Ben returned to her tree, it was dried up and was void of all life. It had died just as she had died.
"It's not fair," Ben let the tear fall off his face. "It's just not fair."
The past two months had been so hard, Ben was struggling more and more with the secret of the maze. Maybe he should follow her advice, tell everyone and fight Alby for power. Ben didn't want that, he just wanted her back. He wanted to see her again, and finally tell her that he loved her. He just didn't want to lose her like he had.
"I should have been better for you," he whispered as if she could hear him.
He came to carve the final number: 163.
"I just can't do this anymore," he admitted to the silence of the Deadhead. "I just can't."
He started to dig, burning his fingers into the cold hard ground. It hurt but he didn't stop, not to wipe away his watering eyes or to give his aching fingers a break. He dug until he found what he was looking for. Finally, he came upon a piece of fabric, the very same cloth from all those nights ago. He pulled the object from the ground and wrapped it; it was slightly dirty and was nearly too cold to grasp in his bare hand.
Ben dropped his head," I'm so sorry I lied to you..."
Ben looked at the Griever stinger, the very one he had promised her that he had taken back into the maze. It had scared her so much, the terror she had had shook him to his core. He never wanted to scare her. Ben feared he had brought the most pain to her out of anyone in the Glade and that devastated him.
"I loved you. I still love you. I wish I could take it all back," he grasped the chilled metal in his hand, but he felt numb to the burn. "I just can't do this without you..."
Ben debated for a second, was this real what he should do... but the time for those thoughts was gone. He knew this was the end.
"I really am sorry," he said as he drove the needle into his stomach.
Immediately he fell to his side, the scorching pain overwhelmed his entire body, and he heard voices echo in his head. In a blur he saw the Greenie, the new one, Thomas. All the visions blended, and it all made sense.
Ben lay there," Thomas," he muttered, his body sore and his mind fuzzy. "He did this to us. To you," he spoke to her. "He's the one to blame for all this."
Ben was fueled with a new reason to live. Revenge.
Thomas had been in the Glade for only a few days, but he was nonstop going on about the maze. It had become his obsession. As Zart, Newt and Thomas worked on the new trellis that Zart wanted for the planting season, Thomas littered them with questions.
"Has anyone ever tried climbing to the top?"
"I tried it, but the ivy doesn't go all the way to the top," Newt said, leaving out that he had been successful at scaling the wall. "Besides, where are you going to go from there?"
Newt had climbed with one intention and that was down.
"What about the box? Next time it comes up we could jump..."
"No," Newt cut him off while trimming. "We tried that, but the box won't go back down with someone inside."
"What if we," Thomas began again.
Newt was to the point of laughter; this new Greenie had a strong head.
"Look we tried it, all right? Twice. Trust me, everything you think of we've already tried. The only way out is through the maze."
Zart nodded in agreement, but Thomas seemed unable to give up.
"Look, if you want to be helpful, go dig us up some more fertilizer," he grinned while handing Thomas the bucket and shovel.
Thomas left grumbling his complaints under his breath as he went to the Deadhead.
"These Greenies, what do they think we've been doing," Newt joked.
"Just sitting on our butts all day long," Zart smiled. "But... he does remind me of her."
Newt froze, no one had spoken to him about her. She had been a topic of no mention, something that was unspoken agreement between them all, but Zart only gave him a small knowing smile.
"He's stubborn and determined, she was just the same," he spoke casually, but Zart knew that Newt was listening intently. "Must be why you're so fond of him," he smiled up to Newt.
"He's a Greenie," Newt turned away sharply. "I look out for all the Greenies."
They worked in silence until a faraway cry for help was heard. Newt looked up to see it was much closer than he realized. Thomas bolted out of the tree line with Ben right behind him.
"HELP!," Thomas cried to anyone that would hear and Ben pounced on him. Ben crawled up onto Thomas, spitting vile hatred and tried to put his hands around Thomas' neck. Newt stepped in swinging a slab of wood meant to be a support for the trellis into Ben's face.
"Calm down, Ben," The Glader's pinned him to the ground.
"What happened?!"
"He just attacked me!," Thomas was out of breath.
"You okay?," Chuck asked him concerned.
Alby had come running and saw the crazed look in Ben's eyes as he tried to jerk away from everyone. His skin was pale, and he looked unhealthy, not like he had just the other day.
"No, no, no!," Ben pleaded.
"Lift his shirt," Alby demanded and it exposed the fresh wound of a Griever sting. The poison was creeping out in all directions staining his veins black and purple.
"No, no! No, please," Ben was begging.
"He's been stung," Gally announced and then his brows knitted together in confusion. "In the middle of the day?"
"Please, please just help," Ben whimpered.
"Put him in the pit," Alby ordered and the Glader came forward to pick him up.
"No! Please don't do it!," Ben thrashed trying to free himself, but it was no use. The Gladers picked him up with ease and began to carry him away. "Get off me! Get off me! You don't understand! Please stop! HE DID THIS! STOP! NO, PLEASE!"
"Calm down Ben," Newt tried to settle him, but it was no use as he continued to flail.
The group dropped him off in the pit, but Ben clung to the bars.
"Please! Please! You don't understand!"
Newt and Alby sat with him for nearly an hour, but Ben was rambling madness and not making any sense. Newt had seen this; it only gets worse as the infection spreads.
"Alby, what should we do?," Newt turned to him.
"His fate is decided. He's too dangerous and we don't have any antidote."
That was all that needed to be said. Newt knew what his fate was and couldn't believe that something like this had happened so suddenly. Not so long ago, Ben was a blubbering mess about her death, not he was about to die himself. Newt had liked Ben, he was a good runner but his big mouth had always been a problem. Newt had never expected this to be his stood and watched as Mihno brought Ben to the entry of the maze, his hands tied as he begged anyone to listen to him.
Ben tried to form the words, but it was impossible. He couldn't spill it out that the man responsible for all their pain was standing just behind them. It was Thomas who had done this. He just couldn't say it.
Mihno tossed a bag into the maze for him.
"Please! No!," Ben was on his knees.
"POLES!," Alby commanded and they lowered their sticks to shove him into the maze. Newt's only solace was that she wasn't here to see it, she had always had a soft spot for Ben. They were friends at one time, and it was hard to see him crying as he knew he was being sent to his death. It would be lonely and painful, but there was no other way to keep the Glade safe. The doors shut and Newt was conflicted, he felt bad for Ben and wished there could have been a way to save him.
Alby made the hard decision; he always did, which was why he was the leader. He knew Ben had to be exiled and the next day he knew he needed answers about Ben's sting, so Alby when into the maze.
"Why would Alby go into the maze if he's not a Runner?," Thomas asked Newt.
"Things are different now," Newt explained as he and Zart attempted to remove a stubborn stump next to the Gathering hut. "Alby went to retrace Ben's footsteps before sundown. Are you gonna help?," Newt asked taking another swing with his machete.
Since that day in the woods, he had not been able to hold an axe, perhaps he never would again. Thomas sat on a log beside Chuck who was working on a new whittling piece, but at least he was doing something unlike Thomas.
"So Alby's going to go back to where Ben was just stung!"
"Alby knows what he's doing, he knows better than any of us."
"What does that mean?"
Newt turned from the stump, letting Zart take over for the moment. "Look, every month the box sends up a new arrival, but someone had to be first. Someone spent a whole month in the Glade alone," Newt swung at the stump, sending a chunk of bark flying past him. "It couldn't have been easy, but when more boys arrived, he saw the truth. He learned the most important thing is that we all have each other. We're all in this together."
All of us but one, Newt said only to himself. She had me.
Newt didn't dwell on her as Thomas stood up and started to swing at the stump to budge it loose.
"Yeah, there you go, Greenie," he smiled, and the thunder roared above them. It wasn't even minutes before the skies opened and rain poured down on the Glade. The entire Glade ran for cover in the Homestead, keeping eyes on the maze for the return of Alby and Mihno.
"They should be back by now. What happens if they don't make it?," Thomas turned to Newt who was sheltered from the rain.
"They're gonna make it," Newt told him confidently even as fear crept into his skin. The day was coming to a close and the pair had yet to return. The rain began to fade and Gladers emerged to gather at the maze door. After staring into the maze for some time Thomas finally spoke.
"Can't we send someone into the maze after them?"
"That's against the rules," Gally scoffed. "Either they make it back or they don't."
"We can't risk anyone else," Newt agreed, but a piece of him wishes it wasn't. If she had been here saying those words, he would have agreed. He would have volunteered to venture in after Alby, but she wasn't, and he didn't.
The door creaked and began to close sending Newt's heart to his feet. Was he really about to lose everyone? If Alby was gone that meant he would be the new leader, but he couldn't. Not now.
"Look there!," Thomas pointed down the long corridor.
In the distance Newt saw Alby, but he was practically being dragged by Mihno. "Something's wrong," he muttered. They were basically crawling at that speed and Newt knew they would never make it to the Glade before the doors shut.
"Come on Mihno! You can do it!," Chuck yelled.
"Come on!," The Gladers tried to encourage Mihno to push through and make it. The doorway was getting smaller and smaller and Mihno dropped Alby off his shoulder and tried to drag him by his feet.
"Mihno, leave him!," Gally screamed.
"They're not going to make it," Newt spoke his greatest fear out loud, letting the sounds of the cheering fade away. He watched Mihno fight with everything he had, screaming as he pulled Alby's body with him, desperate to make it before the door closed.
"Come on, Come on," Newt muttered to himself despite the facts. The door was too far and Mihno was exhausted, he would never make it in time. Bedside him he saw a flash of movement; Thomas had thrown himself into the door. Newt lurched forward, grabbing his shirt, but Thomas tugged free, escaping into the maze.
"THOMAS NO!," Chuck cried, but he was gone.
The door shut and the concrete settled, Newt had to make himself close his mouth. They were gone, truly gone. Alby. Mihno. Thomas. Three people gone in the blink of an eye.
"Why would Thomas do that!?," Chuck slammed his hand on the door.
"He's Griever bait now," Gally grumbled and turned from the door.
"Alby's really gone," Clint said the harrowing words that brought a hush over the group.
"Alby's gone," Jeff repeated.
"He did what was right," Newt spoke up. "He always did what was right. Tomorrow night we will honor him."
"But what if they make it out?," Chuck turned to Newt.
Before Newt could respond, Gally stepped in. "Are you jacked? No one survives a night in the maze... not even Alby," Gally turned to Newt. "I'll make some hooch, good stuff, the kind Alby deserves."
"Thanks," Newt clapped him on the back as he headed towards the kitchen. The Gladers dispersed slowly, the last standing was Chuck and Newt.
"So they're going to die in there," Chuck sniffled.
"The maze is a dangerous place... Mihno and Alby knew the risks and Thomas was too jacked to understand." Newt wandered away towards the Bloodhouse.
Maybe Zart was right, he wondered. Maybe Thomas is a lot like her. She would have done something like that too, she did try to escape twice. Why would he run in there?! I told him it was a death trap. I warned him...
Newt felt like he should have done more, could he have stopped Thomas? Probably not... He knew all too well you can't stop someone who has their mind set on something. He thought of her, she was determined and stubborn. She always had a strong sense of right and wrong, she would have tried to save Alby too even if she didn't like him.
What about now? What do I do... Alby is gone and now I have to be the one in charge. I'm not like Alby, Newt knew this all too well. He struggled to make the tough choices; would he have been able to banish Ben like Alby had? It was for the Glade, but Ben was a person.
Maybe Chuck will be a lucky charm and Alby will make it through the night, Newt thought, but knew it was too far from the truth.
Chuck had practically camped outside the maze door, unfazed by the shifting of the maze but he was lucky enough to not hear any screams.
"Hey guys! Get up!," Chuck called as the doors opened the next morning.
Newt had been awake all night, listening to anything to come from the maze. He was at the door within seconds, watching the concrete expand to see an empty, dark corridor. Newt had been preparing himself for it, but he realized he had hope that Alby would make it through. What a slinthead. Of course there is nothing here.
"Told you Chuck. They aren't coming back."
Newt had to turn away from the maze, he couldn't look at the barren hall anymore knowing that Alby had died there. So many had died there.
"No way," he heard Zart say.
"YEAH!," Chuck jumped excitedly because there walking towards them was Thomas and Mihno and slung between them was Alby. The team fell into the Glade, dropping Alby to the ground and struggling to catch their breath.
"What happened? How did you guys make it!?," Zart was in awe.
"Did you see a Griever?," Chuck turned from Alby's unconscious body to Thomas.
"Yeah, I saw one," he admitted while breathing heavily.
"He didn't just see it," Mihno shook his head. "He killed it."
Newt was knelt over Alby's body with Jeff, but that news was too incredible to stay focused. Newt looked at the Greenie, he was so ordinary, he could have been anyone..., but he was here. He survived the maze, saved Alby, and killed a Griever all in one night. Could any Glader be so lucky?!