The Maze Runner Rewrite

Part 6

By the time the sun was up enough for us to see and it was safe to walk through the Maze, Minho acted as our tour guide back to Alby. The jog back seemed so much farther than last night, but that might have had something to do with the exhaustion settling in. We eased Alby down from the wall, surprised but happy to see that he was unharmed by anything else.

"I can't believe we made it," Minho breathed as I untied Alby. "I thought we'd wind up in the Deadheads."

"I admire your positive thinking, Minho," I joked. A sort of peace and proudness bubbled in my stomach when he laughed in response.

I had thought Minho was this closed-off individual who was a little elitist, but getting to know him during this night proved me wrong. Minho was a good guy and I respected him even more now.

Once everything was settled in and they prepared to carry Alby back, I said, "Okay. Give me everything you got on you. I'll carry it so you're not as weighed down. It's a bit of a walk back, if I'm remembering correctly." I watched Minho pull various items from his pockets, handing them to me. For someone who didn't carry a bag large than a satchel, he sure kept pulling things out of random places on his body like a clown car. When he stopped, I teased, "Is that it?"

"I think so. Wait, no." He started digging through Alby's body as well to make him lighter. I shoved things where I could, but I ended up having to carry most of it. I didn't envy them as they carried Alby. We had to stop a few times, but when they switched to only carrying his arms and letting his feet drag, the time went by much faster.

I grinned through my exhaustion when I heard the Maze open, and I called out encouraging words. Finally, we turned the corner and I could see everybody walking away solemnly. Everybody except Chuck and another guy. Chuck started screaming happily, which caused everyone else to turn around. They cheered us through with surprise, quickly taking Alby from their hands and the boys' stuff from mine. I breathed out with relief, finally feeling safe for the time being. I could sleep for days.

Fry and Newt bombarded us with questions as I knelt over Alby next to Thomas and Newt.

"You saw a Griever?" Chuck asked.

I smiled at Thomas. "Yeah, we saw one."

"He didn't just see it," Minho said. "He killed it." Everyone fell silent as their eyes turned to him. I didn't know killing a Griever would arouse so much attention from them, but based on their reactions, it hadn't been done before.

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What I had expected was to be able to go straight to sleep, but instead my ass was dragged to Council Hall where everybody ate and hung out. Tonight, it wasn't being used for festivities. It was being used to talk about me and Thomas. Gally stood near the front along with Newt, Minho, and Fry. I assumed Alby would've been one of those people. Thomas and I were sitting on a chest behind them all where everyone could see us.

There was a makeshift stage, separating the leaders from the listeners, and since we were sitting near the back of it, it meant everyone was watching us. I felt like I was on display or being told to stand with my nose in a corner. My leg kept bouncing nervously as I picked at my nails, and Thomas laid his hand over mine. My movements halted.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"Is it?"

"Things are changing," Gally said with his arms crossed, and the room quieted to listen. Thomas took his hand off mine but spread his knees wider so that the side of his leg was touching mine. "There's no denying that. First Ben gets stung in broad daylight, and then Alby. And now our Greenies, here, have taken it upon themselves to go into the Maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here." I hung my head, not wanting to meet the eyes of the crowd.