Sorry for the other long wait. I took some time fixing and adding more things to my story. Chapter seven should be releasing soon. Also, this is probably the shortest chapter yet. But I promise, the next chapter will make it up.
CHAPTER SIX - Hard Consequences
The seven rushed inside the medical hut to find Bobby sitting up.
Carol and Francisco jog up next to him.
Bobby had a tired face on.
Bobby wiped his head before groaning.
Everyone was silent.
"Are you...alright?" Francisco asked slowly.
Bobby coughed before speaking.
"Uh, yeah, I think." Bobby replied.
Carol leaned down.
"Do you remember everything?" Carol asked.
Bobby slowly nodded his head.
Aazay walked closer to Bobby.
"How do you really feel?" Aazay asked.
Bobby looked at him.
"Light headed…a bit dizzy." Bobby replied.
Ronnie looked at Lincoln.
"I guess the blue liquid thing worked." Ronnie said.
Lincoln was relieved to see that Bobby wasn't crazy still, heck, everyone was relieved he was even alive.
Suddenly, a bell noise came from outside.
Lori looked outside to see Nick calling everyone for Lunch.
Lori came back inside.
"It's break time. We should get Bobby something to eat." Lori said.
Aazay looked at her before looking back at the med-jacks.
"Is he able to move?" Aazay asked.
Carol and Francisco looked at Bobby.
Aazay looked at him.
"Can you walk on your own?" Aazay asked.
Bobby coughed before standing up.
Bobby wobbled a bit before taking a deep breath out loud.
"I'm fine." Bobby said.
Everyone began exiting the medical hut.
Everyone stopped working and walked or ran to the lunch house.
Next to Bobby was Lori, Aazay and Lincoln.
The four approached an empty table.
Bobby slowly sat down.
Aazay sat to his left while Lori sat across from him.
Lincoln sat at his right.
Everyone looked over and gasped at the sight of Bobby being alive.
Aazay cleared his throat.
"I didn't wanna get my hopes up, but i'm glad you're still alive, man." Aazay said.
Bobby smiled.
"I don't even recall what happened." Bobby said.
Lincoln looked at him.
"I guess a griever got you. You went crazy and Lynn knocked you out." Lincoln said.
Bobby's eyes widened.
"Damn." Bobby said to himself.
"I'm just glad you're okay." Lori said.
Lincoln had just remembered he had never told Bobby about him being a runner.
"Oh yeah, by the way, I'm….a runner now." Lincoln said.
Bobby's eyes widened again.
"Really? Whose decision was that?" Bobby asked.
Lincoln looked at Aazay.
"It was my call. Sully and a few others were against it, they seem to have a point but Lincoln has a point as well. I just made the call I guess." Aazay explained.
Bobby nodded his head.
"Have you been in the maze?" Bobby asked.
Lincoln chuckled.
"Actually, I helped bring you back from it." Lincoln said.
Bobby was surprised.
"Yeah, he just literally ran in the maze." Lori added.
Suddenly a noise came from behind them.
Everyone sitting down looked over to see Matias banging a pot with a wooden spoon.
"Attention everyone! Nick has an announcement!" Matias shouted.
Everyone stopped talking and looked over.
Nick stood on a wooden box.
"Attention all gladers! I know some of you have been complaining about my 'boring' stew...so, to celebrate Bobby's 'return', because I had just noticed he was here...we'll be having a bacon-bite soup surprise!" Nick announced.
Some gladers clapped while others talked to their peers.
"And to start off, the first dish goes out to Bobby of course." Nick finished.
A girl with long black hair, a red jacket and a black skirt handed Nick the bowl.
Nick walked down and jogged towards Bobby.
"Here you go master!" Nick said as he laid the bowl in front of Bobby.
"Thank you." Bobby said.
"And, you get extra bacon. We had limited pigs so the slicers had a small day today. Everyone else gets like 2 sprinkles of it. It's just my amazing stew with bacon." Nick joked.
Bobby chuckled.
"Nick, I feel bad. I think it's fair that everyone gets an equal amount of food." Bobby said.
Nick shook his head.
"Nah man, just eat up, you've been through hell." Nick said.
Bobby nodded before Nick patted him on the back.
Nick turned around and walked back towards the kitchen as everyone else started getting in line.
Bobby looked at Lincoln.
Bobby looked at his bowl and pushed it towards Lincoln.
Lincoln looked and noticed this.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Lincoln asked.
Bobby smiled.
"From what I've heard, you've been through hell even more than me, and I noticed you enjoyed Nick's bacon." Bobby said.
Lincoln stuttered.
"It's alright, I'll eat your leftovers if you have any." Bobby said.
Lincoln felt bad, but he didn't want to push it.
"If you say so. Thank you." Lincoln said.
Bobby lended out his hand for a high five.
Lincoln smiled and high-fived him.
Lori and Aazay smiled at this.
Everyone began finishing their meals.
Lunch had finished. It was still the afternoon and Lincoln was helping Sam, Luan and Benny pick roots.
The sun was shining down on every glader.
"Alright, just keep pulling those green bastards." Sam joked.
Lincoln struggled to pull the roots.
"So, Lincoln, how was your first time in the maze?" Luan asked.
"Was it scary?" Benny added.
Sam and Lincoln looked at each other.
"It was, but I think it could've been worse." Lincoln said.
Sam chuckled.
"Lincoln, you killed a griever bravely, I'd say you were fearless." Sam said.
Lincoln smiled.
The four continued working on pulling roots.
"Wait…" Sam said.
Lincoln, Luan and Benny stopped.
"Lincoln, your bite! I totally forgot!" Sam said.
Lincoln looked down at his arm and rolled down his sleeve.
"It hasn't been hurting lately." Lincoln said.
Sam looked at it. So did Luan and Benny.
"I think I'll be fine." Lincoln said.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked.
Lincoln nodded his head.
Sam looked down and continued pulling roots.
Lincoln pulled a root.
Lincoln tried his best to pull it out, but to no avail.
Lincoln began sweating and breathing out loud.
Sam looked over.
"Are you alright?" Sam asked.
Lincoln nodded.
"Yeah, it's just really...hot in this shirt." Lincoln said.
Sam looked behind her towards a small shack by the kitchen.
"I'll be right back." Sam said.
Sam wiped the dirt from her hands and walked over towards the shack.
Lincoln was confused.
Benny looked at Lincoln.
"What are the secrets?" Benny asked.
Lincoln looked over at him.
"What?" Lincoln asked.
Benny smiled.
"You know...the secrets? I know higher ranked gladers get told things about the maze we don't." Benny said.
Luan glared at the maze.
"Uhh...I don't think I'm supposed to tell you." Lincoln said.
Benny nodded.
"Alright...fine.." Benny laughed.
Lincoln grinned.
Luan chuckled.
Sam jogged back over.
"Here." Sam said as she lent out a blue t-shirt to Lincoln.
Lincoln grabbed the shirt and looked at it.
"What's this?" Lincoln asked.
Sam spoke.
"It's the shirt I wore when I first got here. The box would come up with clothing every once in a while to provide it to us who have grown." Sam explained.
Lincoln took a look at the shirt.
He unfolded it and compared it to his current shirt.
"It looks like it's the same size." Sam said.
Lincoln looked around.
"Where can I put this on?" Lincoln asked.
Sam shrugged.
"Just do it here." Sam said.
Lincoln looked at her.
"Uhh...okay." Lincoln said.
Lincoln began removing his long sleeved shirt.
He then made the bottom of the t-shirt wider as he slipped it on.
"Where do I put this shirt?" Lincoln said as he held out his previous shirt.
Sam held out her hand.
Lincoln gave her the shirt.
Sam looked around.
"How about you...go and take this to Jordan. She'll find a use for these." Sam said as she held out a small crate filled with dirt and roots.
Lincoln grabbed the crate filled with dirt and roots.
"Where is she?" Lincoln asked.
Sam looked around.
"Oh, she's over there." Luan said while pointing.
Lincoln and Sam looked over to see her next to the entrance to the maze, talking to Ronnie and Mollie.
Lincoln nodded before he started walking over.
Sam, Luan and Benny went back to work.
The three girls were by the wall of carved names.
It took Lincoln a minute to walk over.
"Uh, Jordan." Lincoln said.
Jordan turned around as Mollie and Ronnie looked over.
"Sam said you might need these." Lincoln said as he lifted up the small box.
Jordan looked in the box.
"Yeah, I can use some of that. Thanks." Jordan said as she grabbed the crate and placed it down next to her.
Lincoln looked over at Ronnie.
"What are you doing?" Lincoln asked.
"I just added my name to...whatever you'd call this…" Ronnie said as she looked at the wall of carved names.
"Oh, cool." Lincoln said.
The four were awkwardly silent.
"I guess, I'll just...go now." Lincoln said slowly.
Jordan nodded.
Suddenly, a blue and white butterfly zipped past Lincoln's eyes.
Lincoln followed it with his eyes as it landed on some vines.
"I keep seeing that same butterfly." Lincoln said.
The three looked back confusingly.
"Huh?" Jordan asked.
Lincoln pointed at the blue and white butterfly.
The three looked over.
"Woah." Ronnie said.
The four got closer to it.
"It looks so...awesome." Ronnie said.
Jordan shrugged.
"I guess maybe...it likes you or something?" Jordan said.
"That's funny." Mollie asked.
Lincoln looked at her.
"What is?" Lincoln asked.
"You kind of look like it." Mollie said.
Lincoln looked at the butterfly.
Jordan and Ronnie looked at him.
"Yeah, his white hair and his blue shirt." Jordan said.
Ronnie spoke up.
"So...about that 'escape' thing you were talking about…" Ronnie said.
Lincoln looked at her.
"We don't know where it leads." Lincoln said.
Jordan spoke.
"You and Sully really went crazy today." Jordan said.
"Yeah, he says I'm a danger to the glade." Lincoln said.
Jordan rubbed her neck.
"We'll...he's got a point." Jordan said.
Lincoln was surprised to hear this.
"What?" Lincoln said.
Jordan cleared her throat before crossing her arms.
"Okay...so you obviously know how we've been doing this for years. The box always came up every month with a new greenie and supplies. None of us had ever killed a griever before...not even the oldest gladers. Yet, not even a couple days after you come, you kill a griever which causes the box to come up with a girl much earlier than it was supposed to, with a note saying she's the last one ever. If you hadn't stupidly ran into that maze in the first place, we'd still get our supplies." Jordan said.
Lincoln stood silent awkwardly.
"But…" Jordan said. "You also have a point. You saved Bobby's life, you came back with something we never saw before, you potentially found the escape and you stood up to that prick."
Lincoln cracked a small grin.
"Thanks." Lincoln said.
Jordan nodded but kept a serious face.
Lincoln nodded slowly and began walking back.
The sky was getting darker
In the corner of Lincoln's eye, he spotted a figure jogging towards him.
Lincoln looked over.
It was Lynn.
"Hey, greenie." Lynn said as she got to him.
"Hey, Lynn, uh...what's up?" Lincoln asked.
"I called a meeting at the map room. Came to get you." Lynn said.
Lincoln nodded.
"Oh, okay." Lincoln said.
"Alright, let's go." Lynn said as she began jogging towards the forest.
Lincoln followed her.
The two arrived at the map room.
The sky was getting a tad bit darker.
Crickets began making their noises and fireflies began shining.
Lynn and Lincoln entered the map room.
Inside the map room were Luna, Luke, Aazay, Nick, Lori and Sully.
Lincoln instantly looked at Sully.
Sully stood silent as he crossed his arms.
A single lantern lit up the room.
Lynn closed the door behind them.
"Alright, I called you all here to discuss about the maze." Lynn said.
Lynn reached into her backpack and grabbed the cylindrical object.
"First things first. I got a name for this thing." Lynn said as she held it out.
"How about...metal thing." Luke joked.
Lynn shook her head.
"We'll call it 'The Key'." Lynn said. "Secondly…"
Over by the glade, Chandler, Kaitlin, Luan and Benny were working in the gardens.
The sky was getting closer to night.
Everyone was finishing up their work for the day.
The builders were cleaning up their materials.
The slicers were cleaning their materials.
The gardeners were tending.
Chandler scratched his neck as he looked up towards the doors.
Chandler was confused.
The doors were still open.
Chandler thought to himself. How could that be possible? It was almost night and the doors should've been closed by now.
Chandler got butterflies in his stomach as he looked over at Kaitlin, who was tying roots around the wood.
"Hey...Kaitlin." Chandler said.
Kaitlin sighed and looked over at Chandler.
"Yeah?" Kaitlin asked.
Chandler pointed at the doors.
"Aren't the doors supposed to be closed by now?" Chandler asked.
Kaitlin looked over at the doors.
Her face had a confused look on them.
Kaitlin didn't say a word as she quickly got up and walked over towards a group of gladers.
Chandler, Luan and Benny were silent as they looked at the doors and at Kaitlin.
Kaitlin reached the group of gladers, which consisted of Javier, Jesse and Mickey.
"Hey, Javier." Kaitlin said as she jogged up to him.
Javier uncrossed his arms and looked at Kaitlin.
"Yeah?" Javier said.
"The doors are still fucking open." Kaitlin yelled.
Some gladers looked over.
"What?" A glader asked.
Javier put on a concerned face as he looked over.
Jesse and Mickey also looked over.
"The fuck…" Javier said.
Javier turned towards Kaitlin.
"Where are the keepers?" Javier asked.
"I think most of them are in the map room." Kaitlin responded.
Javier stood silent for a couple seconds as he turned towards Jesse and Mickey.
"Jesse, go check it out. Mickey, get the keepers." Javier said.
Jesse nodded as he began jogging over towards the doors.
Mickey turned around and sprinted towards the forest.
Chandler, Luan and Benny walked up towards them.
"Wait, what's happening?" Chandler asked.
Kaitlin looked at him.
"I don't know…" Kaitlin said as she began sprinting over towards the doors as well.
Tal approached Javier.
"The doors aren't closing?" Tal asked.
Javier shook his head.
"Get Ollie and Noah and get some torches ready." Javier ordered.
Tal nodded and began running.
Javier began jogging over towards the doors.
The voices of concerned gladers filled the glade.
The gladers inside the map room had no idea what was happening outside.
"I think it's a reckless plan." Sully said.
Luke hovered over the replica of the maze.
"It's our only choice." Luke said.
"Yeah, but we have to be sure." Luna said.
"We should tell Bobby." Lori said.
Suddenly, fast footsteps came outside the map room.
Mickey opened the door and stopped running. Catching his breath.
"Mickey? What are you doing here?" Aazay asked.
Mickey took a few more breaths before speaking.
"You guys need to get out here now!" Mickey said as he turned around and began running back towards the glade.
The members inside the map room looked at each other concerned.
They then began exiting the map room and jogging over.
Lincoln was nervous. What could be happening?