"I think she's dead."

XV ~ Alex

Disclaimer: all characters apart from Peyton and Alex belong to James Dashner.

The next day, Alex caught sight of Chuck here and there. He was showing Thomas around the Glade, and looked very proud to be doing so.

Other than that, the day was uneventful.

Alex did manage to get some revenge on Gally - she kept messing up whatever he was building when he wasn't looking. This went on until around lunchtime when he saw her running towards the Homestead from where he was.

As for Alex's "big moment" the day before... she did her very best to avoid any mention of it. Neither the Icers nor the Gladers said or did anything about it, not even Gally. So he must have had at least a small amount of respect.

She also noticed that the Gladers stopped "checking her out," which she was beyond grateful for.

Today, Alex was working with the Track-hoes (aka the Gardeners). Their job was simple but probably the most tiring; crouching down over piles of dirt, backs against the sun, digging up weeds and planting seeds, not getting many breaks. All Alex wanted was some shade and water.

Throughout the day, her throat was getting sorer and sorer but when she told Zart, the Keeper of the Track-hoes, about it, he told her that it was normal and to get back to work.

"Lunch'll be here sooner than you think," he'd say.

You said that hours ago, Alex would think to herself. And yet, we're still here.

Her breathing got heavier and heavier as she was working. At one point, she felt like she couldn't breathe at all and began panicking. She looked around, hoping someone would notice her struggling, but no one paid her any attention. Sweat covered her body as black spots began blocking her vision. Then everything went black.

~~~this time skip is dedicated to my obsession of small things~~~

Alex woke up in what she quickly realized was the Homestead, surrounded by the Icers. She caught sight of one of the Med-jacks leaving the room as she gained consciousness and tried to say something, but her throat burned when she did. This caused her to enter a fit of coughs.

Harriet, who was on Alex's right, hurried over and picked up a glass of water that was sitting on the small table next to her bed. Sonya appeared at her left side and helped her sit up as Harriet slowly dribbled water into her mouth.

"How're you feeling?" Harriet asked her when her coughing came to an end.

"Like I wanna punch someone," Alex replied. She cleared her throat and her breathing evened out. "What happened?"

"You passed out, probably from the heat," Aris explained. He was so quiet Alex often forgot he was there.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A while. You missed dinner," Sonya said.

"Well thank God my day with those Track-hoes is over then."

Harriet laughed. "Come on, I had Frypan save us some food."

~~~this time skip is dedicated to Newtella~~~

Once Alex's stomach was full, she went to sleep in her hammock, but laid awake for a while.

She thought about Chuck and how he was just like Peyton, being in the Glade, Thomas coming. It was all happening too fast for her liking. Just like how she fell in love with Peyton, Alex liked things happening slowly, but ever since their arrival in the Glade, not one thing happened slowly.

Her thoughts took over and she fell asleep.

The next day was as boring and uneventful as the last. Alex talked to Thomas for a little and was quick to leave the conversation; everyone got on her nerves at some point, but some people were quicker than others, Thomas being one of these people.

At breakfast, Sonya informed the Icers that Newt had shown Thomas a small peek of the Grievers through a small window that showed into the Maze. After breakfast, Alby gave Thomas a "proper tour," which basically meant he explained everything to him in a more formal way, and he also told him the rules.

It was around noon when things got much more interesting.

Alex was working in the kitchen with Frypan when it went off. When Thomas arrived, Alex was deep into the Deadheads so she wasn't sure what was going on at the time, but once Sonya told her what happened, she understood. She was sitting against a tree taking deep breaths to calm herself down when an ear-piercing alarm rang. It was so loud that Alex could've sworn she felt the ground vibrating.

Just like in the Spring, the Gladers got one Newbie a month. When the Icers first arrived, it was the day that Chuck came. A month later, Alex was sitting on the ground when Thomas came, which was just the day before. One day. Not a whole month.

Then why was the alarm going off again?

It took Alex's reflexes a few seconds to make her hands clap over her ears and when she finally did, she looked over at Frypan, who was doing the same. She hoped his expression would give her some sort of hint as to what was going on, but he looked just as confused as she was.

She looked around, and everyone was equally confused. Someone yelled, "What's up with that?" towards where Alex assumed Alby and Thomas were. No response. Instead, Alby dashed towards the Box. Noticing Frypan doing the same, Alex followed. Everyone was making their way towards the middle of the Glade.

She spotted Newt talking to Thomas and listened in.

"Newt, what's going on?" Thomas asked.

For some reason, Newt seemed fairly calm. Sonya was like this too; being the only calm one in intense situations, being the one to force everyone to calm down. He clapped his hand on Thomas's back. "Means a bloody Newbie's comin' up in the Box." He paused, perhaps awaiting a reaction from Thomas. "Right now."

"So?"

"So? Greenie, we've never had two Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row." Then he ran off towards the Homestead.

After the alarm finally went off, the crowd waited. Chuck said that it took about half an hour before "the delivery" got there.

Half an hour felt like half a century.

A small boom told Alex that "the delivery" had arrived, and Alby and Newt pushed their way through the crowd. Together, they opened the two shaft doors and Newt leaned in to see inside. Then he stood back up, his face holding more confusion than Alex had ever seen.

She resisted the urge to climb over everyone so she could see inside.

Alby too looked inside and had the same reaction as Newt. Someone asked what was going on, and Alby simply muttered, "Two Newbies in two days. Now this. Two years, nothing different, now this." He looked in Alex's direction, but she knew he was looking at Thomas. "What's goin' on here, Greenie?"

"How's he supposed to know?" Alex asked.

"Why don't you just tell us what the shuck is down there, Alby?" Gally asked.

Alby yelled for everyone to shut up, then told Newt to tell everyone what the news was. He looked into the Box once more, then back up at everyone.

"It's a girl."

Everyone gasped at once and began yelling things that Alex ignored. Newt shushed them.

"That's not the bloody half of it." He pointed down into the Box. "I think she's dead."

fin.