Chapter 14

Was it just that morning, that George had arrived? He had been so small, so scared. He had run for it the moment he had a chance. Was he really gone? Zart tried to convince himself otherwise, but it was almost impossible. George was done for. He could be eaten, or even killed by whatever creature was out there. Zart had heard the story of how Minho and Alby only just got back in time, before they could have been attacked. They had been that close to death. Now, George was looking death in the face.

"He's gone," Minho announced the obvious. The Gladers stood by the stone doors for almost ten minutes, before breaking away and walking back to the Homestead. Winston noticed from the corner of his eye that Gally seemed to be rather upset, almost pouting. He had a feeling it was more than just George's probable death, it was because of the earlier argument. The one regarding who was to be second-in-command. In the end, it was neither Minho nor Gally who had won, but Newt.

Finally, Alby spoke. "There's nothing we can do now. I may have only gotten a glimpse of the creature, but I know George won't stand a chance against it. At best we'll find his b...body by the doors tomorrow morning, then we can give him a proper funeral. Come on, let's get some rest." As the Gladers retreated to their hammocks, Newt thought he heard Gally muttering to himself. Something about shucking shank, Alby, Newt. He could only guess that Gally was ranting to himself about the earlier events. He had seemed the most agitated when Newt was made second-in-command. However, that was not the current issue at hand. Trying his best to drift off to sleep, Newt lay down and stared at the stars.

"Guys! There's something by the doors!" The Gladers were woken by Minho's shouts. They hurriedly rushed over, and noticed there seemed to be a distorted figure lying by the ground. Minho stuck his head out of the Glade, and took a chance, running forward, grabbing the figure, and running back in. He laid the figure on the grass, and at one look, they knew what -or who- it was. It was George. Calling for Clint, Alby shouted, "Med-jack!"

Clint squeezed between Gally and Frypan and knelt down next to George's body. At closer look, he realised there were small bumps all over his arms and legs. The veins around these bumps were more obvious, and so George was covered in purple and blue lines. Clint surveyed the body, saying, "It appears he was stung." Just then, he noticed George's small chest rising up and down. Could he still be alive? Clint placed his ear by George's mouth, attempting to listen for his breathing. Clint's expression changed from one of concern, to one of pure joy. He heard breathing.

As he was about to announce the news, George jumped to life. He grabbed onto Clint's body, pulling it down, then seized a bunch of his hair, attempting to pull it off. Gally rushed forward and grabbed George by his shoulders. It was quite difficult for Gally to place George on his shoulders, he was thrashing about, screaming and shouting.

"No! You don't understand! We can never get out!" George screamed. Gally slapped him firmly on the cheek, then ordered, "Frypan, Zart, get some string, we gotta tie this shank up. Minho, help me bring him over to the edge of the forest." Still struggling to get free, George was lifted into the air. They brought him to one of the thicker tree stumps, one that was cut at a rather high point, then used the string to tie his body to the trunk, arms by his side.

Gally picked up a spear from their pile of primitive weapons and pointed it at George. He threatened, "Listen shank, you better stop trying to get out. You're not sane. Now shut up, before I shove this spear up your-"

"Gally! Hand it to me, I'll try and talk to him," Alby took over. The Gladers backed away from the stump, keeping a safe distance between them and the crazed shank. However, Alby, armed with the spear, took a step closer. He spoke, "George. George, try to calm down. It's me, Alby. Try to calm down. You were stuck out in the Maze, we don't know what happened, but we will find out."

"No! No! We can never get out! It's better for all of us to die here! No!" George was still screaming pointlessly, trying to get a hold on Alby, trying to attack him like he had Clint. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, and his arms were flailing all over the place, as if he had no control over them. To Alby, it was clear now that the George they knew for five minutes, was no longer there.

"Come on, George. We're your friends, we're not going to hurt you. Just… just show me a sign, anything. Show me the real George is still there. I don't know what to do. I know you're there George. I know you're not totally crazy. Please, I don't want to do this. Show me you're there." Alby attempted to reason with him. However, every sentence he spoke only caused George to erupt in more screams and shouts. In fact, he had begun frothing at the mouth, the white substance staining his clothes and the ground below him. If Alby let this continue, George could get out, and only hurt the Gladers more.

With a sigh, Alby looked down at the spear in his hand. He whispered to himself, "I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time. Forgive me George." With a firm arm, he threw the spear, hitting George square in the chest. The screams and shouts were silenced. Alby had killed George.

"Well Alby you didn't have to bloody kill the shank! We could have-"

"We could have done what? If we let him go, what do you think he could have done to you guys? Look what he did to Clint! Almost made the shank bald! We can't risk anything!"

Newt was still trying to figure out why Alby had done it. Why he had killed him. To him, they could have tried to find out what had happened. Maybe he needed to rest. Maybe Clint could take another look at him. Anything. But killing the Greenie? Sure, he had been out of his mind, and yes, the screams and shouts were agonizing to listen to, but killing him? Newt was still relatively new, but even he knew that Alby's number one rule was 'Never hurt another Glader'. Next to 'Do your part', of course.

All of a sudden, Newt had an idea. "Well we can't just let any old shank wander off into the Maze. From now on, when a Greenie comes up, we should create a human wall around him, make sure he doesn't have a chance to get out. And we need a rule against going out ever again. To make sure that no one, other than the Runners, goes out of the Glade." Alby nodded, agreeing with Newt's new rule. The others felt the same, even Gally, who reluctantly nodded. Gally had to admit, Newt was not doing too bad as second-in-command. Perhaps Alby's decision was for the better.

Later that day, Frypan and Zart carried George's lifeless body through the forest. Stepping over fallen branches and leaves, they found a clearing in the forest. They gingerly placed him down, into the hole Gally had dug just a few minutes earlier. Then, they piled the dug up soil on top, finishing the grave with a stone placed by George's head. Alby had carved his name into it, using a hammer and a splinter of wood. Stepping back, they took a look at George's grave, then bowed their heads down for a moment of silence.

After that, Alby felt it was right to make a short speech about George. "George was our latest Greenie. He was small, and fast. He would have been a good Runner, and an even better friend. We cannot place the blame of his death on any one person, it was all our faults. Most of all, it was the fault of the people who put us here. If we were never here, George may still be alive, with his parents, or anyone who cared for him. Let his death be a reminder of why we are here, and our sole purpose. Survive. Find a way out."

Winston commented, "We just got him, and now we're grieving for his death. Those creatures, if we don't stop them, we'll just keep grieving for more people. They're… they're Grievers."

That night, as they were eating dinner, Gally spoke up, for the first time since their argument the previous day. He announced, "I don't think we can let anyone break any of these rules. George, he broke two of the rules. And Alby stuck a spear in him. We need a way of punishing any shanks who break the rules. Make them klunk their pants and know what they did wrong. And we can't just kill them. I propose we make a prison of some sort. Punishments can be dealt on a case-by-case basis. Anyone breaks any of the three rules, we shove em in, slam the door. They spend a day in the Slammer."

Although what Gally just said was rather insensitive, Minho agreed with what Gally was saying. If any of the Gladers did run out of the Maze, Minho would have to hunt them down and bring them back. That would make it almost impossible for him to run the Maze, and find the rule breakers at the same time. He would never get back on time. The Gladers agreed with Gally, and Alby told him to begin work on his Slammer the next morning.

Alby and Newt were unloading the weekly supplies the next morning, when they noticed something else lying in the box. It appeared to be a small crate. It did not contain the usual food, water, cloth. Instead, they found several needles, filled with a bright green liquid. Attached to the crate was a note, the longest note they had ever received.

No more killing. Within days of being stung, death follows. This is a cure. Use it well.

A/N: What do you think? I would be really grateful if you leave a comment/suggestion/general review down below! Thanks! :)