~0~0~

23

Aidan had never felt this type of pain before. Sure, he had lost a few friends along this journey, but now… Shep was gone.

Taken from him.

These past few days felt like eternity as they dragged on. Aidan barely ate or drank anything. He could tell the other campers were worried about him.

He didn't care.

He wanted Shep back.

He would do anything to have Shep back at this very moment, rambling on with him for hours.

He wanted to scream, but that would be risking the safety of the camp.

It would be risking Melvin's safety.

Aidan couldn't stomach talking to Melvin. He felt as if he was the one who took Shep away from this world.

He ignored Shep, trying instead to figure out his own feelings.

He should have just admitted to Shep that he thought he might like him.

Maybe then, Shep would still be alive.

And now, Shep was gone.

It was all Aidan's fault.

Percy seemed to relish in this fact.

He never seemed bothered by Shep, Eve and Zara's death, even though he witnessed it happening and he could have saved them. He was a capable fighter, after all.

So was Shep. Why did only Percy survive if the Craindre attacked three warriors?

Eve, Shep and Percy on their own could defeat a monster, even though Zara had a broken arm. So why couldn't they? Why was this time different?

Aidan had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

The sun was blazing down on the Camp as they walked, and most of them were covered in sweat.

Slyvien was carrying Lou, letting her try to walk on her own. Lou woke up yesterday, but she was still trying to be the one in charge now.

Griffin seemed quieter than normal, but he was still leading the group through the Maze. Ash was writing down where she went, after all she was the Map maker.

Aidan looked away from the group, looking at the ground and watching his feet move up and down as he walked.

He could hear all the footsteps. No one really wanted to talk. Which was fine, becauseAidan didn't want to talk to anyone either.

The only person he wanted to talk to was Shep.

"Aidan…" Melvin asked. Aidan turned to Melvin, who was now walking along with the group.

Melvin had insisted to try to walk as much as he could, even though Griffin kept trying to refuse.

"Aidan, are you okay?" Melvin asked.

Aidan simply nodded. It was hard talking to Melvin, since Aidan felt like Melvin knew that he killed Shep.

Melvin frowned, "It doesn't seem like it."

Aidan sighed, clearing his throat, "It's… hard."

Melvin nodded sympathetically, "Yeah… I miss him a lot. His laugh…"

Aidan chuckled softly, "His endless rants."

Melvin groaned, "I could live without the endless rants about bugs, though…"

Aidan leaned in and whispered, "Don't tell anyone, but those rants help me sleep."

Melvin beamed slightly, "Really?"

Aidan nodded, "But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it."

Melvin smiled slightly, grabbing Aidan and pulling him into a deep hug. Aidan hesitated before accepting the hug. Emotions flooding through his head as his eyes teared up.

He needed to be brave, for Melvin. Melvin needed someone strong right now. Not like Griffin, who was spending most of his time watching over Lou now.

He sniffed slightly before pulling away from Melvin.

"Hey boys, how are you two?" Lou asked. Aidan didn't know how long Lou had been there.

Lou had been trying to stand on her own two feet since her injury, but Addy was still helping her hold herself up. That stab wound really messed her up.

"I'm okay Lou." Melvin admitted, "I miss all of them."

"We'll find Simon, Beth, Corine, and Quint soon. I promise." Lou stated.

"HELLO?" Someone screamed from the Maze, making everyone else go silent. Aidan recognized the feminine voice.

Beth ran around the corner, and everyone beamed slightly as her group slowly followed her out. Aidan held out hope that Shep would be behind them, but when Quint, Simon, and Corine ran up to the group with no one behind them, Aidan slumped his shoulders.

Beth looked so relieved to see everyone else. She ran up to Griffin immediately, smiling as she hugged him.

"Thank goodness you're not dead!" Beth cried.

Griffin cleared his throat, "Ha, yeah, pretty hard to die when I'm the strongest one in the camp."

"It was so boring without you guys." Beth groaned, "No offense…"

"None taken." Simon simply said, looking at Lou, "Were you stabbed?"

Lou sheepishly laughed, "Long story."

Simon sighed as he walked over to Lou, "Come on, let me look over your stab wound."

Lou nodded, "Addy's been taking good care of it, just make sure it isn't infected or anything."

"Is everyone here?" Beth asked, "Where is Shep, Zara and Eve?"

Pink's lip quivered slightly, "They… they're dead."

"W-What?" Beth asked, "No that's not possible! Shep and Eve are like the best fighters… and Zara…" Beth looked defeated.

"Well it happened, so get over it." Percy mumbled.

"We don't need your attitude, Percy." Slyvien spat.

"We need to move on. People die, it's not that big of a deal." Percy answered.

"We can still mourn, Percy." Griffin said, "It's natural to morun."

"We've had days to 'mourn'. We need to come up with a plan, now that we are all together to get the hell out of this maze." Percy argued.

"Just shut up, Percy." Aidan snapped, "No one here likes you, in case you haven't noticed. We don't care about a plan right now, we just got the whole group back together. Let us have time to talk to each other."

"Sorry I don't do the whole 'talking' thing well." Percy spat back, "I'm not sensitive like you."

"I'm not sensitive! I lost someone I really cared about, so yeah, I'm upset. You don't even seem that bit upset about any of this!" Aidan said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry that your lover boy isn't here, but he's dead, Aidan. So get over it!" Percy said sarcastically, a sneer in his voice.

Aidan clenched his fist, but took a deep breath before he got too angry.

"That's mean, Percy!" Melvin argued.

"Oh shut up, Kid." Percy snapped back.

Aidan snapped then, taking a few steps towards Percy before swinging his fist at his face. Aidan had never punched anyone (or anything) before, but the rush felt good when his fist collided with Percy's cheek.

"Ow what the heck!" Percy yelled, holding his face. Aidan could tell Percy wasn't expecting Aidan of all people to pull a punch.

"Talk to Melvin like that again, and I'll break your nose!" Aidan yelled, fuming with rage.

"Boys, calm down." Lou stated sternly, "we've got a lot more to worry about right now."

"Don't yell too much, Lou, the wound could open up again." Simon said.

"Just step away from each other, take a breather. We'll rest for an hour, and then Griffin and I will talk about the next steps." Lou said calmly, "But stop punching each other."

"I didn't even swing at him!" Percy argued.

"Get lost, Percy." Slyvien said, crossing his arms.

Percy huffed as he walked off, around the corner of the Maze.

Aidan slumped against the wall, slight relief washing over him as he looked at his fist. He didn't even know he could punch before this.

Just another thing he was seeming to forget.

Griffin walked up to Aidan slowly, an amused look on his face. Aidan sighed slightly, dreading the lecture he was about to get.

"I get it, I shouldn't have punched Percy." Aidan mumbled.

Griffin shrugged, "I didn't know you could swing like that."

Aidan shrugged slightly, looking at the sky.

"Did Shep teach you?" Griffin asked, "Because that really was a good swing!"

"No, Shep didn't teach me… I didn't want to fight with Shep to learn how to fight… I guess I already learned how to fight in Illea."Aidan sighed, then smiled slightly, "Are you going to tell Lou that you said you loved her? Or are you going to watch her from a distance forever?"

Griffin rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Lou for a few seconds. Simon was looking at her stomach, making sure her wound didn't get infected.

Griffin sighed then turned back to Aidan with a sarcastic smirk, "I dunno, I like watching her from a distance."

Aidan grimaced, "I'm serious, Griffin. If you don't tell her you love her, You're going to end up regretting it."

"And how would you know that, Aidan? Please enlighten me!" Griffin asked, anger in his tone, "It's not like you know what it's like."

Aidan's heart hurt as Griffin said that, he looked away, "Griffin, you're so stupid."

"Wait…" Griffin paused, "You like someone?" He asked incredulously, "I had no idea! You never tell me this! Wait… I have to guess…"

Aidan shook his head and scoffed but he said nothing.

"Hmmm… is it Ash?" Griffin asked, "You two would be cute together."

"Ew! God no!" Aidan almost gagged, "No no no. I don't even want to think about that anymore!"

Griffin tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"Griffin you're literally a Moron!" Ash said, walking up to him, "I could slap you right now for even suggesting he would like me… even if he did like me, I would reject him instantly because Aidan is just so repulsive. I can't do that 'I hide my emotions because I'm so depressed' kind of person."

"Thanks for that input, Ash." Aidan muttered.

Griffin sighed, "Then… maybe Beth?"

Ash sighed, "Griffin, It's Shep. He likes Shep."

Griffin froze for a second, "OOOOOOHHH…. Yeah that makes sense."

"Liked. Past Tense." Aidan added quietly, "You can't like someone that's dead."

"Well I mean… you could, but you couldn't date a corpse…" Ash added, "That'll just be creepy on all levels."

"Ash you are literally the weirdest person to ever exist." Griffin said, "Why would you even bring up corpses?"

Ash just shrugged, "I dunno."

Griffin sighed, then looked at Aidan, "I get why you said that you regret not saying something sooner."

Aidan nodded, then looked away, "I would just like to be alone right now, please."

Griffin nodded, "Come on Ash, lets go."

They both left Aidan in his own corner, letting him sulk in his own emotions. Aidan sighed, looking back up at the sky.

It was a cloudy day, and it could rain later by the way the clouds kept turning darker.

Rain would feel nice, especially since they had to deal with hot days in the Maze. Nice, cool rain could help the group feel refreshed.

Aidan wished he could share the rain with Shep. Shep always would splash in puddles during rainy days, and talk about the types of clouds in the skies.

Yet, when it thundered, Shep always got scared and would run back inside, where he would talk for hours as it rained.

Shep was gone now.

He wasn't coming back.

Aidan had to learn to accept that. Over time, he would.

Yet, Aidan wished it was him that had died. He wanted to take Shep's place. So Shep could live, and so Aidan didn't feel the pain that Shep left when he was gone.

It hurt for now.

Pain doesn't last forever, though.

~0~0~

Aidan is a very sad boy that Shep is gone... and maybe Shep is gone forever... maybe