Discoveries | TMR | Three

0:6

"We need to talk about Dan."

Frypan, who had been sat on a barstool in this shabby old building and twiddling mindlessly with his fingers, finds his attention immediately drawn to Newt when he utters those six little words.

They had been in here for twenty minutes, using what little time they can spare whilst all others are too busy devouring whatever Betty has cooked for breakfast - which is something they do often. During mealtimes, the yard is at its quietest, so to the Gladers, it is the perfect window of opportunity to try and devise a plan to find and rescue Minho.

That window was beginning to close and their peace was soon to be distributed by the bustling bodies that inhabit this harbour when Newt pipes up, and Frypan would admit to being instantly intrigued.

"What about him?" Thomas asks the question before the old Leader gets a chance to.

"I know it might be a bit late considering how long we've been together, but I feel we need to address the elephant in the room, and discuss how we all feel about him being here and with us." The words tumble from Newts mouth effortlessly, as though he had been practicing what to say for weeks. "I certainly don't feel comfortable having him here. Not after what he did."

Frypan feels a pang of sorrow splinter his heart when his brain clicks on to the situation Newt speaks of; George. Even with Dan walking freely through his life every day, it had been some time since he thought of the young boy brutally slain by him, and honestly, he is thrown for a loop now that it has been brought back into the light.

He does not really know what to think of it.

"Well, as much as I'm not all that happy about it, there's not much we can really do," he mutters. "Not since him and Addy are so close."

"We need to do something," Newt counters. "We can't bloody well have him wandering around here without a care in the world."

Frypan already knows which direction Newt is heading with his statement.

"Listen-," and apparently, so does Thomas, "just because we don't like him, doesn't mean we can dictate what happens to him. We're not in the Glade anymore. We don't have the authority to make those kinds of decisions here."

"You weren't there, Tommy, so we wouldn't expect you to understand," Newt responds. "But whether he remembers or not, Dan killed someone, alright? He murdered a boy in the Glade, and he got away with it when his memories got taken."

From the corner of the room, Alby scoffs. "That's if he's even telling the truth about his memories."

"What do you mean?"

"You've seen the way he acts around us. Like he knows us." Alby is quick to explain. "There are things we've mentioned about the Glade and he immediately looks over like he knows what we're talking about; like he remembers it happening. Haven't you noticed?"

The hatred Alby holds for Dan really is no secret, which is why it does not surprise Frypan to hear that he thinks the redhead is lying to them. This loathing he harbours only doubled when they all realised the relationship that he has with Adeline. After all, it is Dan's fault that she was ripped from the Glade, yet here they are, the best of buddies.