt, let him out," Alby sighed and Thomas lightly sighed in relief and Ben fell to his knees, tears of joy rolling down his face. "Keepers to the Homestead. We need to discuss this." He turned and walked away. Most of the Keepers followed him. Minho gave Thomas a smile and a nod before turning to go with them. Gally looked murderous, glaring at Thomas. And Thomas glared back. The fact that he would rather exile Ben than listen to reason, simply because he didn't like the boy's defender made Thomas hate him even more. Gally turned and practically stomped away, his hands balled into tight fists.

Newt clapped him on the shoulder, smiling at him. Then he set to releasing Ben. The other Gladers, now that there was nothing to see, slowly dispersed, talking in low murmurs about what had just transpired.

As soon as he was free, Ben surprised Thomas by jumping up and hugging him. "Thank you so much, man," he sobbed. "I'm glad I didn't kill you." He cried into Thomas's shoulder for a moment. Then there was a great grinding and rumbling, as the walls of the Glade closed.

Ben looked at Thomas with his wet eyes, smiling, clearly grateful to be on this side of them.