I finally managed to get a shower in, which felt like heaven. I scrubbed away the dirt and sweat and managed to get my hair back to it's normal state. After tucking it into a messy bun, I ran off to eat some food. My stomach was practically crying in pain.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Frypan smiled kindly at me and handed over a steaming plate of soup and several sandwiches. I thanked him and then wandered over to a tree to eat. Newt approached me with a smile and sat down next to me.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm good," I reassured him, squeezing his hand. He glanced down at our connected hands and then pulled away.
"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning. I started sipping on the steaming hot soup and looked at Newt for an answer.
"It's nothing," Newt said after a while. "I gotta go. But I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay. Yeah, sure," I replied and watched him go. I finished the rest of the soup and the sandwiches and then wandered off to the Medhut in search of Clint.
"What's wrong, Lizzy?" he asked as soon as I walked into the Med-hut.
"Nothing. I'm just worried about everything that's been happening and needed someone to talk to," I replied and took a seat in one of the chairs. Clint smiled and put down the roll of bandages that he'd been sorting.
"Talk," he said and sat down across from me.
"I'm confused on what's going on with that girl. Why is she here? And what's going to happen to us?" I put my head in my hands and sighed. Most importantly, though I'd never ask Clint, what was going on with Newt? I was sure that I didn't like him the way I had liked Ben but, still, I cared about him a lot.
"I don't have the answers to those questions, Lizzy. You know that. But we've managed to keep going, no matter what. And even if the supplies stop, which I doubt they will, we still have Runners exploring the Maze everyday for a way out."
"We've been searching for practically three years, Clint. We've got nothing," I groaned.
"You don't know that."
I was wandering around the Glade, bored out of my mind, when Minho and Thomas came gasping out of the Maze. I sprinted towards them, delighted at the feeling of being free again, and knelt at Thomas's side, who had collapsed. He was holding a strange metal cylinder with a 7 on it's side and a glowing red dot.
"Thomas!" I cried. He waved a hand to say that he was okay and handed me the cylinder.
"What's this?" I asked after he chugged down a bunch of water and the other Gladers had gathered.
"I think we found a way out."
"We found this cylinder in the Griever that I killed," Thomas said, holding up the metal object in his hand for the Gladers to see. I noticed that Gally was frowning and his weird eyebrows were all bunched up. "Minho and I decided to go back into the Maze and this thing," Thomas held up the cylinder again, "It's like a compass, kind of. It lead us to a way out."
"Then why didn't you go through?" Zart asked.
"It closed, and we nearly died," Thomas replied simply.
"What a shame," Gally muttered, earning a frown from Newt.
"How does the thing work, exactly?" I asked, trying to lead the Gladers' attention back to Thomas.
"It has a seven on it-the seventh section of the Maze," Thomas informed us. He glanced at Minho and then said, "I think the hole where it lead us is where the Grievers come out."
"Hold up," Chuck said. "You want us to go where the Griever's live! Are you crazy?" Several other Gladers nodded in agreement. I glanced at Newt, who was wearing a, sadly familiar, frown.
"Yes," Thomas stated and tossed aside the cup of water he had been holding.
Gally stood up immediately as soon as Thomas had finished and said, "This is crazy! Alby wouldn't want this. We could die. Every last one of us!"
"But we are going to die anyway if we stay here!" Thomas yelled back. I stepped forward, ready to break up the imminent fight, but fortunately, Newt was already there.
"Enough!" Newt roared. It was so rare when Newt ever raised his voice but, when he did, people listened. I guess that was a part of him being a good leader.
"Everybody, go to bed. We've got a lot to discuss tomorrow, and I think we all need some rest. Good that?" The other Gladers nodded after a while and dispersed. I tossed aside the apple I had been eating and wandered over to Thomas, Minho, and Newt, who were still talking.
Ignoring Minho, I said, "Are you okay, Thomas?"
"Yeah. I'm fine, Lizzy," he smiled and patted my shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good," I laughed and smiled. Newt stepped forward and squeezed my hand.
"You should probably go rest," he muttered, still gripping my hand.
"I'm fine, Newt," I rolled my eyes, but my leg was aching. It was still sore and weak.
Newt said, "I'm serious, Lizzy. Go to bed. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."
Sorry this took so long, guys! I'm on vacation and haven't had a lot of time to write. Hopefully, I'll get something up soon. Bye!