Nepenthe (TMR FF) UNDER EDITING

Chapter 20

Thomas's face went slightly red and he shook his head before walking over to me.

"I couldn't just sit there and leave you guys out here." Thomas stated, glaring at the Asian boy.

"And what good are you with us?" Minho rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude. Break the Number One Rule, kill yourself, whatever."

I felt my toe twitch and after a few seconds, I was finally able to move. And then the tears came. Thomas was the first one to notice my water works and stared at me with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. I let out a frustrated scream, stomping my left foot on the ground like a child, whilst gripping my hair in my hands.

"What do they want with me?" I screamed, looking up at the sky. I knew they could hear me. They can hear everything that we say. And see everything. The Beetle Blades were hiding everywhere, we just couldn't see them.

"Emma, what are you talking about?" Minho asked, looking annoyed and exhausted at the same time.

"They're controlling me, Minho! They want to destroy my life or something."

"They destroyed your life the moment they put you in the Glade, Emma."

"No...They don't want me to remember, but I'm sure they destroyed my life long before the Glade." I said, my mind analysing all the possible situations that I could think of. My eyes started to go blurry again, and I felt myself sway slightly. Thomas gripped my forearm, looking down at me with worry filling his eyes.

"Emma, are you feeling okay?" He asked, putting his hand up to my forehead. I swatted his hand away, letting out a groan.

"I'm feeling fine." I lied, my jaw clenching.

"What happened?" he asked, a look of hopelessness falling over his face. I looked away, not willing to answer.

"Don't wanna talk about it," Minho muttered, checking over Alby. He let out a sigh of relief when he noted that he still had a pulse. "Let's just say the Grievers can play dead really well."

I shivered slightly, watching as Thomas looked at the older boy in surprise. "So he was...bitten? Stung, whatever? Is he going through the Changing?"

"He's not the only one." Minho muttered, gesturing to me. I stared at him blankly. I was planning on not telling Thomas, but now I guess it's inevitable. Thomas's eyes widened and his grip on me loosened. He looked absolutely defeated, and it made my heart skip a beat. Whether we were actually siblings or not, he definitely cared about me, and I admit, it made me happy. Maybe his mind was tampered with and he was made to believe that we were related, but in that moment, I didn't care.

"Are they going to die?" He managed to choke, tears coming to his eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat, looking away.

"Probably. I don't know how long it takes before they get the serum. It won't matter much, though, because when the sun goes down, we'll all be nice and dead." I glared at Minho as he spoke. He was acting as if he didn't cared, even though I knew deep down it was ripping him apart to see Alby like this; his leader.

"We're really going to die?" Thomas muttered, the reality of the situation finally hitting him. I bit my lip, not meeting his eyes. I may have survived a night in the Maze before, but right now I am in no condition to run, especially away from Grievers. I think Minho realised that, because he looked me up and down, sighing.

"We have no chance, Thomas. None." He leaned up against the wall of the Maze, closing his eyes.

"But I thought Emma survived -"

"Who told you that?" Minho snapped, his eyes opening. Thomas flinched back, glancing at me.

"...Newt."

"That little shuck-face! None of the greenies are supposed to know! It gives them false hope." Minho said to himself, starting to pace back and forth. He finally stopped, pointing between Thomas and I. "Look, you need to get this through your shuck head. We are going to die." He said each word with emphasis, his jaw clenched.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I sunk to the ground, ignoring the pitiful look from Thomas.

"We might as well kill ourselves now." He spat, falling back against the wall. I let out a chocked noise, causing Minho to look at me. His eyes softened and filled with regret, but in that moment, it didn't matter. This must have been how Newt felt the day that he jumped off of the wall; completely and utterly hopeless. Like there was nothing else that he could do to escape. Death would be an easier option then waiting out the inevitable.

"No. There's got to be a way around this. If Emma can do it, then we can do it." Thomas stated, a look of determination flashing over his face. I let out a bitter laugh, looking up from my sitting position at the boy.

"Tommy, I don't think that I can make it." I admitted, my voice hoarse. Thomas' face fell when he looked down at my leg, which was still bleeding from the rod that pierced my skin.

"Is that where you were bitten?" He asked, completely clueless. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and instead sighed.

"They don't bite, Thomas. They prick you. Tiny pricks that you can't even see."

"Then what's that?" He asked, pointing to my leg.

"I got more than pricked. The little sucker stabbed one of its rods right through my leg. I don't doubt that there's dozens of pricks all over my body though." I told him, frowning. Thomas let out a noise, his eyebrows scrunching.

"You're not really feeling fine, are you, Emma?" He asked. Minho looked at me, raising his eyebrows. I looked back at the ground, not wanting to meet their eyes any longer.

"I feel weird." Was all I said, clenching my jaw. All I felt was a strange sense of self-loathing. As if all of this was my fault. I felt sick and anxious. I didn't feel like me.

"She's probably going to pass out soon. I'm surprised she's even stayed conscious for this long. If she manages to survive until sunrise, then she'll probably go mad. Maybe even try to kill us."

"How do you know that? I thought that was only after they went through the changing?" Thomas asked, his eyes widening. My stomach dropped at the severity of the situation and my bottom lipped quivered.

"Every single person who has gotten stung has passed out and gotten sick. Emma feels sick and she's still conscious, Thomas. Who knows what she'll try and do?" Tears sprung to my eyes as Minho spoke, and he looked at me, his face remaining natural. His eyes, however, told a different story. "She said herself that they can control her body. I for one, don't want to be killed by a girl."

And then he stood up straight, turning in a random direction of the maze. My heart squeezed in my chest and a tear finally fell. He was leaving me.

"What? Where are you going?" Thomas called out angrily, his fists clenching. Minho stopped, hesitating slightly. He turned to look at Thomas, but wouldn't even meet my eyes.

"I've never been this scared in my life, dude. I'm leaving. I'd advise you to do the same. We can't trust her anymore." A sob escaped my throat as he spoke, and I wrapped my arms around my knees. I didn't see Minho leave, but after a few moments, I heard his footsteps retreating, until finally, I couldn't hear anything but my sobbing and Thomas' hard breathing. I lifted my head after a while, to see Thomas blankly staring at the space that Minho must have ran off to, his jaw clenched. I felt the need to run after him, to tell him not to leave me, but I couldn't find It in myself to move. Minho thought that I would betray him. He thought that I would hurt him. 'I for one, don't want to be killed by a girl'. That's what he had sad. I was just a 'girl' to him. It would have hurt less if he had said, 'I for one, don't want to be killed by my best friend'.

"I don't like him." Thomas muttered.

My bottom lip trembled as he looked at me. As much as I wanted to, I could never not like Minho.