The Lost Glader || A TMR Fanfiction

Chapter 4 || The Gathering

The next few hours were torture. Sitting there with nothing to do as the sun slowly left the sky and the little light I had in the slammer became almost none. I had fallen asleep when I heard the sound of grinding stone that I recognized immediately. The walls were closing for the night, the walls that kept the monsters out, and us trapped inside, or maybe safe inside.
It wasn't long after the walls closed that I was visited again, this time by Alby.

"I do hope it's Gathering time." I said raising my eyebrows but he didn't respond, just opened the door to the slammer much to my relief. "Oh good, I was starting to get bored of delving into my own thoughts." I said walking out the door and past him. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yeah yeah, now come on. We have a lot to discuss."

Alby lead me away from the Slammer and to what we called the Big House, though I'm sure they called it something different. I was lead into a room where 11 chairs were set in a semicircle all facing one chair in the center of the room. I groaned internally when I realized that was my chair.

All the keepers were already sitting in their respective seats, as they waited for Alby to take his place at the center chair. "That's you're place. We ask the questions first, and then you may ask at the end." Alby said and I rolled my eyes before taking my seat. I crossed my legs and arms, taking a somewhat bored posture, but my eyes stayed alert taking in each Keepers face in turn. I recognized all of them from before except one. An Asian guy who sat at the very end of the semicircle. I assumed he must be the Keeper of the Runners.

Alby took his seat and stared at me for a long moment before he finally spoke. "I hear by declare that this Gathering of the Council is now in session. Today, we're here to discuss our newest arrival. Who, in case your blind, is a girl." "Wow, Alby, thanks for that mind-blowing information." The Asian guy said. "Slim it, Minho. We've got a lot of important things to discuss." He said and even though I expected him to be angry or something, he was appeared to be smiling a little.

"Right, ok. So let's get these questions all out of the way already." I said shifting in my chair and Alby raised his eyebrows. "Do you have somewhere to be?" I nodded. "Yeah, punching whoever sent me here. How many times are the creators going to screw me over? The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get out into the Maze and try to find a way out." This riled up some of the Keepers as they all began to talk at once.

Alby quickly quieted everyone down and Minho, who had remained silent while everyone spoke up leaned forward in his chair, his eyes locked on me. "So, were you a runner back in your Galde?" He asked I immediately nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I would be your equivalent. Keeper of the runners if you will." I said and he raised his eyebrows but leaned back in his chair letting Alby speak again.

"Ok, tell us about your Glade." He said and I sighed at the vague request. "I suppose I'll start from the beginning." I took a deep breath before starting. "I was the first person to come in the box. Every other girl had just woken up there. And of course, I was freaked out. They had only been there a month, so everything was still so new. But they banded together, did some amazing work in the short time they were there. They had already lost two people to Grievers, so no one really dared to step foot in the maze anymore. I was the one who became the first explorer. I wanted so desperately to find a way out, safety wasn't my first concern. I built a team and we became the Searchers, searching for a way out. But... As you can tell, we never did." I paused casting my eyes downward. I couldn't help but feel like a failure for not finding anything. It almost felt like our efforts were pointless.

I looked back up and shrugged. "What do you really want to know though? Obviously it's basically the same with all of you, except for the genders. I don't know what to tell you." The gladers looked at each other no one speaking before Newt finally spoke. "She has a point. What's there to ask her? She knows about as much as we do." He said and I wanted to shout something about how stupid this is, but decided to keep quiet as Alby groaned.

"We don't know that! She could be a spy from the Creators!" One guy said close to the end. Everyone turned to look at him. "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." I mumbled rolling my eyes. "Explain yourself, Gally!" Ably said narrowing his eyes.

The boy, Gally glared at me for a moment before he spoke again. "These two years, only guys and suddenly this girl shank shows up? She has to be a spy for the creators! Why else would she be here?" A few keepers whispered to each other and I groaned. "That's stupid." I said and they all turned to me once more. "If the creators wanted to have a spy, don't you think they would use, I don't know, a guy?! Ya'know, someone inconspicuous, who you wouldn't expect!" I said and others nodded in agreement with me. Again everyone looked at Gally for his rebuttal. "Ok, maybe she's not a spy, but she has to be working with the creators! Probably to cause trouble around here. Throw us off. Sabotage us" I snorted making a show of crossing my right leg over my left. "Yeah you're exactly right, Gally. I'm here to make you fall in love with me, then break you're heart so you're completely incapable of doing anything else." A couple of the boys snickered at my response and Gally's face went red, though I assume it was more from anger than anything.

"I say we banish her." He said leaning back in his chair, while I jumped up from mine. "Excuse me?!" I yelled. "Sit back down!" Alby said sternly. I glared at both of them for a moment before taking my seat again. As soon as I did Newt spoke up. "Gally, that's completely irrational! You just want to throw he to the Grievers when have no actual proof that she's anything more than a confused girl that was thrown in just like the rest of us." I nodded in agreement but decided to remain silent. "You don't want to find out too late that she's working with the creators. Better be safe than sorry is all I'm saying."

I groaned. "Well I can assure you I'm not working with the creators. And you all obviously know as little as I do about this whole thing, so can I go?" Alby shook his head looking down at a notebook he had been jotting things down in. "Not yet. We have to decide what to do with you."