In Dreams We Drown

44- Betrayal

Beth

This Gathering was more tense than any I'd been to before. I wondered briefly whether this is how the Keepers had felt the night they chose to Banish Stefan, Darren and Justin for attacking me. There was none of the usual chatter and friendly banter. In fact, nobody was speaking at all. Alby and Newt stood in the centre of the room with the Keepers sat around the circular room. Winston and Gally were together, both frowning. I got the feeling that Winston was attempting his best Gally impression, and had the circumstances been different I'd have probably laughed. Zart and Frypan were sat close together but they couldn't bring themselves to start a conversation. I looked to Minho, whose sarcasm and running commentary normally made meetings more interesting. Today, he sat separate to the group looking silent and sad. I didn't blame him. Of all the Gladers here, Minho was closest to Ben.

I'd promised Ben that I'd try to help him and I planned to keep that promise. Ben could get better, I knew he could. He was strong and determined... At least, he had been. The Ben I'd seen writhing on the floor had been erratic and terrified, a dangerous combination. Ben wasn't here to fight for himself, so I was going to have to do it. I was prepared, ready to argue against any pushback, but that wasn't really the issue. The issue was that I already knew the outcome of the vote. And I wasn't going to win.

"I don't like this anymore than the rest of you. But the truth is, we've got to Banish Ben. We don't have a choice." Alby broke the silence, and the Keepers listened attentively. I felt a surge of injustice on Ben's behalf.

"If you'd already reached a decision, Alby, then calling a Gathering was a waste of all our time." I grumbled, earning myself a glare from Alby and Newt.

"It's not my decision to make." Alby said simply. "We all get one vote, same as always, and the majority passes. I'm just saying what we're all thinking."

"Ben broke the rules. He gets Banished." Gally stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"He did break the rules... but he was out of his mind when he attacked Thomas." Newt considered, his feet shuffling.

"Doesn't matter. You break the rules, you're out." Gally replied.

"Of course it matters!" I yelled. "He didn't know what he was doing! You all saw him right before I sedated him, when he realised what he'd done. He felt terrible!"

"You don't know that." Winston objected.

"Ben is a Runner." Minho's voice surprised me. I'd expected him to sit through the whole meeting in silence. "He knows the Maze, and he's been running it for two years. We Banish him and we're a Runner down."

"Could the other Runners cover?" Gally suggested.

"Maybe." Minho shrugged. "But it wouldn't be easy."

"But you could do it?" Gally pushed.

"I just said we could, didn't I, shank?" Minho sent Gally a dirty look, daring the Builder to ask again. Gally just nodded.

"It comes down to whether the Glade is safe with Ben still in it. Nothing else matters, not what job he does, not that he was ill-"

"Newt-" I interrupted him, angry that none of these boys seemed to think the fact that Ben was ill should be taken into account.

"No, Beth, it doesn't matter." Newt shot back. "We've worked hard to keep order in the Glade, and if Ben is a threat to that, even if it isn't his fault, then he should go."

I looked at Newt, who I knew so well, and shook my head in amazement. Newt understood me more than anybody in my life; he would have known how much this meant to me, how desperate I was to save Ben from a terrible fate. Why didn't that matter to him?