Chapter 15

Face stood by the map wall as the other occupants of the Mansion filed in for breakfast. Thomas and Newt sat on top of the nearest table watching the breakfast crowd and keeping an eye on her.

Heidi, the trigger happy older girl who had found the gladers, marched over to Face.

"Oh no." Face mumbled as she watched Heidi walk closer.

"What?" Newt asked.

"Heidi is on edge, she must know something's wrong."

"How do you see that?" Thomas asked.

"Her eyes are narrowed, brows low, lips pursed. She's also clenching her jaw which means she is scared too."

Thomas tried to see what Face saw, but all he could tell was that Heidi looked as if she was on a mission.

"Can we talk?" Heidi whispered as she reached Face and grabbed her arm.

"What do you want to talk about?" Face asked, glancing at the death grip Heidi had on her arm and then studied her face again.

"Alone." Heidi insisted as she glared at the two young men sitting on the table.

Face looked at Thomas and Newt and nodded, "go get something to eat."

With a grunt of disapproval, they both got up and went to join the food line.

"Unhinge your claw, Heidi," Face complained as she tried to pull Heidi's fingers from her arm. "What's the problem?"

Heidi let go and stared around the room, "What happened with Patrick last night?" She whispered.

Face held her breath and tried to keep her face neutral as she kept her eyes on Heidi's expression.

"Did he go out yesterday?" Face countered, flooring Heidi.

"I don't know." She tried to think, "I think so. I heard him say something about the beach."

Face felt her blood rush to her head as she realized that Patrick could have seen them in the hotel if he got close enough.

"Did he go alone?"

"I guess so, he was gone for a while and when he came back he was dirty and flushed. No one likes to go for a run on a rest day, except you. You go out alone too!" she switched from confused to accusing.

"Yeah but I'm not stupid." Face muttered, gaining a snort from the older girl. "Heidi, you watch him a lot…"

Heidi began to protest but Face kept going, "did he seem strange to you after he came back?"

"Well, that whole thing with hitting you didn't seem like him. I mean, he was very jumpy the whole afternoon and then he did that and when that new guy hit him with the tray, he didn't even look like himself. Is he sick? His guys said they haven't seen him since you went up with him and I checked the hospital floor and a few others, I can't find him."

Heidi shook her head as if clearing it and grabbed Face's arm again. "Stop wizarding me! You're asking me questions to subdue me. You were the last one to see him last night, what happened?"

"I'm trying to find out why you think something's wrong. You're anxious and angry and I just want to understand your thinking, you don't have to manhandle me." Face pulled her arm away and stepped back. "I will talk to everyone after breakfast."

"Something happened to him," Heidi alleged. "What did you do?" She tried to grab Face again but before she could reach her, Face was several feet away. Heidi flinched at her quick movement and was left befuddled.

Newt kept an eye on the girls as he and Thomas followed the food line. Thomas took an extra tray and got food for Face too.

"Bloody hell!" Newt exclaimed when he saw Face step away from Heidi so fast he couldn't see the movement.

"What?" Thomas had missed it and turned to look towards the girls.

"Heidi, I will tell you everything you want to know, just wait until I talk to everyone." Heidi had stepped closer again and reached for Face but she kept a distance.

"What did you do?" Heidi repeated louder and a lot of kids turned their attention to the commotion. The entire room was quiet, wondering what was going on. Face sighed and turned towards the group.

"Sit down," Face instructed Heidi.

"I'll stand," Heidi countered, crossing her arms.

"Go stand over there," Face pointed far away and walked along the tables to get away from her.

"What's going on?" Anna stood from her seat and asked.

Face walked to a point where she knew everyone would be able to hear and see her. Thomas and Newt sat down at a table with some of the gladers.

"Yesterday was a rest day," she started, scanning everyone's expressions, "and we usually stay inside and do just that. We rest. Yesterday I took Thomas and Newt out to see the glass hotels on the ocean's edge. Does anyone know where Patrick went?"

She looked at Patrick's crew, hoping for an answer. They shook their heads and she could tell by their expressions that they weren't lying.

"I think he went out exploring by himself. He might have followed us, but I don't know that for sure." She took a deep breath, "He came back infected."

A few kids gasped but Face searched for Heidi and clocked her expression.

"That's why he was acting strange last night, why he shoved me and why he is no longer here."

"Where is he?" Heidi asked in the silence that followed.

"As you all know, The flair takes only a few hours to become contagious to others, but days to fully consume and change the person. By the time that the Mansion went into lockdown, Patrick was contagious and dangerous to everyone. I took care of him and you don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Is that your story?" Heidi walked closer slowly. "You didn't like him. He was controlling and overbearing to you, so you," she searched for the words and made exclamation marks with her fingers, "took care of him."

"This was not a personal thing, you saw how he was last night, he was sick. Now, I'm sorry I got rid of your crush, but everyone else's lives mattered more than that."

Face turned away and motioned for one of Patrick's crew members to stand.

"Ronny will take lead until we can figure out what to do from here."

"You killed him, didn't you?" Heidi asked, standing right behind Face, with a gun pointed at her head.