Desire ❃ newt

cнapтer 35

Gally's eyes raged with lunacy; his clothes were torn and filthy. He dropped to his knees and stayed there, his chest heaving with deep, sucking breaths. He looked about the room like a rabid dog searching for someone to bite. No one said a word. It was as if they all believed as I did—that Gally was only a figment of our imagination.

"They'll kill you!" Gally screamed, spittle flying everywhere. "The Grievers will kill you all—one every night till it's over!"

I watched, speechless, as Gally staggered to his feet and walked forward, dragging his right leg with a heavy limp. No one in the room moved a muscle as they watched, obviously too stunned to do anything.

Even Newt stood mouth agape. I was almost more afraid of their surprise visitor than I was of the Grievers just outside the window.

Gally stopped, standing just a few feet in front of me and Newt; he pointed at me with a bloody finger.

"You," he said with a sneer so pronounced it went past comical to flat-out disturbing. "It's all your fault!" Without warning he swung his left hand, forming it into a fist as it came around and crashed into my ear.

Crying out, I crumpled to the ground, more taken by surprise than pain. I scrambled to my feet as soon as I hit the floor.

Newt had finally snapped out of his daze and pushed Gally away. Gally stumbled backward and crashed into the desk by the window. The lamp scooted off the side and broke into pieces on the ground. I assumed Gally would retaliate, but he straightened instead, taking everyone in with his mad gaze.

"It can't be solved," he said, his voice now quiet and distant, spooky. "The shuck Maze'll kill all you shanks... The Grievers'll kill you... one every night till it's over... I... It's better this way..." His eyes fell to the floor. "They'll only kill you one a night... their stupid Variables..."

I listened in awe, trying to suppress my fear so I could memorize everything the crazed boy said.

Newt took a step forward. "Gally, shut your bloody hole—there's a Griever right out the window. Just sit on your butt and be quiet—maybe it'll go away."

Gally looked up, his eyes narrowing. "You don't get it, Newt. You're too stupid—you've always been too stupid. There's no way out—there's no way to win! They're gonna kill you, all of you—one by one!"

Screaming the last word, Gally threw his body toward the window and started tearing at the wooden boards like a wild animal trying to escape a cage. Before I or anyone else could react, he'd already ripped one board free; he threw it to the ground.

"No!" Newt yelled, running forward. I followed to help, in utter disbelief at what was happening.

Gally ripped off the second board just as Newt reached him. He swung it backward with both hands and connected with Newt's head, sent him sprawling across the bed as a small spray of blood sprinkled the sheets. I pulled up short, readying myself for a fight.

"Gally!" I yelled. "What're you doing!"

The boy spat on the ground, panting like a winded dog. "You shut your shuck-face. You shut up! I know who you are, but I don't care anymore. I can only do what's right."

I felt as if my feet were rooted to the ground. I was completely baffled by what Gally was saying. I watched the boy reach back and rip loose the final wooden board. The instant the discarded slab hit the floor of the room, the glass of the window exploded inward like a swarm of crystal wasps. I covered my face and fell to the floor, kicking my legs out to scoot my body as far away as possible. When I bumped into the bed, I gathered myself and looked up, ready to face my world coming to an end.

A Griever's pulsating, bulbous body had squirmed halfway through the destroyed window, metallic arms with pincers snapping and clawing in all directions. I was so terrified, I barely registered that everyone else in the room had fled to the hallway—all except Newt, who lay unconscious on the bed.

Frozen, I watched as one of the Griever's long arms reached for the lifeless body. That was all it took to break me from my fear. I scrambled to my feet, searched the floor around me for a weapon. All I saw were knives—they couldn't help me now. Panic exploded within me, consumed me.

Then Gally was speaking again; the Griever pulled back its arm, as if it needed the thing to be able to observe and listen. But its body kept churning, trying to squeeze its way inside.

"No one ever understood!" the boy screamed over the horrible noise of the creature, crunching its way deeper into the Homestead, ripping the wall to pieces. "No one ever understood what I saw, what the Changing did to me! Don't go back to the real world! You don't... want... to remember!"

Gally gave me a long, haunted look, his eyes full of terror; then he turned and dove onto the writhing body of the Griever. I yelled out as I watched every extended arm of the monster immediately retract and clasp onto Gally's arms and legs, making escape or rescue impossible. The boy's body sank several inches into the creature's squishy flesh, making a horrific squelching sound. Then, with surprising speed, the Griever pushed itself back outside the shattered frame of the window and began descending toward the ground below.

I ran to the jagged, gaping hole, looked down just in time to see the Griever land and start scooting across the Glade, Gally's body appearing and disappearing as the thing rolled. The lights of the monster shone brightly, casting an eerie yellow glow across the stone of the open West Door, where the Griever exited into the depths of the Maze. Then, seconds later, several other monsters followed close behind their companion, whirring and clicking as if celebrating their victory.

I was sickened to the verge of throwing up. I began to back away from the window, but something outside caught my eye. I quickly leaned out of the building to get a better look. A lone shape was sprinting across the courtyard of the Glade toward the exit through which Gally had just been taken.

Despite the poor light, I realized who it was immediately. I screamed—yelled at him to stop —but it was too late.

Minho, running full speed, disappeared into the Maze.