The Silent Runner

7. w.c.k.d.

Nothing seemed right about it- putting my name on the wall. I'd never been Wicked's best friend but I could've done something before this all went to hell, I should've.

Thomas and Minho had left already but I stayed behind. I stared at the wall and all the names that had been crossed out. Then I found Newt's. It looked as if someone began crossing his out but stopped.

"Parker!" I turned to see Chuck running my way. He must've not heard my real name yet. "You gotta come see this!" A big grin covered his rosy face.

I followed him to see a big crowd surrounding the watchtower. Then out of nowhere an apple barely hit me in the nose. Chuck ran off and came back with Thomas and Minho.

"What's going on?" Thomas panted. Chuck pointed up into the tower.

"Girls are awesome." He laughed. Things were falling from the top and people were yelling back and forth.

"You throw one more of those things and I'll- Ow!" Gally groaned as a rock landed on his head. Thomas and I laughed before I joined the three where they were standing.

"Go away!" Teresa yelled.

"We come in peace!" Frypan hollered back.

"What happened?" Thomas asked, dodging a rock.

"Just duck!" Someone else yelled.

"I don't think she likes us very much." Newt laughed.

"What do you want from me?" She yelled down.

"We just wanna talk!" Thomas answered.

"I'm warning you! Stay back!"

"Take cover!" More rocks and apples were thrown down. People ducked down and hid under boxes and cans.

"Hey! Woah, Woah, Woah! It's Thomas. It's Thomas!" Suddenly, it stopped raining rocks and she peeked over the ledge. She looked at me and then at Thomas. "I'm gonna come up, okay?" She disappeared. "Okay," Gally tried to follow. "Just me." Surprisingly he stayed silent and let Thomas go.

After he passed, Gally glared at me before returning his attention to the tower. We all stayed silent, waiting for something to happen.

"What's going on up there?" Gally hollered. Thomas's head popped up.

"Is she coming down?" Frypan questioned.

"You guys just give us a second, okay?" Gally sighed. There was a moment of silence.

"Alright," Newt said directing people away. "Come on."

"Is this what all girls are like?" Frypan asked looking at me. I shrugged, giving a light chuckle. We left them to talk.

Newt called me over to the homestead.

"What else did you bring in your bag?" I looked at him giving him that kinda 'why' face. "There were these things in her pocket. The med-jacks saw em' and we don't know what they are. It was some kind of blue liquid." I walked inside signaling him to follow me.

We walked into my room and I grabbed my bag from under the bed before pulling out some of the tubes he was talking about.

"You know what they are?" I nodded.

Suddenly people were gathering outside my window. They were talking to Minho and Alby.

We joined the conversation, listening in.

"Minho and I are heading into the maze. We have to look for any remainders of Ben. If Thomas and I survived he could've! If any shank has a problem with that you can take it up at the next council meeting." Alby yelled as if there'd been an argument beforehand.

I raised my hand and stood beside Alby.

"You really wanna come? After what happened?" I confidently nodded.

"Alright then, tomorrow morning. Be ready or we leave without you." I nodded, walking away.

The next morning I got up earlier than necessary and headed over to Frypan's kitchen. After finding the back door was locked, I jumped over the counter and raided the old dusty fridge.

The light inside flickered.

I grabbed the ham and cheese, made myself a sandwich and darted out, heading to the washroom.

After finishing my snack, I pulled off my shirt and looked down at my stomach. There was a dark bruise where Ben had kicked me and the veins around it were spreading.

My bra was dirty but then again what wasn't? I slipped my shirt back on and headed out to the doors.

They hadn't opened yet. The glade was quiet and calm for once. Crickets chirped, and grass swayed. A goat's call echoed in the distance, but other than that, it was calm.

Finally, Minho joined me. He was surprised to see me up and at the door already.

"Suprised to see you here before me." He chuckled before taking a seat next to me. "It must suck. Not being able to talk and all. There are probably so many things you wanna say." He looked at me. "I'd go crazy," he laughed. "Don't know how you do it, Shank." I shrugged.

Minutes after Alby appeared, the doors began to open and we made our way in.

Thomas

After the maze doors opened, I watched them run off. Minho told me to take a day off and show Teresa around but I wanted to be out there, running.

And not just running but running with Angelina. I wanted to keep her safe. I wasn't in love with her or anything but it felt like my job.

I'd seen her in my dreams. Like movie flashbacks. It was funny though because the word movie just came out. I couldn't place the word on a face or an event, I just knew what it meant. It was so frustrating that I wanted to scream. My head was so full of questions. It almost made me anxious, wondering if those memories were in my head still or not. I did know that W.C.K.D. sent us here and one day I'd kill them all for putting us here.

I decided to get up and head to the washroom. I rinsed my face and walked out.

The Gladers were up and moving, feeding the livestock, tending to the garden, and slicing the food. Teresa was with Newt in the Garden. I guess he was explaining the whole situation. I decided to join them. "You like her." She laughed. "I know you do."

"Yeah, so what-" He was laughing but stopped when he saw me. "Some bloody help would be nice. This green bean just sits on her butt." We all pushed out a light laugh.

"Slim it! Get back to work!" Gally yelled whilst walking by. Newt rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed that Gally was telling him how to do his job.

"So Angelina, huh?" I asked him.

"What is it with everyone saying that?" He yelled, turning red.

"Because it's so obvious." Teresa snickered. "I've been here for about a day and I can already tell."

"It doesn't matter whether or not I like her. She's gonna get us out of here." He began pulling up weeds again.

"Yeah, what's taking so long with that, anyway?" Teresa asked. "I heard about it from Chuck."

"I dunno. Her first run she got beat up and now she's looking for Ben I guess." I stated.

"I can't wait to get out of this place," Newt mumbled to himself expecting no one else to hear.

Finally, after a while, they came back all red-faced and out of breath but Alby didn't look too good. They were carrying him on their shoulders. He'd been stung.