Only Human // Thomas (The Maze Runner)

Ben's Attack

The next morning, she followed Thomas to the forest. He was to gather shuck, and she didn't feel right leaving him alone. She had a weird feeling in her gut that she couldn't explain.

A figure lunged from the trees and started attacking Thomas. He pushed Ariella out of the way and yelled, "Ari, get help!"

She ran out of the forest and cried, "Thomas is in trouble!"

The two boys ran out of the forest, still attacking each other. The other boy had his hands around Thomas's neck.

He caught sight of Ariella and cried, "I saw you too!"

Ariella frowned. She didn't know what he was talking about. Hell, all she knew was that she was in a place called the Glade, with her name as her only memory.

"I'll kill you!" Ben cried.

Thomas hit Ben with the wooden tool he was holding in an attempt to distract him from hurting Ariella.

Newt appeared and yelled, "Hold him down!"

Gally and a few other boys held Ben to the ground. Ben struggled under their grip and Thomas absentmindedly pushed Ariella behind him. Ben continued crying out and was muttering words that made no sense. His veins were popping, covering his skin with blue and purple lines.

"What the hell happened?" Frypan asked, looking at the two newcomers.

Ariella shook her head as Thomas exclaimed in a breathless voice, "He just attacked us!"

Chuck ran over to them and placed a hand over Thomas, making sure he was okay. He then looked to Ariella and she nodded. "I'm okay. What's going on with him?"

Alby frowned. "Lift up his shirt."

Ben started thrashing again and Gally pulled up his sweat and grime covered shirt to reveal a discolored wound on his right side. Veins popped out of the wound and it was surrounded by dark purple and blue shadows.

Several gladers stepped back. Ariella frowned, wondering if there was a way she could fix this.

Gally's eyebrows furrowed. "He's been stung. In the middle of the day?"

"Take him to the pit." Alby ordered, causing Ben to fight them.

Ariella frowned. "Stung?"

Gally glanced at her. "Grievers. They're dangerous, and you should stay away from them."

When night fell, they gathered at the homestead and Thomas asked, "So what happened to him?"

Alby sighed. "It's called The Changing. It's what happens when someone gets stung."

"Is there any hope for him? Any treatment or medicine you can give him?"

"No. Listen. We haven't been able to get a clear word out of Ben since it happened. He's not making any sense, and it's only gonna get worse. The infection is spreading."

Ariella pursed her lips. "He's clearly a danger, then."

Alby glanced between the two newcomers. "What did he say to you two?"

Thomas and Ariella exchanged a look before he said, "He said he saw us there. That this was our fault. How could this be our fault?"

Ariella sat in silent confusion. She didn't know why Ben had gotten stung. She didn't know why she was here. It was too much confusion for one day.

Alby noticed the tired expression Ariella was giving. He didn't know why Ben was stung, but he knew it was hopeless. "Get some rest." He told the two, patting Thomas's back. He walked away, soon followed by Chuck.

Ariella looked at Thomas's hand. "That looks bad. We should clean it up so it doesn't get infected."

Thomas watched as she silently bandaged his hand. He felt his head leaning closer to hers. Ariella looked up. "There."

He turned his hand, studying her work. "Thanks. This is pretty impressive."

"You think?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'd say you might have the ability to become a Med-Jack. I don't know why, but I feel like you'd be good at healing people."