The Maze Runner: The New World

Chapter 6

Reaching the clearing, they saw panic had washed over the camp. Gally and Jorge had organised a search party to hunt them down. As they emerged, Gally ran up to them, "Where did you go? You were the ones organising the gathering and then you just run off like that? We were all worried sick! You didn't even bother to tell anyone! Anything could have happened to you! Especially now you told us about that shuck note!"

Thomas racked his brain for an answer that didn't make him sound like he was just over-reacting. No one except Minho and Brenda could ever even begin to understand how much Brenda meant to him. It was something he couldn't explain. He would take his life for her, or Minho for that matter, any day of the week. He'd been desperately worried about Brenda, but there was no way Gally would understand that. "Sorry, we went to look for Brenda," he eventually responded, feeling like a total idiot, knowing his face had washed a dark shade of pink.

"And that was more important than a group gathering about the most serious thing that has ever happened in this entire civilisation I suppose?" Gally taunted. The boys had forgiven each other for everything that happened in the maze and mostly tolerated each other, but their personalities still clashed.

Fortunately, Minho saved them yet again, "Cut it Gally, you don't understand and you're not going to be able to understand so please just accept it," Minho had a better relationship with Gally than Thomas, but they still weren't best buddies.

Gally had no choice but to accept Minho's explanation - Minho was superior to him whether he liked it or not. "OK," he replied, "Are we still having the gathering?"

Thomas and Minho looked at each other. They knew they should really have the gathering but couldn't deal with any more stress or the debates that would inevitably break out. "Not today," they said in unison. Thomas felt guilty for cancelling. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Brenda was a million times more important to him than a gathering but he still felt like he'd done the wrong thing.

Before he gave himself another minute to dwell on his decision, he spoke up, "Come on, lets go to our hut and sort this klunk out."

Leaving Gally standing in the middle of the clearing, they ambled up to Thomas and Brenda's hut, swinging open the ramshackle door and took a seat on the hard ground. "I've told you everything I know," Brenda said, answering the question about to be released from Thomas's mouth.

"There's got to be some kind of semi-logical explanation for this ," Minho began.

"Yeah, but what, we no idea," Thomas replied.

"Brenda, you went through the whole ordeal, what, or who do you think was behind it?"

"I don't really know Minho, not really the first thing you think about when you pass out, have a weird dream and think you're going to die."

Thomas was once again reminded of why he loved this girl so much. Her cheeky back chat sense of humour. Never knowing whether she was being sarcastic or serious. It was the most inappropriate time to think all these things.. "Would you stay focused for one shucking second, mate," Minho shouted down Thomas's ear canal.

"Oh, sorry,"

"Well this conversation concluded so much," Brenda interrupted sarcastically, "There's no way we can figure anything out with the information we have at the moment. We just need to let stuff fold out and cut wasting our breath."

Heavy silence descended over the trio, all racking their brains for the impossible explanation they so craved. With the silence following, they ambled back to the clearing. Everything was silent. The lack of noise was unnatural. "What's happened?" Thomas asked nobody in particular.

"You tell me," Minho responded.

Thomas sped up his pace and entered the main room. Elle was lying unconscious on the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks, whisper screaming an almost indecipherable string of words that sent chills down Thomas's spine, "I'M MELTING!"