AN: Early update because something good happened to me! \o/

This chapter is turned out longer than I thought OTL but please consider reviewing if you've enjoyed this extra long chapter! (:

"She asleep?" a voice quietly asked from the entrance. Newt leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded, talking to a hunched figure sitting on the edge of a bed. On the next bed a girl slept peacefully, her chest rising and falling to the rhythm of her breathing. Her black hair was mussed up, some strands sticking to her face and neck. A sliver of moonlight spilled into the room and unto her face, making the tear stains on her cheeks shine.

There was a pause.

"Yeah," a reply came as the dark figure beside the bed stood up and walked over. Minho exchanged a tired glance with Newt as they exited the room and closed the door quietly behind them.

"How is she?" the blond asked after a moment of walking together silently.

"Fine, I think." Minho held out his arms for the other to see. "That shank only quietened down after I set her on the bed and cried herself to sleep."

Newt whistled at the angry red scratch marks that were running down his arms. "She beat you up pretty bad huh."

The other rolled his eyes. "What, you thought she was going to make herself a cup of tea and sit down for a chat after this afternoon?"

Newt shook his head with a slight laugh as he pushed open the door to the meeting room. The other keepers were already waiting for them, standing and sitting around in various spots. They all simultaneously looked up at the sound, glancing up at the pair first before at Minho's arms. The Korean made a face as he noticed the stares, glaring back at them.

"How's Feng?" Alby spoke first.

"She's okay," Minho said as he leaned against a wooden pole. "Sleeping."

The dark skinned boy nodded his head as he turned to the other side of the room where a huddled figure sat on a bench, looking at the ground. It wasn't hard to tell who it was, the blond was shirtless and heavily bandaged around his shoulder and neck. Cuts and scrapes were visible along his fair body and arms where he had dragged them along the ground earlier in a desperate life or death struggle against the crazed runner. He fidgeted nervously, biting his lower lip.

"Lester." Alby folded his arms, his voice commanding. Lester's eyes flickered upwards briefly to meet the other's before looking back down. They were gunmetal grey and strangely calm in comparison to his behaviour.

"Albert and I were running together down to the outer rings." The other began and paused for a moment trying to recall the happenings before, above the vivid memory of almost dying. Lester flinched at the memory of Albert jumping at him, jaws agape and eyes wild. However he could feel the pressure of the keepers waiting for him, so he took a deep breath and continued. "We were almost there, but something caught our eyes as we were moving into more spacious passageways."

"It was a shuck griever, wedged right into a corner. Our first instinct was to run, but Albert called me back. He realized that it wasn't moving." It was a little blur, but he remembered seeing the creature just sitting right in the corner of the maze, its eyes closed and body still. If not for its weapons reflecting off the sunlight through the ivy sending flashes into the maze every time the wind blew, they probably wouldn't have noticed the well-blended monster right in front of them.

"I insisted we leave and get the others first, but that shuck face wanted to play hero." Lester's voice trembled as his breath started to quicken. "H-He wanted to be the one to save everyone, you know?"

A couple of keepers nodded to acknowledge his sentence.

"So... That shank went up to it 'just to see'. I was uneasy about sticking around, but he made it sound harmless so I just let him." A tinge of regret entered his voice. "When he was pretty close, the shucking griever stinger shot out from the vines and stung him."

"I was ready to die myself, but the griever didn't move. It just sort of sat there while Albert writhed on the ground." Lester shook his head. "So I took the chance to get him out of there, but halfway he just went shuck bat-shit crazy on me."

"So I made a break for it back to the glade, but he got me within a few metres of the doors. I yelled for help, but… Those slintheads didn't dare enter the maze. They just stared." Anger made him grit his teeth towards the end. "I honestly thought I was done for, that was when I looked up and saw Feng throw something. There was a noise and then Albert's body went into shock above me, I… I took the chance and scrambled out as fast as I could."

"No one is allowed to leave the glade unless they're a runner," Alby finally said after contemplating his words. "Those shanks were just following rules."

"Rules over the risk of losing a life?" Lester spat as he stood up, his voice venomous. "I said whatever I needed to say, I'm leaving." With that, he walked quickly over to the door and slammed it shut behind him.

He wanted to keep his cool honestly, but how could he not be angry? The gladers, friends whom he had trusted and laughed with throughout his life, were about to let him die because they couldn't leave the glade. If not for Feng, he would've been dead. He wasn't close to her, having only exchanged a few words with her over the past two years, but it was enough to know she was a gentle person. She was the one whom he least expected to help him, but she did it.

The keepers watched him go before exchanging grave knowing glances with each other. Lester was angry with the gladers, and that made him dangerous. They would have to keep an eye out for him.

"He wasn't the only one," Minho spoke, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I saw a shuck griever on the way out too."

There was a pause before he spoke again, "that shucking thing was just sitting in the middle of the maze. I decided to report back to Alby, but I didn't expect that another griever would've already got a runner."

"Feng killed Albert with what again?" one of the keepers asked from another corner of the room.

"A small kitchen knife." Minho held up the weapon in question before passing it over to Alby. The silver of the knife was encrusted with red, the blood from earlier having dried over the hours.

"She threw this?" The dark skinned boy received it carefully by the handle and glanced up at Minho with a skeptical look. He wasn't entirely convinced that Qiufeng would've been able to aim and throw in that situation even if she was an experienced cook.

Minho just shrugged. "Drew it out of his neck myself."

Just then, someone cleared his throat. "Actually… I think I know why."

Alby raised an eyebrow and turned to face Frypan.

"I noticed kitchen knives going missing or becoming blunt real fast a lil over two years back." The other mused for a moment. "I had a hunch but I didn't ask because that shank seemed so innocent."

"So you're saying she's been practicing for over two years now?" Alby looked incredulously at the rest of the keepers who returned his gaze with either a shrug or a clueless look.

"Probably, unless all the shucking kitchen knives decided to go dull and walk out on their own."

Alby shook his head, not entirely sure how to handle this situation. For now at least she was confined to the bed, it would give him some time to think about it. He turned towards Minho. "Make sure your runners know to stay away from the sitting grievers tomorrow, and return as soon as you map out the changes in the maze." He turned the rest. "I'll talk to Feng myself when she's feeling better, meeting dismissed."

As they exited the meeting room, Minho turned the other way as the rest of the boys started to make their way to the hammocks.

"Not going to turn in yet?" Newt asked as he noticed.

"Just… Going to check on her," Minho replied as he threw a glance back at the blond before continuing towards the rooms.

Newt shook his head but didn't stop the other, heading to the hammocks first with the rest.

Minho opened the room door gently, expecting the girl to still be asleep. However the moment he looked over, a pair of weary eyes met his. Qiufeng was already sitting up in her bed, her hands clasped together on top of her drawn up knees. Her dark hair was undone and combed smoothly now, swept over one side of her shoulder. A hint of panic darted across her eyes as she recognized him, and she opened her mouth slightly as if to say something. But then she shut it, averting her eyes quickly and staring down at her hands.

"Hey." He managed a smile as he walked nearer to her bed. His voice was oddly loud in the stillness of the lonely room. Its only source of light was the moonlight spilling in through the window, dyeing everything in shades of black, blue and white.

"Hey." Her voice was quiet.

"You feeling better?" Minho sat down at the edge of her bed, leaning forward to see her face clearly in the dim light.

"I… Yeah." Qiufeng laughed weakly, looking up at him with a slight smile. A lock of black hair fell forward and she quickly tucked it behind her ear, before letting her hands rest on the blanket.

Minho frowned, he knew better than to believe her. She was a terrible liar since the day she stepped into the glade. The way she laughed too light heartedly or stammered with averted eyes whenever she lied, it always gave her away. He'd be shucked up to think she was telling the truth after two years of knowing her.

"It's not your fault, you know that right?" He searched her face, trying to glimpse what she was hiding underneath. Minho saw her façade break as his words touched a nerve and she flinched, looking away to avoid his eyes.

"He… He could've been saved," she whispered, her voice strained.

"Maybe, but there was no saying for sure." Minho's answer came after a short pause, calm and collected. Having handled similar situations before, he knew the answer already. "It was better to have lost one life instead of two."

Qiufeng took a deep breath before nodding slowly, letting his words sink in as she stared into the blanket. She honestly still couldn't believe this afternoon had even happened, it was so fast, in flashes of disconnected memories and wet cheeks. Even though her brain could logically process that the whole incident wasn't her fault and that she tried her best, there was still a twisting sensation in her gut that made her want to throw up. The fact that she had killed another human being made her all kinds of sick, guilty, horrified. It felt as if her heart was crushed against a wall, and it was dizzying to just remember.

"What's on your mind?" Minho's voice made her snap out of her thoughts, and she glanced up into his dark eyes. She wasn't used to seeing him so serious.

"I… It's still a bit of a shock to me." Qiufeng admitted, dropping her gaze yet again. She studied the numerous ugly scars that ran across her hands in all directions, remnants of her self-training. "I didn't think I would be able to… Kill him. I didn't think that I was capable of that, but in that moment I just…" Her voice faltered as she shook her head at the memory.

"Honestly if you ask me, it's either kill or be killed in the maze." The other said after a moment. "There's going to be moments where you need to make hard decisions fast, wait a second longer and you're dead."

The pressure on the side of the bed eased and she watched Minho stand up and glance down at her. "You get some rest. I'm going to turn in too, the maze ain't mapping itself tomorrow."

"W-wait, you're still going in tomorrow?" she asked in disbelief as her eyes widened.

"The grievers only shuck us up if we get too close, if we stay our distance we'll be good," he replied with a shrug as he maintained eye contact with her, sounding as if they were back in the modern world and he was just going out for a picnic or something. As if it was no big deal.

"Oh…" Her voice faltered as she looked down, her hair falling over her shoulder.

Qiufeng gripped the blanket, her knuckles turning white. He couldn't possibly be serious, even after what happened today he was still going out tomorrow? Wasn't he worried? The grievers were still going to be out there! They could be unpredictable, going out there was madness, it was like throwing himself into a death trap. Her face collapsed under the curtain of hair as she took in the full implication of her thoughts. Minho could die. Tomorrow.

Tell him!

Her mind screamed at her and her eyes widened as the solution became so obvious, so easy, but so... Undoable. Her heart begged her desperately to listen, to be straightforward her feelings, to just give it a try, to just. Tell. Him. But her mouth felt like it was sealed shut by glue and her voice had disappeared.

"Night Feng," he murmured when there was no further response from the girl.

Tell him!

He walked over to the entrance.

Tell him!

One hand reached to push the door open.

C'mon! Tell him!

"Wait!" she blurted out loudly on impulse, turning her whole body towards the door.

Minho stopped, fingers just brushing against the surface of the door. He glanced back.

Her mouth open and shut as she tried to vocalize her thoughts, her mind hurriedly piecing together whatever words that came to mind. Her eyes frantically darted across his face as if to find a reason to speak, but it was as if the more she searched, the more confidence she lost. She felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

Minho's eyebrow arched at the way she seemed to be falling apart and together at the same time.

"St…"

Stay here.

Stay here okay?

Because it's safe here. Where you're always in sight. Because the only injuries you'll get are scratches and cuts. Because I want to hear you laugh when I shuck up a recipe, because I want to see you joke with Newt, because I want you here, because I can't bear to lose you, because –

I…

She shut her mouth.

Took a deep breath.

Smiled.

"Stay…

Safe."

The concern in Minho's face was replaced by relief, and it never hurt so much before to see his familiar, cocky grin.

"Please, of course I'll be safe."

When his footsteps had faded and all was quiet again, she finally allowed her smile to waver as the world crashed down around her, leaving her with nothing but crippling loneliness and a staggering pain in her heart.

The next day she was roused by vague shouting in the background. She shifted in the bed, sleep still weighing heavily on her eyes and eventually forced herself to sit up, triggering a dull ache in her head. Qiufeng groaned and shook her head as all the memories from yesterday came flooding back into her head in flashes of pain and loud voices. However before she could fully contemplate everything that happened yesterday, the door burst open with a flurry of movement and yells.

Her head snapped to the side quickly to register Newt, Winston and a couple of other gladers hauling another boy up to the bed next to her. He was struggling and screaming wildly in an all too familiar way as Newt yelled out orders that she couldn't register quickly enough in the commotion. Clint soon appeared in a hurry, a needle on hand and that confirmed the immediate suspicion at the back of her head.

Stung.

Another flash of memories blinded her, the silent room at night, Minho's dark eyes, his soothing voice and how she turned away from her feelings. Her gut twisted in regret but she quickly snapped out of her thoughts and hastily left her bed to stand by Newt. She couldn't look back now, what's done was done and there was no point.

By now Clint had already injected the writhing kid with griever serum and was starting to tie up the boy's limbs with the help of the other gladers. It was weird though, him getting stung at this timing because she was pretty sure it was still daytime, the sun was still spilling its light into the room, unless… He ran too close to a griever? Qiufeng dearly hoped that was the case because if it wasn't that, there was only one other reason.

Newt ran a hand through his hair and walked away from the bedside in frustration to stand by the window. Watching his grim expression and wary eyes darting about, Qiufeng felt dread pool within her stomach as she approached his side. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hear the answer to her question, but she needed to know. "What happened?"

There was a pause as Newt seemed to gather his thoughts, leaning forward and staring out of the window. Then he replied, "the bloody grievers weren't taking a nap today."

"They attacked the runners." Qiufeng realized as she put two and two together, her voice strangely calm. She turned her gaze towards the stone entrance. The sunlight was stronger and brighter than what she had thought, burning down on the large field. She realized the boys must've let her sleep into the late afternoon. There was a small commotion around the glade as a couple of boys ran towards the entrance joining a few others already by the door. They all had spears in their hands – In case of a fight. They all looked cautious, checking the passageway every few seconds as they moved around nervously.

"Yeah." Newt shook his head as he stood up straight and turned to leave the room. "Only Minho is back unscathed, the rest… Not so much."

He left the room and she tagged along when there were no complaints about her presence. Newt was going on to her about finding Alby and Minho quickly to get up to date on things and deciding a course from there but Qiufeng barely listened. She was still lost in the guilt that relief only came once she had heard Minho was safe.

"The runners will have to stay in." They heard Alby speaking in a low voice as they rounded the corner and saw him talking to Minho. Two of the runners that had made it back were all resting on the ground, heads resting on their arms or knees. They were breathing heavily, their shirts dark wherever sweat had soaked into the fabric. Their faces were either hidden or blank.

She quietly assessed the small group as Minho and Alby registered their presence. The rest, either they were still out in the maze or… She cringed at the thought.

Newt glanced up at Minho. "The others?"

Minho briefly looked up from the two runners before turning back grimly. "There are no others."

As if to confirm this, a griever scream pierced the air from somewhere within the maze, sending a chill throughout everyone in the glade.