25

They had been waiting for what felt like hours.

Their eyes were peeled towards the Maze doors, while silence swept over them like a blanket. No one said a word, for they were much too focused on trying to hear something; anything going on in the Maze. However, there was no such luck and that irked Elle a lot.

Elle stood at the front of the crowd, right directly facing the Maze. Newt stood next to her, his posture rigid and his arms folded against his chest. He hadn't said a word to her the whole time. Elle understood completely. The anticipation was killing her. She wanted to know what was going on, if they had found anything and most importantly, if anyone was hurt.

Elle rocked on her heels as her hands were intertwined at her waist. She was antsy.

Wanting to hear better, Elle settled for leaning forward a bit, straining her ears. Nonetheless, Newt reacted quicker than Elle had time to blink. In an instant he had reached out and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her back. Soon enough she is pinned against his side, his hand on her hip to keep her still; unable to move.

Elle peered up at him threw her lashes.

"Newt, come on!" She whined. "I just trying to hear better. Honest. You didn't actually think I'd run into the Maze again, after everything that's happened? No way."

"That may be true, but it's not a risk I'm willin' to take, love."

Elle didn't bother to fight, for she knew it was an argument she wasn't going to win. Instead she gave in and leaned into Newt, her head resting on his chest. Her eyes remained glued to the Maze.

"By all means, Elle," Gally's annoying voice rang out. "Take off into the Maze. I won't stop ya."

Elle felt Newt's arm tighten around her. Elle didn't bother sparing Gally a glance.

"Sure. Why don't you lead the way?" Elle bit out. "Please. I insist."

The Gladers snickered behind her, prompting a smirk to decorate Elle's face. If only they realized she had actually reframed from saying what she really wanted too. She didn't want to start anything, at least not at this moment.

Elle glanced at Gally to see him flush with embarrassment. She felt no sympathy. None.

Silence fell over them once again. As she directed all her attention to the Maze again, she suddenly felt the ground shake beneath her shoes, as did the walls surrounding them. Elle's head shot up from Newt's chest. A loud rumble rang out, piercing the air.

Elle stiffened immediately. She began to think the worst. Thought after thought flooded her mind.

What if they were hurt?

Why the hell is the Maze making that noise?

Why aren't Thomas and Minho back yet?

Then it happened. Instant relief crashed over her as she witnessed Minho and Thomas turn the corner, coming into view and they both looked well; unharmed. Elle let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

"Now, what in the hell is goin' on out there?" Newt questioned.

Thomas and Minho continued walking, leaving everyone to catch up. Elle wandered between Minho and Newt, wanting to hear absolutely everything.

"What did you do now, Thomas?" Gally spoke out.

"We found a new passage." Thomas explained, sounding out of breath. "We think it could be a way out."

"Really?" Newt took the word right from Elle's mouth.

"It's true." Minho chimed in. "We opened a door, something I've never seen before. It must be where the Grievers go during the day."

"Wait, whoa, whoa," Chuck sounded from behind them, his voice growing louder. "Wait, are you saying you found the Grievers home and you want us to go in?"

"Their way in could be our way out, Chuck." Thomas told him.

"Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side." Gally countered. "The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he's done, as usual."

Elle whirled around, coming face-to-face with Gally. She clenched her fist, ready to swing and knock this Slinthead to the ground. Nothing would bring her more joy. Gally stopped once their chests met. He peered down at her, a smirk plastered across his face.

Not even a second later Elle felt an arm wrap around her waist, lifting her up off her feet. Soon she spun around and was no longer facing Gally, but rather Newt. He didn't look all too impressed, which seemed to be a common occurrence with her anymore. The arm that held her waist disappeared as her feet touched the ground.

"Yeah, well at least I did something, Gally." Thomas retorted. "I mean, what have you done, huh? Aside from hide behind these walls all the time."

"Let me tell you something, Greenie." Elle turned around and saw Gally close in on Thomas. "You've been here three days, alright? I've been here three years-"

"Yeah, you've been here three years and you're still here, Gally!" Thomas retorted. "Alright, so what does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently!"

"Maybe you should be in charge, Thomas." Gally spat. "What do you think about that? Maybe you should be in charge."

Elle had heard enough. She couldn't stand back and let him speak to Thomas like that. No. Elle stepped past Thomas and wedged herself between the two of them. Her focus on Gally.

"Maybe you should learn when you shut that mouth of yours, Gally." Elle bit out. "Have you ever thought about that?"

"What did you just say to me?" Gally hissed.

"You heard me." Elle stood on her tiptoes to gain more height. She pointed a finger and poked it at his chest with each word. "I swear all you've done is complain about Thomas, when you've done nothing in comparison to him. He may or may not of found a way out of here. Like Thomas said, what have you done? I am so sick of your shit."

"And what about you?" Gally snatched her wrist, his voice deadly. "What have you done? I mean, aside from sleep with whoever's in command. You worked your way up in the line, Slinthead. I can only imagine that if Alby were still here, he would have been your next-"

Gally was cut off when a fist swung out, hitting him square in the jaw. Gally fell back from the impact, right on his ass. Elle glanced over to see Newt standing next to her and he was downright livid. Elle gulped when seeing the look on his face. It was enough to make someone klunk their pants. Not a word was said from the Gladers, as everyone is beyond stunned at the fact Newt punched someone.

"Get him out of my sight." Newt spat, barely containing his anger.

Seconds later two Gladers stepped up and grabbed Gally, lifting him on his feet. Gally kept his gaze averted to the ground as he got carried away.

Elle turned to face Newt. She watched as Minho reached a hand up and grasped his shoulder in a comforting touch, only Newt shook it off. Elle decided to give it a try. She reached forth and wrapped her arms around Newt's neck, pulling him close. He didn't respond in the way she had expected. Instead he lifted a hand and placed it behind her neck, guiding her ear to his lips.

"You just never listen, do you?" He fumed. "Learn to stay out of other people's problems. If it doesn't bloody concern you, then walk away. I'm gettin' sick of this, Elle. Real sick of this."

And just like that he pulled away, leaving Elle standing there feeling as though he had just slapped her across the face. Lifting her hand, Elle ran her fingers through her hair. She didn't even know what to think regarding what Newt had said. Better yet, she didn't know how to feel.

Elle watched as he entered the Homestead. Minho, Thomas, Chuck and others followed. She assumed they wanted to make sure he was alright. She would have done it herself, but it didn't seem like he wanted her anywhere near him.

"This is all your fucking fault!" Alex's voice emerged from behind her. "You're the reason Gally got hurt. All you do is cause problems. You stupid Slinthead!"

Elle spun on her heel and got right in his face. This fight concerned her. This was about her.

"I've had one hell of a day, Alex." Elle began, her voice eerily calm. "You just need to back up right now. I'm not in the mood for this; for any of this. And what have I ever done to you? I've been nothing but nice to you, so there's no reason for you to be treating me this way."

"Always playing the victim card, ya?"

That it was. Something snapped inside of her and Elle had had enough. She was done.

Elle shoved Alex back, catching him off guard. He stumbled a bit, but managed to regain his footing. She was just about to take a step forward him when she felt something—or rather someone—grab a chunk of her hair and yanked. Elle cried out in pain as her head was forced back and where her hair was being pulled hurt like hell. Pain flared in her scalp, taking her breath away.

Tears prickled her eyes and the pain worsened.

"Get the hell off of her!" A familiar voice surfaced.

Soon enough the person holding her hair was gone. Elle fell to her knees, her hands finding their way in her hair to cover the tender part of her scalp. She winced as her fingers brushed against it.

In one swift moment Elle found herself being hoisted up in the air. The scream died in her throat as she was thrown over a shoulder and she would soon discover it was Alex. His shoulder was digging painfully into her stomach. Without hesitation Elle began pounding her fists against their back, while kicking her feet.

"Let me go!" Elle demanded.

Alex merely snickered at her poor attempt to escape.

Elle peered up, hoping to gain someone's attention to help her. But as she took in her fellow Gladers, she realized that they were the boys she really hadn't talked with. She hadn't had the chance. They simply stared right back her, their face void of emotion. Elle's gaze flickered passed them and onto Teresa, who had jumped in during the whole hair pulling incident. She was dealing with that Glader, but she didn't appear to be winning.

"Alex!"

Alex whirled around in the direction of the voice. Elle knew who it was without even looking. Gally.

"Take her to the Pit." He instructed, leaving no room for argument.

"How'd you get out?"

"What did I just say?" Gally countered. "Get her to the Pit. Teresa, too."

And that's where they headed. Alex stopped briefly to talk with the other Glader who Teresa had been facing up against. He explained what Gally had told him and the Glader followed without giving it a second thought. These idiots had their head shoved so far up Gally ass, to the point it was ridiculous. If Gally asked them to jump off a cliff, they probably would. If he ordered them to run through the Maze at night, they would. No doubt.

Elle witnessed the Glader pick Teresa up and begin carrying her in similar fashion to how Alex had. Elle settled for glaring at the boy the entire time, her glare never wavering. She wanted him to know just how much she hated him.

Once they arrived, the doors were opened. Elle expected Alex to let her climb down herself, but that was not in the case. Instead he tossed her down the Box, leaving Elle to land in heap on the floor. She cried out in pain as she landed on her arm. Alex merely laughed at her expense.

Elle, using her good arm, lifted herself up onto her knees and crawled to the side of the Box. She leaned her back against the cage, while cradling her arm against her chest it painfully ached from the fall. She couldn't even move it; let alone touch it.

Teresa was next and just like her, she was thrown in. The Box shook from her landing. Teresa managed to catch her fall, somehow. She quickly scrambled to her feet and moved to sit beside Elle. Neither said a word, as they were too worried that Alex would retaliate.

Alex and the other Glader came in next. They closed the gates behind them. Not a word is said among them and Elle definitely prefers it that way. As she sat here, Elle started to think of Newt. He would find her, she all the faith in the world with him. He'd end up forming a search and it wouldn't take long to come across them in the Box. That would almost be a given.

Elle thoughts were soon interrupted when she heard commotion above them. Elle looked up, wondering what the hell was going on. She could hear the Gladers and their panicked voices. As she tried to make sense of this, all of a sudden a loud, ear piercing noise surfaced. Elle cried out as the noise hurt her ears. It happened three times in total.

What the hell was that?

Newt! What about Newt?!

Elle sprang to her feet, wanting to get out of this damn thing and check on her boyfriend. Only Alex and the Glader had other plans. Elle took one step before a pair of hands found her waist and pulled her down. She screamed out. One hand released her waist and covered her mouth, while the other remained around her waist, pinning her against the chest of the Glader. She sat between his legs, unable to move. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as she thought of Newt.

She had just wanted to see if he was okay. Was that too much to ask?

Elle hated having these disgusting, grimy Glader hands all over her. It made her want to vomit. It was nothing like Newt's touch. As a matter of fact, she couldn't even compare it.

"Elle!" A distant voice cried out, panic laced their tone. "Elle! Where in the bloody hell are you, love?"

Elle stiffened. Newt. He was looking for her. However, what mattered most was that he alright.

"Newt!" Teresa called out, desperation filling her tone. "Newt! We're over here!"

In one swift moment Alex leaned forward and slapped her right across the face. Teresa's head snapped to the one side from the impact of the hit. Even with the dim lighting Elle could see the red mark on her cheek. When Thomas sees that, he's going to lose it.

Alex sat back down. He then reached behind the Glader and retrieved something. As Elle tried to make sense of what exactly it was, suddenly she felt the tip of it press against her throat. Elle froze, gripping with fear. She could see that it was a machete.

Oh god.

"This can go one of two ways." Alex explained, looking to Teresa. "Either you keep that shucking months of yours shut and Elle lives, or you kept screaming and I slit her throat. Your choice."

Teresa curled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. She cast her gaze to the ground, making her decision without saying a word. Elle didn't have to look at Alex to know he was grinning.

Even with her life being threatened, only one thought crossed her mind.

She just hoped Newt was okay.

And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she heard someone scream from above. It was one word could strike the fear in anyone; no matter how tough they claimed to be.

"Grievers!"

DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUNNNNN! The Grievers have arrived. So Alex and the other Glader have kidnapped Elle and Teresa. Such assholes, eh? So I realize that my chapters are usually a bit longer, but I tried to stretch this one out as much as I could, but it wasn't working. Hopefully the next one will be longer.

On another note, this book is almost over. There's not too many chapters left.

I will be writing a sequel, just to let you guys know :)

Anyways, let me know what you think!

Thanks for the reviews. They always make me smile and right now I could use it. College is stressing the crap out of me, to be honest. I just have to keep reminding myself I just have one more year left. That is it.

Once again, you guys are awesome! Xoxo