To The Shucking End

Chapter 10

"Come on!" Thomas challenged a Griever as it chased after them, a single wooden spear in his hands as the creature roared at them.

But before it could lunge, more wooden spears were wedged into its body as it roared in pain, ita attention drawn away from Thomas.

"Get up! Let's go!" Tanya shouted as she, Newt, Frypan and Minho readied the spears they had left, Minho drawing his machete as Chuck motioned them all into Council Hall, Tanya slightly worried when she didn't see Gally there.

"Move! MOVE!" Fry pan urged as they all rushed inside and locked up the doors that Chuck had barricaded surprisingly well.

"Winston, turn that shucking torch off," Tanya whisper shouted to him as the Hall became dark as the Griever banged on the door that didn't budge.

You could see the Griever peer through the gap under the door, almost as if contemplating its next move before it jumped onto the roof, making them all scream as the roof barely held.

"Stay back, guys," Newt advised as it walked across the roof, the group moving in the opposite direction to it.

"Shh," Tanya said as they moved towards the door, dust and sand falling down from the roof as the Griever walked.

The waiting was what was torturous. Waiting to see if the Griever would get lucky and get one of them, waiting to see if this was the day they'd die.

They all screamed again as the Griever's tail broke through the ceiling and grabbed one of the support poles, wrenching it from the ground and sending the roof caving in.

Tanya was knocked off her feet as panels of sticks fell, hitting her and Minho and leaving a gaping hole in the roof.

"Is everyone alright? Minho? Tan?" Newt called as Frypan helped him up, Tanya rubbing her ribs where they'd hit one of the steps as she'd fallen, but she was otherwise ok.

"HELP!" shouted a voice, Tanya unable to see who it was in the dark before they were pulled away by the Griever.

"Get away from there!" Thomas shouted. "Everyone get away from the walls!"

Their weapons had been knocked out of their hands when the roof caved in, and Tanya had been about to pick up a fallen spear when she flinched as the Griever's tail broke through the walls.

"CHUCK!" someone shouted from the other side of the hall, the group in absolute anarchy as the tail went for the small boy who screamed.

At least it was going for him before Tanya shoved him out of the way and the cold hard metal claw on the Griever's tail grabbed her torso and tried to pull her out of the Hall.

"MINHO!" she cried as he was the first to grab her hands, both of them trying to hold on furiously despite how sweaty their palms were before Chuck, Thomas and Newt grabbed onto her as well.

"Pull her back!" Newt called.

"Got her?!" Minho confirmed as they all pulled, the girl crying as her body was pulled in two different directions, the claw seeming to squeeze her tight.

"Help me! Don't let go! Please don't let go!" she begged as she was jerked through the air.

"Pull!" Teresa shouted as they tried to tighten their grip on her.

"Don't let her go! We're not going to let you go, Tan!" Newt promised as they pulled but Tanya was slowly losing hope as the pain in her ribs increased, her arms relentless sore as everyone squeezed them, trying to pull her back.

It hurt a lot but then she remembered how close they were to finally escaping the Maze, and she knew that she wasn't going to die tonight.

They were still pulling on her and shouting at each other when Alby ran at them, Tanya's fallen machete in his hand as he began raging on the Griever's tail. Over and over again he wailed on it, knocking off the needle that would've stung her before forcing the Griever to let her go, lest it loses its tail.

Tanya crashed onto the floor, Minho and Newt next to her as they helped her sit up as she coughed.

"Tan? Tanya are you alright?" Newt questioned.

"Tan, you good?" Minho added.

"I think my ribs are bruised but yeah, I'm ok," she promised after her coughing stopped and she looked up to Alby. "Thank you," she smiled at her friend.

"No, thank you, Tanya. You saved me," Chuck interrupted as the girl was still breathing heavily as she leaned on Newt's shoulder, everyone coming down from that adrenaline high.

An adrenaline high that came right back along with the Griever's tail and cut her off from replying to Chuck.

"Alby, watch out!" Thomas warned as the tail grabbed him and began to pull him out.

"Grab him!" Newt called as Thomas and Minho went running for him.

Tanya tried to stand but moving her arms too quickly strained her ribs as she grunted in pain.

"Stay here," Newt said to her as he got to his feet, just in time for Alby to slip from Thomas' grip and be pulled out of the Council Hall.

"NO!" Thomas wailed before he went running for the door.

"No, wait!"

"Thomas, stop!"

"Don't go out there!"

But as usual, he listened to no one as he ran outside in time to see the Grievers and Alby long gone and the Glade either destroyed or on fire.

"Where is everybody?" Chuck asked as they gathered at the door. "Who's that over there?"

Through the smoke of the fires, they were able to see three figures emerge from the darkness, one of them walking with an unmistakable stride full of anger.

He'd hidden the two other people he was with in the Box and had been about to go after Tanya when a Griever that was headed his way forced him to hide inside as well. And as much as he wanted to go after the woman he loved, he couldn't do that if he was dead. So, he was forced to wait it out before going after her with the hope that she was alive.

And if she wasn't and Thomas was, then there would be no one that could save him from Gally.

"Gally," Thomas exhaled before the boy in question slugged him in the face.

The rest of the Gladers exclaimed in protest as they held him back.

"This is all you, Thomas! Look around!" he raged as he fought the guys that held him back.

"Back up! Back up, Gally! It's not Thomas' fault!" Minho defended.

"You heard what Alby said! He's one of them!"

"One of who?!" Minho asked.

"He's one of them, and they sent him here to destroy everything and now he has. And I swear to you, if you've gotten Tanya hurt, the Grievers will be the least of your shucking problems," Gally seethed, Minho Frypan and Newt still struggling to hold him back. "Where's Tanya?! If you've gotten her killed-"

"I'm here, Gally," Tanya said as she appeared in the broken doorway of the Council Hall, a hand to her ribs as Gally stopped fighting the three boys and threw their arms off him before rushing over to her.

"Are you ok? What happened?" he asked as he hugged her, and she winced slightly even though he was gentle when pulling his frame to hers.

"I'm ok. I promise. A Griever tried to take me. I'm just bruised," she revealed as he lifted up her shirt, using his body to block the view of her from everyone else as he saw the bruises that were forming on her skin, the purple patterns doing the complete opposite of calming him.

If Gally was raging before he was beyond furious now as he turned around, preparing to kick Thomas into next week.

"Gally - " Tanya began, about to stop him before they saw what Thomas did.

He'd taken the stinger that Alby had broken from the Griever's tail and stabbed it into his leg before he collapsed to the ground.

Everyone rushed to his side as Chuck went to find the second and final syringe that was sent up with Teresa.

And Thomas went through the Changing as his memories began to come back.