Two months passed. Work in the Glade went on as normal and the tiny place continued to feel more and more like home.

As home as one could get surrounded by a Maze.

Alby followed through with his word and kept the Maze completion a secret from the Glader's. Their faith did not dwindle and the hope of the 'finished sections' gave them newfound determination. Alby hated lying to them, but he couldn't bear to steal away their trust in the Maze. He only hoped that Minho would find something more, something they could rejoice in.

Minho worked tirelessly on a sequence pattern for the Maze, taking on the newest Greenie, James, to be his scout. The Keeper went through pattern after pattern but had not come up with anything for certain.

A new Greenie had joined the Glader's in the meantime.

Ham was solid; thick arms and legs with a stoic disposition. His build made him an obvious choice for Gally's team. Ham became the hands and feet of the project as he did most of the heavy lifting now. Work on the Tower accelerated with the extra pair of hands. By the time Ham's first month in the Glade was up, the Tower had been completed. Alby was impressed with the speed and efficiency. Soon after, Gally began landscaping the space behind the pond, planning another building. He was determined to make some sort of house, a home for the boys to sleep in.

"I've had enough of those hammocks. I want a real bed," He explained to Alby as he laid out his plan, scratching out makeshift blueprints on some tree bark. Alby thought it was a great idea.

The Builders were taking well-deserved time off before they began the new project. The building would begin in the new month. Besides, the site would have to be prepared and ready for construction first.

The sixteenth month in the Glade was fast approaching.

One more day.

"So… Do you have any idea of what it will be?"

Alby gazed out into the Glade, leaving his second in suspense. Tiny flickering flames danced in the shadows behind them, a dying fire waiting to be put out. Newt held a jar of moonshine in his hands, sitting contently after a long day. The Glade was quiet, the evening meal over.

Alby held a piece of grass in his thumb, flicking it in and out of the moonlight.

"I don't know,"

Newt frowned, wanting more.

"It would make sense if it was another girl, right? This is Eve's eighth month in the Glade. That's definitely a pattern,"

A slight breeze brushed the blade of grass from between Alby's fingers. Unbothered, Alby ran his hand through the thick grass and plucked another one.

"It would be a pattern. We will find out tomorrow,"

Newt nodded, frustrated that they couldn't know for certain.

"Eve's worried,"

Alby nodded slowly, chewing on his bottom lip.

"I know. Gally told me that she's been having trouble sleeping,"

"Up most of the bloody night from what I can tell. Either that or she's gotten more restless since she first got here,"

Alby let the grass fall through his fingers, watching it settle on the ground.

"Unlikely. She knew this was going to be a deciding factor as to if she was part of a pattern. This isn't easy on her,"

Newt took a small sip of his drink, trying not to screw up his face as the amber fluid made its way down his throat.

"What are you going to tell her if it's a boy?"

Alby looked down at the ground. His arms were laying over his knees, relaxed and at ease in the coolness of the night.

"Nothing has changed. Maybe she was a mistake, a slip up from whoever is in charge of all this. But we haven't been harmed by it. Eve works as hard as any of the other Glader's. I don't know what we would have done if she didn't climb the trees,"

Newt smirked, looking at the ground before he looked up at the sky.

"Gally certainly thinks highly of her,"

Alby allowed himself a small smile, shaking his head.

"I don't think Ham would believe us if we told him how Gally reacted when Eve first came up in the Box,"

Newt laughed softly, taking another sip.

"I think the shank always liked her, he just couldn't admit it,"

"I don't doubt that. Eve's had quite an effect on him,"

Newt nodded, suddenly serious again.

"I think Eve is the reason Gally is such a good Keeper. If she had never come up in the Box, Gally would still be the same, hotheaded Builder he always was. She's changed him,"

Alby shook his head, laughing silently.

"Changed him for the better,"

Newt nodded in agreement. Alby continued.

"Just another reason as to why she's so essential in this Glade. That's all I can tell her if indeed there is a boy tomorrow. It'll be up to her to see the changes that she's made here, to see all the good she's done. I think it'll just take time,"

Newt agreed with a nod and finished off his drink, stretching out his legs.

"Tomorrow will be a big day for everyone. Gally's starting the new project tomorrow,"

Alby smiled, relief in his eyes.

"I think it'll do the boys some good. To have something more solid, protection during the night. It'll be better for everyone,"

Newt was quiet for some time before he spoke up again.

"If we can't finish the Maze... do you think this will become a home? Something more reliable?"

Alby looked down at the ground.

"I never wanted it to come to that, but I won't see the boys living in those hammocks forever. I won't admit defeat until I have to though,"

Newt nodded slowly, turning his head to look out into the Glade. The sun had set completely and the moon was shining overhead. Everyone had turned in for the night. Newt stood up, stretching his arms over his head.

"Let tomorrow bring what it bloody may then," He knew as well as Alby that it didn't help to speculate. They could only wait and see what the day would bring.

If only it wasn't so hard.

Alby stood up slowly.

"Work will go on as normal. The Box will come up past noon, I'll allow for a break, but I won't treat this day any different than the other Box days,"

"I think that would be best,"

They parted ways as Newt walked toward his hammock.

He could already see that both Gally and Eve were there. Although it looked like Eve was just about to leave for her bath. The tall second smiled as she passed.

"Not too cold for a bath?"

Eve flung her towel over her shoulder, a dull kind of smile on her face as she walked by. Her eyes were dark and her face hollow.

"I'll be fine," Her voice was muted. Newt watched her for a moment and then turned into the covering. He met Gally's eye, blowing out a slow breath.

Gally's leg was jackhammering the ground. He sat on his hammock, his chin in his hands as he stared after Eve. He was frowning, his brow was furrowed with frustration.

"She's been like that all day," It was uncommon to hear concern in Gally's voice. He had no idea what to do, that was clear. Newt sat down on his hammock with a sigh.

"I can understand,"

The next day dawned dull, the sun shrouded by hazy clouds. Unfortunately, the clouds did not block the sun out completely, the ground was already shimmering with heat. It was not lining up to be the best day for the job construction to begin; the dampness of the ground was seeping into the air and bugs were beginning to swarm. Mugginess made the Builders irritable, but Gally would not allow any complaining

"The ground is uneven, we're going to have to dig out the lot we need and flatten it. I don't expect much to come out of today, but we'll make a shucking start at it. So grab a shovel and get going,"

Dan and Ham nodded, although the idea of digging in this heat did not sound pleasant and their faces showed it. They picked a metal shovel each and set to work in the marked-off area.

Gally turned to face Eve, who stared back at him, expectantly.

"What am I going to do?" The edge in her voice was apparent; Eve was itching to do something, anything to be distracted. Her eyes were still dark.

He took a deep breath to relax his face and spoke calmly.

"I want you to help Newt in the garden until we need more wood. I don't have time to spot you in the Deadheads today. I need this plot levelled as quickly as possible,"

Eve frowned, looking out toward Dan and Ham.

"Can't I help dig?"

Gally smirked and shook his head.

"You haven't got the build for it, Eve,"

Eve bit her lip, thinking over his words. Her fingers were twitching, drumming against her sides as she stood before him. She hadn't slept well the night before, Gally had heard her tossing and turning most of the night. He had rolled over to check on her once and had found her hammock empty. Before he could get up to look for her, he had seen her walking back across the Glade, slipping into her hammock without a word. Gally had wanted to know where she had gone, but he decided to leave it.

Now Eve was a ball of pent-up energy. She had rushed through breakfast, asking Gally if she could do anything before the boys had finished their meal. It seemed that she didn't want to stop, she didn't want to have the time to think.

To think about what the sixteenth member of the Glade joining them.

Eve let out a soft sigh and nodded, reluctantly.

"Is Newt expecting me?"

Gally nodded.

"I talked it over with him last night. He needs some weeds pulled; some of them are killing his tomatoes,"

Eve nodded slowly, not looking up at him. Gally frowned and stepped closer, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"He'll appreciate you taking care of them for him,"

Eve nodded again and finally looked up at Gally. She didn't say anything, but Gally could see the worry in her eyes. He pulled her to him with one hand, holding her head against his chest as he looked over to see Dan and Ham's progress.

"Nothing is going to change Eve,"

Eve shuddered against him but didn't speak. Gally kissed her head and pushed her back, gesturing over his shoulder toward the garden.

"Newt's going to be waiting for you,"

Gally watched her go, chewing on his lip passively. He turned to see Dan watching him; he must have watched the encounter. Gally scowled at him, picking up the last shovel to join them.

"We don't have all day, shank. Get digging!"

"Newt?" Eve couldn't see the scruffy-headed boy anywhere as she stepped into the row of vegetables. She wondered briefly if Gally had really talked to him.

A blonde head poked out around a row of zucchini. Zart.

"Newt's going to be by later. He's talking to Alby about the supplies," Zart stepped around the plants and approached Eve, a friendly smile on his face. "I can show you where you'll be working,"

Eve didn't return the smile, merely falling into step behind him through the rows of plants. Zart turned in the middle of a row of tomatoes. He handed Eve a small gardening shovel.

"I think you'll see most of the big weeds, you'll just have to dig for a few. Once you're done, you can take all the weeds out behind the peas. There's a small barrel where we put the waste in,"

Eve took the shovel and nodded.

"Thank you, Zart,"

He must have heard the hollowness in her voice, but he only smiled again.

"I'll be around the other side if you need any help. There's also some water two rows down in another bucket if you get thirsty," He shut his mouth for a moment before continuing. "I think Newt wanted to say be careful about the heat… you know, this time," Zart shrugged apologetically with his last statement.

Eve felt her cheeks burn, but she only nodded absently, eager to get on with the work.

"Thank you, I'll be more careful,"

Zart nodded, looking relieved.

"Call if you need anything,"

Zart stepped around her and disappeared back into the foliage. Eve knelt in the dirt, which was soft and tilled, making it very impressionable at the weight of her body. The weeds were very obvious, the larger ones wrapping around the stems of the tomatoes, making it hard for them to grow. Eve took hold of one and followed it down to the source, digging at the earth around it to widen a hole. Soon, she was able to easily pull the weed out by its roots, making sure that none of the tendrils were still attached to the ground. Setting the weed aside, Eve followed the next one down to the ground and began over again.

She could see right away that this was not going to take very long and she hoped that Newt would have something for her to do afterwards. Sitting around to wait… to wait for the Box and the sixteenth member. Eve couldn't do it, she would rather be worked to the bone than have time to wait and wonder. She had had enough time for that last month. Today was finally the day and she just wanted it to be over.

At least, either way, she would know. She had either been made for this Maze or had been an error on someone else's part. After all the worry she'd struggled through, she just wanted it to be known. She didn't care which one it was; at least she hoped she didn't.

Zart was on the other side of the vines, his electric blonde hair shining in the sun. He was tying a long length of twine to one of the stacks; Eve wasn't sure if he was reinforcing or making room to add another. Newt had done most of the work on the garden when Eve was new to the Glade. But now that Zart was Keeper, he had a completely different method. Whenever Newt was in the garden, there was sometimes a clash in opinions, but Newt respected Zart's authority and more often than not, Zart got his way.

Looking at him now, Eve realized she hadn't spoken much to him. But it was easy to see that he was a solid worker and took the growing of the Glade's food seriously. It was no small task to keep the garden in check and Zart was always there.

Eve pulled another weed out and added it to her pile.

"Zart?"

The boy looked up through the branches, meeting her eyes and smiling.

"Need something?" He was so cheerful, eager to be helpful. Eve wanted to smile, but couldn't. She shook her head, looking down to check the weed that she had just pulled.

"Not really, I just wanted to ask you something," Eve could feel her cheeks flushing and she shook herself before looking up at the Keeper. He looked curious, his hands still tangled in twine as he watched her, eyes full of gentle encouragement.

"Go ahead,"

"Do you ever… I mean, I guess it's different for you. But do you ever wonder if you're not meant to be here?"

Zart looked confused and Eve kicked herself. Of course, he doesn't! She tried again.

"I mean… Do you ever think that maybe you weren't meant to be picked for this? Like maybe there was another boy that was supposed to come after Clint, but you were sent up instead?"

Eve couldn't help thinking she was instilling doubt in Zart, unintentionally. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

His expression was unreadable for a moment.

"I don't think I have," He readjusted his squat in the dirt. "I don't know how I would ever know if I was. Besides, I've never felt like I belong here in general," Zart gestured around the Glade with his pruning knife, turning back to Eve with an apologetic look on his face. "I don't know if that helps you,"

Eve shook her head.

"It's alright. I didn't really know what I was trying to ask…," Her voice trailed off, her eyes pricking with tears.

A rustling of leaves made her look up. Zart was leaning closer, his face clearly defined in the sunlight.

"I don't think it's much use wondering one way or the other. I'm here, you're here, we're all here. We all work and we all do our best,"

Eve wasn't sure if Zart knew why she was asking him, but he seemed to want to ease her mind regardless. She nodded, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

"I think you're right. Thank you,"

Zart smiled and nodded.

"Anytime. Need anything else?"

Eve shook her head.

"No, no it's fine. You've given me all I need for now,"