The evening meal was full of laughter, high spirits and good food. Fry Pan had packed his stew full of melting goat meat and hardy vegetables from the garden. The hot meal filled the boy's hearts, abating them from the cold weather around them.

The new Greenie was in the midst of the celebration, wedged in between Winston and Zart on a wooden plank serving as a bench. He held a jar of Gally's moonshine in his hands and the boys were baiting him on, daring him to drink it. The dark-eyed boy looked around him, unsure who he should trust. Winston nudged him and smiled a friendly smile, signifying that he was in no danger. Still looking rather wary, the new Greenie raised the glass to his lips and took a tentative sip. The boys roared with laughter as he instantly spat it back out, coughing at the intense flavour. Winston laughed and pounded him on the back

"That'll put some meat on your bones!"

"Or melt it off!" Jeff took a sip of his own horrible liquid. The boys chortled and raised their glasses to the new boy, who was still coughing into his arm. Winston handed him a glass of water and the Greenie took it gratefully.

A little way to the left of the fire, Alby lay across a rock, Newt and Minho sitting next to him on the ground. Empty bowls were scattered around and near-empty cups of the moonshine sat close by. Minho was tapping his foot, eagerness coming off him in waves. He had told Alby he had news to share and was itching to get on with it. Alby was still unsure of what kind of news the Runner had, but Alby would not cut into the Greenies dinner celebration. The dinner was a much-needed adjusting period for the boy.

To keep himself occupied, Minho was looking at the new Greenie, sizing him up, taking measurements of his build. Presently, he called over his shoulder to Alby.

"He's a Runner,"

Alby took a very small sip of the moonshine, grimacing as he swallowed it.

"He's certainly got the legs for it,"

Minho frowned and looked back.

"Do you think he's too tall?"

Alby shrugged and Newt spoke up for him.

"The height could be useful for scouting ahead,"

Minho nodded his head, his leg still drumming the ground.

"Relax Minho," Alby couldn't help but smile. "Give Gally a chance to defend his Fight Ring title; then we'll get on with your report,"

Minho sat up against the rock and nodded, not looking overly excited about having to wait. Alby had a feeling that Minho's news was not as hopeful as he had once believed, but he was determined to treat this as any other Maze report. He did not want the Glader's to suspect something was amiss. He already knew Newt was feeling the same way and no doubt Gally was struggling to focus on his fights. The blonde was in the ring with Fry Pan now, his hands around the cook's shoulders as they pushed at each other. The fight had hardly started and it already looked like Gally would win, but Fry Pan would not back down easily. After a few more minutes of pushing and cheering for both brawlers, Gally took the upper hand. He pushed Fry Pan out the ring, much to the dismay of the crowd of boys. Gally, panting softly, put his hands on his hips and swept the crowd with his eyes, mischievously as he called silently to the next challenger.

Of course, as was tradition, the new Greenie was called upon to test his metal. With some prodding, he was thrown into the ring with Gally, who jeered him loudly.

Eve sat close to the fire, not too far from Alby and his trusted Keepers. She was watching the fight, a small bowl in her hands and her elbows tucked between her knees. Gally took a hit on the head from the taller Greenie, but he quickly recovered and the fight wore on. After some time, with bated breath and hardly an eye looking elsewhere, Gally managed to throw the Greenie off balance. With one more whack to his head, the Greenie toppled out the ring. Cheers of 'good job' and 'better luck next time' filtered through the boys as they gathered around him. Those closest picked up the Greenie and pounded him on the back, congratulating him on giving a good fight. The Keeper of the Builders shook his hand and said the same, retiring from the ring to let some of the other boys challenge each other. He was still panting as he took a jar of his moonshine and sat down next to Eve, stationed an inch or so behind her as if blocking her from the wind.

Minho cleared his throat and drummed his leg more, impatience bubbling over. Alby set down his drink and sat up straight, beckoning to Newt as he stood up. The tousled brunette caught Gally's attention and the blonde turned to them. The Builder saw the trio standing and understood. He made to stand slowly and Eve caught his eye.

"Alby's called the meeting?"

Gally nodded and handed her his moonshine. She made a face and set it down next to her. Gally smirked as he stopped on his knee next to her.

"C'mon, you've gotta be used to the stuff by now!"

Eve rolled her eyes and made a face.

"It's vile and you know it,"

Gally rolled his eyes and gave her a look.

"I'll be back after the meeting,"

Eve nodded gently.

"Well go on then, they're probably waiting for you,"

Gally lingered a moment, not wanting to leave. Eve noticed his hesitation and reached up to kiss him, an unexpected meeting of their lips that shocked Gally. His cheeks reddened; the Glader's were probably watching. Eve pulled back after a few seconds and smiled at him.

"Go!" Her voice was playful and she pushed him back.

Gally stood up, still shocked. Eve pushed his leg and he turned around. He started walking, heading after Alby and the others, who had already disappeared into the dugout. Gally shook his head, touching his lips with a finger for a moment.

That girl could do things to him.

"Alright Minho, you've waited long enough. Give us your report,"

Minho sat in the middle of Gally, Newt and Alby. The centre of attention as he often had been in their early meetings.

Minho spread his hands out, smiling an off kind of smile.

"We finished the Maze,"

His statement was blunt and straight to the point. Newt merely blinked and Gally made a face, confused.

Alby rubbed his chin with his thumb; he had known the news was going to be substantial, but this was beyond what he had thought. Although he could not help but wonder why Minho was not more excited.

Newt leaned forward expectantly, tired of the silence.

"And?"

Minho looked down at the ground, his hands clasped out before him, elbows resting on his knees.

"We've run every circuit of it, we've seen every wall there is to see in that place. Even the back sections, all eight of them are mapped,"

More silence followed his explanation. Alby leaned forward on his elbows, sliding his hands together dryly.

"Minho… you've finished the Maze, but there's more, right?"

Minho sighed, ducking his head.

"That's all I have. There's… there's no way out,"

"That you know of?" Newt asked quietly. Minho shrugged.

"I haven't seen one and I've seen everything. I can't have missed a single wall. There is no door, no handle, no hidden wall. There's nothing!" Minho's voice rose as he continued, despair filling the corners of his words.

"There has to be something!" Gally raised his voice, gaining the others' attention. He was leaning forward on one leg, his arm at a ninety-degree angle with his palm planted on his knee. His eyes were dark.

Alby raised a hand to Gally and turned to look at Minho.

"You've seen every wall?"

Minho nodded, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his leader.

"I swear. Ask Ben,"

"I don't doubt your words Minho," Alby could not stop the shaking in his voice. He was sinking, underneath thick, heavy sand. He could tell by the weight in his heart that he had believed it. He had taken the assumptions of the Maze as truth, he had believed it to be fact. Minho had finished the Maze, but… there was no way out. Alby had let his hopes get up without noticing and he could tell by the forlorn faces around him that they had as well. Minho looked crushed; he knew he had disappointed them.

Alby bent his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger.

"No way out?" His voice was quiet, not meant to be heard. But Minho heard it. The Runner looked up once more, his eyes shining.

"I'm sorry Alby," his voice faltered and he took a deep, shuddering breath. Alby was too stunned to acknowledge his sorrowful apology. Newt stared at the ground, his body frozen. Gally's face was contorted, strangled as he took in the news.

No way out. Was the maze unsolvable? It couldn't be!

There was a length of silence that passed as if time itself had stood still, each one of them frozen in their own thoughts. The hope, the eternal hope that they would one day escape this hell had grown in them for a year now, growing stronger and stronger with each report Minho had brought back. Every new wall that was discovered, every section completed had been another piece to the puzzle.

But to what end? The Maze didn't have a door, no way out, no escape!

"I'm sorry…" Minho's voice was hollow and Alby flinched. He resurfaced from the sinking sand. He reached out and laid his hand on Minho's shoulder. The Keeper of the Runner was crumbling before him.

"This isn't your fault Minho, no one can blame you. You've risked your life for us every day, you are only doing your job in telling us,"

Minho nodded, understanding what his leader said, but defeated by it. Alby continued, rallying his trusted three.

"We knew this was a possibility," His voice was heavy but certain.

"What are you talking about? We always counted on there being a way out! That was always in the plan!" Gally came back to life at Alby's words.

"Gally, please…," Alby rubbed his head; he had poked the dragon.

The blonde was riled, clearly agitated. He sat up, his hands spread out before him.

"There was always supposed to be a way out! It is a Maze, right? That's a puzzle, a puzzle is solvable,"

"We never knew if it really was a Maze, Gally," Newt spoke up, his face fallen and dark.

"Don't be a shank! If we had the slightest thought that it might not be a Maze, Alby never would have told the Glader's it was! We've hoped for months that this Maze would be solved. This can't be it! You've got it wrong!"

"I've run it all Gally! There is no way!"

"You can't say that. There has to be something!"

"How? Where? I haven't seen it!"

Gally was breathing heavily, excited and frustrated, a deadly combination for the irritable Builder. His old personality, his demanding anger was rearing its head once again. With steam practically blowing from his ears, Gally continued, his face red.

"Shuck if I know! But you must have missed something!" Gally was grasping at straws but refused to admit it. "What about those sections? There's a pattern there, right?"

Minho nodded his head, becoming frustrated himself.

"I would assume so, they open in sequence,"

Alby opened his eyes, suddenly curious. He remembered when Minho had told him the order in which the sections opened. Seven, one, five, two, six, four, eight and three. It was definitely a pattern; otherwise, it would be chronological. But what would it mean without a door to leave from?

Gally continued.

"See? A sequence! That means something. There is still more to this puzzle!"

Alby leaned forward again. The blonde may be hot-headed, but he had a point. Something Alby had not considered in his moment of lapse.

"Minho, could that be of importance? The sequence?"

Minho took a moment to think and as he did, Newt leaned into the group, his eyes glimmering with interest again. The dreary atmosphere was lifting, but caution was thick in the air.

"I guess they could. The numbers are clearly labelled on the walls of the section. That wasn't an accident,"

Gally nodded, his frustration giving way to determination. He was not one to admit defeat.

"Then we just have to solve those numbers. Something about them is special, it has to be something!"

Minho was nodding, becoming excited once again.

"I don't know why I didn't see that before. They could mean something, I have no idea what though," His voice fell with the last statement and he looked up at Alby. "If this is a pattern, I have no idea how long it will take me to solve it,"

Alby nodded understandingly, lifting his hand to stop any further words. Newt, Gally and Minho looked at him, waiting for his instructions. Taking a deep breath, Alby leaned forward on his knees, rubbing his hands up and down his face. The rollercoaster ride of emotions about the Maze was slowly coming to a stop and Alby had to make a decision. The Glader's had to be told something. Something had to be said.

But what could he say?

After a long moment, Alby moved his fingers away from his face.

"We will not speak of this to the Glader's,"

Newt frowned, an eyebrow raised. The boys looked at their leader, not speaking a word as his statement washed over them.

"They know we talked, they know it was important. What are you going to tell them? You can't lie," Newt's voice was insistent.

Alby shook his head.

"I will not have them give up hope. We will not tell them that you have finished the Maze,"

"Ben knows it, he knows we've run its course," Minho's voice was curious.

Alby brought his hands down to his lap.

"Ben will not speak of it either. I will not have the Glader's panic,"

"But what are you going to tell them? They're already hoping for something from Minho!" Gally was incredulous.

Alby raised his hands for silence and waited until the boys were watching before he gave his final statement.

"I will tell the Glader's that Minho has finished running the sections. I will not lie to them completely. They will know that you have run through the larger sections and finished mapping them. There is more to come, but there will be no specifics,"

Newt leaned forward, looking at Alby.

"But why?"

Alby turned to him, his expression heavy.

"I cannot tell the Glader's that there is no obvious way out. That there is no door, no escape. They will panic and lose hope, then the work will stop getting done. They will drive themselves crazy with wondering, that's when we'll start to lose them. I will not lose the Glader's to false despair. There is more to this puzzle and we just have to find it,"

"And what if we can't?" Minh's ominous question filled the boys with dread.

Alby sighed, long and slowly through his nose.

"Then we will die trying,"

By the time Newt and Gally came back to their hammocks, the darkness had spread throughout the entire Glade. Most of the Glader's were asleep, tucked into their own hammocks to rest before another day of work.

Eve was nowhere to be seen, but Gally knew exactly where she was.

At the pond, for her nightly bath.

Right now, with his head swamped and his hope in the Maze severely damaged, Gally could see the benefits of dunking his head under the cold water of the pond. It could help calm him down and help him sleep.

"You can't tell Eve,"

Gally, sitting on his hammock, looked up at Newt with a frown, his eyebrow arched.

"Tell her what?"

Newt was sitting in his hammock as well, pulling off his boats to get into bed. His eyes were gentle, but his expression was serious.

"About the meeting, about Minho's news. Alby doesn't want anyone to know,"

Gally scowled and picked up a towel from under his hammock, one he used only on the odd occasion for a bath in the pond.

"I know that. I wasn't going to tell her,"

"Then where are you going?"

Gally rolled his eyes and held up his towel.

"To the pond,"

"Where Eve is," Newt gave Gally a look and the blonde scowled.

"I'm not going there to tell her anything. I have to get clean now and then too, you know. Besides-," Gally shut his mouth before he could say any more. He had been thinking of talking to Eve all day. Those thoughts he had had while she was in the trees. How lucky he was to have her. He had to tell her, had to make sure she knew that she was important. With all the worrying she did about her presence in the Glade, Gally wanted to make sure she knew just how special she was.

Especially to him.

But he was not about to explain all that to Newt. Gally turned around and walked out of the hammock space, calling over his shoulder.

"We'll be back soon,"

Gally did not wait to see if Newt heard him but kept walking in the direction of the pond, his towel slung over his shoulder.

The moonlight was filling up the Glade, tearing into the darkness. It sparkled off the dampness in the grass, on the flickering embers in the fire pit and reflected the ripples in the pond.

Eve was sitting on the shore, fully clothed, facing the water, her head tilted into her towel as she wrung out her hair. Gally's mood instantly shifted as he caught sight of her, a small smile crossing over his face. No matter what the circumstances of the Maze, no matter how horrible the world felt right now, it was nice to know some things would not change.

At the sound of his footsteps in the grass, Eve turned her head.

"You're back. How did the meeting go?"

Gally stopped dead before her. He had told her Minho had news, hopeful news. How was he supposed to lie to her about it? Slowly, with his face set in an odd grin, Gally stood next to her, looking over the pond, avoiding her look.

Eve watched him, waiting for an answer.

"Gally?"

Again, Gally did not respond. He merely set down his towel and took off his shirt. Turning to Eve, he looked into her eyes for a moment.

"Do you have any soap?"

Eve frowned at him, the response unexpected.

"Sure," She handed him a bar of white soap, dwindling into the shape of an oval. He took it, grimacing inwardly at the slippery feeling. Eve's eyes burned into him as he slipped out of his shorts and stepped into the freezing water. Silently, he rubbed the soap over his chest, legs, arms and neck before plunging under the water to scrub the dirt from his hair. He could feel the filth come off him in waves.

He should really do this more often.

Gally resurfaced and washed away the soapy residue before taking a deep breath. The cold water had calmed him, just like he thought. But he wished it would take away his feelings. He could not help but feel an enormous weight had been put on his shoulders.

No way out of the Maze? What was the point in it all if they couldn't get out?

He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to think about it. Not anymore, not with Eve so close by. She might be able to read it off him. Gally allowed his face to relax before turning around to walk back to Eve. She was sitting with her arms around her knees.

Slowly, carefully, Gally stepped back onto the shore, threw on his shorts and knelt in front of Eve. She didn't look up as he inched closer and lay his hands on her knees. Taking a deep breath, Gally looked to his left, unsure of what to say to her.

He looked back and tried to catch her eyes.

"Alby will make his announcement tomorrow,"

Eve looked up sharply, her eyes narrowed.

"It's not good, is it?"

Gally dropped his gaze, Eve would see it in his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked up again. Eve was watching him, frantic thoughts racing through her mind. His unwillingness to speak was giving him away. Frustrated, Gally gripped her knees in his fingers.

"Minho finished the sections," He knew he would catch it from Alby if he heard him telling Eve prematurely, but that was all he had. He hated lying to her, but he didn't have a choice.

Eve looked surprised, even excited.

"The larger ones?"

Gally nodded.

"He finished them today. He just has to run the circuits,"

Eve grabbed Gally's arms, leaning closer to him.

"That means he's almost done, right?"

Gally choked inwardly, hating himself bitterly.

"Yeah, almost done,"

Eve searched his eyes, studying them. Gally pushed himself to smile for her, brightening his eyes. For a moment, she looked uncertain, as if she could tell his mood did not match his words. But she shook it off and pulled herself forward on his arms, pressing herself into Gally's bare chest. He was still wet, neglecting his towel.

But he didn't care. He pulled Eve up and into him, wrapping his arms around her back. He buried his cold nose into her neck, holding her tightly. Eve moved inward and sat down in his lap, Gally accepting her willingly. She relaxed against him and wrapped her arms around her back, pulling herself as close to him as she could. Her warmth spread throughout him and he breathed her in, the smell of wood, wind and rose petals.

In the still silence surrounding, Gally stirred against her, coming back to his senses.

"Eve?"

She nestled into his chest.

"Yeah?" Her voice was sleepy.

Gally shifted underneath her, curling his neck to look at her.

"Can I tell you something?" His voice was a whisper, not wanting to startle her. His gruff voice was hard to soften, but he did his best. Eve nodded her head against him and he smiled, almost feeling in a dream.

"I'm lucky to have met you, you know? To know you as I do. I know you think you're a mistake and I know I've made you think that. I was a shank to make you believe that we didn't need you. You're not a mistake, you can't be. I'll fight anyone who says differently. Because if I hadn't met you, Eve, if I hadn't taken the time to get to know you," He felt Eve shudder and he ducked his head to touch her cheek before he continued. "I don't think I could live in this Glade,"

A long moment passed after Gally stopped talking and he let his lips rest against Eve's neck, breathing in deeply as he waited for her to speak. Eve didn't move, her body had stiffened. At first, Gally thought he had upset her, talking about her being a mistake. He opened his eyes and he listened.

A small sniffle. The shimmer of a tear in the moonlight.

Eve was crying.

Gally sat up and tilted Eve's chin toward him. Her eyes were closed, small tears flowed down her cheeks. Gally frowned.

"Are you alright?"

Eve nodded, a small smile shining through her tears.

"Of course," Her voice wavered and she looked down. "I couldn't feel any other way," She blinked a few times and looked up at Gally. "I can't believe I mean that much to you,"

Gally smiled again and pulled Eve into a standing position, holding her loosely. Smirking, Gally reached down to kiss her forehead.

"Maybe it was the soap,"

Eve reached up to slap him; he ducked, smiling as he stepped away long enough to grab his towel. Most of the water had evaporated, but he dried the last of it hastily. Eve glared at him playfully as he pulled on his clothes.

"And here I thought you meant what you said," Her voice was light and Gally smiled at her. But he could tell she was still brimming, happy tears just now drying on her cheeks. Gally threw his towel over his shoulder again and beckoned her to follow.

"I guess I should have a bath more often,"

Eve threw her own towel at him and he caught it. She screwed up her face at him, following behind as they made their way back to the hammocks.

"We would all certainly be the better off for it,"