Hello fellow Gladers, its been an entire month since I last updated. Whoah! Anyways, I haven't got any further with the next book, I've had exams and essays to write. But, I'd thought I'd update now because why not.

Hope you enjoy it.

Comments greatly appreciated.

See ya next time,

queenofthetear x

Chapter Thiry-Five

I never tell anyone exactly how clever I am. They would be too scared. ~ Eoin Colfer

Take the next corner.

Run.

Don't stop.

Keep running.

Next corner.

Don't look behind.

Run.

Faster.

Don't stare into the shadows.

Next corner.

Run straight.

Jump.

Run.

Hide.

Stop.

Don't look in the shadows.

Crouch.

Don't look.

No sound.

Keep running.

Hide.

It's coming.

Coming.

Coming for us all.

Always there.

Never not there.

Don't stop running.

Don't stop hiding.

Don't look into the shadows.

I awoke to a weak, lifeless light radiating through the window above my head. My first thought was the feeling that I must have gotten up earlier than usual, that dawn was still an hour away. But, then, I heard the shouts.

"What the?" I sat up from my bed and gazed out of the window. A few of the Gladers pointed towards the sky, questioning the looks across their face. I followed what they were seeing and the cause of the commotion. The sky was a dull slab of grey – not the natural pale light that greeted me every morning. There was no blue, no black, no stars, no artists and his splash of paint. Every inch of that sky was slate grey. Colourless and dead.

To see if I could gain any clearer answers, I decided to join the rest downstairs and ask questions. I caught Clint as he re-entered the Homestead, a bowl of soup in his hands. We both moved out of the doorway, letting others past us.

"The sky, what's wrong with it?" I inquired, pointing towards the broken sky.

"Dunno, woke up and it was broken," he shrugged, moved past me and carried on up the stairs.

Outside, I expected the sky to change back to its normal state. But it was all grey, like a ceiling. Stepping out of the Homestead I noticed the sun no longer producing a brightness, and with that I found most of the Gladers standing near the entrance to the Box, pointing at the dead sky, everyone talking at once.

If this was later than I thought, then breakfast should've been already served, people working round the Glade. But there was something about the largest object in the solar system vanishing that tended to disrupt normal schedules.

I found Thomas silently watching the commotion unravel, his face as calm as I see now every day. Smug, in fact, he looked smug. Mocking the ones that didn't understand. Obviously, the sun couldn't just disappeared, it was near impossible to just drop out of the sky. Yet, it seemed that exactly what happened.

"I bet the sun got bored and ran off with the moon," I said to Thomas, standing beside him. "And now it's messin' with our minds."

Thomas didn't reply to me, instead crossed his arms and carried on looking up to the sky. He pursed his lips.

"Look, I know I 'ave been ignorin' you. I wouldn't do it intentionally. It's just …" I hesitated for a second. "I've been seein' you elsewhere. I recognise you, and I don't know if it's good or bad."

"I thought that," he finally said. "Everyone seems to recognise me in some way."

"And, what I saw (what you can't remember) I don't really think I can judge a person on that, that's in the past. Thomas, I'm sorry for being harsh and not talkin', it's not in my nature to hold a grudge for this long."

"You have with Gally," he joked.

"That's because he called me names and taunted me. He won't be forgiven lightly, but eventually he will." I said, as I stared up to the sky. "But, that's him. I'm talking about you, stop changin' the subject." I smacked his arm, careful not to lose my crutch from under my arm.

"Okay, keep goin'," he said, rubbing his arm from where I hit him.

"I'm just sayin' I forgive you, I no longer hold a grudge." I put my hand, coaxing him to shake. "Let's start again on better terms. Buddy."

We shook hands.

"Well then, buddy," Thomas smirked. "How do you think the sun ran off with the moon?"

I smiled. Forgiveness is the attribute that defines an aspect of a strong person. I wasn't a strong person, for there were other people I had yet to forgive. But, in time, I would consider the likeliness of a world were each person that wronged me understands that my grudges don't last long. Unless, that said person really pisses me off.

"It found the friend she needed and decided to go have adventures," I stated.

"Oh, the sun is a she now."

"Yes, of course. Or, maybe Nut has decided to take over the sky, determining it needed a change of colour," I added.

"Who's Nut?" Thomas asked. I could feel his eyes drift to look at the side of my face as I started up.

"I don't know," I answered, also confused as to why I mention such a name. "Maybe she's connect to the sky in some way."

"Yeah connected," Thomas repeated in a softer voice. "Hey, I forgot to mention, you've stopped calling me Greenie now."

"Oh, have I?" I teased. "Should I carry on doin' it?"

"No," he squealed. "I finally feel like you accept me."

"We're buddies now, I can give you nicknames," I said with a sly smile.

"You can call me Thomas, or Tom," he said. "But not Greenie or any other association with that name."

"Shank? Shuckface? Klunkface?"

"Clarke," Thomas whined. I held my hands up in defence and rolled my eyes.

We both continued to stare at the sky, watching for anything to change in our staring contest with it.

"Have you heard any more of that Teresa-girl?" I asked out of the blue.

Instead of answering, Thomas's rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. That was a yes then. "So, what did she say?" I pushed, now fully interested with girl inside his head. "Did she say, I don't know, dirty things?"

"Clarke!" He shrieked, his face in utter shock. He rubbed his chin. Utterly stunned he was.

"What? You did the same to me. Pay back's a bitch," I joked, knocking his leg with the end of my crutch. "Anyway, tell me, what she say?"

"She said," Thomas started, slowly. "That the end has been trigged for all of us, and he had a part in it."

The answer took me back and I went to ask him more. But, the conversation was cut short when Chuck found us, the bounce of joy no longer in his step and his face full of fear.

"What do you think happened?" Chuck said, a pitiful tremor in his voice, his eyes glued to the sky. "Looks like a big grey ceiling – close enough you could almost touch it."

I followed Chuck's gaze and looked up. "Yeah, makes you wonder about this place."

"Maybe something's broken. I mean, maybe it'll be back," Thomas suggested.

Chuck broke gawking at the sky and made eye contact with Thomas. "Broken? What's that supposed to mean?"

Thomas didn't reply, his eyes glazed over deep within thought. I nudged him in the ribs, trying to get his attention. "Thomas?" he gazed down at me, then it turned to Chuck.

"Yeah?"

"What'd you mean by broken?" Chuck repeated.

"Oh. I don't know. Must be things about this place we obviously don't understand. But you can't just make the sun disappear from space. Plus, there's still enough light to see by, as faint as it is. Where's that coming from?"

Chuck's eyes widened, as if the secret of life itself had been revealed to him. Thomas had a point, though. The sun was gone, but where was the light?

"Yeah, where is it coming from? What's going on, Thomas?" Chuck flustered.

I grabbed hold of his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry Chuck, almighty-Thomas here will fix the sky for you."

"Thomas!" Minho shouted, running up to us. "Quit your leisure time with C2 and let's get going. We're already late."

"Still going out there?" I asked, surprised as my counterparts beside me.

"Of course we are, shank," Minho said. "Don't you have maps to look over, and you don't you have some sloppin' to do?" He looked between us all. "If anything, gives us even more reason to get our butts out there. If the sun's really gone, won't be long before plants and animals drop dead, too. I think the desperation level just went up a notch."

"You mean we're going to stay out there all night? Explore the walls a little more closely?"

Minho shook his head. "No, not yet. Maybe soon, though." He looked up toward the sky. "Man, what a way to wake up. Come on, musketeers, you can do your thing when we're done. Scram."

We all parted in different directions, Chuck to whatever he had to do, me to the toilet and the Runners to the Kitchens (after I convinced them to stand guard while I went). Thomas had mentioned that the end had been triggered by the girl in his head. What was the Ending? Was it the sign that they said they would give, because it was quite a big sign to give for such an unimportant person like me. Either way, there wasn't much time left in this place to do the things I should be doing.