All night, Thomas laid awake, listening out for any sounds that could possibly be coming from his sister inside the maze. Thoughts swirled around his head of what could be going on. Images of things that could hurt her flashed across his mind. All he wanted was for it to stop. He squeezed his eyes shut, frightened of what he was seeing.
"Stop, stop, stop." He said under his breath.
"Thomas, are you alright?" Newt whispered, having heard Thomas's pleads.
"I just got her back, I don't wanna lose her." He replied.
"There's nothing we can do until the walls open in the morning. Just try and get some sleep. You won't be much help if you're exhausted." Thomas rolled over, looking out over the field.
"What if something's happened to her?" He asks.
"We'll find her. I promise you. We will not stop looking until she's found and she's safe."
"The maze is huge and different everyday."
"There's like fifty of us. If we double in numbers, we double the ground covered, and we're guaranteed to find her."
"Or her body." Meanwhile, in the maze, she ran around like crazy, calling out for her brother. She was cold, tired, and terrified. Luckily for her, daylight was quickly setting in and the walls would be open again soon.
"Thomas!" She called again. "Thomas, are you out there!" Suddenly, something scuttled past the end of the narrow corridor. She started to go back the way she came, but when she turned around, she saw something that looked like giant pink slug with a scorpion tail, yet somewhat mechanical. She screamed and the next thing she knew, she'd blacked out.
-----
As soon as the sun came up, the runners and some other Gladers watched the walls open and had no hesitation to go into the maze. They'd been looking for hours now, and no one had seen any sign of her. That was until it was almost time for the walls to close again, when Minho -another of the runners- saw what looked to be an unconscious form on the floor. He rushed over, crouching down beside the figure, who he recognized to be Ava. She had a small cut across her forehead that was oozing blood and seemed to be bruising. Suddenly, she rolled back her head with a groan.
"Ava, are you okay?" Minho asked, moving the hair from her face.
"I don't wanna go to sleep, Tommy, I'm scared." She muttered, to Mino's confusion. He helped her to her feet, keeping a hold of her as she swayed a little.
"Can you open your eyes?" He asks, and she did. She looked around, looking totally lost.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story." He replied.
"Thomas-"
"-is okay." She stared at him blankly for a minute, suddenly feeling queasy. "Are you okay?"
"No, everything hurts."
"We should get you back to the glade."
-----
Ava had an arm slung over Minho's shoulder due to the alarming pain in her leg causing a limp. They both exited the maze just as the walls were closing up again behind them. Ava instantly saw the other Gladers grouped up, seemingly in deep discussion.
"Thomas!" Minho yelled, causing multiple people to look towards them.
"Oh my god, Ava." Thomas breathed as he ran towards her. Ava suddenly pushed away from Minho, hooking onto her brother when he was in touching distance. He held onto her for dear life. "Don't you ever do that ever again. Never again."
"I was trying to protect you. I thought you were still in the maze." She replied, finally feeling the pace of her heart slow down.
"Are you hurt? Did you get stung?" He asks, breaking away from the hug and looking her over.
"Appart from the fact I hurt everywhere, I'm okay. And I wasn't stung by anything."
"Well you need a shower, some food, and some sleep."
"I need my leg checking first. I'm in a lot of pain with it." Thomas turned towards Newt, beckoning him over.
"Will you take her to the homestead. I have something I have to take care of." Newt nodded before taking Ava in his arms as they both started towards the homestead.
"Please don't yell at me." Ava said under her breath. "I know it was stupid."
"It was stupid. Though, I admire your bravery, dimples." Ava tried to conceal a smile, though it was near impossible. "Don't take off like that again. You're very fast and not even Minho could catch up with you."
"I'm sorry. Chuck told me Thomas was in there, but I couldn't find him. I'm just glad he wasn't hurt."
"Thomas was with us. He came out of the maze a little after the others but before the walls closed. Chuck was trying to prank you, but obviously it backfired. He's just as upset as anyone else."
-----
"Are you okay?" Thomas asked and she looked at him like he was stupid.
"He gave me a crutch, Thomas." She pointed out. "I'm on a crutch for a week or so because I, apparently, have a sprained ankle. He had to put a stitch in my forehead to stop the bleeding and he thinks I could be concussed because I hit my head. If that's your definition on okay, then yes, I'm better than okay."
"I was just asking, Ava." He replied.
"So, where did the name Ava come from? If you don't mind me asking." Thomas showed her his wrist and she smiles. He noticed her smile, and it sent a warm wave of familiarity through him. Something he'd almost forgotten. However, their next stop was the shower. Ava was dirty after spending close to twenty-four hours in the maze, and she was hungry too. Frypan had promised to save her food for her, while she was cleaning herself up. As Ava and her brother headed towards the showers, she locked eyes with Gally. He seemed to be frowning at her, and she didn't understand why or what she could do about it, so she just ignored it and looked away.
