Hi everyone and welcome to the third chapter of "Nightingale". I know it has been a while since I have updated this story, I was just working out the plot and doing all that! I have missed every single one of you and I hope you have not lost interest in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Maze Runner trilogy. The only thing I own is the OC, the plot that you are not familiar with, any other characters that you will be introduced to throughout the story and on occasion Newt and Thomas, because they are both so hot ;)

Without further ado, "Sun-Kissed".

Casydi

I balanced the bow in my hands and I'll tell you now, it was as light as air. It had the most comfortable grip, was smooth to the touch and the drawstring was perfectly tuned. Whoever made this was one skilled craftsman. But this was for the Nightingale, not me. Was I the Nightingale? What does it mean? What was with all the necklaces? All the questions that I had absolutely no answers to bolted through my head as I tried to focus on the annoying target in front of me.

I picked an arrow out of the quiver that was leaning up against the tree. I notched the arrow onto the drawstring and pulled it back to my cheek. I aimed at the target that Nick had set up a few metres away and released the string.

The arrow flew across the short distance and lodged itself into a tree two metres next to the target. I groaned in frustration. That was the fourth arrow that I had released and every single time it landed somewhere other than the target.

"You're focusing too much!" A voice yelled out from behind me. I turned around and looked up to our makeshift watchtower, to see Nick leaning over the side, wearing nothing but a singlet and trousers. Sweat glistened and ran down every inch of his perfectly sculpted body. I forced myself to look away, as it would have been bad if he considered me to be staring.

"But you have to focus to hit the target Nick!" I yelled back up to him, as I notched another arrow. I turned my attention back to the hindering, yet annoying piece of cardboard that was nailed to the tree, drew back the drawstring and aimed for the target. I took a deep breathe in and released the stick with a point on the end. I held my breath as I desperately wished for the arrow to finally meet its mark.

I screamed in frustration when the arrow lodged itself not five centimetres above the previous arrow.

"What am I doing wrong?!" I cried out.

"I told you," a voice whispered in my ear. I jumped in fright, yet still had enough in me to spin around and give a flattering roundhouse kick to Nick's face. Well, it should have met Nick's face, except he blocked it. Very efficiently.

"How did I do that?" I asked, as my leg dropped down to the ground.

"I don't know. Must have been something that your subconscious remembered before you got here," he replied, as his hand dropped back down next to his side.

"Is it the same for you?" I asked, as I indicated to the hand that had effectively blocked my roundhouse kick.

"It's probable. I don't remember anything about my past, so it is likely that I was trained before." Nick shrugged in carelessness and confusion. "Notch another arrow and try not to focus. I bet, that you'll hit the target this time," he finished, as he stepped back away from me and indicated for me to notch another arrow.

I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh, as I turned my attention and "non"-focus to the targets in front of me. I corrected my stance, shoulders squared, feet spread and bow at the ready. I reached for the quiver that sat solemnly at the base of a tree, pulled out an arrow and then notched it onto the string. I pulled back slowly, closed my eyes, took a deep breathe in and calmed myself down.

"You can do this Casydi, just don't focus." I thought to myself. My eyes snapped open and I released the string. The arrow soared through the air in what seemed to be slow motion! I held my breath as I desperately waited for the arrow to meet its mark.

It wasn't long before there was a solid thud, which could only mean one thing. I had hit something or someone. I opened my eyes, which I hadn't even realised I had closed and was astounded to see the arrow had met its mark. Staring me right in the face was my arrow lodged in the target, right in the bullseye zone.

It took me a while to realise that I had finally hit something, before Nick wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

"You did it Casydi! I'm so proud of you!" Nick cried as he wrapped his other arm around my shoulders and gave me a well-deserved hug.

I dropped my bow as I still looked at the target with disbelief written all over my face. I had never thought how easy it was to hit a target without focusing. Maybe Nick was right, maybe not focusing was the trick.

I turned my focus to Nick who was practically jumping in the air with enthusiasm and excitement. Just seeing the huge grin that he had plastered across his face was enough to make me smile.

All of a sudden I lost my train of thought. I finally noticed

I saw Newt and Minho run through the gap in the maze walls and pulled away from Nick.

"Excuse me," I smiled as Nick was still uncontrollable with how proud he was of me, although I really had no clue why. I stepped away from Nick and picked up my long forgotten bow and started to race over to the two runners.

"Newt!" I cried out as I jumped into his open, awaiting arms. He picked me up off of the ground and spun me around in the air. He set me down gently and kept his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

"Hey Caz, how are you?" Newt asked me as he pulled me in for another hug while Minho looked on with a knowing look on his face. What did he know that I didn't?

"Good, I finally hit the target!" I answered him with a whole lot of enthusiasm as I practically jumped up and down with energy. Newt just looked at me with a smile on his face that could make anyone smile with him. It was pretty much contagious.

"Hey Minho, how was the maze?" I asked as I finally acknowledged the other runner.

"The maze is nothing compared to the entertainment in here," he replied as he smirked an all knowing smile. Confusion was basically the only thing that I could have thought about.

"What do you mean?" I asked, as even Newt stood beside me with an arm wrapped around my waist. Minho just shook his head with a smile and then looked over my shoulder to something behind me.

"Newt," Nick's voice sounded stern and mad. Newt and I spun around to see Nick furiously stalking toward us.

"Nick, is everything ok?" Newt asked as he ran his hand across the small of my back which made me smile gently. Minho walked up next to me and looked like he was almost ready to pounce if a fight was to break out. It was Nick and Newt, surely they wouldn't fight? They were best friends.

"I need you to come with me, update on the maze," he replied in a monotone voice. I watched as Nick looked at Newt with evil in his eyes. My blood ran cold and fear coursed through my body as I saw the evil that was in Nick's eyes.

"Nick?" I asked as I inched closer to him. There was something wrong, but I had no idea what was wrong with him or the relationship between him and Newt.

"I just need to talk to Newt, Casydi," he replied as he looked me straight in the eye. The look of anger had me chilled to the core.

"Ok," I replied hesitantly as I watched Newt square his shoulders in some sort of defiance. I looked between the two males and then out of the corner of my eye to Minho.

"Is it just me, or could you cut the tension in the air with a knife?" I whispered as I watched Nick narrow his eyes toward Newt. Minho just shrugged his shoulders as he stood at the ready to rip apart a fight if need be. What was his problem? "What's wrong with them, they were fine this morning?" I asked him as I watched Newt tense his jaw in anticipation.

"Your obliviousness is refreshing Cazza," Minho replied with a smile as he walked away from the two shanks and off to the kitchen's to grab some of the incredible stew that Frypan had made for lunch.

"Are you seriously going to leave me here with them?!" I yelled at Minho's retreating form. Instead of turning around and giving me a smile, like I thought he would, he threw his hand up in the air in some form of a goodbye.

"Casydi, go find Frypan and you will start your keeper training, understand?" Nick asked as he didn't even bother to take his eyes off of Newt. I seriously thought that something was going to happen. I needed to stand up against Nick, even if there was nothing to stand up against.

"No," I replied, as I stood my ground in defiance. "No, I will not go find Frypan. You're freaking me out Nick. I am not going to leave you here alone with Newt. I don't want you guys to hurt each other," I finished as I looked Nick square in the eye.

Newt walked up beside me, his earlier stance completely forgotten in light of my annoyance toward Nick.

"You should go Cassie," Newt whispered as he rested a hand on the small of my back which made me look at him with sadness and concern written all over my face.

"I'll say it again Newt, I am not leaving," I spat as I pushed his arm away from me, which resulted in his hand falling from my back.

"Nick?" Newt asked as he looked over to the leader of the Glade. "She's a Greenie, she's not allowed to know the truth," he tried to reason with Nick, who looked like he was going to let me know what was so wrong with this picture.

"What is going on!?" I yelled out as I threw my arms out in annoyance. What surprised me the most about this action was not the stupid looks that I would have received from the two testosterone infused males, but the clear force-field that knocked them far enough away is definitely what made me look at my hands in absolute shock.

Then there was the matter of Nick and Newt. What had I just done? How did I do that? Were they going to treat me like a monster now? Maybe everyone was right, maybe having a girl in the Glade was a bad omen. Gally would have a field day with this.

"Cassie," Nick started as he began to rise from the grass that reminded me of emeralds. Or at least what I thought emeralds would look like. Newt looked absolutely terrified, but I knew that he was trying to remain calm, for my sake.

I saw all the other boys; Frypan, Minho, Alby, Gally, Zart, Jeff, Clint nearly everybody surround me, Nick and Newt. I looked to the boys around me and instantly felt as if somebody was sitting on my chest and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Minho could easily tell that I was freaking out but I knew I had the right to. I didn't even know about these powers that I had and I had just used them unknowingly, unwillingly and unforgivably on my two best friends in the Glade.

"Oh my gosh," I whispered as I stood rigidly straight, afraid to move, afraid to even look anybody in the eye.

"Caz, you need to calm down," Minho raised his voice to show that he wasn't scared, that he wasn't going to hate me just because I had unknown powers that I had no idea how to control.

"Cassie," Nick said again as he tried to get through to me in some way or the other. I looked to him with fear practically written all over my face, confusion in my eyes and terror to what I could do to my friends.

"I can't do this, I'm hurting you!" I yelled out as I forced myself to move, forced myself to get out of the Glade, away from everyone.

"Casydi, you're not hurting us," Newt started as he finally rose up from the ground, cradling his arm to his chest in a futile attempt for me not to see the blood that dripped down his arm.

"I'm not hurting you, huh?" I asked, as I gestured to the red liquid that dripped onto the lush green grass.

"This wasn't you, this was my own stupid fault. You had nothing to do with this Casydi," Newt replied as he tried to get closer to me, in some sort of effort to calm me down.

"Get away from me Newt. I will not be able to forgive myself if I hurt any of you again," I held my hand out and hoped that I wouldn't let out another charge that would knock everybody back, or worse, kill them.

A loud noise from behind me was enough to make my heart jump up into my throat and for my skin to crawl. It was a mistake to let fear control me as another powerful burst exited my body. This knocked everybody off their feet and even further back from where I stood.

Terror and panic coursed through my body as I witnessed the real point of my Nightingale powers. They were too dangerous when I didn't know how to control them. I needed to get out of here, for my friend's and the Glade's.

I spun around and bolted from my position. I heard Nick and Newt's screams of protest as I took off to the one place I knew could get me away from here. The maze.

"Cassie, stop!" Nick cried out as I felt him and three others running after me through the ground beneath my feet. I was the Nightingale, but this was not what I was expecting.

I ran past the trees and aimed for my bow and quiver. I grabbed them with ease, only stopping momentarily to look over my shoulder to make sure I still had a fair amount of distance between me and the boys.

I took off again towards the doors of the maze. It was that time of day where the doors would be starting to close, so I knew that my escape had a limited window of opportunity.

"Casydi, please stop!" I heard Newt cry out as they desperately tried to catch up to me.

"No!" I yelled as they attempts just fueled my need to get out of the Glade and away from them.

There was a loud noise, almost like a crashing sound and I knew that my window of opportunity was quickly getting smaller. I pushed my legs to go harder, faster as I ignored the searing pain in my legs.

It was a few seconds before the doors to the maze on every side began to close. I knew that I needed to push myself if I wanted to get out of there.

My feet pounded against the dirt ground as I heard practically everyone screaming behind me, a bunch of pounding feet as they chased after me.

The doors were getting closer and closer to being closed for the night, so there was only one thing I could do. Hope.

Three; I didn't want to hurt anybody ever again. I was going to stay out there until all of my powers were under control. I had to avoid the Grievers, but most of all I had to survive myself.

Two; The Nightingale was supposed to protect people, not hurt them. I knew that I had to protect them, but I didn't know how.

One; I couldn't hurt Nick. Not after I had discovered that my feelings for him were true. I was leaving to protect him, even if I had to break my own heart in order to protect him.

Zero; Darkness will overcome light, as light doesn't always prevail.

I burst through the maze doors just as they shut behind me. The maze doors had officially closed me off from the Glade and everyone who had always been there for me. This was for them, this was for Nick and this was for me. This was for the Nightingale.