Sanction -Minho-

Chapter 36

Grace concluded that she wasn't like the others around her. They were stronger than her. This didn't seem to be as challenging for them as it was for her. They weren't bothered by all the people they lost, or at least they didn't show it. They persevered when she was falling behind. That scared her. Grace didn't want to be left behind. The only person who seemed to be feeling the same way was Aris.

Winston was still struggling. He was getting worse. Nobody understood what was wrong with him. "Hey," a voice said. Grace looked up. It was Minho. He fell to the ground beside her, resting his back against the wall. "You've been quiet since we got here." They found the shelter an hour ago. The winds had finally stopped. It wouldn't be long before they were on the move again. During that time, she remained entirely silent.

"Yeah."

Minho stared at her. She didn't look back. There was a distant look in her eyes. "Here." He held out his water bottle. "Drink some water." Grace knew he wasn't giving her a choice. Without saying anything, she took it from him. Taking a sip, she instantly felt relieved. Her body was incredibly dehydrated.

"Thanks." She handed it back to him. Minho screwed on the cap before putting the item back in his bag.

Grace let her head fall back against the wall. There was a soft thud as it made contact, but it didn't hurt. "Are you okay?" Minho was worried about her.

"Yeah." 

She felt selfish. They were all tired. She wasn't special. This wasn't easy for any of them. Grace focused her attention on Thomas. There were so many questions nagging at her. She was certain he was the person in her dreams. When Thomas stung himself, he would have remembered some of his life. Minho prepared to speak when Grace stood up. Without sparing him a second glance, she walked out of the shelter and up the small hill towards Thomas.

"Hey," her voice was light.

Thomas turns to look at the girl. "Hey." The mountains were still far away, but they were getting closer. Thomas could sense that something was wrong. Grace's eyebrows were drawn together. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." It wasn't anything to worry about. It was just something that was personally bothering her. "I was-" the question caught on the curve of her lip. It was hard to explain her thoughts. "Did you-" she had no idea how to word the question.

"What?" Thomas was curious about what she had to say. "Grace?"

"When you stung yourself, did you happen to remember anything about me?" It took her a moment to get the full question out.

Thomas licked his bottom lip, glancing at the others. "Why are you asking me that?"

Grace kicked the sand with her foot. "It's stupid." It was stupid. This was not a conversation that needed to be had currently. They had bigger issues. "I just had a dream once and," she paused. Thomas was staring at her intensely. "I don't know. I thought maybe it was-" the words wouldn't come out. "Forget it."

She went to walk away, but he spoke. "I did," he whispered. "I did remember something about you. A lot, actually." Grace turned back to look at him. "I remember them taking you." He rubbed his jaw. "I remember talking to you, apologizing for something." He had no idea what. Grace blinked a few times, processing the information. "I remember watching as they prepped you for the Maze."

"Thomas, I think-"

"It feels like they're getting further away," Teresa appeared beside them.

Grace cleared her throat. Her eyes locked with Thomas, both of them wanting to speak more about the topic, but they would have to wait. Nothing more was said. Grace walked down the sandhill, back towards the group that was waiting for the go-ahead. "How's it looking up there," Newt shouted to Thomas and Teresa.