While Teresa looked after a screaming and delirious Thomas in the Slammer, Gally decided that it was high time that he take over the Glade. Newt did all he could but, without Alby, he was nearly powerless. It wasn't that he wasn't a good leader, trust me he was; Gally was just too powerful and stubborn to back-down and really, Newt didn't have much strength left for that.
I stood with him as the new leader of the Glade, who had once been Keeper of the Builders, lectured the other Runners and Keepers about how bad Thomas and Teresa were for the Glade and how punishment was needed. I glanced over at Newt whose hair was even more unkempt than usual and whose eyes were bloodshot and fingers were caked with mud and dirt.
"I'm gonna go check up on the other Gladers, make sure they're okay," I whispered in his ear and squeezed his hand. Newt glanced over at me and nodded.
He sighed and said, "Let me know if you need anything."
I studied him for a while, my hand still on his, and said, "Are you okay, Newt?"
"I've been better, but we all have," Newt gave me a tired smile and kissed my forehead. I pulled back in shock, gave him a small smile, and jogged off to the Homestead, where the boys, who had become my family, were preparing for another night of death.
It was all Gally. But we had a plan so, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that we were getting out of the Glade. Gally decided that it would be best to have Teresa and Thomas offered as some sort of sacrifice so the Grievers would leave us alone. The others with common sense and a small amount of brain decided that Gally was a little too crazy and that it was time to leave.
Thomas was awake, and Newt, Minho, Chuck, and I gathered at the Slammer with grim expressions and listened to Thomas's story.
Thomas stared blankly at the Slammer floor and then glanced up at as and began, "This place…It's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They'd give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork."
Newt stared sadly at Thomas and said, "They were sending them into the Maze."
"Yeah but not all of us."
"What do you mean?" Newt asked. Something was nagging at the back of my mind but I couldn't quite place what it was.
"Guys, I'm one of them. The people who put us here, I worked with them. I-I watched you guys for years. The entire time you've been here, I…I was on the other side of it," Thomas turned and glanced at Teresa. "And so were you."
A tear rolled down Teresa's pale face, "What?"
Thomas put his head in his hands, "We did this to them."
Teresa should her head vigorously and replied, "No…that can't be true."
"It is. I saw it," Thomas wiped away at his face.
"But…but…but…Why would they send us off if we were with them?" Teresa asked.
"It doesn't matter," Thomas whispered.
Newt sighed, squeezed my hand and said, "He's right. It doesn't matter. Any of it. Because the people we were before the maze, they don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do, right now. You went into the maze, and you found a way out."
Thomas stared up at Newt and then at me and said, "Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive."
Newt brushed his hand against mine and said, "Maybe. But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick up your ass and finish what you've started. Because if we do nothing, then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that."
I stared at the walls of the Homestead and ran a hand over my bundle of stuff. If we made it out of the Glade, I wanted to keep something with me that would remind of the Glade. It didn't matter what Thomas said about the Glade. It had been our home, my home. I had no memory of anything; the Glade was all I had. It was where I fell in love with Ben and where I made my two best friends.
"Lizzy?" I turned around to see Newt standing in the doorway. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I smiled. "Do you remember my Greenie party and how I destroyed Gally?"
"Yeah," Newt smiled back and picked up a small drawing of the Gardens. Two boys were working and I could see another walking towards them. I walked towards Newt and took the picture from him.
"Did you draw this?" I asked.
Newt shrugged and said, "It was just a quick sketch; after I hurt my leg, I liked to sit around the Glade and draw."
"It's amazing. I think the best thing I could ever try would be a stick figure, or maybe a square," I laughed.
"It's not that good," Newt blushed and tucked the drawing back under the pile of papers.
"Don't be humble! This stuff is amazing!" I started pulling out bunches of sketches until I came across a portrait-of me running. Newt scratched the back of his neck and tugged the photo away from me.
"I'm sorry; I wasn't like stalking you or anything. I just-," Newt stuttered and I chuckled.
"It's fine. You actually make me look less ugly," I smiled and stared at the photo again.
I stood with Newt and Chuck, my bow was on my shoulder along with my quiver. My knives were ready, and I had a spare spear in my hand.
"What's up with the weapons?" Chuck asked. A pile of supplies lay at his feet, and he had several canteens slung over his shoulder.
"She's our best fighter," Newt laughed and smiled at me.
"Your not so bad yourself," I nudged Newt and adjusted my knife that was tucked in my ponytail.
"How does that thing not slice your head open?" Newt asked, touching my head lightly.
"Practice," I winked at him, ran forward, and did a front flip.
"Showoff," Newt nudged me again.
Chuck coughed and said, "You guys are nasty. You're always flirting and playing with each other." While I laughed hysterically on the ground and Newt stood there awkwardly blushing, Chuck stared at us quizzically. I almost forgot that we were leaving the Glade.
"Are you going to miss this place?" I asked Newt while we waited for Gally to set up the two posts. Newt sighed; Chuck had washed his clothes for him, and they were still a little damp. His machete and a couple knives were lying next to him, along with a Runner's pack; mine was laying at my own feet. Chuck was distributing water bottles, dry food packets, and a couple bandages to everyone going, that we knew of.
"I'll miss the place and the people. But really, to be honest, I hate the place. Everyday I've been in here, I just have felt so trapped," Newt put his head in his hands and groaned.
"I'll miss beating the shit out of Gally," I laughed and after a while, so did Newt.
"Yeah," he whispered. We sat there, under a tree, for a while until Chuck appeared in front of us.
"It's almost time. You guys have got ten minutes if you want to look around, one last time," Chuck informed us and then jogged off.
"You coming?" I asked, brushing myself off.
"I think it would be better if we did this alone," Newt nodded at me, got up, and headed towards the Gardens. I simply nodded and jogged off to my room. There was some things I couldn't leave behind. I pushed open the creaky, wooden door and sat down on the bed. I remembered when Alby suggested the Builders make me my own room and how happy it had made me. I remember asking Newt to help me organize everything, including drawings. I rolled up my favorite one-one at a Greenie party and tucked it in my pack.
I also tucked away a small, perfect, little pebble that Ben had given me. I closed my eyes as I remembered what had happened.
"For you," Ben smiled, placing the small pebble in my hand. "It's no diamond, but it was the best I could fine."
"It's perfect," I whispered and placed it down next to me.
After I wiped myself clean of grime and dirt, I slipped into Ben's shirt, shorts, and combat boots. For emergencies before, I had made a small bag that I could put extra things in; I tugged it out from under my pile of junk that I had never gotten around to organizing. I grabbed a tank top, shirt, sweatshirt, 2 shorts, and leggings and stuffed them in my bag along with pills, haha, and undergarments.
The packs weren't too heavy, and neither was the canteen so I jogged off with weapons in hand and got ready to leave the Glade.
I tried to make this extra long since I haven't been very good at updating lately! We're almost there, guys! Let me know if you think I should do a sequel or not. And I know this chapter may have been a bit boring but I wanted to show that Lizzy also has grown to love the Glade as her home, and it is hard for her to leave it. Okay…Thanks and please review!