CHAPTER 25

Complete silence filled the room, as if the world had been frozen, and every member of the Council stared at Zita. Dib sat stunned, waiting for the Runner to say she'd been kidding.

Torque finally broke the spell, standing up. "That's ridiculous!" He faced Gaz and pointed back at Zita, who had taken her seat again. "She should be kicked off the Council for saying something so stupid."

Any pity Dib had felt for Torque, however remote, completely vanished at that statement. Some Keepers seemed to actually agree with Zita's recommendation—like Spuddy, who clapped to drown out Torque, clamoring to take a vote. Others didn't. Flan shook his head adamantly, saying something that Dib couldn't quite make out. When everyone started talking at once, Dib put his head in his hands to wait it out, terrified and awed at the same time. Why had Zita said that? 'Has to be a joke,' he thought. 'Gaz said it takes forever just to become a Runner, much less the Keeper.' He looked back up, wishing he were a thousand miles away.

Finally, Gaz put her notepad down and stepped out from the semicircle, screaming at people to shut up. Dib watched on as at first no one seemed to hear or notice Gaz at all. Gradually, though, order was restored and everyone sat down.

"Shuck it," Gaz said. "I've never seen so many shanks acting like teat-suckin' babies. We may not look it, but around these parts we're adults. Act like it, or we'll disband this bloody Council and start from scratch." She walked from end to end of the curved row of sitting Keepers, looking each of them in the eye as she spoke. "Are we clear?"

Quiet had swept across the group. Dib expected more outbursts, but was surprised when everyone nodded their consent, even Torque.

"Good that." Gaz walked back to her chair and sat down, putting the pad in her lap. She scratched out a few lines on the paper, then looked up at Zita. "That's some pretty serious klunk, sister. Sorry, but you need to talk it up to move it forward."

Dib couldn't help feeling eager to hear the response. Zita looked exhausted, but she started defending her proposal. "It's sure easy for you shanks to sit here and talk about something you're stupid on. I'm the only Runner in this group, and the only other one here who's even been out in the Maze is Gaz."

Torque interjected: "Not if you count the time I—" "I don't!" Zita shouted. "And believe me, you or nobody else has the slightest clue what it's like to be out there. The only reason you were stung is because you broke the same rule you're blaming Dib for. That's called hypocrisy, you shuck-faced piece of—"

"Enough," Gaz said. "Defend your proposal and be done with it." The tension was palpable; Dib felt like the air in the room had become glass that could shatter at any second. Both Torque and Zita looked as if the taut, red skin of their faces was about to burst—but they finally broke their stare.

"Anyway, listen to me," Zita continued as she took her seat. "I've never seen anything like it. He didn't panic. He didn't whine and cry, never seemed scared. Dude, he'd been here for just a few days. Think about what we were all like in the beginning. Huddling in corners, disoriented, crying every hour, not trusting anybody, refusing to do anything. We were all like that, for weeks or months, till we had no choice but to shuck it and live."

Zita stood back up, pointed at Dib. "Just a few days after this guy shows up, he steps out in the Maze to save two shanks he hardly knows. All this klunk about him breaking a rule is just beyond stupid. He didn't get the rules yet. But plenty of people had told him what it's like in the Maze, especially at night. And he still stepped out there, just as the Door was closing, only caring that two people needed help." She took a deep breath, seeming to gain strength the more he spoke.

"But that was just the beginning. After that, he saw me give up on Letter M, leave him for dead. And I was the veteran—the one with all the experience and knowledge. So when Dib saw me give up, he shouldn't have questioned it. But he did. Think about the willpower and strength it took him to push Letter M up that wall, inch by inch. It's psycho. It's freaking crazy.

"But that wasn't it. Then came the Grievers. I told Dib we had to split up and I started the practiced evasive maneuvers, running in the patterns. Dib, when he should've been wettin' his pants, took control, defied all laws of physics and gravity to get Letter M up onto that wall, diverted the Grievers away from him, beat one off, found—"

"We get the point," Torque snapped. "Dib here is a lucky shank." Zita rounded on him. "No, you worthless shuck, you don't get it! I've been here two years, and I've never seen anything like it. For you to say anything ..."

Zita paused, rubbing her eyes, groaning in frustration. Dib realized his own mouth had dropped wide open. His emotions were scattered: appreciation for Zita standing up to everybody on his behalf, disbelief at Torque's continuous belligerence, fear of what the final decision would be.

"Torque," Zita said in a calmer voice, "you're nothing but a sissy who has never, not once, asked to be a Runner or tried out for it. You don't have the right to talk about things you don't understand. So shut your mouth."

Torque stood up again, fuming. "Say one more thing like that and I'll break your neck, right here in front of everybody." Spit flew from his mouth as he spoke.

Zita laughed, then raised the palm of her hand and shoved Torque in the face. Dib half stood as he watched the Glader crash down into his chair, tipping it over backward, cracking it in two pieces. Torque sprawled across the floor, then scrambled to stand up, struggling to get his hands and feet under him. Zita stepped closer and stomped the bottom of her foot down on Torque's back, driving his body flat to the ground.

Dib plopped back into his seat, stunned. "I swear, Torque," Zita said with a sneer, "don't ever threaten me again. Don't ever speak to me again. Ever. If you do, I'll break your shuck neck, right after I'm done with your arms and legs."

Gaz and Flan were on their feet and grabbing Zita before Dib even knew what was going on. They pulled her away from Torque, who jumped up, his face a ruddied mask of rage. But he made no move toward Zita; he just stood there with his chest out, heaving ragged breaths.

Finally Torque backed away, half stumbling toward the exit behind him. His eyes darted around the room, lit with a burning hatred. Dib had the sickening thought that Torque looked like someone about to commit murder. He backed toward the door, reached behind him to grab the handle.

"Things are different now," he said, spitting on the floor. "You shouldn't have done that, Zita. You should not have done that." His maniacal gaze shifted to Gaz. "I know you hate me, that you've always hated me. You should be Banished for your embarrassing inability to lead this group. You're shameful, and any one of you who stays here is no better. Things are going to change. This, I promise."

Dib's heart sank. As if things hadn't been awkward enough already. Torque yanked the door open and stepped out into the hall, but before anyone could react, he popped his head back in the room. "And you," he said, glaring at Dib, "the Greenbean who thinks he's friggin' God. Don't forget I've seen you before—I've been through the Changing. What these guys decide doesn't mean jack."

He paused, looking at each person in the room. When his malicious stare fell back on Dib, he had one last thing to say. "Whatever you came here for—I swear on my life I'm gonna stop it. Kill you if I have to."

Then he turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him.