Born Again

Chapter eleven

It was morning, the day of the race.

Thomas, Minho, and Newt were hanging out in Newt's room while Minho paced nervously.

"What if I'm not fast enough?" He asked, pushing his hair back nervously. "Oh gosh, what if I trip?" He put his head in his hands. "I could never be seen in public again."

Thomas tried to reassure him that he'd do well but Minho wouldn't listen and kept worrying aloud.

That's when Newt started banging his head against the desk.

"Minho!" Newt exclaimed at last. "Stop whining and moaning and sit down."

Minho sighed, sitting on the edge of Newt's bed as his leg started bouncing nervously.

Again, Thomas noticed the little details like that. Minho had never shown any kind of nervous habit in his dreams. He hadn't really been nervous in general. Thomas supposed that was because the situations were so different. There, Minho had to put on a brave face to encourage others, whereas he didn't have to in real life.

"Look," Newt said, rubbing his face in exasperation. "You'll be fine. You're plenty fast, you know. And you're just as good as running as Tommy is bad at science."

"Hey!" Thomas protested.

"Don't deny it," he teased.

"I'm not," Thomas answered, crossing his arms. "But still."

"What if I forget something?" Minho asked, ignoring Newt's comments. "Like my shoes."

"How the shuck could you forget your shoes?" Newt asked. "You're wearing them right now."

"Yeah I know, but what if I forget something else," he said. "Like." He thought for a few seconds before standing up in a hurry. "Shuck! I just remembered! I was supposed to go to Alby's and help him give Griever a bath." He quickly gathered his things, running out the door.

"The race is in two hours!" Newt called after him. "Don't be late!"

"I won't!" Minho yelled. The sound of the front door opened then closed.

That's when it clicked in Thomas' head.

Minho and Alby going to check on Griever. They had a specific time when they had to arrive back at the Glade.

It was the same situation that led to Thomas getting trapped in the Maze.

Minho was going to be late and Alby was going to be stung.

Or bit.

Or maybe something worse.

~~~

"Where are they?" Newt muttered, pacing in front the door that led to the track. This was the only place anybody could get in.

   "They should be back by now," Thomas added. He didn't really feel like stating the obvious but he felt obliged to because of the dreams.

   Newt ran a hand through his hair. "The time to register ends in five minutes. If Minho doesn't make it, he won't be able to race."

   Thomas sat down against the wall, frustrated. He knew how this was going to end. Knowing how the dreams worked, he would run out after his friends and not get them back in time. They were probably not going to be allowed back in to watch as well. The dreams were weird that way.

But he still knew he would do it. Thomas would run after his friends in a second. No matter what the cost.

   He sighed.