Antoinette was surprised when Jeff came out of the hut with Minho, but he insisted he wanted to be at the meeting. As a precaution, he had tied down Alby's extremities. Upon arriving at the location, the Council Hall was loud with voices talking over each other. All the Keepers, plus Newt, stood at the front. Thomas, as a person of interest, was off to the side of the front, sitting on a crate. Gally started the meeting, getting attention with his deep voice.
"Things are changing," he started," There's no denying that. First, Ben gets stung in broad daylight. And then Alby. And now our Greenie, here, has taken it upon himself to go into the maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here."
"Yeah, but he saved Alby's life," Frypan contested.
Gally made a face of disbelief.
"Did he?"
Newt and Antoinette exchanged a look from across the front where she stood on Gally's other side.
"For three years, we have coexisted with these things. And now, you've killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us."
Rubbing her head, Antoinette looked around at the Keepers. All wore a complicated face. To her, Gally was starting to sound crazy.
"What do you suggest we do?" Newt asked him.
"He has to be punished."
The Gladers erupted in protests, saying how he had killed a Griever, which was a huge feat. Newt kept going calmly.
"Minho. You were there with him. What do you think?"
Everyone quieted down and looked over at the Keeper of the Runners. He sighed.
"I think, in all the time we've been here, no one's ever killed a Griever before. When I turned tail and ran, this dumb shank stayed behind to help Alby. Look, I don't know if he's brave or stupid. But whatever it is, we need more of it. I say we make him a runner."
The chatter picked up again at that moment.
"A runner? What?" Frypan exclaimed," Minho, let's not jump the gun, here."
Antoinette could help but smirk as Newt smiled at the suggestion. Chuck started chanting "Thomas!" all on his own. Gally didn't take to the idea well at all.
"If you want to throw the newbie a parade, that's fine. Go ahead," he said angrily," But if there is one thing that I know about the maze, it is that you do not…"
His speech was cut off by a loud rumbling the loud horns blaring from the box. Newt was the first to take off outside, with Gally and Antoinette quickly following. Behind them came everyone else. Gally and Newt opened the box and Newt jumped in.
"Newt, what do you see?" Frypan asked, as everyone crowded around.
"It's a girl."
He said this looking directly at Antoinette, whose eyebrows shot up into her hairline. The new girl in the box, unmoving.
"I think she's dead," Newt told them.
"What's in her hand?" Gally asked, noticing a white paper lying there.
Newt took it carefully and unfolded it.
"'She's the last one EVER'," he read," What the hell does that mean?"
The girl suddenly awoke with a gasp making Newt lunge back and those hovering around to jump.
"Thomas…" she gasped before passing out again.
Everyone turned to look at the male under scrutiny. Thomas looked around at everyone, unsure.
"Do you still think I'm overreacting?" Gally asked.
Antoinette jumped into the box.
"Are you just going to leave her here?" she asked.
Newt shook his head.
"No, we're not. Hopefully she'll know more when she wakes up," he responded," Annie and I will hand her up. Clint and Jeff, get her to the hut. Once she is there, everyone back to your posts for now. We'll pick up our discussion when we have things more sorted out."
After doing as he instructed, Antoinette and Jeff examined the girl at the Med-jack hut. They were still in the process when Newt came in with Minho and Thomas in tow.
"Jeff, what's going on?" Newt asked," What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?"
"Hey man, I got my job the same way you did," he reminded him.
Thomas stared intently at the girl as Newt glanced over at Antoinette.
"How about you?"
She shrugged at her significant other.
"Unconscious due to temporary coma? Who knows? She has to wake up eventually, we just can't gauge when or force her to wake up. Jeff and Clint will be looking after things here, so you'll know something when they do."
Newt's face was annoyed, but he said nothing. He noticed Thomas's unwavering gaze.
"Do you recognize her?" he asked.
"No," was Thomas's immediate response.
"Really? Because she seemed to recognize you."
Newt's suspicious tone seemed to make Thomas slightly uncomfortable.
"What about the note?" he asked, changing the subject.
"We'll worry about the note later," Newt responded.
"I think you should worry about it now."
Newt sent him a small glare.
"We've got enough to deal with at the moment."
Jeff pitched in, then.
"He's right, Newt. If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?"
Antoinette sat down at the edge of the cot with the girl and held a hand to her forehead. No fever. If anything, her forehead was cold with sweat.
"No one said that," Newt said," Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just…we'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody has gotta have some answers around her."
It was quiet until Thomas turned to walk outside.
"Okay," he said.
"Where are you going?" Newt asked.
"Back into the maze," he responded simply.
Antoinette felt a headache coming on as her, Minho, and Newt shared a look. Minho ran out after Thomas. Newt turned back to the Med-jacks.
"Well, guys, keep an eye on your…patients. Annie, with me, please."
Antoinette got up and went to the door, where Newt waited for her.
"What do you make of all this?" he asked her quietly, so Jeff and Clint couldn't hear them.
The girl glanced around the hut. It was busier than it ever usually was. She shrugged at him.
"I don't know, Newt. I'd say that every time a girl shows up something crazy happens, but her note was far more ominous than mine. I was also conscious…Something odd is happening and I think we need to prepare for it."
"How are we supposed to prepare for something when we don't know what is coming? And like I said, we can't just jump to conclusions."
Antoinette reached up and put her hands on Newt's face as she leaned up and kissed him.
"We'll figure it out. You're not alone, okay?"
Newt nodded. With a sigh, he leaned his head toward the door.
"I'm gonna walk around and check on the guys. Do me a favor? Check on Gally. You have a better chance of calming him down."
Antoinette raised her eyebrows at him.
"Yeah, right. The guy has a stick up his has more than usual."
"I'm just asking you to try," Newt replied, holding up his hands.
They moved outside the hut to see Gally talking to the ex-runners. Taking a deep breath, Antoinette marched herself over to him, Newt watching her go. She reached him as he was moving away from his previous spot. She ran to catch up with his purposeful stride.
"Gally," she called out to him.
He stopped and turned.
"Something wrong? Did the girl wake up?"
"No. I-I just wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"
Gally crossed his arms in front of himself, suspicious.
"About?"
Antoinette crossed her arms to mirror him.
"I don't know. How about, we've lived in peace with the Grievers? I'm pretty sure they've been put out there like we've been put here. You think they put us in here? Come on, Gally. That's a little nutty."
The tall male narrowed his eyes at her.
"We don't know anything for sure except Thomas has brought us nothing but problem after problem."
"Ohh, so it's all his fault."
"How is this not obvious to everyone? He broke rules, killed a Griever, and now the box won't come back up ever again!"
"Who says its related?"
"Who says it isn't?"
Antoinette did her best to cool down and change tactic.
"Okay, I get what you are seeing. Really. But blaming each other when we need to stick together is a bad idea. What if it is time for us to leave here and-"
"We're safe here. Leaving is not an option."
The girl cringed. No matter what she said, she'd upset up. Either she was all for his thoughts or nothing. Sighing, she instead moved forward and hugged him. Gally's arms uncrossed, instead placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Why are you hugging me?" he asked, confused.
"Because I know you're worried for all of us. I know you just want the best for everyone, but…the best for you may not be what is best for everyone."
She looked up at him to see him trying to process through what she was saying. He sighed and let the tension leave his shoulders a bit.
"Okay, I'll try and be more…calm about things. Think them through. But I know I'm right about Thomas."
Antoinette let him go.
"And if you are, then we'll admit it. For now, let's take one thing at a time. If we overwhelm ourselves and try to fix things before we logically can, we could make things worse. Hopefully Alby will be okay and the girl will wake up. Until then, we all need to remain calm."
Gally gave her an indignant look, but began moving off. She hoped things would calm down soon or he would fly off the handle with his thoughts.
