Hearts and Minds

Nice Going Shanks!

It was later in the day, Artemis had been moved to work with the track-hoes meaning she was with Thomas and Chuck. She alternated between what little clothes she had been given, wearing a small red tank top. Her hair was braided to the side, thrown over her shoulder as she dug her shovel into the dirt. She knitted her eyebrows together as she stuck the shovel into the ground, looking at Newt.

"Wait wait-why the shuck would Alby go in the maze?! He's not even a runner." Artemis asked, not even noticing she was using more and more of the slang the boys used. Being around them so much was affecting the way she talked. The girl looked at Newt as she leaned against the shovel. She didn't mind that it was only Zart, Newt, and herself working. Chuck wasn't even part of the track-hoes and Thomas..well it didn't matter.

"He went to retrace Ben's footsteps, see if he can find out what happened. Grievers don't attack during the day." Newt explained, continuing to chop at the tree stump with his machete. Thomas straightened himself from his spot on the fallen tree, butting into the conversation.

"So he's going back to the spot where Ben was stung? How's that going to help at all?!" Thomas asked, defiance and confusion laced in his voice. He was right, Artemis thought to herself. How was it going to hell them at all if Alby got himself hurt or worse trying to figure out what happened? Newt rolled his eyes, the endless questions got annoying after sometime. Not only did Thomas and Artemis ask questions, but not Chuck was asking questions that he hadn't gotten answered yet.

"Look, Alby knows what he's doing alright? He knows better than the rest of us." Newt assured them. That didn't satisfy either of the newcomers, both of them having the same itch to get crystal clear answers to their questions. Which is why Artemis spoke up quickly, completely ignoring the work they were supposed to be tending to.

"Okay but what does that even mean?!" Artemis asked, earning a nod of agreement from Thomas. Even Chuck looked up from his little project so that he could listen to whatever Newt was going to say next.

"Well, it's like you have heard, yeah? Every month, the Box sends up a new arrival. But someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade, alone. That was Alby." Newt started, watching them to see if this answer was to their satisfaction. To his disappointment, it was not, both of them nodding their heads as if telling him to continue. He sighed before he kept talking, still working on the stump while doing so. "I mean, it can't have been easy. But when those other boys started coming up, one after the other...he saw the truth. And he learned that the most important thing...is that we all have each other. Because we're all in this together."

"'We're all in this together!' What a bunch of bull." Artemis couldn't help making fun of the line, it was so corny and cheesy. Something you'd read in a book, not think about in real life situations. Newt rolled his eyes once again at Artemis' taunts. Newt kicked some dirt towards her, giving her a short glare.

"If you don't stop yapping and start helping I'm going to send you back to the builders." Newt threatened, a small smile gracing his lips when she instantly started pulling her deadweight and helping. "You too Thomas! Get to work!"

"They should be back by now." Thomas stated, leaning against the pole under the overhead. The rain was pouring down, leaving the boys and Artemis to stop work for the day and seek shelter from the freezing cold water. Artemis would go back and forth between sitting in the rain for a moment, letting the water calm her nerves, and then sitting back under the roof with the rest of the boys. "What happens if they don't make it?"

"They'll make it." Artemis said at the same time as Newt. Artemis didn't know much of Alby and hadn't even spoken to Minho before. But from what she knew of them, if anyone was to get back it would be them. Artemis couldn't stop fidgeting out of worry, the grave looks on older glader's faces making her insides twist into knots. She stepped back into the pouring rain, this time staying there as she let the freezing cold water distract her from not just her own worries but everyone else.

"What happens if they don't?" Thomas asked, looking back at Newt. Artemis looked towards Newt at the question, letting the rain cascade down her body. The flannel she had threw on over her tank top was soaked as her braid dropped with water. She and Thomas waited in silence for Newt's answer. When he opened his mouth to speak, he refused to look at either of them.

"They're gonna make it."

The rain had cleared, the sun had come back out, and there was still no sign of Alby or Minho. Artemis was for the most part dry, her damp tank top still sticking to her skin and her flannel tied around her waist. Most of the boys surrounded the main walls, watching the empty maze. Thomas had become restless, unable to keep himself from moving or speaking. "Can't we send someone after them?"

"It's against the rules." Gally said sternly, shooting Thomas a nasty look as if he suggested Gally kill himself. "It's simple. They either make it back or they don't. We can't risk losing anyone else." Artemis ignored the murmurs from the other boys and the argument that began to sprout between Gally and Thomas. Instead her back straightened when she saw a flash of movement.

"Guys! Look!" She shouted, grabbing Thomas by the hand and pointing towards the maze. A few yards away was Minho and Alby heading right towards the doors! They had made it! Only after that thought did Artemis feel her heart stop beating. Something was wrong..really wrong. Alby was passed out, being dragged across the ground by Minho. As the thought registered in Artemis' mind the sound of the doors groaning and sliding across the ground echoed the glade. "Minho! Run!"

Yelling came from everywhere, different voices merging together and clashing against one another as they screamed different advice.

"Just leave him Minho!"
"You've got this!"
"Someone go help them!"
"They're not going to make it.."

The doors just kept growing closer and closer together. Artemis watched as Minho continued to try and pull Alby towards the doors, a scream leaving his lips. It was hardly audible over the heartbeat that filled Artemis' ears. Her hand was still in Thomas'. She looked at him, his mouth open slightly and his eyes trained on Minho and Alby. Beside them Newt looked utterly defeated..he took a few steps back. "They won't make it..." he whispered breathlessly, as if he had been wounded. The walls were mere seconds away from slamming shut. That's when Artemis felt her legs moving on their own.

Artemis didn't know who made the first move. Was it her who ran first or was it Thomas? No one knew. Artemis heard a scream behind her, filled with pain and longing. Chuck was screaming at them to come back. Even if they wanted to, it was too late. Their hands separated as they both threw themselves to the other side of the maze, the doors slamming shut behind them. The echo was louder, almost deafening on the other side. Artemis sat on her hands and knees, her breathing uneven as she glanced up. Minho glared at both Thomas and Artemis. Artemis could hear a faint sound of crying on the other side of the walls..she squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to block it out.

"Nice going shanks. You just got yourselves killed." Minho spat, kicking at a rock on the ground. Artemis couldn't move, just staying on the ground as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. When she finally opened her eyes again she saw a flash of red, she saw the same figure that was in her dreams..but the face was changed. Oh no, the face was much different. Shaggy, ear length brown hair and chocolate brown eyes stared at her. The familiar smile she grew accustomed to looked at her as blood trickled from his neck. Artemis let out a scream, trying to push herself up but only managing to push herself onto her back.

"Hey hey! Temmie! Temmie, it's okay." Thomas said quickly, leaning down beside the girl. She refused to look at him, scared to see the crimson color again. They were stuck in the maze. No one has ever survived a night in the maze. Newt had said that to them, Alby had told them once, Chuck had said it multiple times. And yet here she was, trapped on the other side of the wall. Artemis kept her eyes shut, refusing to open them.

Maybe they should've taken Ben's warnings more seriously...