Two Rights, a Left, Then Over the Cliff Chapter 6, a maze runner trilogy fanfic

I've re-written this chapter a couple times now, and I can't seem to make it any better. Sorry if it seems clunky. Hopefully you enjoy it all the same!

"How is she?" Alby asked coming over to Newt.

He had stationed himself outside the Homestead so he could both observe the events unfolding from last night and keep people away from Poppy. Newt rubbed his eyes from exhaustion, "If she wasn't jacked before she's bloody well jacked now."

Alby nodded in agreement, "Winston is sticking to his story. Everyone is getting ready for the meeting right now. We'll hear what they both have to say." The two boys had grave expressions on their faces, too tired and stressed to think of anything else.

"I haven't been able to get anything out of her," Newt sighed, completely defeated. "Is the knife Winston's?"

Alby nodded, "Minho and Frypan went into the Slaughterhouse to count his blades. There's nowhere else she could have picked it up from."

Newt hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Neither of them said anything, accepting the severity of the situation. The Glade was quiet in front of them. Some boys worked in their trade while others stood near their areas and gossiped in hushed voices about what would happen later today. Keepers were too occupied with deciding who to believe to stay on top of their people. Everyone was distracted.

"Gally is beating himself up," Alby said, taking a seat on the ground. "But he's the one who was there, so I've been trying to calm him down."

Newt sat down next to Alby, "What's the shank say?"

"Say's he woke up when Winston screamed. But that he definitely saw Greenie get out of bed." Alby didn't have to wait for Newt to ask his next question, he knew it was already on his mind. "I think Winston did it." He continued calmly, "Most of the Keepers do. But we all want to know why Greenie stole a knife."

"Maybe the shuckface did something earlier yesterday that scared her. She grabbed it and forgot about it. I don't klunking know." Another pregnant pause fell between them after Newt's speculations. They watched the Glade from their spot, both deep in thought.

Alby let out an airy laugh that turned into a hardier chuckle. "What the klunk are you laughing at?" Newt said with a sour look.

"I forgot that our regular scheduled Greenie should coming tomorrow." Alby laughed, "Poor kid will think we're a bunched of nut jobs."

Newt found the situation laughable too and gave a smile. "What if it's another girl?"

"I'll run to the nearest Griever." Alby shook with amusement at the thought of another girl entering the Glade and preyed he wouldn't live to see that day.

The laughter died out after a moment and the atmosphere shifted back to bleak. Alby spotted Minho waving at them from across the Glade, notifying them that everyone was ready. He cleared his throat, stood up, and brushed himself off. "Do you need help bringing Greenie?"

Newt followed suit, "No, she's still pretty out of it. I'll have her over in a second."

Alby nodded and left for the council meeting, leaving Newt to hike up to Poppy by himself. He turned and marched into the abandoned Homestead where no one had been allowed in since earlier that morning. The home had an odd feel to it that reminded Newt of abandonment. It seemed old and decrepit. Lacking life without the boys being there. He stepped lightly on each stair, lost in thought of what would happen to the newest member of the Glade after the gathering. As he summited the last step, Newt heard the muffled murmurs of a girl's voice. He edged closer, deliberately making no noise, and pressed up against the door to try and make out what Poppy was saying.

Calm down. Poppy sniffed back the phlegm in her nose and wiped away the thousandth tear. Breathe. She cleared her throat and tried to take a few deep breaths. Her heart still fluttered in her chest, the sweat on her palms seemed to never go away, and all Poppy wanted in the world was a glass of water.

What do you know? List it.

Poppy became upset at the question and another tear rolled down her cheek. She rubbed her hands on her thighs obsessively, sniffing back more snot. "My name is Poppy." She whispered.

Your name is Poppy.

"I was sent here by mistake."

You were sent here by mistake.

"I need to leave, and I know how to leave."

Yes.

"Two rights, a left, then over the cliff."

Through the Maze.

"Two rights, a left, then over the cliff." Poppy muttered a second time, "Two rights, a left, then over the cliff." A third time.

A knock from the door startled her. She jumped up at the sound. "Poppy?" Newt's voice called from the other side. "Poppy it's time for the trial, we have to go."

She swayed on her feet, fatigued and emotionally drained. Just tell them the truth, a defeated voice said, tell them the truth and they'll send you out for sure. Newt pushed open the door and stuck his head in too look at her. Silence came in her mind when she registered his face. A memory finally clicked to life. "Can't we save him?" A voice echoed from her past. "It's easy, we've already done it with a few people. Why not him?" The blurry image of a girl sitting in front of screen mouthed the disconnected words. "Don't get attached, Poppy. You've been monitoring the control for too long. Focus on your pets." A click sounded right after the drawing voice finished talking and a trio of Griever's popped up on her screen.

"Poppy?"

She jumped again at the site of Newt right in front of her. Waves of recognition and years of information trickled back through the cracks of her brain. A swear word hung at the edge of her tongue, but she accepted that remaining quiet would be the best course of action. "Ready?" Newt asked again. Poppy brushed away another tear and followed behind Newt slowly as he led her out of the Homestead and to the cluster of boys gathering for the trial.

Everyone seemed to already be there. The Keepers were in a half circle with the rest of the Gladers behind them. Winston sat in front of the Keepers, and Alby was facing the crowd. When Poppy walked in all eyes turned to her. There were menacing glances from Winston's fellow slicers, but the rest were torn expressions. Unsure of what to do or think about the girl standing in front of them.

A small nudge from Newt pushed Poppy forward and to the front of the crowd. "Right here Greenie," He whispered, then moved to stand next to Alby. Poppy sat on the hard ground five feet to the side of Winston, and hung her head, lost in thought.

"I, Alby, leader of you shanks, call to start this gathering. Do we have anyone who wants to do otherwise?" There were a few shuffles, but no one responded. "Good. We're here to discuss what happened early this morning in the Homestead between Winston, Keeper of the Slicers, and the newest Greenie." Again, no one spoke or objected to Alby's statements. "Where should we begin?"

It was quiet for a moment before Frypan finally piped up, "Let's hear what Gally has to say first. He was there." A few agreeing grunts and nods came from the audience.

"Fine, Gally?" Alby motioned for him to stand up.

He did so, and cleared his throat, "I was sleeping in the room with Greenie when I heard Winston yell from being cut. I woke up, saw Winston standing away from the bed, and Poppy getting out of it." Gally's expression was strained, like he had revisited the fleeting image a million times since it happened, looking for some sort of defining piece of information. "He called her a name and lunged at her, then I tackled him. They both had knives." Gally scratched the back of his head, "then you shanks showed up." He mumbled and sat back down.

Alby adjusted his weight from foot to foot. "Anyone have questions for Gally?"

"How do we know Winston had a knife at all?" A boy from the back called out.

"I saw it," Minho came to Gally's defense, "Alby took it from him."

Alby nodded, "both Winston and Greenie had knives. That's a fact. Any other questions for Gally?" Alby stressed his name. No one said anything. "Then I think we'd all like to hear Winston's story."

A few encouraging claps came from the crowd behind the Keepers as Winston stood up from the ground and turned to face the crowd. "I was at the party last night, just like the rest of you shanks, then went back to the Slaughterhouse to check up on a sick animal. I was in the slicing room when I noticed one of my knives was gone. No one else had been in there since Poppy and I diced up that pig, so I knew it had to be her." The confidence in his voice made Poppy seethe with frustration. "I went to go find her, found her sleeping in the Homestead with Gally watching her. I started poking around, and then she woke up and cut me!" He showed the crowd his long wound. It was the first time Poppy got a look at it, and was internally impressed with how well she nicked him. "That's when I started screaming for help and this shank," he glared at Gally, "woke up and tackled me instead of her!"

It was mildly comforting when no one seemed to make any outlandish gestures of support once Winston finished his story. "Any questions for Winston?" Alby asked.

"Yeah, I got one." Frypan stood up, "Why didn't you just wake Gally and tell him you think Poppy had a knife? He's been looking for a reason to get her thrown into the Slammer since she's gotten here."

Winston rolled his eyes, "I was going to, but if the knife was just laying out and I could grab it, then there was no point in waking him."

"So you wanted to look for it first before waking Gally, even though he was right there?" Frypan pressed.

"Yes." Winston said hotly.

"Why'd you bring a knife with you if you were just looking?" Zart, the Gardener, asked.

"I knew she might be armed, I wasn't going in there without a defense."

Zart sat with his arms crossed, not believing a word coming out of Winston's mouth. "So she cut you first?"

"Obviously!" Winston showed the cut on his arm again.

"Then how'd she get cut under her chin?" The Gardner continued.

Winston went rigid, "I don't know. Maybe she did it to herself."

Tensions were running high through the group, and the line of questioning fell back. "What do you think, Gally?" Alby turned back to him.

"I don't know," Gally muttered, just as tired as Poppy. "I think he was doing something else, and Poppy was defending herself."

"I think so too," Minho said, giving support.

"Same." Frypan agreed.

There was a chorus of support for Gally's opinion, showing that everyone was in favor of what he thought happened. Winston's face fell into an enraged sneer. "That's not what happened!" he yelled at everyone.

"Sit down and slim it, Winston." Alby glared at him. He battled with the authority figure for a moment before huffing, and taking a seat again. "I agree with Gally. Poppy was defending herself. Now we need to decide how to punish him."

Another uncomfortable silence came over the crowd, "We can't banish him, he's a Keeper!" A young boy said. There were a few nods of agreement. "And it's not like she died! She cut him back," said another.

Gally spoke again, "I say four weeks in the slammer with only one meal a day. He does something like this when he gets out, we banish him."

Winston was about to object when Alby raised his hand and silenced him, "I think three weeks with one meal a day, would be better. And we will discuss if he gets to keep his status as Keeper once he's out of the Slammer."

Even Newt agreed with this punishment and shook his head firmly. "I agree," he said.

"Me too," said Minho.

"Me too," Zart and Frypan chimed.

Gally gave a nod, and watched as the remaining Keepers agreed. Winston threw his head back in disbelief and pounded his fist into the dirt beside him, but didn't say a word.

"On to the next topic," the room shifted back to its original somber state, "We are going to listen to the Greenie and why she stole a knife." Alby motioned for Poppy to stand.

Her stomach dropped ten feet as she stood. Boys, new and old, leaned in so they could better hear. Poppy's story was the only one they hadn't heard yet. The only remaining question that all the Gladers had- why did she have the knife?

"Once Poppy is done explaining why she stole Winston's knife, we will be free to ask her questions. Until then, everyone slim it." Alby didn't have to say it twice, everyone was ready to listen.

Tell the truth. They'll throw you out immediately.

Poppy wet her lips and swallowed, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm from the place that watches you. My job was to monitor you all and control the Grievers. I made the Grievers, actually, I think. I was sent up by mistake so, when Alby wouldn't let me leave, I took matters into my own hands. Minho and Newt told me Gladers could be banished by attacking someone, so that's what I planned to do." A few boys leaned back in their seats, or looked to the person next to them, shocked at what they were hearing. "I stole a knife from Winston, that's true. My intent with it was to stab one of you in the shoulder and be banished so I could go home. I had planned on doing it last night at Frypan's dinner, so everyone could see. Unfortunately," Poppy cleared her throat, "I got distracted, and settled on doing it some time to day. But then Winston showed up last night, and I used it to get him off of me instead."

The boys fell into deep thought. Her story seemed comical, paranoid, to farfetched. A long moment came before Poppy was addressed.

"You're jacked." Gally almost laughed in disbelief. "I've said it from the beginning, and I'll say it again." He stood, demanding authority. "She needs to be locked up. To be watched."

Murmurs of agreement swished through the Gladers. "No!" Poppy screamed at him, "I'm not crazy!" She spun around frantically to face Alby, "I'm not crazy! I just need to go home. Banish me!" Poppy demanded.

Alby raised his hand for silence, which fell in an instant. Multiple boys had risen from their spots and looked eagerly on as their leader reigned them in. "Minho, what do you think?"

Minho had stood and looked to her with a sympathy, "She'll die in the Maze. She needs help, not death. I agree with Gally, again."

No Poppy's heart dropped.

"Frypan?" Alby said next.

"She's jacked, no doubt about that, maybe scared. But I'm not watching her."

"Zart?"

He stood and crossed his arms, "She's mad if she thinks she made the Grievers. I agree with Gally too."

"Winston, you don't have a say in this. Newt?" Alby looked to his side where Newt stood still.

He tore his eyes away from Poppy and the desperate look she was giving, "I'll watch her."

No, no, no, no. The girl who had been fighting inside Poppy's mind, encouraging her every step of the way to fight, to make things right, was defeated. She fell to her knees. I'm not crazy.

Alby started again, "We're trying to help you, Greenie. No one want's you dead. From here on out, Poppy, you'll be with Newt. If we find you with another weapon, you'll be put in the slammer. Keepers, you have to do regular checks on your stuff from now on. Greenie isn't allowed in the Slaughterhouse, kitchen, Map room, or anywhere else with tools. She's allowed to be with Newt out in the Gardens during the day while he's working."

Poppy curled down towards her knees, squeezed her head between her hands, and screamed.

I'm not crazy. I'm not supposed to be here. I know the way out.

Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.

Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.

Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.

Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.

Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.

One more chapter left! What do you think will happen? Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Last one will be up tomorrow. -Alison