Treasured | Minho [TMR]

Twenty

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I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the maze, just like everyone else. The moment that Glader came to tell Minho and I about Nick not returning, we didn't even say another word to each other, we knew this was more important. When we got here we were quickly updated by the other runners.

Apparently the four runners split into two groups, as per Nick's suggestion. Justin was with Nick, while Ben was with Hank. Justin explained that while he and Nick were running, Nick suddenly attacked him. Though, Justin insisted he didn't need any medical attention when Jeff and I approached him at least half a dozen times. His arm was bleeding and the poor guy was clearly still in shock at that stage.

"Why did I listen to him when he told me to leave...?" Justin muttered to himself again. I couldn't help myself as I walked up to Justin, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and gently rubbed his arm in a soothing pattern. He seemed alarmed and a little tense at first, but quickly calmed down and just hung his head low.

"You did it cause Nick asked you to." I remind him, hopefully to ease his conscience. "And if Nick asked you to do something like that, he must have had a damn good reason."

"But I should have-

"Stop it, already." Gally interrupted Justin. "If Nick asks you to do something, you do it. He knew what he was doing, so quit questioning yourself and quit questioning Nick."

Though Gally basically just took what I said and changed it around a little, Justin seemed to find it comforting enough to calm down. Either that, or he preferred not to disagree with Gally. For whichever reason it was, Gally's input made Justin stay quiet from then on.

The rest of us focused again on the maze, hoping we might be able to make out Nick's figure. But there was no such luck. My heart began to sink the second the walls started to close. I couldn't bear to look, so I closed my eyes tight and let my head drop to the ground. I didn't lift it back up until I heard the maze close and the chatter around me pick up. Everyone was worried, and rightly so.

"All Keepers to the Homestead, now!" I heard Alby shout above all the noise. The Glade went quiet and soon, each Keeper followed Alby to the Homestead. I watched Minho quietly walk off alongside Gally for the Gathering.

"Why-why is everyone acting like we'll never see Nick again?" Chuck says from behind me, trying to keep up a positive tone. "We will see him tomorrow, won't we?"

I couldn't find it in me to answer him for the longest of time. I let go of Justin to turn around and face Chuck. I instantly thought back to when I went through this myself. It's not something I'll ever be able to forget.

"I-I don't know, Chuck." I say to him. I know I'm lying, but I can't help it. Chuck's eyes are so full of hope and I can't just take that away from him. But Henry can.

"No one survives a night in the maze." Henry says from my left. I don't need to turn around to know it's his voice. Only Henry can make a bad situation worse, with the least bit of empathy.

"What? No one told me that...." Chuck mumbles to himself, his voice trembling.

"C'mon, what did you expect?" Henry scoffs. "It's a maze that changes every night. Besides, don't you hear the screams of the Grievers while you sleep?" He continues. "I can't imagine what shank told you someone could survive one of those."

"Enough, Henry." I cut in, noticing that Chuck only seems to be growing more and more worried by each word that comes out of Henry's mouth. "The kid's only been here a week, give him a break."