Chapter 25

When I woke up the next day the runners had already gone into the maze. As I walked into the kitchen for breakfast I quickly realised that people were still worried about the sky since it still hadn't changed from the dark grey colour and it was starting to concern me too. I tried to put up a calm front as I ate with Newt and Chuck but I was sure that both of them saw right through it.

While Newt and I where still eating Chuck excused himself to go sit with Thomas and Teresa and I was learning that most of the gladers where steering clear of both of them.

Straight after breakfast Newt and I went to work at out different jobs and I was thankful nobody was getting injured like the day before, mostly because we had started running out of medical supplies because of how many boys where injured. The box was due to come up within a couple of hours so me and the other Med-Jacks weren't too worried about that but because of how scared other gladers where, everyone was being reckless with their jobs.

Alby had made sure everyone was working as soon as breakfast was over which was a good thing since nothing would have been done and nobody would get food so most of the boys had something to take their minds off of the sky.

While the other Gladers were working around the Glade, I sat with Leo in one of the rooms of the homestead just talking while Jeff and Clint where busy taking care of some other boys who had been careless.

"How long until I can get up again?" Leo asked me

"How do you feel?" I asked instead and he shrugged his shoulders "Fine, I think I can walk and stuff but I'm guessing I wont be able to lift the wood for the builders any time soon." he said

"I'll go check with Clint." I said and stood from my chair next to Leo's bed. I walked out of his room and into the hall where I could hear some faint murmuring from another room but chose to ignore it and continue on my search for Clint.

I found him bandaging some kids head up and handing him an icepack as he told the kid instructions, "-no longer than a couple hours before it melts so get Frypan to put it in his freezer until its back to normal. Come back if you feel dizzy or anything and don't work too hard today." he finished

The boy nodded and walked out of the room with the icepack on his head as he passed me and gave me a small smile.

"Leo wants to know if he can leave yet." I said from the doorway

"Yeah just tell him to help Frypan in the kitchen instead of going back to the builders for a while." He said

I nodded and left to give Leo the all clear but as I walked past the door where the mumbling was still coming from, my curiosity got the best of me and I put my ear to the door to try to listen to the quiet conversation.

"-shouldn't be put under to much stress anyway and I just got her back! You'll just have to wait." One voice said

"Just think about it Newt. We need her answers." The second voice said

I stood, confused as to who Newt was talking to and about who. I could tell it was between me and Teresa since he had said 'her' but I didn't know why he would be talking about either of us.

Instead of barging in and demanding answers like I wanted to, I remained on the other side of the door with my ear pressed against it as I listened.

There was no more mumbling for while until the sound of quick footsteps filled the silence. Before I had time to remove my ear from the door or flee the seen, the door was yanked open by none other than Newt.

"And what do you think your doing?" He asked with a forced playful smile that didn't reach his eyes.

I ignored it and forced a smile of my own on my face to hide my curiosity because of his private conversation with the other person.

"Nothing bad. I was just curios." I said

The other person in the room let out a chuckle before they actually showed themselves by opening the door wider and revealing who they were.

"What is that saying? Curiosity killed the cat?" Alby said as he too gave me a smile but his wasn't half as forced as Newts.

"Ah but satisfaction brought it back." I said as I smiled at the both of them despite all of the questions that were burning inside of me to be answered.

"How much did this cat here then?" Newt asked me as he leaned against the door frame

"Enough to know that I want answers.'' I said

Newt nodded once and sighed before grabbing my hand and walking me down corridors and stairs until we were out into the open Glade where every boy was working hard. Leo temporarily slipping my mind because of all of the questions that I wanted to be answered.

"How much did you actually hear Sky?" Newt asked and he was now completely serious with none of the previous joking from before in his tone.

"I heard you talking about someone being under to much stress and Alby wanted answers from a girl. I'm not an idiot I know it was either me or Teresa but I can't tell which one of us you are talking about." I said

"It was you. Alby wants to know if you got any memories from the Changing like he did but I think it's too soon to ask you about it." He explained

"Oh, well that's not as bad as I thought it would be but I can't tell you anything though. I didn't get any memories during the Changing like the others and I don't know why before you ask." I said and effectively cut off any questions Newt was going to interrupt me with.

"Hm, that's weird considering you have been getting memories since the first day you got here. Do you want me to talk to Alby about it?" He asked

"I don't know, I mean what if he gets angry because I knew more and didn't say anything? And what if he puts me in the slammer again? And what if he thinks I'm a traitor and banishes me! I won't be able to go back into the maze Newt! It was terrifying and I wouldn't survive again!" I was almost shouting as I started panicking about the possibilities.

"Sky, Sky relax! It's okay I won't let anybody take you away again." Newt reassured me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders so I was crushed into his chest.

"I'm never letting go of you." He whispered into my hair

"Good 'cos I wouldn't let you." I mumbled as I wrapped my arms around his waist and brought myself closer to him.

For the rest of the day I spent my time with Leo in the kitchen helping out Frypan because Clint and Jeff didn't need my help for the afternoon and I still wanted to take my mind off of the sky and the changes that have been happening to the Glade.

Later on, when Minho and Thomas returned from the Maze they dragged Newt to the gathering room with Alby for something really important and for once I didn't question it.

Everyone stormed into the kitchen almost immediately after the runners returned so they could all be fed so I stayed behind and handed out the meals to everyone with Frypan.

After dinner people started getting concerned because the doors hasn't started closing but Alby convinced everyone to stay calm and pack up for the day. When night fell (not literally because the sky stayed the same) people started getting more and more worried so Alby and Newt got the builders to start boarding up every opening in the walls because of the Grievers that could get into the Glade.

I was in the forest collecting more fallen tree branches and logs for the builders when I heard twigs snapping and leaves rustling on the ground behind me. I tried to ignore it but I couldn't so I turned around and did something that I could oddly remember every girl doing in a scary movie before she is murdered, that was one of the weirder memories I could remember.

"Who's there? Hello? Minho if you're trying to prank me again it isn't working!" I shouted through the trees

Nobody answered and I didn't hear any more rustling or snapping of twigs so I assumed that it was just my imagination. When I thought I had collected enough logs and branches I started making my way back to the Glade and walked as fast as I could with the logs weighing me down because I knew how urgently the builders needed the supplies.

I had gotten close to the tree lining when a hand grabbed my shoulder and twisted me around. Because of the force the person had used as they twisted my body around, I dropped all of the logs and other things I had collected so I was left weaponless against whoever I was against.

"They're coming. They'll take one a night until there's no one left and we're all dead. You need to hide, go into the trees they might not find you." Gally was whispering furiously as he stared into my eyes and pushed me against a tree.

"Gally how did you escape the slammer and what do you mean 'they're coming'? You're not making any sense!"

"We don't have time for that now! You need to hide. You need to be safe!" He was clutching my biceps painfully tight now.

Before I could do anything to get him off of me, Gally pushed our lips together in a long kiss that I didn't respond to, too shocked to do anything but stand their like a statue.

I pushed him off me after I got over the initial shock and he stumbled backwards before he started hissing at me to hide.

"I've got to help the others. You should go back to the slammer before they find out your missing." I said as I bent down to collect the discarded logs again.

"You need to be safe!" He was in front of me again and I could feel his breath on my face because of the close proximity between us.

"I need to make sure the others are okay!" I argued then barged past him to deliver the supplies.

Gally didn't try to follow me when I got into the open area of the Glade and I was thankful he was smart enough to know the consequences being caught would mean for him so I could continue doing jobs for the Glade which was slowly falling in a downwards spiral of panic.

It was already clear that the walls the builders had made to stop the grievers getting into the Glade weren't going to work so Alby had started making everyone flee into the homestead where we would hopefully be safer until the Grievers left, if they did enter the Glade which was a high possibility if their screeching cries that filled every possible silence was any constellation.

I was one of the last people to enter the homestead and went straight to mine and Newts room and was surprised to see Thomas, Minho, Chuck and Alby in there as well as Teresa who was cowering in a corner, she was not helping me with the whole girls are as tough as boys thing I had been trying to pull off ever since I entered the Glade.

"Nobody can leave this building until they leave. Everyone has been warned to sit tight and stay silent till then." Alby told me as soon as I stepped through the door.

I nodded and walked over to the bed where Newt was sitting with his elbows rested on his knees and his head hanging low. I didn't say anything as everyone sat in silence, scared that by talking and breaking the silence it would be like screaming at the grievers where we were and where to find us so they could slaughter us all.

The entire homestead was silent a part from the quiet sniffles coming from Teresa who was still curled in a ball in the silence as she cried.

That silence was broken by the battle cries of grievers as the first monsters started emerging from every entry. The windows and doors had been bordered up but I was sure everybody could tell it wouldn't do much against the ruthless mechanical monsters.

I curled closer to Newt as the screeching grew closer and closer and louder as more of them joined the flock. I could feel how tense Newt was as he pulled me closer to him and kept his arms around me to hold me to him.

I could hear them outside of the homestead. Their mechanic arms scraping against the flimsy wood that held the building together. I was sure everybody held their breath as the grievers outside started climbing on the walls.

I closed my eyes and tried blocking out the sounds that had my nerves on edge. More grievers joined the first in climbing up the walls and they didn't stop screaming as they pierced through the walls with their large metal claws.

A single metal spike poked through a wall only inches away from me and Newt and I clutched onto him tightly as he did to me. We were both completely tense as the spike retracted and was stabbed somewhere else.

I knew people were going to die. The grievers where programmed to kill. Members of the Glade would loose their lives to the horrific beasts.

With those thoughts in mind I said what I knew I had felt for a long time now. I turned to Newt and pushed his head to look at me so our eyes where level. He was breathing quickly and so was I.

"I love you." I whispered as I stared at his brown eyes, eyes that I had grown to love.

"Forever." He whispered then lowered his head so our lips barely brushed against each other. A whisper of a kiss but I would always remember it.