And Nightmares

"I see the way you look at her…"

"I see the way you care.

"And I know you wish that… she could love you as a true daughter.

"But as her true daughter, I will tell you now…

"You're lucky.

"You're lucky she's not your mother.

"Because I hate her sometimes.

"Just like I hate you."

…

"I hate you!"

…

"Do you know what happened to your real mother?"

…

"Your real family?"

…

"They threw you away."

"Hope!"

"Ruff!"

Hope awoke to two familiar sounds, but not a very familiar area. The moment she woke up, Hope had sat up from whatever uncomfortable spot she had just slept on. Though, the longer she stayed awake, the better Hope could remember. And, as she stared down at the dirty ground, she started to remember… everything. The Maze, the Grievers, the kiss, going back into the Maze, Teresa's arrival, Teresa's vials of liquid, putting those vials into Alby, and then Hope being put into the Pit with Thomas. Hope remembered all of that craziness, and yet the thing that Hope's mind focused on most… was that nightmare.

"I made it for my parents…

"So give them this for me."

'Parents'. That word stuck out to Hope, because despite Chuck's words hurting her heart, that word 'parents' did something else to her. When Ben died, that girl whispered to Hope about her family. And when Chuck brought it up last night, her dreams consisted of that 'family' once more. But, of course, Hope didn't understand what those words meant. All she understood… was the feeling of dread she felt. In those moments, merely thinking about the world 'family' or 'parents', drove Hope to feel this intense dread inside. Though, wasn't family supposed to be a happy thing? A thing filled with joy and love? So then why… why did Hope…

"They threw you away."

Oh, Hope thought, that must be it.

"Hope…?" However, that was when Hope heard her name again. The voice had come from the same one from before, and it made Hope feel even worse. Therefore, she didn't look up from the ground. "Hope, hey… What happened? What's wrong?"

"I… I just… had another dream," Hope stammered out quietly. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like 'nothing'," Thomas argued from beside her. "You look scared, Hope... And sad."

"I've gotten used to it."

"Used to what?"

"The nightmares. I'm fine with them."

"You don't look-"

"I told you, there's… there's something… broken in me, Thomas," Hope interjected, causing Thomas' eyes to widen in response. He recalled Hope's exact same words from yesterday, and how he had pondered them right before he'd fallen asleep himself. But still, Thomas had to ask why. Why would Hope say such- "Unlike you, I don't think that I wanna remember my past. I just… wanna keep it hidden."

"Is that… Is that why you've never tried to get out?" Thomas asked. "Because you're scared of your past?"

"That's a part of it," Hope sighed, turning her head to Hugo and lifting her hand to pet his soft head. "But the other part of it is that I've had happy days here, Thomas. And I think that… I didn't have those in the past. So I was selfishly scared of… never having a… happy day again."

It was a vague explanation, but it did allow Thomas to slightly understand what Hope was trying to say. Moreover, it allowed Thomas to see the girl in a new light. That boy saw a new side of Hope, a side of her that was so much more sensitive and dark. There was a side of Hope that she didn't like, and it caused her to feel selfish. Broken. Strange. Hope's dreams didn't make her feel curious like Thomas', they made her feel petrified. So that… that was when Thomas suddenly realized that…

"He's trying to mess everything up!"

"Imagine someone trying to take your home away, Thomas."

"I've had happy days here."

Hope had been right: this wasn't about leaving the Glade, this was about the time they'd all spent in the Glade. And that time in the Glade, however hard it was for Thomas to picture it, had had some happy moments. Moments that allowed these boys to call it their home. Their peace. Their happiness. Hence, Thomas understood Gally. In some stroke of insanity, Thomas fully understood where Gally was coming from. He understood why some of them didn't want to leave, and it was all thanks… to Hope.

"…T-Thomas?" Hope let out a light yelp after feeling Thomas' head fall into her shoulder. "A-Are you okay? …Oh no, do you feel sick?"

"No…" Thomas said as he took a deep breath. With his nose rubbing against her clothes, Thomas could smell fresh grass. Fresh air. "No, I'm fine… I just wanted to thank you."

Hope blinked in surprise. "For what…?"

"For being there for me - for always stickin' with me," Thomas stated, a warm smile adorning his face. "You have made my time here… not so horrible."

"B-But I… Uhm…" Hope didn't know what to say, so she simply started blabbering on. "I'm sorry, but I don't under-"

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" All of a sudden, a voice cut through the friendly air and sliced it into two. Thomas immediately took his head off from Hope's shoulder, while Hope only blushed in embarrassment even more. Though, their shared awkwardness made the voice of Minho sound so much more sassy. "Greenie, you better not be hittin' on Hope. There are people here that'll kill ya."

"I-I wasn't 'hitting on her'!" Thomas quickly protested. "Are you blind?!"

"Y'know what? You two have the exact same expression right now," Minho acknowledged while glancing between the two Pit-buddies. "Actually, you look almost ident-"

"Are you here to get me outta here or what?" Thomas interrupted in an irritated tone. "Are we doin' this?"

"Never said we weren't, grumpy pants," Minho teased with a smirk still on his face. "Are you ready, Greenie? Sure you don't wanna sit this one out?"

Thomas scoffed, but a smile formed nonetheless. "Come on, man. Get me out of here."

It didn't take long for Minho to open up the Pit, nor did it take long for its three inhabitants to exit it. Both Thomas and Hope stretched their bodies, not being able to stand up or get comfy all night. However, despite Hope's shyness and aching body, she followed the two Runners to get their running gear. She had a smile on her face as they did so, too, since Minho and Thomas were a surprisingly good pair. They merely had this respect for each other, which was probably caused by Thomas' extraordinary bravery the other day. Either way, it was nice to see Minho so seen by someone. And as the sun started peeking over the Maze's stone walls, the group of four walked over toward the closed entrance. It would be opening anytime soon, and the two boys would be gone. But, hopefully, they wouldn't be gone for long.

"You sure you don't wanna come?" Minho asked once his back was stood before the Maze's closed doors. "We could use your quick reflexes."

"You mean my ability to scream at every little noise I hear," Hope countered and then shook her head. "But yeah, I'm sure. I mean, don't get me wrong, spending a night in the Maze was an experience for sure. One that I can't feel fully positive or negative about. Still, I like my job as a Cook."

"Well, we'll try our best," Thomas added. "We won't give up."

"I know you won't," Hope beamed kindly. "But please be careful, you two. Don't do anything too rash."

"Pfft," Minho snickered as he pointed his thumb to Thomas. "With this one next to me, I think that that might be impossible."

BOOM, GRUMBLE! But right before Thomas could retort, the Maze's doors slowly started opening up. This caused the three to turn to watch the spectacle happen, their eyes glued to the large gears turning and the rumbling stone. Eventually, the door opened all the way, allowing them to gaze into the desolate labyrinth. It looked the same as yesterday. And as the day before. And as the day before that. And as all the days before that. But, today, Hope saw an opportunity within that Maze. A hope. While Thomas and Minho stood before it, side-by-side, Hope looked between them with pride in her eyes. She could tell that something was going to change today.

"C'ya in a bit," Thomas said to Hope, prompting Minho to do the same.

"Have something good for us to eat when we get back, okay?"

"You got it, chief!" Hope smiled brightly. "And be careful!"

"Ruff, ruff!" Even Hugo joined in. "Ruff!"

Therefore, that smile and that bark was their cue: Minho ran into the Maze, making Thomas follow right after him. But when Hope saw them turn and run behind a wall, a strange feeling of worry washed over her. This worry made her smile fall, her palms get sweaty, and her heart start beating faster in spite of this feeling of… uneasiness. Something was about to happen again. Something big. Something fierce. Something so very shocking. So that was why Hope turned away from the Maze to walk back toward the Kitchen… one last time.

Throughout that entire day, there was a strange feeling in the Glade. It felt somber, puzzled, and especially empty. Without Alby, there was this emptiness that couldn't be filled. Not by anyone. Still, the Glade worked like it usually did: everyone did their part and waited for the Runners to return, wondering if they'd found a way out. Likewise, Hope tried her best to forget about her own uneasiness and went about her day like normal. She ate with Chuck, cooked with Frypan, talked with Newt from time to time, and tried to talk to Gally a few times. But now, Lunch had been served and everyone was sitting around the Kitchen. Except for three people.

"I'm gonna go give these to Teresa, Clint, and Jeff!" Hope told Frypan as she walked out of the Kitchen. With a tray of three plates in hand, Hope walked across the Glade, trying her best not to spill. Then, once she walked into the Infirmary, the girl greeted everyone with a smile. "Hey, guys. Lunch is here."

Clint and Jeff each smiled back. "Thanks, Hope."

"…And here you go," Hope said, handing the last plate to Teresa. Exactly the boys, Teresa mirrored Hope's smile and took her plate. Furthermore, when she thanked Hope, that same girl sat beside Teresa. "So, has he gotten any better?"

"Well, most of his infection looks to be gone," Teresa answered while staring at Alby sleeping in front of her. "His breathing and skin are normal, too. The only thing that's missing is him actually waking up."

"Yeah," Jeff sighed, "whatever that blue-stuff was, did the job."

"We think, at least," Clint added, taking a bite of his bread. "Again, we can't know until he wakes up."

"It's so weird…" Hope mumbled in confusion. "I don't understand the people that are doing this to us. I don't get why."

"Me neither. I mean, why bring up two girls after all this time?" Teresa asked even though she wouldn't get an answer. "Why bring up a boy in between them, too? Why did I have that liquid? A-And why am I the last one? After all this time, did they finally run out of kids or something? I don't- You're smiling."

"O-Oh, um, no, I… I wasn't…" Hope's smile immediately vanished after Teresa noticed it. "Sorry, I was just thinking how alike those questions sounded to my own. I had those same questions as well, you know. I was confused. Baffled. Scared. I wanted my questions to be answered, but since that was probably impossible, I just kept asking. My response to being stuck here was just… question asking."

"Really?" Teresa tilted her head. "You didn't freak out like… I did?"

"Nah, she just took it as it was," Jeff commented with a smirk. "The girl didn't even cry or nothin'."

"She adapted better than everyone ever," Clint said proudly. "She even wanted to get a job."

"Wow…" Teresa showed Hope a surprise stare. "You're fearless."

"I-I wouldn't say that - not at all," Hope stuttered. "I just don't think that I get angry easily, and I'm definitely not 'fearless.' Far from it, really. I get scared when someone merely calls my name."

"Still, you reacted better than I did," Teresa acknowledged. "I almost gave everyone a concussion."

"Hey, at least you know how to protect yourself," Hope remarked, making Teresa's smile grow even larger.

"I just didn't want any boys touching me."

"Well, the Watch Tower was a smart idea then!"

"And none of them could climb without a rock to the head."

"For a girl that just woke up from a coma, you were a genius!"

"…Uhhh." While Hope and Teresa started going on a whole rant, Jeff glanced over at his best friend. "Is this what girls normally talk about?"

"If it is, then I'm worried," Clint whispered back, "because they're just talking about hurting us."

"I think Teresa is," Clint huffed, "but I think Hope is just being supportive."

"Let's hope," Jeff said in a worried tone. "She could gouge our eyes out with that bow of hers."

BOOM! But just then, something started that would change the Glade forever.

BOOM, GRUMBLE, BOOM, GRUMBLE! Almost the entire Glade stood before the Maze's open doors, feeling the earth shake below them. From within the Maze, for the past five minutes or so, they had been hearing extremely loud booming echoing and grumbling through the area. None of them had ever heard such terrifying noises before, but what terrified them the most was wondering what had happened to their two friends. Had they caused those noises? Had they survived whatever caused those noises? For those five minutes, uncertainty and fear coursed through everyone's veins, because exactly like the Glade, the Maze was changing as well. It was evolving into something new. Something so much scarier.

"Woof!" All of a sudden, however, Hugo barked into the Maze. "Woof, woof!"

"Hugo, do you…" Somehow knowing what those noises meant, Hope's eyes widened in relief. Particularly when she saw Minho and Thomas run into everyone's view. "Oh my goodness! You're okay!"

"What the heck is goin' on out there?!" Newt asked once the two Runners had made it into the Glade.

"What have you done now, Thomas?" Gally asked as well, but Thomas and Minho merely strode past him and walked further into the Glade. Hence, with the two messed-up-looking Runners leading the way, Gally looking completely exasperated, everyone followed them, wanting to know what had happened.

"We found somethin'." Thomas answered Newt's question only. "A new passage - we think it could be a way out."

Newt blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"It's true," Minho huffed, still out of breath. "We opened a door, something I'd never seen before. I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day."

"Wait! Woah, woah, woah!" Chuck chimed in anxiously. "Y-You're saying you found the Grievers' home? And you want us to go in?"

"Their way in could be our way out, Chuck," Thomas stated, making Hope's eyes widen in realization.

"So maybe that's why you've never been able to find a way out! Because you needed to kill a Griever to do it!"

"But there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side!" Gally (not surprisingly) quickly started arguing against the idea. "The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he has done! As usual!"

"Yeah, well, at least I did something, Gally!" Thomas finally snapped. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and faced Gally head-on. Minho and Newt stood behind Thomas, everyone else stood behind Gally, while Hope found herself standing almost between the two glaring boys. "I mean, what have you done?! Huh?! Aside from hiding behind these walls all the time?!"

"Let me tell ya something, Greenie," Gally snapped back. "You've been here three days, alright? I've been here three years!"

"Yeah, you've been here for three years and you're still here, Gally!" But when Thomas yelled this, he noticed Hope's eyes. For only a split second, Thomas saw the sadness swirling within them, and he felt… he felt so… Thomas took a deep breath to calm himself, yet his eyes didn't stop glaring up at Gally. "So why, Gally? Why haven't you tried getting out, huh? Is there some deeper reason I should know about? You wanna tell me what it is instead of blaming me for everything?!"

"Maybe, instead of bullying the bully, you should try to understand why they're a bully in the first place."

And, shockingly, it worked.

For the first time ever, Thomas had managed to shut Gally up.

The Keeper could only stand there, staring down at Thomas.

While Thomas stood there too, staring up at Gally.

At that moment, the two boys saw eye-to-eye.

They didn't fight. They didn't yell.

They merely stood there, not knowing what to say.

Because Thomas saw the pain in Gally's eyes.

He saw the fear.

Thomas understood that… Gally was just scared.

Therefore, Thomas also realized how powerful Hope's words could be.

"Hey, guys!" But right at that second, they all heard Teresa's voice interject the silent situation. "Alby's awake."

Almost all of the Keepers, plus Hope and Thomas and Teresa, ran to the Infirmary as fast as they could. Likewise, the moment that Minho entered the hut, he asked Teresa a question. "Has he said anything?"

"No," Teresa replied simply. "Not a thing."

Upon hearing this, Hope had entered the room as well. But what she saw within that room, made her eyes widen like saucers. Without even looking at his face, Hope could tell that something was wrong. Something was different. Alby was sitting up on Hope's old bed, his back slouched; the same bed that Alby had graciously given Hope with a smile on his face, was the same place that sat Alby at his lowest. Furthermore, when Hope slowly walked around to see Alby's actual face, it was worse than she'd expected. There were tears in his eyes, his body was shaking ever so slightly, and those same eyes… were so full of pain. Pain. Just pain.

"...Alby?" Newt whispered, walking up and carefully sitting beside his Leader. "Alby, are you alright?"

But no answer came. Hence, Thomas tested his own luck: he walked closer, kneeled down on the ground, and looked up at Alby expectantly. "Hey, Alby… We might have just found a way out of the Maze." Still, the teenager did not respond, so Thomas continued. "Do you hear me? We could be gettin' out of here."

"We can't," Alby muttered in the weakest of voices. "W-We can't leave… They won't let us."

"What're you talkin' about?" Thomas questioned quizzically.

"I remember," Alby murmured, causing Thomas to gulp.

"What do you remember?"

"...You," Alby said, turning his head right toward Thomas. Thomas looked completely taken aback, but everyone else did too. "Y-You were always their favorite, Thomas." However, just as unexpectedly, Alby turned his head… up toward Hope. In response, Hope took an instinctual, fearful step back. "And you. H-Hope, you tried to… I'm sorry for what we did to you."

"W-What?" Hope stutterd with all eyes on her. "What did you-"

Loud shouts and yells cut off Hope, making everyone snap their heads toward the sounds. Some of them were hesitant to leave Alby, but those shouts weren't good. They were scared. Panicked. Horrified. Therefore, as Alby hunched over and started to cry, everyone within the Infirmary ran outside.

"Hey, Winston!" Newt shouted to the Keeper already outside. "What's going on?!"

"It's the doors," Winston told everyone. "They aren't closing."

It was a nightmare. This night was about to be a full-on nightmare, and Hope didn't even need to go to sleep for it to find her.