The Silent Runner

5. banishment

I sat up as fast as I could. No one was in the room with me. I walked into the hallway and still, no one was there. The place was empty. Then I realized it was dark out. Everyone must've been asleep.

It smelled like a campfire. I guess I'd missed out.

My mind was empty and calm till memories of Ben popped up. I rested my hand on my cheek, where I'd been punched. Then I realized that I was hot. Sweat dripped down my forehead but for once it was peaceful.

The Griever's shrieks echoed across the Glade. I saw the Greenie sleeping in a little cot nearby. I headed that way, waking him up. His eyes peeled open.

"You're awake!" He hugged me tightly. I didn't hug back. I just awkwardly stood there. I pointed to the Maze and shrugged. All I remembered was Ben punching me. "After Ben came back without you, saying you got split up when you saw a Griever, Minho ran in to get you but he didn't make it in time so I ran in before the doors closed." I nodded, sitting down on the ground while he sat on the edge of his cot facing me. "We tied you high in the vines so the Grievers wouldn't see you and then we survived the night. We carried you out the next morning." He paused. "Oh and I remembered my name, I'm Thomas." He held his hand out for me to shake. I took it and smiled.

Thomas. Thomas. . . Where have I heard that before?

"Do you remember what happened when you passed out?" I nodded to him. I motioned for him to follow me. We went to my room where I grabbed my bag and then we went into Newt's room. "Want me to wake him up?" I nodded. "Newt, Newt. Wake up." He shook him. Newt groaned rolling over. He slowly opened his eyes and as soon as he saw me he jumped up. He didn't have a shirt on either.

"You're okay!" He hugged me, his bare chest cooling me down.

"I asked her what happened and she had me follow her here," Thomas informed him.

"Did you tell her the bigger news?"

"Oh yeah, we're officially Runners." He said. I smiled at them.

"Okay, back to your story," Newt said. We sat on the floor in a circle. I took out my tablet and pointed to Minho and then the door.

"I'll go get him." Thomas sighed.

A couple seconds later, Thomas returned with Minho.

"Glad you're okay, shank." He smiled at me, joining our circle. Newt explained how I stole the tablet from Wicked so I was ready to begin so I stood up.

"Are we playing charades or something?" Newt laughed. I just nodded. I pointed to Ben's face on the tablet and pretended to be stabbed.

"Ben got stabbed?" I rolled my hands in a cycled motion saying keep going.

"Ben got stu-" I jumped up at Minho's answer before he could finish. "Ben got stung?!" He looked like he was gonna puke. Then I took Thomas and stood him up. Pointing from me to him, signaling he was me, then I pretended to pin him on a fake wall, put up one finger, meaning shush, and pretended to punch him.

"Ben, he told you not to say anything and then he punched you?" I nodded at Newt's answer, allowing Thomas to sit.

"Did he also take your knife and notepad so you couldn't find your way back?" I nodded at Minho's question. "I'll tell Alby tomorrow." He sighed. "You two shanks better be ready. I'm gonna need as much help as I can get, running the maze tomorrow." Thomas and I nodded at him. "For now, you rest," he said pointing to me. The other boys agreed. I nodded heading into my empty room but Newt stopped me.

"Glad you're okay, Monkey," he smiled as I left.

I laid on a bottom bunk bed this time, not ready to climb the ladder just yet. I peacefully fell asleep, listening to crickets chirping from outside.

The next morning, Minho woke Thomas and me up bright and early. We first headed to Alby, informing him to keep an eye out for Ben who was nowhere to be found. Then we grabbed our gear from the map room and headed out to the maze.

I poked Thomas getting his attention. I made an ugly face before a slitting throat motion and finished by pointing out to the maze.

"I think she's saying, to go to the dead Griever." Minho laughed. We ran for a little bit before seeing parts and guts spewing out from a closed wall. After approaching it, Minho pulled something out of, what looked like, it's leg. He wiped it off before handing it to me. "Lead the way," he smiled at me.

Thomas and Minho followed behind me till we got to a dead end.

"Do you really know where you're going?" Thomas laughed. I nodded before climbing up the vines.

"You won't make it all the... way... up." Minho finished his sentence just as I got to the top.

Thomas caught on quick, trying to follow up but he couldn't make it. I tossed them the Griever's tracker.

"She wants us to follow her from down here," Thomas said. I strolled along the top of the path while Minho and Thomas whispered to one another. Finally, we made it to the big doors in section twelve. I jumped down from the wall after climbing little ways down. We walked inside on a bridge like surface. I held out the tube, allowing the scanner to scan it. I tried to tell Thomas and Minho to move but Wicked must've updated their software seeing as it scanned so quickly and I was too late. An alarm went off. I shoved the tracker in my bag before running out, motioning them to follow. We ran through crashing walls managing to not get flattened.

After making it back to the Maze, out of breath, we ran into the map room.

"That tunnel. . . is that the Griever's home?" Thomas asked. I shrugged, not really knowing.

"Seems to me like it's their main road to the maze," Minoh said while moving tiles on the map around.

"So they're coming from the creators."

"The question is, how do we get in?"

××××××××

Newt and Minho were trying to figure out who was the smartest, while I laughed at them when Thomas came running out of the woods screaming. It was then that we saw Ben right behind him.

"Help! Help!" Ben tackled him. Foam and drool hung from his mouth as he stared down at Thomas.

"It's all your fault! You did this!" Newt ran up to them swinging a shovel at Ben's head causing him to fall over unconscious.

Later, after he woke up they dragged him in front of the doors. Gladers surrounded him, leaving him nowhere to go but inside the maze.

"For your crimes against this Glade, you are sentenced to banishment within the maze. You are not to return here." Alby said. As tough as it was for some of the boys, him being a friend and all, they began pushing him in while the doors slowly began to close. He cried and screamed but they kept pushing him in.

Alby had also informed everyone what Ben did to me in the maze. Some of the boys resented me for saying anything.

Finally, the doors were barely shut when he was pushed all the way through. I sorta felt bad for the kid. He was just following orders. I glared at Gally, who was already glaring back. I looked at Thomas. He had a terrified look in his eye. I just patted him on the back and walked away.

It's time to toughen up.