The Beginning of the End // The Maze Runner // Newt

// Chapter 5 //

The door slammed open and an excited Chuck bounded into the room, startling Athena awake. She sat up quickly, lifting her head from Newt's shoulder and releasing his hand after awakening in the same position they must have fallen asleep in the night before.

The young boy looked confused at the sight of two of them asleep on the floor, glancing between them interestedly, but his expression rapidly melted to elation as he reported his news.

"THEY'RE BACK! THEY MADE IT!" He bounced around the room, telling his friends the news. He didn't need to get further than the second word before the two older kids shot to their feet and ran as fast as they could to the Maze Doors where they could see three figures lying on the floor with a few boys crouched around them as countless others hurried to join them for their unexpected return.

Athena reached the Doors first and elbowed her way to the front of the crowd where she saw Alby's still unconscious body between the two other exhausted boys.

"Where are Clint and Jeff?" She asked looking up at the group of boys before her while they hung on to Minho's words as he revealed that Thomas had killed a Griever. At that, Athena's head snapped around, the memory of Alby's state temporarily forgotten.

"You killed it?" Athena repeated, the thought of that almost unbelievable. "That's..." She tried to find the word for it but she couldn't find the right one. Incredible? Horrible? Insane? What word could describe all of those things?

"As in it's dead?" Wyck asked from the front of the crowd.

"No, it means it's prancing around the goddamn Maze preparing for a wedding." Minho sassed from where he was still crouched on the floor. Athena moved to help Thomas up from his collapsed state, noticing his efforts to do so.

In all honesty, Athena didn't know how to feel about the news. A Griever was dead. She could tell she wasn't the only one unsettled from the agape mouths on the group of boys seemingly frozen in place, but she seemed to be one of the few with a reignited fire in their eyes.

"Get Alby to the Med-hut and spread word about a meeting in 10 minutes." Newt instructed then headed towards Minho where they began to head over to the Gathering Hall, but not before Athena noticed the nervous glance he briefly sent towards Gally.

The older boy had been standing slightly away from the group, glaring at Thomas from a distance. She handed the Greenie off to Winston, instructing him to take him to the Gathering Hall as well before running to catch up with Gally who had turned away to head towards the meeting location.

"Hey!" Athena called out as she fell into step with the boy, "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Clearly not. I know you're mad at him." She deadpanned.

"Then why did you ask?"

"Touché," They walked in silence for a bit before Athena spoke up once more, "He's not to blame for all of this."

"I beg to differ."

"What's he done to hurt you so badly? You haven't even given him a chance. Cut him some slack for goodness sake!" She explained exasperatedly.

"Don't get yourself involved in things you don't know about, okay?" He said, a sarcastic smile on his face before he ducked into the Gathering Hall, leaving Athena to throw her arms up in irritation. She stood outside for a moment longer before running her hands over her face to pull herself together and follow suit.

The Gathering Hall was filled for the most part with curious boys in the bench-like seats moulded out of the dry ground. It appeared that Athena was the last to arrive and she quickly joined the meeting, leaning against the wall just behind Gally in one of the few spaces available. Newt acknowledged her presence with a nod and hence the meeting began.