Secrets | TMR | One

2:0

The small room in the Homestead is once again filled to the brim with various Gladers, all of them yawning and trying their hardest to keep their eyes open after the long night they all had. 

"We're here to talk about Kenny" Nick announces, standing at the front of the room and facing the boys which are all huddled in a group.

"Where's Gally?" Newt questions, noticing that the keeper of the builders is missing.

"In the medhut. He wanted to stay back in case Addy woke up, and I thought that'd be best too."

"Do we need to do this now?" Winston calls out.

Nick uses his hand to rub over his mouth, then up the side of his face before resting in it just over the side of his jaw. ''Listen, I know we're all shattered, but we need to figure out what we're gonna do with him.''

''What's there to figure out?'' Frypan says from the back of the room, ''he almost killed someone.''

"Yea, and he only stopped when Alby punched him" Henry chimes in.

"Exactly why we need to decide on what to do" Nick states, raising his hand to silence the room, "we'll do the same as yesterday. Get everybody's opinion and put it to a vote, okay?"

The leader waits a moment, making sure everyone in the room understands before pointing to Winston. "Winston, you go first."

"I don't really know" the boy confesses, "we've not had to deal with this kind of thing before."

"Right" Nick says, pushing his weight down onto his arms as his hands grip the edges of the table in front of him. "Fry?"

"Well, I kind of agree with Winston. How we gonna decide a punishment for something this bad?"

Nick lets out a loud sigh, throwing his head down and hunching his shoulders. "We need to do something" he says abruptly. "Clint, you're the one who had to deal with the aftermath. Tell us what you think?"

"He really did a number on her. Had to stitch up her head, it was bleeding pretty bad, but the cut wasn't that deep, just a burst stitch. However, we don't know how long Kenny was strangling her for. Judging by how pale she was, I'd say it was a fair amount of time, and that's what I'm more concerned about. She passed out because of it, and now her breathing is very weak."

"And what about Kenny?" Nick questions, finally tearing his eyes away from the table and looking up to the med-jack.

"Kenny's a weird one. He's awake, but we've tied him to the table, so he doesn't go anywhere. He doesn't seem to remember anything but-"

"Or he's just pretending" Newt mutters under his breath to Minho, but quickly quietens down as he spots both Nick and Clint glaring at him. "Sorry" he mumbles, lowering his head down as he is scolded.

"As I was saying" Clint says, peeling his glare away from Newt and looking back to his leader, "I have no idea what happened to him in the maze, but it's changed him. He's become quite violent, which is why we had to tie him down. And that thing on his stomach has only gotten worse! Nothing I do seems to be working to fix it. Those purple veins are now reaching his arms and legs. That's pretty much it."

"Okay, so now we have everything, can we at least try to come up with something?" Nick questions, no longer trying to hide his annoyance.

Minho picks up on the leaders' harsh tone, immediately stepping forward so he is at the front of the group. "No need to be like that, Nick. We can't make a decision like this without all the facts, so stop being so moody."

"You're right" Nick says, tilting his head down to the left and pushing himself away from the table, "I'm sorry. I'm just angry at-"

"Kenny. I know" Minho interjects, "but taking it out on us isn't gonna help."