I was being tied to a pole.
Next to me, two guys dragged an unconscious Thomas towards the Doors. I didn't struggle against the long-haired blond guy who was tying my wrists to the pole. I just glared at him, contemplating kicking him in the nuts.
Gally walked over, a triumphant smirk on his face. "This is what happens to traitors."
I couldn't hold in my anger anymore. "Traitors? Gally, you think Banishing us will do anything? It's not going to make the Doors close. The Grievers will come back, every night, and they'll keep coming back until you're all shucking dead!"
"Shut up," Gally scoffed. "Besides, this isn't a Banishing." A smile crossed his face. "It's an offering."
Behind him, I saw Newt and Minho exchange a subtle glance.
"What?" An offering. For the bloody Grievers. I looked incredulously at the other boys. "How can you guys just watch? He's lost his bloody mind!"
"Shut up!" Gally yelled. He pointed at Thomas. "Tie him up!"
Next to me, the guy with the long blond hair smirked. I glared at him, the blood draining from my hands, which were tied above my head. Goldilocks laughed as I struggled.
The two boys dragging Thomas hauled him from the ground.
But before they could do what Gally said, Thomas surged up and elbowed one in the chest. As the other guy lunged for him, Newt ran up behind him, pulling his machete from its sheath, and slammed its hilt into the boy's head. The boy slumped to the ground, unconscious. I stared at Newt in awe. He flashed me the ghost of a smile.
But I wasn't able to marvel at him for long. Goldilocks snarled and lunged at me.
Without thinking, my foot shot up and crashed painfully into his crotch.
He howled and stumbled to his knees, as Frypan ran over and cut the ropes from my wrists. I rubbed at my raw skin and followed him to where our other friends were standing by the Doors.
"Gally," Thomas said. "It's over. Come with us. We can make it out. We can go home."
Gally glared at him, breathing hard. "We are home," he spat.
But even as he spoke, a few other guys crossed over from behind him. They joined us, and I wondered if Thomas had a plan. He'd told us a few things when we were in the Slammer. But he'd left a few things out, though I'd noticed that he'd exchanged a knowing look with Minho.
"Come with us," Thomas urged. Even after all the klunk Gally had done to us, I could tell Thomas didn't want the guy to die.
But Gally just gave him a long look. "Good luck against the Grievers."
Thomas turned away from Gally and the few boys who were staying behind and ran into the Maze.
Without a word, the rest of us followed.
I ran next to Thomas. "Do you have a plan?" I muttered. It seemed a stupid question, but I needed to know exactly what he had in mind.
He pulled something out of his pocket. Something made of metal, about the size of his hand. "Minho and I found this," he replied. "It's a key. It has to be."
What if it wasn't?
But what alternative did we have?
We ran and ran. The boys who weren't as fit lagged behind, but didn't stop, knowing the urgency of this. I ran ahead to catch up with Newt. His limp was barely noticeable. He glanced sidelong at me, eyes glinting. I flashed a smile. We were going to make it. We had to.
It was either that, or die.
We stopped behind a wall. A hideous noise sounded behind it. Next to me, Chuck gulped. "Grievers?"
I nodded silently.
Thomas suddenly faced the group. His eyes were burning. "There's a Griever out there. This is it. This is where we either make it out, or we die trying. Those shuck Creators thought they could do this to us. They were wrong, and we're going to show them." He looked around. "Let's do this."
"Wait," Minho broke in. "Shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?"
Thomas just looked at his friend, faintly amused, while Newt said, "Go ahead."
Minho grinned painfully at us all. "Be careful. Don't die."
"Great." Newt rolled his eyes as he pulled out his machete. "We're all bloody inspired. Now let's go!"
Thomas let out a roar and charged toward the Griever, Newt at his heels. Without hesitation, the rest of us followed.
