Fervency

CHAPTER: T W E N T Y-SEVEN

Newt and Elodie entered the kitchen to find Frypan enthusiastically tossing the makings of a stir-fry inside a giant wok.

"Good evening gorgeous" he greeted Elodie. "Hope you like Stir-fry"

"Lots of vegetables" she wrinkled her nose. Frypan sent her a look of offence and she caved, "C'mon Fry. You know I like everything you make"

"Alright. I'll believe you." he said while he flipped the burner off. "Here you are. Fresh from the pan" Frypan dished the two of them out a generous helping.

"You sure you can eat all that?" Newt remarked. Elodie sent him a scowl in return and dug into her food.

"Look what we have here!" Minho's voice boomed from the entrance. Elodie choked on her rice at the sight of him. He held a grin that was far too suspicious for comfort. She coughed several times until finally Minho shouted to Newt.

"Quick! Give her mouth to mouth!"

Elodie's eyes went wide and she coughed even more.

"It's the heimlich you shank!" Newt shouted back to him.

"What is going on?" Theresa came into the room with Thomas at her side.

"She's choking!" Frypan told her.

"Well don't just stand there!" Theresa ran over to the girl and began performing the heimlich maneuver on her.

"I could get used to this" Minho watched with enjoyment as Theresa squeezed Elodie from behind. Thomas met eyes briefly with Minho and then laughed while Newt shook his head in response. Suddenly, the piece of meat she was chewing flew out of her mouth. Gally had just entered the kitchen and it smacked him in the middle of his forehead.

Thomas snickered behind his arm while Minho didn't even hide the fact that he was laughing. Meanwhile Elodie brought in a few deep breaths, just happy to breathe again.

"Gross!" Gally wiped it from his forehead. "You know what? This is just great. I lost my appetite." As soon as he left the kitchen both Theresa and looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Nice one" Theresa giggled. Elodie raised her hand and they exchanged a high five. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"Mouth to mouth? Really?" She turned to Minho.

"What?" he played dumb.

"I'm gonna trip you when we run the maze tomorrow" she threatened on her way out the kitchen.

"Better watch yourself" Teresa warned.

When Elodie reached outside, the sun had already gone down and the sky was a dim cornflower blue. With a short sigh, she trekked across the tall grassy field. She had grown lost in thought while on her journey.

The sinking feeling she had felt when Teresa first arrived was nearly gone. Maybe what she had felt before was simply paranoia. Things seemed to be looking up now. The medicine they gave Alby seemed to have helped. And even if it didn't completely cure him, at least it had put him at ease.

Finally she had made it into her bed, where she climbed beneath the soft cotton sheets. Warmth engulfed her as she decided that after her run, she was going to see Alby. If he was awake and lucid enough, she would thank him for searching for her. She would also apologize for being reckless enough to enter the maze on her own. She caused him a lot of pain and once she was better, she promised herself that she would make up for it.

Eventually the sound of crickets and endless thoughts lulled her to sleep.

***

The sound of shouting disrupted her sleep. She squinted her eyes at the clock beside her bed and it read 12:05 AM in bold red letters. Elodie left her bed, careful not to make any sound. She didn't know what was going on beneath her but it didn't sound good. She grabbed the knife she stole from Minho when they carved her name on the maze.