Losing Hope

Thirty Three

I was arguing with Newt when we first heard the noise. He was still working on a tree stump and I sat not far from him with Chuck, watching as he repeatedly hit the same spot.

"I mean for all we know we could be the last people alive on Earth."

"Then who's bloody sending things up?"

"Robots? Like, very advanced robots?" Newt looked up at me with a raised eyebrow as Chuck had a small chuckle.

"Okay, I'm trying to cut the tension, alright?" I said, and he shook his head, smirking, then focused back on his job.

"Maybe they're animals. What if they tried to make more intelligent Grievers, and succeeded, but then those more intelligents Grievers realized they were being mean with us, and killed them all?" I suggested, and Newt laughed, looking up.

"That's not making the whole situation better, if you ask me. Besides, why would they send Teresa-"

He didn't finish his sentence, because a faint roaring sound echoed through the Maze. He looked behind me, and I turned around, frowning. Chuck also looked confused.

"What was that?"

"I don't know. It sounded like when the Maze changes," Newt said. He put his machete back in it's sheath and walked over to the doors. I exchanged a quick look with Chuck, and we both stood up, following Newt. By the time we reached the doors, the sounds got louder, and the ground shook from the movement.

"You don't think they're trapped now, do you?" I asked in a quiet voice, forcing myself not to think they'd have to spend another night in the Maze.

"I hope not," Newt answered, and my heart shrank.

"What's going on?" Gally asked, arriving next to us at the same time as Frypan and Zart.

"Do I look like I bloody know?" Newt said without looking at him. A few other boys came running, until we heard a final, louder sound. I forced myself to breathe slowly, having a really bad feeling about this. We stood there for a moment, and my hand instinctively grabbed Newt's. He ran his thumb against my knuckles, the gesture slightly calming me.

We finally heard the familiar footsteps and the two boys got into the corridor leading to the Glade. I let out a breath when I saw them, taking my hand away from Newt's.

"Hey what the hell is going on out there?" he asked as the boys reached us, running to a stop between Newt and Frypan. They kept on walking, probably heading to the Runner's hut. We all followed them.

"What the hell have you done now, Thomas?" Gally asked and I rolled my eyes, jogging to get in back next to Thomas.

"We found something. A new passage, we think it could be our way out," Thomas blurted out, out of breath.

"Really?" Newt asked, looking at Minho.

"It's true. We opened a door, something I'd never seen before," Minho confirmed, and I felt my heart jump in happiness. "I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day," Minho added, and I lost my smile.

"Wait woah, woah, woah," Chuck said, running between Thomas and Minho. "Are you saying you found the Grievers' home? And you want us to go in?"

"Their way in could be our way out, Chuck," Thomas explained, and I exchanged a look with Minho, who had a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side," Gally said, and Minho rolled his eyes. I held back a chuckle, shaking my head. "The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he's done, as usual."

I looked at Thomas' annoyed look as Gally spoke, and the second Gally was done, he spun around to face him. "Yeah, well at least I did something, Gally. I mean what have you done, huh? Aside from hide behind these walls all the time?" Newt rolled his eyes and stood behind Thomas, and Minho looked amused by the whole thing.

"Let me tell you something, Greenie. You've been here, three days, alright? I've been here three years."

"Yeah you've been here three years and you're still here, Gally! Alright, so what does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently."

"Maybe you should be in charge, what about that?"

"Hey, it's Alby!" Teresa's voice cut through the bickering, and suddenly everyone noticed she was there. She stared directly at Thomas before telling us that Alby was awake. Newt and I shared a look, and I took off running towards the Homestead without waiting for the others. I could hear them following me, and they all piled behind me as I walked in the room.

Alby was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his shirt on his stomach, as if he was holding a teddy bear. He stared at the ground in front of him, and didn't move when we got in.

"Has he said anything?" Minho whispered.

"No," Teresa answered, as she walked behind the bed.

"Hey, Alby. Alby are you alright?" Newt asked, sitting on the bed next to him. I followed Newt, and caught a glimpse of Alby's face. His bottom lip was shaking, as if he was about to cry, and his eyes were glistening in the faint light. Thomas kneeled in front of him.

"Alby? Alby, we might've just found a way out of the Maze," Thomas said, probably trying to get any kind of reaction from our leader. "Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here."

Alby slowly shook his head. "We can't," he whispered in a broken voice. "We can't leave. They won't let us."

"What are you talking about?" Thomas asked, sharing a look with Newt.

"I remember."

"What do you remember?"

"You. You were always their favorite, Thomas. Always," Alby whispered, and I barely heard him, seeing as the boys outside started shouting. "Why did you do this?" Alby asked, and I frowned. "Why did you come here?" he asked again, a tear falling on his cheek. The shouting got more intense, and Thomas stood up, everyone walking out of Alby's room. I stood behind, kneeling next to Alby.

"We'll be fine, alright?" I asked, and he looked up at me, shaking his head.

"We won't. You were with them too. They don't want us to get out," he said, before looking back down at his feet. "Leave me alone, please," he whispered, and I nodded, walking out of the Homestead.

I noticed Newt, Minho and Thomas running towards the doors, and I followed them, pushing through the crowd as I reached them to get next to Newt.

"What the hell is going on, why isn't it closed yet?" I asked, and was cut by an incredibly loud sound that made us all cover our ears. I frowned, turning around as another set of doors opened on the wall opposite to us. before anyone could ask any question, another deafening sound echoed in the Glade, and another set of doors opened on our right, then another on our left. I felt my heart beat rise and I looked at Minho, who was next to me. He seemed as panicked as me.

"Hey, Chuck. I want you to go to the Council and start barricading the doors," Thomas said, and Chuck nodded.

"Winston, you go with him," Newt ordered.

"Get the others, tell them to go in the forest, go hide, now!" Gally told some people, and they all ran towards the forest. I stood there, looking around, not really knowing what to do. Panic started rising and my throat tightened.

"Minho, I want you to grab every weapon you can find, I'll meet you at council hall," Thomas said, and Minho nodded, taking off running with Fry. "Teresa, Lily, we're gonna go get Alby, alright?" I nodded, already turning towards the Homestead when Thomas stopped and grabbed my arm. I turned around, following his glare. Boys were running away from one of the doors, and I frowned, until I heard a shriek in the corridor next to us. I only had time to see what looked like metal before Thomas pushed me behind him, towards the center of the Glade.