THANATOPHOBIA - newt [1]

~ ELEVEN

It was Lelas turn to watch Alby in his Medjack station, whilst Minho, Thomas, and a few volunteers from the Bricknicks went into the maze to investigate the dead Griever from the previous night.

She stayed sat beside Alby for a few hours, keeping him safe and calm. Occasionally she would give him a spritz of water across his face to replace the hot sweat that was on his brow.

Alby was her priority, and so she asked Jeff to watch over the other patients whilst she took care of hers.

The second she went to swap with Theresa, she could hear arguing outside in the Glade. Two voices. Gally and Thomas, to be exact.

"Give me a second." She nodded at Theresa, before running over to the group.

"The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he has done, as usual!" Gally shouted to the Gladers.

"Yeah, at least I did something, Gally. I mean, what have you done?" Thomas raised a good question. "Aside from hide behind these walls all the time?"

"Let me tell you something, Greenie." He stepped forward, "You've been here 3 days, all right? I've been here 3 years!"

"Yeah, you've been here 3 years and you're still here, Gally! What does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently."

"Maybe you should be in charge, what about that?" Gally started shoving.

"Hey!" Lela interjected, pushing her way between the two. "Hey!"

"Of course you're here." Gally scoffed.

Lela looked him in the eye, "Last I checked, Alby trusted me with Thomas."

"What about Newt?" Frypan asked, wondering why Lela had suddenly taken over.

As if planned, Newt stood forward from the crowd, and turned to the Gladers, "Alby left me in charge."

Lela sighed, knowing that Newt was right. After all, she didn't really have any power in the Glade, she was just respected and listened to. She was the Glade's favourite.

"But." Newt paused, "I do trust Lela's opinion. And it seems she has quite a good one this time."

"What the hell?" Gally complained, turning his attention off Lela, "You can't be serious."

"Except from when I am." He took a breath, now knowing whether he was going to regret his next words, "Me and Lela are equal. Whatever she says goes, as well as me."

The Glade filled with voices, Lela couldn't distinct all of them, but recognised a few.

"That's jacked, dude."
"What the clunk?"

Of course, Chuck's voice was the loudest, as he supported his roommate, "Lela, Lela, Lela!" He was looking around, trying to find voices to join him.

Frypan noticed the young boy, looking disappointed, and cheered him up, "Lela!"

She sent a soft, warm smile to the cook, appreciating the small but kind gesture. He returned it with a nod, understanding fully.

"Slim it!" Lela shouted over them, hearing the noise die down, "All of you! Today, Thomas did something that none of us have done. Yes, it was foolish, but its the most progress we've seen since the Glade began, okay? And I say, we listen to what he has to say about it."

Before any Glader could answer, Theresa ran up to the group, only a light jog as she spoke, "Hey, it's Alby! He's awake."

Lela looked between Newt and Thomas before sprinting over to the Medjack hut, trying to get there before anybody else so that she could tend to him whilst conscious.

______

Of course, she got there first. She knew she would. She could run fast, but not fast enough to be a Runner.

Not that she would want to be a Runner, nobody does. Being a Runner meant signing your life away to the maze, and praying you didn't die each day.

Lela found Alby sat upright, looking down at the floor deep in thought, as if he was contemplating everything.

"Has he said anything?" Lela turned back to Theresa, who would know the answer.

"No." She shook her head.

Lela sighed before crouching down in front of Alby, speaking I'm a soft, hushed tone, "Alby... Alby, are you all right?"

There was no reply, she looked up at Newt, who had a worried expression on his face.

Thomas stepped forward, "Hey, Alby. Alby, we might have just found a way out of the maze." No response, so he tried again, " Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here."

This time Alby spoke, "We can't. We can't leave. They won't let us." He said, monotone.

"What are you talking about?" Lela looked up at him, trying to make sense of it all.

"I remember." He told them, finally making eye contact with Thomas, "You. You were always their favorite, Thomas. Always."

"Alby, explain." Lela pushed him to continue.

"Why did you do this?" Alby stared Thomas in the eye with betrayal, "Why did you come here?"

The head of the slicers, the Gladers butchers, stormed in with panic, causing all eyes to turn to him.

"Winston, what's going on?" Newt asked, seeing the urgency on his face.

"It's the doors." He said. "They aren't closing."

"What do you mean they're not-"

"I mean THEYRE NOT CLOSING!" He shouted in a panic, "What do we do?!"

"Go to the Council Hall and start barricading the doors." Lela instructed, "find Chuck and take him with you.

"Get the others." Newt added, "Tell them to go to the forest. Go hide, now!"

"Minho, I want you to grab every weapon you can find." Thomas said, "I'll meet you at Council Hall."

"Thomas, we're not fighting these things, you understand?" Lela told him.

"What, do you expect us to hide until they take everything you all worked 3 hard years for, and kill every last one of us?"

"Yes!" She shrieked.

"No, we have to fight." He said before running off behind Minho.

"Thomas!" She tried again, but he didnt turn around.

"Hey, leave him." Newt told her, holding her shoulders, "if he wants to be foolish, let him."

"But- he's a Glader! We don't leave him behind." She argued.

"Lela, its life or death here, okay?"

"Fine." She nodded. "What do we do?"

"I say, we go hide in the Deadheads."

"No." Alby shook his head, "I saw this."

"Y-You did?"

"Yes. We need to fight."

Lela paused, contemplating the outcome of the two very different options.

"Then we're by your side. No matter how foolish it is."