Into the Maze

Chapter 23

The sunrise that morning was so blinding, it was like they were teasing us. Showing us something so beautiful after they'd won, whoever they were.

Newt and I had sat there for hours, neither of us had been able to fall asleep, but neither of us had said anything either. It was sort of just enjoying each other's company.

I looked back, probably around noon or so, watching as Gally ordered a few boys around. The few that were left anyways. I glanced to Newt, who was following my gaze, before he nodded.

"Just don't be stupid." He said quietly, he knew I was thinking about going and trying to talk some sense into Gally.

"I'm never stupid." I joked, I guess I could be sometimes. I pushed myself onto my feet as he nodded slightly, he was almost smiling.

I looked to where Gally was, before making my way over. He didn't even notice me until I was ten feet in front of him.

"Oh, good. We're going to banish the both of them in an hour." He told me, as I held back any insults I wanted to get out.

"Gally, listen-" I started, I had been thinking about it a lot. Why would W.C.K.D send the Grievers now, when we've been here three days, and the others three years. And it hit me.

They were scared. We had started to find a way, Thomas and Minho, and they needed to scare us off. They knew someone would react how Gally had, and they knew they'd take it out on Thomas. They probably wanted me gone, too.

"No, Parker, you listen. You can't convince me out of this one, okay? You can't act like you know you have the upper hand. Not anymore." He spoke to me, raising his voice a bit as I took a deep breath.

"Okay. I just want you to know that you're doing exactly what they want." I said, as he watched my face, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah? You'd know a lot about what they want, since you were one of them." He added, as I really really tried to restrain myself.

"Okay, fine. But it can't be a coincidence that the Grievers attack after Thomas and Minho nearly find a way out. We scared them." I told him, as something flashed across his face for a half of a second.

"It also can't be a coincidence that things started changing after you two got here." I nodded, looking down, and licking my lips, before looking back up.

"What if we never got here. And you all stayed for three more years, more greenies, more deaths, more useless mapping. Until what? You all died? You stopped caring?" I asked, as he watched me impatiently. "You're dead either way, and I personally would rather die trying than not at all."

He stayed silent a moment, watching me. I couldn't tell if he was mad, ignoring me, or giving in a little bit. His expression remained stern.

"Gally?-"

"So what? We just run out there and get massacred?" He asked, snapping and raising his voice louder. I felt a few other boys glance our direction. But it was different, I wasn't all convinced that he didn't mean his question sarcastically. "We just kill ourselves?"

"We're already dying." I shrugged, as he scoffed, shaking his head and looking around. I bit my lip, waiting.

"Maybe. Maybe Thomas is the one killing us." He stated, clearly trying to not give in. I shook my head, looking down. "Okay, I get it. Maybe you're innocent, but you aren't him. He could be on their side."

You know what, I don't think it's about W.C.K.D anymore. I think it's about Gally being intimidated or even jealous of Thomas. I mean, he came in and defied Gally, he made him look stupid.