Nepenthe (TMR FF) UNDER EDITING

Chapter 28

My head shot towards the doorway, in which Alby stood. A frown looked to be permanently plastered on his face, and his voice was raw. I furrowed my eyebrows, hurt flashing through me. He had to be joking, right? I mean, I was probably going to say something quite similar to that, but hearing it from Alby kinda hurt. I didn't even know that he was awake.

"Come on, Alby. There's plenty to like about Emma. She's the coolest." Chuck tried to back me up, but ultimately failed when Alby ignored him, a glare shooting in my direction. Realisation hit me like a truck. He went through the changing. He remembers me. But what about me, exactly?

"She's going back in the Slammer." He stated, stepping towards me. My jaw dropped open and I stared at the dark skinned boy, who I thought was my friend. Minho stepped forward, his jaw clenched. I hadn't even noticed that he was there, before now.

"Dude, she risked her life trying to help you! She was even stung!" He protested, standing in front of me. I bit my lip, looking away. It wasn't exactly something I wanted to remember, but I guess it was going to be brought up sooner or later.

"Ah, so you went through the changing as well then? You remember what you did?" He asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I tilted my head in confusion.

"I did something that the creators didn't like, so they sent me to the Glade." I told him, attempting to make sense of my memories. Alby snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Oh but Emma, you are the creator." He chuckled, his eyes hardening. "You were there when the Maze was being created. Without you, we wouldn't be here."

"I don't understand, I wanted to stop it-" I tried, but was cut off.

"You're not as good as you think you are, Emma. In fact, you are probably the worst of us all." I shook my head, my hands going up to my ears, in a desperate attempt to block out his voice. Cold, hard anger burst through me, like the day we came back from the Maze, and I told the Gladers that I was going to kill them. It was an intense feeling, and I didn't quite know where it was coming from, but it was definitely there.

"I was sent here because I wanted to save you guys! How the hell am I the worst?" I seethed, my jaw clenching. Minho, who was still standing in front of me protectively, glanced back, shuffling awkwardly on his feet when he saw my expression.

"Don't listen to him, Emmy. He's gone crazy." Minho told me, glaring back at his friend.

"I'm not the crazy one. Isn't it a bit suspicious that she was the only girl until this one came?" Alby asked, gesturing to Teresa, who was watching us cautiously. Thomas was standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder. I really hated her.

I glanced around at the people in the room. Chuck and Newt were standing in the doorway, looking between each other every so often, whilst Clint and Jeff stood awkwardly, probably wanting nothing more than to run away and hide from the tension.

"It's been their plan all along. Having a girl in the Glade changed us, and challenged us. And then Thomas came, and everything went to Klunk. Who knows what will happen now that the other girl's awake?" Alby said, his eyes blazing.

He's a smart one.

I visibly flinched, hearing the voice in my head. It wasn't Gally. It wasn't Aris. It was one of the creators.

He's telling the truth, isn't he? I asked in my head, the anger slowly being replaced by guilt.

We originally wanted Teresa to trigger the ending. Now we have different plans.

What-?

"I just triggered the ending." My voice said, sounding like a robot. Everyone looked at me in confusion, and I slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes widening. I hadn't said that. I mean, I did say it, but it wasn't me.