𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ★ 𝙏𝙈𝙍

[12] The last one ever

Everyone in the Glade was filled with Concern and Panic that evening. Their Leader, their best Runner, and Thomas were Trapped in the Maze, and everyone was unsure whether they were going to survive, and be there infront of the door the next morning.  Elsie walked over to Newt, who was sat on the ground a few feet away from the door, staring at it.

"Newt?" Elsie whispered crouching down beside him, her pink Trainers digging into the grass to keep her from loosing balance. Newt had tried his best to calm the Gladers and make everything go as smooth and normally as possible, keeping a brave face on. he had spent the entire dinner time sat right infront of the Maze doors. "I got you some food. its your favorite, Tomato soup"

Newt Gratefully took the bowl of warm tomato soup from Elsie's hand, balancing it on his knees  and giving her a grateful smile. "Do you think Alby, Minho and Thomas will be alright?" she asked, sitting down next to him and crossing her legs. Newt was silent for a moment. "Im not sure" he replied uncertainly. "We can only hope"

"Eat." Elsie coaxed, lifting his hand that was clenching the spoon and dipping it into the bowl of soup. he sighed and brought the spoon to his lips. moments later, the bowl was empty. "Thanks Els" he muttered, placing the empty bowl down on the grass beside him. "Im sure everything will be alright, Newt" Elsie insisted. "They'll be there tomorrow morning, Im sure of it" Newt didn't reply, looking down. Elsie sighed, laying her head on his shoulder.  the two of them sat in a peaceful silence.

Early the Next Morning, everyone was awake at Dawn. Chuck and Elsie ran over to the Maze doors, waiting to hear the loud click and the turning of the Gears. The Second the doors showed sign of opening, every Glader was running towards the door, all eager to see if Alby, Minho and Thomas had returned. the silence was loud as everyone waited for the three boys to appear.

Elsie's heart sunk when the door opened, and no one was there. "I told you, Chuck and Elsie" Newt said, standing behind the two bestfriends. "They aren't coming back" Elsie looked over at Chuck, who looked crestfallen and at a loss for words. The pair watched as all the Gladers walked in the opposite direction away from the doors, accepting fate.

Elsie sighed, placing a reassuring hand on Chuck's shoulder. Chuck froze, staring in the distance. Elsie frowned, peering at him quizzically. she followed his line of sight and her eyes widened as she spotted None other than Minho and Thomas, supporting Alby's body as they walked down the Maze corridor towards the Glade. "Yeah! Yes!" Chuck exclaimed, cheering.

The Gladers turned their heads at the sound of Chuck's cheering, and soon everyone in the Glade had crowded around the door, exclaiming in surprise and cheering on the three boys as they limped over to the door. Elsie immediately rushed forward to help Clint and Jeff retrieve Alby and gently lay him on the ground. The Gladers were shooting questions at Thomas and Minho, who looked absolutely exhausted.

Elsie crouched down, gently dabbing at a Cut on Alby's forehead with her sleeve. "You saw a Griever?" Chuck asked Thomas as the Gladers all surrounded Alby's unconscious body. "Yeah" Thomas replied, out of breath. "I saw one"

"he didn't just see it," Minho said as he crouched down beside Thomas. "He killed it" Everyone had the same shocked expression on their face as they heard Minho's words. Thomas killed a Griever?? Everyone was silent, their eyes on Thomas.

an Emergency meeting in the homestead was issued. every Glader crowded inside of the Homestead, all chattering amongst themselves. Elsie stood in the Corner, leaning against one of the wood pillars holding up the structure as she looked around the room at the Gladers, the Noise filling her ears as she stood quietly.

"Things Are Changing" Gally spoke out, causing everyone's chattering to die down. "There's no denying that. First Ben gets stung in broad daylight, and then Alby. and now our Greenie here, has taken it upon himself, to go into the Maze" Elsie looked over at Thomas, who had been sat down at the back of the room by Gally, seemingly in disgrace.  "Which is a Clear violation of our rules here," Gally continued. 

"Yeah, but he saved Alby's life," Frypan added. Gally wasn't impressed, determined that Thomas was a bad guy, and trying to convince everyone else who seemed to think otherwise. "did he?" Gally asked, raising an eyebrow. "For 3 years, we have coexisted with these things, and now you've killed one of them!" Gally pointed a finger at Thomas in an accusing manner. "Who knows what that could mean for us?"

"What do you suggest we do?" Newt asked Gally  from where he was stood in the corner of the room, leaning against the pillar facing Elsie's. "He has to be Punished" Gally announced. Everyone in the room began to Protest, including Elsie. "Gally, that's blood ridiculous" Elsie protested, standing up straight and crossing her arms. Some Gladers were against the idea, and others weren't, causing a few arguments amongst the crowd.

"Minho," Newt called to him, silencing the crowd."You were there with him. what do you think?" 
Everyone turned to Minho, looking at Him expectantly as they awaited his answer. Minho paused. "I think...in all the time we've been here, No one has ever killed a Griever before," he said. "When I turned tail and ran, This dumb shank stayed behind to help Alby" he gestured over to Thomas. "Look, I don't know if he's brave, or stupid, but whatever it is, we need more of it. I say we make him a Runner"

The crowd burst with noise once more, some were against the idea, and others were encouraging it, Elsie snorted and looked over at Chuck as he began to chant Thomas' name, but no one joined in with him. Elsie agreed with the idea of making Thomas a Runner though, and thought it silly that Gally was trying to take leadership when it wasn't his place to do so.

"if you want to throw the Newbie a Parade, that's fine!" Gally yelled, putting a stop to the noise, obviously against Minho's idea. "but if there's one thing I know about the maze, it is that you do not-" But Gally's speech was interrupted by the loud rumbling of the box and the blare of the alarm. The box was coming back up, and it shouldn't be. 

Elsie was first out of the homestead, running like a shot across the Glade to the box, the Gladers following not too far behind her. Elsie was first at the Platform as the doors opened, peering through the Net. Elsie's heart almost fell right out of her chest as she spotted a Girl at the bottom of the box.  Newt and Gally arrived pulling up the Net.

Elsie quickly jumped down into the Box, staring at the Girl in wonder. a Girl. she wasn't going to be alone anymore! she wouldn't be the only girl! Maybe the girl would like to be her friend? she'd finally have someone to talk to and confide in about Girly things, she'd have a companion. Elsie's fantasies soon came to an abrupt halt as she remembered that this was meant to be a confusing event, not an exciting one. the box wasn't meant to come up today.

The Gladers all crowded around the Box, staring down in surprise at the girl asleep at the bottom of the Box, Elsie stood over her. Elsie crouched beside the girl, inspecting her. Elsie thought she looked quite beautiful. she had pearly skin and dark locks of hair, her face dotted with freckles, like Elsie's. Newt jumped down and stood beside Elsie, staring down at the Girl. "I think she's dead!" Newt exclaimed. 

"No she isn't!" Elsie exclaimed in horror, scowling at Newt. "Look, she has something in her hand" Elsie gently prized the Girl's hand open, revealing a note. she picked it up and passed it to Newt, who opened up the folded up piece of Paper the girl was holding. "she's the last one...ever" Newt read aloud, clearly confused. "What the hell does that mean?"

All of a sudden the Girl awoke with a loud gasp, startling Elsie. "Thomas" the girl exclaimed between ragged breaths. "Thomas!" before drifting back into unconsciousness, her breath slowing as she went back into a relaxed state. Elsie looked up at Newt with wide eyes. How did the Girl know Thomas' Name? Everyone looked at Thomas in shock.

Thomas seemed to get all the more suspicious in Gally's eyes.