The whole Glade, almost twenty people, were gathered in the center of the Glade around the Box. It had been one full day since Gally's incident and no one had found any solution. But, Clint didn't seem to care and was giving us hourly updates. So far, Gally had only been getting worse; shallow breaths, slow pulse, shaking, the whole deal. It was not boosting anyone's moods, and that wasn't going to change unless Gally was saved. People were beginning to hope for miracles, which was begging for nothing, but I didn't say anything aloud. I technically was the hope for these people, thanks Creators. But I felt helpless, I had searched everywhere, and nothing. But like I said, I didn't let the Gladers lose hope and herded them around to look everywhere. While they were busy, I slipped into the Medjack Hut unnoticed.

I stepped inside, preventing the door from slamming shut, and with a shuttering breath, I peaked around the corner to look at the Keeper of the Builders. I almost wished I hadn't as soon as I did. His whole body was completely slack and pale. There was hardly any movement from him, except for the tiny rising and falling of his chest, thank god. The veins seemed to be more prominent if that was even possible, and he looked absolutely terrible. I took another deep breath and poked a finger into his chest. I flinched and squinted my eyes shut, hoping to not witness the blow I was going to receive. After no such pain occurring, I opened my eyes to find he hadn't moved. Damn, he really is bad. I was turning to leave when Newt came in yelling to a group of Gladers following behind him,

"I found it! I found the bloody serum! There was one tucked away in a storage trunk!" As his body slammed through the doorway, his eyes met mine and a confused look overtook his excited features. He quickly shook it off though, and without Clint's approval, jabbed the syringe into Gally's back. Clint stumbled through the door with Jeff on his tail and looked at Newt in pure bewilderment,

"Newt! What're you—Oh nevermind, I see you've already taken care of things." He crossed his arms and stared at Newt with a slight frown.

Newt smiled and walked over to the Medjack, "Sorry, Clint. I just did what needed to be done." He clapped a hand on his shoulder and walked out into the Glade. The Medjacks just shook their heads in response and moved to take care of the boy. I took that as a cue to leave and strolled out the door to get some food.

/\/\/\/\/\/

Gally's horrific screams of torture filled the Glade for a week; a few days longer than the average Changing. It was hard to bear, but we all pushed through hoping the memories that were returned to him were helpful. We all just needed a bit more hope to keep life decent here. But we never got what we wanted; After that week, Gally became the Glade's bully, pushing around the smaller kids, snapping at everyone, and being a jerk. Though it was through no fault of his own, except for when he ran into the Maze, he was incredibly difficult to deal with. I tried to keep myself calm, but when he messed with one of the younger boys, my mind jumped into action,

"Enough, Gally! Leave him alone, dammit!" My voice came out angrier than I had expected, and it took me by surprise. None the less, I still glared at the Builder across the Dining Hall.

"Stop acting like you own the place, shuckface! Maybe you should stop acting like a little brat and do some work." He sneered back with a smug face.

I slammed my hands down on the table with a loud bang, "Oh my god! Stop being an idiot for a millisecond! Leave the kid alone and while you're at it, pull that giant stick out of your ass!" My confidence didn't falter for a moment, and I proudly stood my ground. The Gladers sat gawking at the two of us, swinging their heads back and forth to see his reaction. His cheeks blushed momentarily, and soon his burly build was stalking over to me. He stood towering over me, but I looked up at him with a glint in my eyes. I knew I had pushed it too far, but he was testing everyone's limits too much.

"You listen to me, princess." He poked a finger into my chest, "I don't know who you think you are, but I recommend you take a step down before I make you."

I crossed my arms, and with an eye roll, snapped back, "Oh, is that supposed to scare me? Look," I returned the jab, "Captain Gally, just do us a favor and leave us all alone."

He stared down at me and didn't respond for a few moments before he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Just because you helped us then, doesn't mean you are now." He turned his back and walked out of the Dining Hall without another word. I stood dumbfounded after hearing his quiet words, it felt like a warning. With Newt tugging on my sleeve, I decided it was for another time and shook my head to clear my mind. I looked down at the boy next to me, who smirked up at me,

"You've got a nice big mouth there, Faith. Better hope you can keep it in check." He laughed lightly, and I punched his shoulder, but with a huge smirk on my face.

Gally actually did leave everyone alone for the most part. He kept to himself and bossed around the Builders. I didn't get too close to him because I knew he would take any opportunity to attack me. His glare following me around didn't escape my mind; in fact, I was constantly aware of his gaze whenever I was in the Glade. I tried not to let it bother me, but it felt as if he were peering through my soul. And if I dared to look over my shoulder for just a second, I would find his eyes burning holes through mine and staring at me with his chin tilted to the side. I always flipped my head back around and hustled off to the farthest location away from him.

/\/\/\/\/\

After a few more weeks of tirelessly working as a Runner, I had been given a day off which I accepted gratefully and took advantage of. I waved a goodbye to Minho, who had grumbled on and on for about thirty minutes about a lack of a running partner before he finally shut up. I had already eaten breakfast, so I sauntered over to the Gardens looking for a certain head of blond hair.

"Newt!" I shouted once I found him. I smiled and waved when his head popped up.

"Oh lord. It's your day off, isn't it?" He whined slightly with a smile.

"Yep!" I smirked, popping the 'p'. "Which means I have nothing to do and will therefore, bother you."

He dropped to his knees dramatically, "No! Why me?"

I shoved him over and took a graceless seat down in the grass. He chuckled and continued plucking ripe fruit off of vines and weeds out of the ground. It had been a while, soon I spoke up again,

"Newt?" I questioned, he turned to look at me with a nod as his response, "do you ever wonder why we're here?" My thoughts had accidentally wandered to the 'dreams/memories' I had had about this place and what the world was like around us. A dull throb had returned, but I pushed it down without a second thought.

He studied my face for a moment, and then turned back to the weeds, "Yeah, sometimes. Why do you ask?"

My eyebrows furrowed in thought before I slowly mumbled out, "It's just… What could be so bad outside that they had to put us here?"

He laughed, but it wasn't jokingly, "Well, maybe, they're keeping the bad in here."

I sat straight up at that, "What?! You think this could be a prison?" My voice cracked slightly on the words, and I swallowed trying to quench the dryness that had spread to my throat.

"Well nothings for sure! We have no idea what happened to us! I'm just saying to consider the possibilities." He added with a shrug. I still stared at him,

"But, we're just a bunch of teenagers! What could we have possibly done?"

"I don't bloody know, but let's hope that your idea is the actual truth." He brushed the hair out of his eyes and smiled lightly. I nodded in response and walked to my room in the Homestead to try and get some rest.

The sky had dimmed rather noticeably, and I quickly jumped out of my hammock. I was about to move to the door, when I noticed a rather unnatural glow of light coming through the window. Instead of the pale, yellow glow of the Glade, the light was a fierce red and orange. I stumbled over to the pane of glass, and gasped when I saw flickers of red and orange flame dancing across the Glade while lifeless bodies lay strewn about in the tall grass. I faltered through the door frame that led to the Glade, looking for anybody that could help me patch up my friends. Nothing in the Glade moved except for the flames, continuously lapping at the wooden structures.

I hopped around the bodies, swallowing more and more bile as I recognized each one. Zart, Hutton, Clint, Jack. All of my friends were laying across the Glade, unmoving with eyes glazed over and blood spurting from various wounds. I lost all sanity I had left when I found Newt and Minho huddled together, trying to stop blood from spurting out of Newt's chest. I hurdled over Frypan's bleeding body to get to the two boys, both of which had tears running down their faces. My faces matched theirs just the same. I reached the duo and grabbed Minho's shoulder. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

Minho's face was bruised with a giant gash above his left eyebrow to pair. His shirt had a bleeding stain above his stomach, and his breath came out in shallow heaps. "What the shuck are you doing here?"

"W-what?" My voice faltered. "Minho, what's going on?"

"What's going on?" He coughed, a deep spluttering gurgle, "Look what you did, Faith!"

I took a step backwards. What I did? "What are you talking about? I didn't do any of this!"

"Oh please, shank. Just shuck off already." Another gurgle-y cough. He trained his eyes back down to his heavily bleeding friend, and I followed his gaze. Newt was a complete wreck, what was left of him anyways. His right leg had been torn off, leaving a bloody stump behind. His face was covered in thin cuts and slices and there was a blooming bruise above his ribs. In addition, there was a deep cut across his neck; Minho had pushed his hands down onto it, trying to stop the gushing red liquid, with no success.

In Newt's last moments of his life, he craned his neck to glare at me with hurt written in his gaze, "Why? Why'd you do it?" I slapped my hand across my mouth as I sobbed and watched as Newt's life slowly drained from his body, being able to do nothing about it. Tears poured down my face, but my face quickly hardened when I heard Minho groan and slump the ground. I hurdled to his side and pushed my hands down on the gushing wound on his chest. He groaned from the pressure and roughly shoved me to the side.

"Minho! Let me help you, you're gonna die!" my voice was shaky and squeaky; even I wouldn't trust myself, my voice showed how truly scared I was.

"Get off of me, you shuckface." Was his response, he coughed once again, but this time blood dribbled over his lips. I quickly tried to wipe the picture of him coughing up blood from my mind and moved again to put pressure on his wound. All of his strength was presumably gone, so my help wasn't refused this time. I regretted looking at his face the moment I did; he wasn't dead, not yet anyways, and was glaring at me, eyes full of hate. His dark hazel eyes searched mine and I wanted to see forgiveness flash in his eyes, with no such luck. Of course not. Why would he forgive when I supposedly murdered the entire Glade? After glaring at me for a few more moments, his eyes softened unexpectedly, and a few tears pooled. His voice trembled as he spoke,

"I don't get it, I don't understand you. I-I thought we were fine, e-everything was good!" the anger and ferocity had returned to his eyes.

More tears ran down my cheeks, I went to cup his cheek, trying to comfort him, "Minho, I-I"

He abruptly grabbed my wrists with his blood-covered hands, with his final breath he whispered harshly, "I hate you." His arms fell slack letting go off my arms, and I fell backwards staring at the boy, who I thought I would never see the life, passion, courage, or strength leave his eyes. But there he was lifeless, his eyes glazed over and mouth hanging open.

My heart wrenched and I sobbed harder, tears ran down my cheeks while I hugged my knees to my chest. Whispering "No, no, no, no, no." over and over again, the words becoming a prayer.

My throat ran dry, "No!"

Tears kept falling, "No, no!"

Death surrounded me like a blanket, "No, no, no!"

And then

Newt grabbed my shoulders and yanked me out of my hammock, pulling my shaking body down to the ground with him. He wrapped his arms around my frame and pulled me tight against his chest, his warm chest. That's odd, Newt's dead. With tears still spilling down my face, I pushed the supposed-to-be-dead boy away. I curled in on myself, bringing my knees to my chest,

"Who are you?" my voice trembled, but I cleared my throat quickly.

"W-what? Faith, what are you talking about? It's me, Newt." His eyes searched my face, obviously confused as to why I didn't recognize him.

"No, no, Newt is dead. You're not Newt." I stared at him, watching as he turned even more perplexed. I continued, "I watched you die right in front of me."

He shook his head and placed his hands on my arms, "I'm right here, alive and well." He moved my hands, so I could feel his pulse, and slowly I let my legs return to the ground; breaking the barricade I had placed between myself and Newt.

"Newt? Promise you're not dead?"

"I bloody swear on my life, I'm alive!" With that vow, he pulled me into his chest again, letting me relax into his arms. I eventually slowed my breathing, and the tears stopped their journey down my face. "Was it a nightmare?"

I nodded in response, shuddering at the memory of the burning Glade and stench of death, "Everyone was dead. The Glade was in ruins and then…t-then I watched you and Minho die, and I couldn't do anything to help." I kept the part about it being my fault to myself; I already raised enough suspicion as the only girl and having memories and terrifying nightmares probably wouldn't help. So, I pushed more secrets to the back of my mind, ignoring how large the pile was growing.

Newt ran a hand through his hair, looking down at me with pity, "We've all been there, Faith. Even Alby and bloody Minho have had them. It's just a part of life here, I guess." His grip squeezed my shoulder, and then let go to help me stand. I stood up and marched out of the Homestead to try and relax for what was supposed to be a day off. I guess that excludes terrifying nightmares and panic attacks, even better!

Newt and I spent the rest of the day talking in the Gardens and then eating some of Frypan's casserole for dinner. All too soon, my day off was over, and the next morning I was running Section 3 of the damn Maze.