Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Maze Runner nor any of the characters from it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

Grievers Attack: Stinging Oneself's More Trouble Than It's Worth…

Day Seventy-One – The "Ending" – The "Glade"

That night had been just as bad as the last night. Some had ran out of the room in a panic and out in the Glade, not knowing what to do. Without order, they had no idea what they were supposed to do. It took a while, like last time, for the Grievers to actually get close to the Homestead to attack.

It was about two in the morning before they heard one of the boys scream out in agony. Newt and Leo quickly rushed over to the window to see one of the Gladers being carried off into the Maze, screaming as he flailed and tried to escape. One of the Gladers had tried to fight off the Griever, but it was no use. He was hit in the head as he was knocked to the ground as all of the Grievers retreated with the other boy in their clasp.

As it took less time for them to actually grab hold of one of the Gladers, this meant that Thomas and Minho must have encountered some in the Maze and stopped them from advancing to the Glade.

Or, the Gladers screams made it much easier for them to capture them.

It may seem heartless of the rest of the Gladers, but it was only half an hour later before everyone was back to work that morning as they continued to trace the Map patterns. What they found though after the gruelling night's work was something that might have made the night better if they could figure out what it meant.

"What the shuck does that even mean?" Newt asked as he sat at the table, staring at all the Maps in confusion.

"They're just a jumble of bloody words," Leo said as she placed her marker down on the table, folding her arms over her chest.

It was now six in the morning and most of the Gladers had left to go and do work outside in the Glade. Most of the Gladers had been able to sleep after the Griever attacks, but Newt and Leo couldn't sleep a wink. Teresa was the first to fall asleep as she slept through most of the Griever attack and only woke when someone had bumped into her by accident.

Either Teresa had no guilty conscious or she was just a heavy sleeper.

"Newt! Leo!" a Glader shouted as they sprinted into the room, huffing and puffing from the lack of air.

"What's happened?" Newt asked as he stood up, moving over to the door.

"Thomas and Minho…they're back…"

The two quickly looked at each other before they nodded, the boy leading the way as they headed over to the two Runners who stood at the doors, both looking tired and famished.

Newt limped over to them and Leo ran behind, her back still burning but not as bad as the night before.

"You're the first to come back," Newt said once they'd reached them. "What happened? Tell me you've got good news."

Minho stared at a spot of the grey sky in the distance, his eyes saddened. "Nothing. The Maze is a big freaking joke."

"What's he talking about?" Newt asked to Thomas.

"He's just discouraged. We didn't find anything different. The walls haven't moved, no exits, nothing. Did the Grievers come last night?"

"Yeah, they did," Leo said.

"They took Adam," Newt finished.

"I'm sick of this!" Minho spat. "I'm sick of it! It's over! It's all over!" He took his backpack and threw it down to the ground. "There's no exit, never was, never will be. We're all shucked."

Minho stomped off towards the Homestead, Newt saying nothing as he followed him to try and calm him down.

"What happened out there?" Leo asked as she looked behind her, then back at Thomas.

"I have no idea," he stated honestly.

"You're plan better work soon Thomas. One by one, we'll all lose our faith of ever getting out of here. And what we really need right now is some hope. So I really hope you're plan works, 'cause otherwise they'll be no chance in saving us." She walked off to the Homestead, leaving Thomas standing there speechless as he watched the three leave.

…

The other Runners had returned during the hour, but none of them had found anything new and had basically given up. Most of the Gladers had now abandoned their jobs as they saw no point.

The Glade was falling apart.

Newt lead Thomas into the room to see the end result of the Maps. "Minho still hasn't shown up. Sometimes he turns into a bugging hothead."

Several Gladers, including Leo and Teresa, stood around the table. All of them were exhausted from the lack of sleep. Leo and Newt where one of the only people though who hadn't gotten a bit of sleep in over 48 hours now, and it clearly was affecting them.

The room was a mess. Piles and piles of paper were scattered and thrown around the room, making it look like a tornado had gone through.

Leo glanced over at Newt, wishing that both of them would be able to sleep. She wanted all of this stress and torture to be over with so that everyone could go back to their normal selves. If Teresa hadn't shown up in the Box, none of this would be happening to them right now, whether it was her intention or not.

"Come check this out," Teresa said, hiding a smirk.

"I'll get down on my knees and kiss your bloody feet if you can figure it out," Newt said.

Thomas walked over to Teresa, eager to see what they had discovered from his plan. "No doubt this is right," she said as she handed him a piece of paper. "Just don't have a clue what it means."

Written on that piece of paper were the numbers 1-6 running down the left side, a word next to each number.

1 – FLOAT

2 – CATCH

3 – BLEED

4 – DEATH

5 – STIFF

6 – PUSH

That was all they had found. Those single six words.

"That's all?" Thomas asked. "Are you sure they're in the right order?" Everyone could tell that he was disappointed with what'd they found.

Teresa took the piece of paper back. "The Maze has been repeating those words for months – we finally quit when that became clear. Each time, after the word PUSH, it goes a full week without any letter at all, and then it starts over again with FLOAT. So we figured that's the first word, and that's the order."

"Cheerful, don't ya think?" Newt asked.

"I especially like the words BLEED and DEATH," Leo said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Thomas said, giving an annoyed groan. "We need to get Minho down here – maybe he knows something we don't. If we just had more clues-"

Suddenly, he stopped as he froze.

"Thomas?" Leo asked.

He grabbed hold of the shelves to keep his balance as a sudden dizzy spell hit him, causing him to stumble.

"Thomas?" Leo asked again.

"Tommy?" Newt asked. "What's wrong with you? Your face just went white as a ghost."

"Thomas? You okay?"

Thomas shook his head. "Oh…nothing, sorry. My eyes are hurting – I think I need some sleep." He rubbed his temples.

"Well," Newt said as he squeezed Thomas' shoulder. "You spent all bloody night out in the Maze – take a nap."

Thomas looked over at Teresa, then Newt and finally Leo. He remembered what she had said to him not to long ago, and now he was worried that her statement was actually going to come true. But, he had figured out an idea of what needed to be done.

He nodded as he headed out of the room. Leo looked over at Newt before she gestured to the door. He seemed to understand as he nodded, leaving the room as he walked down the stairs. She was about to follow when Teresa grabbed hold of her arm.

"I think you should keep an eye out. Somebody's out to get you," she said, suddenly letting go of her, making Leo stumble. "It's not me though, but with your knife stolen, I'd sleep with one eye open, if you can even sleep."

Not being to take anymore, Leo ran out the door, down the stairs and into the Glade to find Newt. She knew he would have gone to the Deadheads, and once she found him she clung onto him, her body shaking. The pain in her back started again and she knew that her cuts had started to bleed again.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, being careful not to scrap her back.

Could she tell him about Teresa and what she knows? No. Could she tell him about her warning? Well, in a way. Just, don't mention her name.

"I just…wanted to be away from…them," she said, making him nod as he pulled her closer.

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

The two enjoyed the comfortable silence as they stayed in each other's embrace. But Leo had so many things running through her mind that she started panicking again, her breaths becoming faster as she started to hyperventilate as tears slowly fell from her eyes.

"Leo, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked, his eyes widening, thinking he had done something wrong.

"I-I think…someone's out to…to k-kill me."

"What are you talking about? No one's out to kill you? Who told you that?"

"M-My knife...was stolen out of my hands…"

"And you're sure you didn't drop it?"

"Of course I'm sure!" she shouted as the tears poured down her face. "It was in my hands, then it was gone! I didn't bloody lose it!"

"Leo, please"

"You don't understand Newt! Someone has my knife! They've taken it! What if I fall asleep and then they come and slit my throat! What then?! Huh?!"

"Leo, no one's out to get you," he said as he grabbed hold of her shoulders, making her stop. "I promise."

"But…w-what if…what if someone-"

"I'll kill them before they could get to you, good that?" he asked, giving her a sincere smile that made her heart melt.

She pulled him close to her as she kissed his cheek. "Good that."

He slowly lifted her chin with his finger. "I promise. Nothing's gonna hurt you while I'm here." He rubbed his thumb over her cheeks as he caught the tears before they fell. She stood on her tippy toes as she kissed him.

It had been so long since the two of them had been alone, and she never knew how much she had missed it until she had the opportunity to experience it again. It was like his kisses were the drug that she was addicted to, and she knew there was no way she would be able to stop from getting addicted to the sweet high.

…

To keep herself distracted throughout the day, Leo headed out into the Glade with a shovel and an empty bucket in her hands. There were many fruits and plants that were ready to be picked, and so that nobody in the Glade starved, she would be getting them and giving them to Frypan so he could serve them to the hungry Gladers.

She bent down onto the ground and started shovelling the dirt away from the plants, giving her memories of her days as a Track Hoe after her first month of being in the Glade. During those days, she didn't have much to worry about. She just went through her days without having to worry about death lurking at every corner during the night.

How she missed those days.

She was one of the only people who were outside doing their jobs. Winston was inside the Bloodhouse, slaughtering the last few animals that they had. Chuck was out cleaning up any remaining mess in the Glade. Frypan was cooking most things he could find. Zart was helping her pick all the fruits and vegetables. Thomas was avoiding everyone as he sat in the forest by himself and Minho still hadn't been seen.

As she dug up the soil, she ripped out the fruits and vegetables with her bare hands, chucking them into the bucket next to her. She had gotten about ten fruits and five vegetables before the bucket was completely filled. Luckily, Zart had a similar amount stored in his bucket, so the two quickly headed over to the kitchen and dumped them down so Frypan could use them.

Then, they went back and did the same thing until everything had been picked and there was nothing left in their Garden. It almost made her sad to see, but she sucked it up, knowing that she would be able to get out of here soon. But, she couldn't help but feel a little tinge at her heart from the memories formed inside the Glade with all of the Gladers, even the ones she'd rather not mention.

As she finished, she headed over to the bathrooms to wash as much of the dirt off as she could. Dirt covered her face, her hands, her clothes and her wig had specks inside it as well. But, as she stared at herself in the mirror, she wondered if it really mattered. If they were all going to possibly die, did it really matter if she went out clean or dirty? She decided to wash her hands and clean up her face, not really worrying about her clothing.

Besides, everyone else was covered with scratches and dirt.

Well, everyone expect Teresa.

But that was probably because she didn't do much during the day.

So much had happened during the past few days that she had forgotten about the scars that were on her neck from her night in the Maze. They didn't hurt much anymore, as the pain in her back distracted her from that. Just to make sure, she quickly adjusted her wig in the mirror to make sure it was secure before she headed back out into the grey, dull Glade.

She wished she could feel the sun – whether it was real or not – on her skin, but it was still as grey as it was since everything first changed.

She looked down at her watch, noticing that it was around six at night, meaning that dinner would soon be served. She could hear most of the Gladers chatting and laughing as she headed over to the kitchen.

All they were served were a bunch of biscuits and tomato soup which he made from the freshly picked ones, but it was at least something that could get them through the night. She hadn't even noticed how hungry she was until the food was right in front of her face. She sat at a table with Newt, Thomas, Teresa, Chuck and a very emotionless Emil as they talked about the plan for tonight.

And of course, the end result wasn't pretty.

The Builders had boarded up the holes left by the Grievers and Gally, and it didn't look very safe but it would be good enough for at least the night.

Newt and Alby – who now walked around with a bandage wrapped around his head – insisted on everyone to rotate in which room they slept each night.

Leo was stuck on the largest room on the lower floor, surrounded by most of the Gladers, including Newt, Minho – who had finally returned, Alby, Thomas, Emil and unfortunately, Teresa. But of course, she was curled up in two blankets, fast asleep.

Newt and Leo exchanged glances as he mouthed at her "How is that possible?"

Leo just shrugged her shoulders in reply, not really sure of anything. Emil hid behind her in the dark corner of the room, not wanting to see anyone as he tried to sleep against her back. But he kept twitching from nerves and he couldn't stay asleep for more than two minutes at a time.

She stared at the door, wondering when the Grievers would barge through and take one of them into the Maze to be eaten and brutally murdered. She noticed a lot of the Gladers tossing and turning as they tried to sleep, panic running through their system, preventing sleep. Thomas had tried to force himself to sleep, but that didn't work.

As the night dragged on, she started to panic again, the anticipation killing her along with the silence. Newt slowly reached for her hand, interlocking their fingers as he held a finger to his mouth, trying to help her calm down. It took another hour of him whispering to her that it would be alright before she had calmed back down.

Then, at around two o'clock again, the horrid mechanical sounds of the Grievers drew closer, the time for another person to die finally arriving.

Everyone had crowded together against the wall furthest away from the window. She was stuck in-between Newt and Thomas, who was huddled up next to the sleeping Teresa.

The tension in the room could be cut with a butterknife. The Gladers were silent as no one moved. Emil had to muffle his cries into his hand just to keep himself quiet. There was the distant sound of metal scrapping against the wood of the building, echoing throughout the entire Homestead. It was on the opposite side to where they all were, but that didn't mean they were safe.

More Grievers started climbing up the sides of the building, one coming very close to the window in their room. The room seemed to have gotten colder as she leaned up against Newt, hoping this could all be over. He held her close as he placed a hand over her mouth, trying to make sure she stayed quiet.

An explosion of wood and broken glass erupted from the room upstairs, shaking the entire house. She screamed into his hand as others in their room screamed too, but it was nothing compared to the screams coming from upstairs.

People started running out of the room, creaks and groans filling the air as the Gladers started running downstairs.

"It's got Dave!" someone screamed.

She had no idea who that person was, and that made her feel even worse. A hand touched her shoulder, and she knew it wasn't Newt because his arms were securely wrapped around her body.

"Hey, don't worry, it's me," Hawk whispered into her ear, making her turn around. "We're friends, right? Stay still and silent."

A terrible crash came from right outside the room, screams and splintering wood following, almost as if something was eating the house. Not even a second later, another explosion of wood occurred, and only then did she realise it was the front door being ripped off its hinges.

"You need to be quiet. Please, remain quiet," Hawk whispered, knowing about her panic attacks. This was his way of trying to calm her down, but she couldn't tell if it was because of him or Newt.

Suddenly, Thomas jumped up and ran straight out of the door, slamming it open as he ran into the Glade.

"Tommy!" Newt yelled, but Thomas ignored him as he continued to run.

Newt quickly grabbed her arm as he pulled her up as they two started running, leaving Hawk behind to deal with the crying Emil. Minho and Teresa were not too far behind as the four sprinted after him.

"Thomas! Stop!" Leo screamed.

"Tommy!"

Thomas kept sprinting towards the Grievers just as the four reached the Glade floor.

"What the shuck is he doing?!" Minho yelled.

"Thomas! What're you doing?!" Leo shouted.

"Tommy! What's gotten into you?!" Newt yelled.

As they continued to run after him, Thomas suddenly jumped onto the Griever that had hold of Dave, trying to jerk the kid free of its hold.

Teresa opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. But Thomas looked like he was in pain when she finally did.

Three Grievers swarmed at him, their needles flying everywhere. Thomas flailed his arms and legs, knocking them away as he kicked one of the Griever's bodies.

The four increased their pace, hoping they could reach him in time to save him.

Thomas screamed as he kicked, pushed and trashed around as he threw his body into a roll. Struggling, he found an opening and got to his feet, running towards the four of them.

Once the Griever had noticed he had escaped, they retreated into the Maze with a screaming Dave. But, the damage to Thomas had been done. He collapsed onto the ground, groaning in pain.

Newt, Leo and Minho were the first to reach him as they were the fastest out of the rest of the Gladers who had joined them. Chuck came up a few seconds later and then Teresa with a group of Gladers behind her.

Newt grabbed Thomas by the shoulders as he lifted him up, gripping him under both of his arms. "Get his legs!"

Leo quickly grabbed hold of his legs as she lifted them up, the two of them carrying him across the Glade, through the front door, down the broken hallway and into one of the rooms.

As they placed him down on the couch, Thomas was getting worse by the second.

"What were you doing?!" Newt yelled. "How could you be so bloody stupid?!"

"No…Newt…You don't understand…"

"Shut up! Don't waste your energy!"

Clint rushed into the room, ripping Thomas' clothes from his body to inspect the damage. He looked up and down his arms and legs.

"Thomas! Is he going to be okay?" Chuck asked as he clung to Leo's arms.

"He's gonna be fine, Chuckie," she said, gently patting him on the head.

"He's been stung a dozen times," Clint said. "He'll need the Serum right now."

Teresa grabbed his right ankle and squeezed it.

"The Grief Serum! Now!"

Leo quickly rushed to the cupboards, searching every shelf until she found the tube filled with the blue liquid.

"Just stab him with it," Clint said.

Leo didn't hesitate as she raised her hand, closing her eyes right before she stabbed the vile into his right arm. He made no sound nor movement.

Nothing happened.

His eyes started closing, but his mouth was still slightly open. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I did it on purpose…"

Then, he blacked out.

Everyone in the room expect Newt and Clint had stopped breathing. "He's not…dead is he?" Chuck asked, tears forming in his eyes.

Leo quickly bent down to his eye level, mustering up the best smile she could at that moment. "He's perfectly fine Chuckie, he's just gone unconscious."

His body seemed to relax, but the tears still fell from his eyes as he moved closer and hugged her arm. "I can't…believe…he did this," he said in-between his sobs. She moved her arms around him, patting him on the back as he continued to cry.

"I know, I know. But, he's going to be okay. He'll be back to normal before you know it."

Newt lightly touched her shoulder, nodding at her. She smiled before she went back to comforting Chuck. Newt took one last glance at Thomas before he headed back down the stairs to go and tell the Gladers that he would be fine.

Teresa sat down on the chair beside the bed, staring down at the unconscious Thomas. She gently grabbed his hand, almost as if she was asking him why.

Thomas had intentionally gotten stung so he could get his memories back so he could get them out. She didn't know if he was very brave, or very stupid.

She decided on both as she guided Chuck out of the room and out into the Glade so he wouldn't have to see Thomas go through the Changing.

Day Seventy-Two – The "Ending" – The "Glade"

It had been a day since Thomas had been stung, but yet his condition hadn't changed. During the nights, he was moved down to the Slammer to make sure he survived the night, but he was always moved back to the Homestead once the night was over for the medical supplies.

Leo knocked on the door, waiting for one of the Med Jacks to open the door. She didn't want to barge in as they might have been stuck in the middle of something important. But when Jeff opened the door, she knew that nothing had changed.

Last night that had lost James who had scarified himself so the others could survive the night. She didn't know how much longer she could take of people sacrificing themselves before the attacks would stop.

The Runners were back out in the Maze, trying to find if there was any information they could find. Minho had given her today to recover from her injuries, but he said it would be the last day before she would run. He said he needed as many as he could out there, and he knew she would be very helpful.

"Hey Leo," Clint said from the other side of the room.

"Do you need anything?" Jeff asked, but she shook her head.

"Change of bandages for my back," she replied. "But, I've been sent to check on Thomas' condition."

Jeff nodded as he let her past. "Come in."

She saw Thomas lying peacefully on the bed, a plate of feed next to the bed with a cup of water that hadn't been touched.

"How's he doing?" she asked as Clint lifted her shirt up slightly and started unwrapping the blood covered bandages.

"His breathing's steady as is his heart-rate, but he hasn't woken up."

"Not once?" she asked, wincing as the new bandages were wrapped around her back. Jeff shook his head. "How's that possible? He hasn't screamed or anything?"

Clint shook his head this time as he stood up, chucking the bloody bandages into the bin. "Not once. He's been silent the entire time."

"And that's not usual?"

"No, it's not," Jeff said as he looked over Thomas. "We don't know when he'll wake up, if he ever does. But, he is alive. That's all we know."

She nodded as she glanced at him. "Thanks guys, keep us posted."

They nodded. "Will do," Clint said. "Are you running tomorrow?"

"Yeah? Are the wounds-?"

"You'll be fine to run. We'll tell Newt about Thomas then."

"You haven't slept all week," Jeff said, gesturing to the dark circles under her eyes. "You'll need some if you're running tomorrow."

She nodded as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her as she made her way down the stairs.

…

That night would be one of the most traumatising nights she had gone through. It was on par with her night stuck inside the Maze. Everyone had been crowded in the rooms in the Homestead, waiting for the Grievers to attack once again. But this time, the only person she recognised in the room she was placed in was Hawk, the others had been placed in different rooms.

Everyone was silent as they heard the mechanical sounds from the Grievers as they drew closer. Hawk and Leo stayed close to each other, both scared out of their minds. But Hawk had a plan that he wouldn't tell anyone about. He knew what he was going to do.

Suddenly, the window exploded as one of its arms reached into the room, sending glass flying through the air and stabbing some people's arms and legs. As she was the only one in the room who was on the Council, she quickly took charge and motioned for everyone to step backwards and huddle against the back corner away from the window while she remained in front of them.

The arm continued to move around the room, trying to find something to grab onto. It searched in silence for a minute before someone broke the silence.

"It will never end," Hawk whispered into her ear as he pushed to the front. Her eyes widened as she turned her head to face him. "Only one a night. The Griever's gonna keep searching until it finds something."

"Don't you dare think of it Hawk," she whispered, her teeth gritting against each other. "Stay back."

He gave her a sad smile before he kissed her on the cheek. "I'm glad I met you Leo, but this needs to be done," he whispered, right before he ran and jumped out of the clump and over to the door.

"Hey Griever! Come and catch me you metal shank!" he screamed as he ran out of the room, watching as the Griever's arm retracted from the window as it followed him.

"No!" she screamed as she ran out of the room, sprinting after him. As she stepped out into the Glade, she saw the Griever grab hold of him, but he didn't protest or scream. "No!" she screamed as she ran again, chasing after the Griever that had him their arms.

She felt herself being pushed down to the ground as arms prevented her from moving. She screamed and cried as she tried to fight the person off to go and save her friend, but their grip wouldn't soften.

"I'm not losing you," Newt yelled at her as he kept her locked in his embrace. She continued to scream as the tears fell from her face as she watched the Griever's disappear into the dark Maze, carrying off Hawk.

Newt held her to his chest as she continued to cry, hitting his chest as she let out all of her remorse, anger, and desperation onto him, but he didn't mind one bit. "Why?! You should have let me go! We could have…we could have…"

"I know, I know," he whispered into her ear as he rocked her back and forth as her cries filled the air, the Gladers watching in the background as all of them felt remorse for her.

Day Seventy-Four – Part One – The "Ending" – The "Glade"

Nothing had changed. She had spent most of it moping about the loss of her friend, even when she was running inside the Maze during the last day. Newt had tried as much as he could to cheer her up, and sometimes it did work. And other times she just needed to be alone, which was spent inside the Maze. It also didn't help that Zart had been the last person to be taken by the Grievers, someone else she had gotten relatively close with as he was her Keeper.

She wondered if it was really worth it for them to continue fighting against the Grievers as there was no way out, or why they bothered to run the Maze when they already knew there was no change to it. As she got herself ready to run again, she heard someone shouting her name, along with Newt's.

Knowing it must have been something more important than what she was doing, she chucked her backpack onto the ground as she ran towards the shouting voice.

And that voice belonged to Chuck.

"Chuck, what's going on?" she asked once she'd reached him. She could see that Newt was limping towards them.

"Thomas…he's…"

"Tommy's what?" Newt asked.

"He's…awake…he wants…to talk…to you…He wants to call a…Gathering."

Newt and Leo looked at each other.

"We'd better hurry," Newt said. "Those memories'll be gone soon."

She nodded as the two headed over to the Homestead, up the stairs and towards Thomas' room.

"Thomas," she said as she opened the door, Newt right behind her as they entered the room.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Tommy – you barely look sick," Newt said as he walked over to the bed.

Thomas nodded. "I feel a little queasy, but other than that, I'm fine. Thought it'd be a lot worse."

"Usually it is," Leo said.

Newt shook his head. "What you did was half brave and half bloody stupid. Seems like you're pretty good at that." He paused. "We know why you did it. What memories came back? Anything that'll help?"

"We need to have a Gathering," he said, shifting his legs. "Before I start forgetting some of this stuff."

"Yeah, Chuck told us – we'll do it. But why? What did you figure out?"

"It's a test, Newt, Leo – the whole thing is a test."

"A test?" Leo repeated.

Newt nodded. "Like an experiment."

Thomas shook his head. "No, you don't get it. They're weeding us out, seeing if we'll give up, finding the best of us. Throwing variables at us, trying to make us quit. Testing our ability to hope and fight. Sending Teresa here and shutting everything down was only the last part, one more…final analysis. Now it's time for the last time. To escape."

"What do you mean? You know a way out?"

"Yeah. Call the Gathering. Now."