They Don't Own Me

Chapter 21

Ivy sat on her bed, her back to the door. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her face was stained with tear streaks. She had woken up only a short time ago, only to remember the events of the previous night and realize the truth: Minho, Alby, and Thomas weren't coming back. They had been locked in a Griever infested maze, forced to run for their lives before they were caught. The very thought was enough to bring more tears to her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry.

Suddenly, the sound of the Maze doors opening floated to her ears. She inhaled sharply and looked up, trying to stop her tears from escaping her eyes. She tried to think of other things, but she couldn't get her mind off of the Maze and its prisoners.

It wasn't long after that there was a knock on the door of her hut. Ivy shook her head even though no one could see.

"Please go away," she said, trying to keep her voice straight. "I want to be alone right now." Apparently, the person outside chose to ignore her and opened the door. "I said go away," Ivy snapped, not daring to turn around.

She didn't move when she felt the Glader sit on the opposite side of her bed. A hand touched her shoulder but she shoved it away, still refusing to look at the boy.

"Ivy," a familiar voice said, almost pleading with her.

The girl froze, her eyes widening behind her curtain of hair. She slowly turned her head toward the source of the voice. When her eyes landed on the figure beside her, her composure broke; her tears began to fall more and her body started to shake ever so slightly.

"Minho?" she said, her voice quivering a little.

"Hey there," the boy replied, giving her a gentle smile.

"Are you really here? I'm not imagining things?"

"I sure hope you're not imagining things, or else this would be a little weird."

Ivy lifted her hand and lightly touched Minho's face. She gave a soft laugh when he leaned his face into her touch. Moving suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Minho. The boy responded just as fast, pulling her close to him as he ran his fingers through her messy hair.

"It's alright," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Ivy sobbed.

"I won't, I promise. I'm sorry for leaving you, for scaring you, but I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

~

"Things are changing," Gally stated to the Gladers around him. "There's no denying that. First, Ben gets stung in broad daylight. And then Alby. And now our Greenie, here, has taken it upon himself... to go into the maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here."

"Yeah," Frypan agreed, "but he saved Alby's life."

"Did he?" Newt leaned his head to the side, exchanging a quick glance with Ivy and Minho, who stood side by side. All three of them knew he was about to go on a rant. "For three years, we have coexisted with these things. And now, you've killed one of them." He pointed at Thomas; the Greenie was seated behind the Keepers in a special seat that was saved for a shank who was in trouble. Thomas looked to Ivy, who gave him a reassuring glance before turning her head back to glare at Gally. "Who knows what that could mean for us."

"What do you suggest we do?" Newt asked.

"He has to be punished."

Objections immediately sounded throughout the room.

"Come on."

"He killed a Griever!"

"Minho," Newt said, causing everyone to settle down and look at the Keeper of the Runners. "You were there with him. What do you think?"