𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒 ➢ ᴛʜᴏᴍᴀꜱ ⁽ᵀᴹᴿ/ᵀˢᵀ/ᵀᴰᶜ⁾

Ch. 9 - THE OFFERINGS

▪︎ 🌲🏃🏻‍♀️⚔ ▪︎

- CHAPTER NINE -
🌲 The Offerings 🌲

"Hey." Thalia said, making Thomas look up after he woke up, "Are you okay?" She asked as she lightly ran her hands through his hair as his head laid on her lap. "What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck suddenly asked, making Thomas look over at him, Minho, Newt and Teresa only to finally realize that he, Thalia and Teresa were in one of the pits.

"What happened?" Thomas asked, "Gally has taken control. He said we had a choice. Either join him or get banished at sundown with you." Newt said and Thomas groaned slightly as he stood up. "Why are you down here?" Thomas asked, looking at Thalia and she shrugged slightly.

"Ever since Teresa said my name when she came up, Gally lost his trust in me... and I punched him so now I'm in here, waiting to be banished with you." She said and he raised his eyebrows. "And the others agreed to that?" He asked, "Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened." Teresa said and Thomas nodded slightly.

"Well, he's been right so far." Thomas said, making them look at him confused, "What are you talking about?" Minho asked. "This place... it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork." Thomas said.

"They were sending them up into the maze." Thalia said and Thomas nodded, "Yeah, but not all of us." He said. "What do you mean?" Newt asked and Thomas was quiet for a moment, "Guys, I'm one of them. The people who put you here, I worked with them." Thomas said, making them all glance at each other.

"I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here... I was on the other side of it." Thomas said before looking at Thalia and Teresa, "So were you two." He said. "What?" They both ask asked, "We did this to them." Thomas said and Thalia shook her head slightly.

"No. I've been here for four years, how could I ever have done that?" Thalia asked and Teresa nodded, "Yeah, no that's impossible." She said and Thomas nodded. "It is. I saw it." He said and Teresa shook her head. "Why would they send us up if we were with them?" She asked and Thomas shook his head slightly, "It doesn't matter." He said as Teresa looked devastated by the new information.

"He's right." Newt said, making everyone look at him, "It doesn't matter. Any of it. Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out." Newt said and Thomas shook his head slightly.

"Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive." Thomas said and Thalia sighed softly and shook her head, "If he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Now finish what you started. Because if we do nothing... that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't let that happen." Thalia said and Thomas stared at her for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Okay- Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first."

A while later, two guys were dragging a passed out Thomas towards the entrance to the maze while two other guys were directing Thalia and Teresa, who had their hands tied behind their back. Once they got up to the maze, where they had large logs standing, the two guys dropped Thomas to the ground as Gally walked over and the people that were left started to crowd around.

"This is such a waste." Gally said as he looked down at Thomas, "Gally..." Winston said, making everyone look at him. "It doesn't feel right, man." Winston said and Jeff nodded, "Yeah, what if Thomas is right? Maybe he can lead us home. And you're doing this to Thalia, man. It's Thalia." Jeff said as Gally slowly walked towards them.

"We are home. Okay? I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall." Gally said, gesturing towards the wall of names, "You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?" Thalia asked, making Gally look over at her.

"No. But this isn't a banishing. It's an offering." Gally said, making Teresa furrowed her brows, "What? Wait!" She asked as the guy pulled her and Thalia over to one of the logs. "Gally, what the hell are you doing?" Thalia asked as one of the guys tied her hands above her head, the other guy doing the same to Teresa.

"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the maze after what he has done? Look around you! Look at our Glade!" Gally said, making some people glance around while Newt looked over at Minho as he scratched his chin, making Minho nod slightly. Off to the side where no one was paying attention, stood Chuck, a couple spears in his hands as he carried a bunch of bags.

"This is the only way. And when the Grievers get what they came here for... everything goes back to the way it was." Gally said and Teresa looked at the group of people, "Are you listening to this? Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!" Teresa said, making Gally look at her.

"You shut up." He said and Thalia looked over at the others, "If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back. They're gonna come back until you're all dead! Listen to me, you guys know I wouldn't stand for something unless I knew it was true." Thalia said, making some guys glance at each other. "Shut up! Tie him up!" Gally said but nobody moved right away, "Do you hear me? I said tie him up!" Gally yelled.

The two guys who dragged Thomas started to pick Thomas up until he suddenly elbowed one of them in the crotch. Thomas quickly got up, grabbing the spear from him before hitting him in the face. Newt quickly pulled a machete out, hitting the other guy with the butt end of the handle while Teresa kicked the guy, who tied her up, between the legs.

Gally started to move forward until Minho ran up, touching a machete to his shoulder. Newt quickly walked up, cutting Thalia's rope before doing the same to Teresa while Chuck ran over to all of them, handing Thalia her bow and quiver of arrows. Minho walked around Gally, never lowering his machete as he gave him a pointed look before standing with the others as Frypan handed Teresa a machete.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Gally said, looking at Thomas who still had his spear raised. "You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving. Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance." Thomas said and Gally glanced back at everyone, "Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare you." He said.

"No, I'm not trying to scare you. You're already scared. I'm scared. But I'd rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here. We don't belong here. This place isn't our home. We were put here. We were trapped here. At least, out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here. I know that." Thomas said, making some of the guys glance at each other.

A second later Winston walked over to the group before being followed by Jeff. "I'm sorry." Jeff mumbled as he walked past Gally while a few other guys walked over as well. "Gally, it's over. Just come with us." Thomas said and Gally stared at him for a moment, "Good luck against the Grievers." He said.

The group sighed softly, glancing around at the people who stayed back before they all ran into the maze.