It's A Girl

We wake up not long before sunrise. Gally and i wake up last, and the first thing i notice are the others staring. Frypan, Newt, and Chuck have small smirks on their faces. 

I can fill my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, and gently nudge Gally as i lift my head from his shoulder. Gally wakes up with grunt, looking at me in confusion, before turning his head to see the audience we've attracted. 

I swear i can see him blush a little before standing up and focusing his attention on the maze doors.

We all follow suit, watching the sun rise and waiting in anticipation for the doors to open. Soon enough, the maze doors rumble to life, slowly but surely moving until the entrance is completely open.

The sound of the maze entrance gathers the attention of the other gladers, who have sped over and grouped in front of the large gap. We wait a few minutes, hearing no noise from our friends. 

Feelings of grief and hopelessness corrupt us all, and we all begin to turn and walk away.

"I told you Chuck, they're not coming back" Newt says, sounding defeated. He begins to walk off with the others.

I let a tear slip and Gally holds me as we begin to walk off too. I don't notice Chuck still standing there. I also don't notice Zart abruptly stopping. 

I nearly miss Zart say "No way" in disbelief.

As i turn around, in sync with the other gladers, i hear Chuck cheer "Yeah!" repeatedly in pure joy. My face lights up at the sight of Minho and Thomas helping Alby through the maze entrance.

I swiftly jump into action, helping Clint, Jeff and others to set down Alby to relieve Thomas and Minho, who look just about ready to pass out. 

"What happened out there?" Jeff asks, taking a look at Alby's injuries. 

"How'd you guys make it out?" Zart asks, glancing away from Alby, setting his gaze on Minho and Thomas.

They don't reply, keeping their attention on an unconscious Alby as they catch their breath.

"You saw a griever?" Chuck asks, looking to the boys in slight fear.

"Yeah, i saw one" Thomas replies, glancing at us all.

"He didn't just see it. He killed it" Minho adds breathlessly. Watching us for our reactions.

"Shit" is all i manage to say, completely shocked at what i've heard. 

Thomas killed a griever. The guy who asks too many questions and looks to have no survival instincts, proven from being attacked by Ben, survived the maze and killed a shucking griever.

Oh, damn.

I get a few looks my way for swearing. Most are full of amusement from Minho and even Thomas, along with Gally, Newt, Fry and Chuck. 

I even catch Clint and Jeff snicker before focusing on Alby once again. Zart is less subtle with his laughter.

I pull Minho into a tight hug, not being able to wait for the others to leave.

"I'm so glad you made it" I whisper, letting a tear slip from overwhelming joy and relief.

I cry too damn easily.

"I wouldn't abandon my family" He whisper's back, before stepping away.

I look at Thomas, who has just been released from Newt. 

They're so getting together.

I shock him when i pull him in for a hug. 

"I'm glad your back too Thomas, your family now" I say, pulling away. He gives me a genuine smile, seeming happy to be included in our little family.

"We're gonna take Alby to the medhut" Jeff says, starting to pull Alby up with Clint, and another glader.

"I'll help" I say, earning a grateful look from both boys as i help hold Alby, and set off to the medhut.

We get to the medhut and gently place Alby on the bed. Clint lifts up his shirt to see how bad the sting is, and it looks pretty bad. Jeff and Clint grab restraints and tie Alby's hand to the bed. It's something that no one has to do, but it's for our protection in case he tries to attack us during the changing.

I stand by Alby, watching as he cries out, tugging on his restraints as he sleeps.

"We won't have to banish him will we?" I ask, my voice is shaky at the thought.

"As long as he doesn't attack anyone" Jeff says, looking at the leader sadly.

"He'll be ok" Clint adds, sending a reassuring look my way.

It's nice to see that he still has hope for Alby. I still do too.

We are interrupted by Chuck rushing through the door.

"How's Alby?" He asks, trying to catch his breath.

"He's still unconscious" Jeff says, grabbing a wet rag to place on Alby's head, since we've noticed he has started to sweat.

"We think he will be alright, kid" I say, patting Chuck's head lightly.

"That's a relief. We need to go, a meeting's been called" Chuck says, grabbing my hand and ushering us to the door.

"The meeting for everyone?" Clint asks confused. Usually the meetings are for the keepers only.

"Yeah, we gotta go, it's about to start" Chuck replies hurriedly, dragging me out of the door.

The four of us rush towards the hut, where the meetings are held. We walk inside to find almost everyone in their seats. Chuck and i split up from Clint and Jeff, who bid us goodbye as they head to their seats. 

Chuck and i find empty spaces on a bench at the front. Everyone's chattering in confusion, eager to find out the purpose of the meeting. It's most likely to do with Thomas, Minho and Alby surviving the night in the maze.

Gally begins to talk, and i realise it was probably him who ordered Newt to call a meeting.

"Things are changing" He starts and everyone is quick to stop talking.

The hut is silent when Gally starts to talk once more.

"There's no denying that. First Ben gets stunng in broad daylight" He glances at me, causing me to look down when he mentions Ben.

"And then Alby. And now our greenie here, has taken it upon himself to go into the maze" He continues, glancing at Thomas, who looks at him at the mention of his name. 

This is not good. Gally hates change, and seems to have a very strong dislike for the greenie. This meeting is not going to go well.

"Which is a clear violation of our rules here" He finishes. 

Gally has a fair point. Thomas did break the rules, but he also saved Alby's life.

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

That's what i was thinking. Great minds think alike.

"Did he? For three years, we have coexisted with these things, and now you've killed one of them" Gally says, pointing at Thomas, who is smart enough to keep quiet for now.

"Who knows what that could mean for us?" Gally asks, looking around the room. 

I guess he has a fair point. What if killing one of them means that they will try and come into the glade to attack us during the day? We can't close the doors to stop them. They could also kill the runners who stepped into the maze during the day. 

It's a scary thought, but if Thomas didn't kill that griever, him, Minho and Alby would probably be dead by now. He did what he had to, to survive. We can't punish him for that.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Newt asks, looking fed up with this meeting already. 

"He has to be punished" Gally says, earning protests and agreements from the rest of us.

"Woah, woah, wait" Chuck says, looking baffled at what Gally's suggested.

"He killed a griever!" Clint argues.

I decide to stay quiet. Gally and i are, well. We're not officially together, but i really like him and i don't want to go against him with an audience. I'd rather tell him my opinion later, when he's less stressed out.

I don't think Thomas deserves to be punished. He saved Alby and Minho, risking his own life to do it. I consider him family now, but i'm not going to cause a scene in this meeting that has too much testosterone from angry males. I'd rather enjoy the show. I wish i had some food to eat right now.

"Minho, You were there with him. What do you think?" Newt asks, looking at Minho. 

The glader's silence once more, looking at Minho for his opinion on the matter.

Minho sighs, taking a moment before he starts speaking. I feel bad for him and Thomas, they just want to rest. They look exhausted.

"I think, in all the time we've been here, no ones ever killed a griever before. When i turned tail and ran, this dumb shank stood behind to help Alby" He says, looking at me, cringing slightly.

Oh, so he left Father Alby to be food for the grievers? I would be mad but he was scared for his life, so i don't blame him. With Alby being unconscious, i probably would've ran to save myself.

"Look, i don't know if he's brave or stupid, but whatever it is we need more of it. I say we make him a runner" He finishes. His statement causes an uproar from the crowd.

"A runner? What? Minho, let's not jump the gun here" Fry calls out. 

Fry has a fair point. Thomas is still new, but i guess if he can survive the night then he's capable of running during the day. I just hope he can memorise the routes.

"Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!" Chuck starts chanting, causing me to start laughing. 

He stops when no one joins in. I ruffle his hair as i laugh. He's so cute.

"Don't get involved, kid. Just sit back and enjoy the show" I say as he swats my hand away.

"This is very entertaining. I wish we had bread to snack on" He says.

"I love how similar we are Chuckie. I was thinking we needed something to snack on" I say, high fiving him, before focusing back on the meeting.

"If you wanna throw the newbie a parade, that's fine" Gally shouts out, silencing the gladers once more. He looks pissed.

"But if there is one thing that i know about the maze, is that you do not-" Gally gets cut off by the sound of the box alarm. 

Everyone takes a second to look around in confusion. The box isn't supposed to come up yet.

I grab Chuck and move to follow Gally, Fry and Newt as they rush towards the box. The other gladers sprinting behind them.

Thomas and Minho step out behind Chuck and i. 

"Ok, wait, wait. I know that sound" Thomas says, staring at where the others are running.

"The box"Chuck says, looking at me.

"It's coming back up" I add confusedly.

"It shouldn't be" Minho says wearily.

The four of us rush towards the box, pushing through the boys to reach Newt, Gally and Fry. We watch as Gally and Newt open it up. Newt jumps down to investigate.

"Newt, what do you see" One of the gladers ask curiously. All of us standing around the box, peering inside.

"It's a girl" Newt says, looking at me.

"What, really?" Gladers call out, glancing at me as they do.

"Finally a female friend" I whisper to Chuck happily , causing him to laugh. Minho, Thomas, Frypan and even Gally seem to hear me, as they chuckle a little at my happiness.

Thank God, i finally have a female companion. I've waited so long for this.

"I think she's dead" Newt says, looking at the girl who hasn't moved or woken up yet.

There's no way the fucking creators sent me up a dead female friend. That's out of order. I got my hopes up, to find out she's dead!

"What's in her hand" Gally asks. 

Newt crouches down, taking a crumpled piece of paper from her hand. 

"She's the last one ever. What the hell does that mean?" He asks, confused.

Before any of us can say anything or process the words, the girl wakes up gasping for air. She wakes up startled, scaring the rest of us shitless.

"Thomas" She says in between gasps, before falling unconscious once more.

Everyone is dead silent, turning their attention to Thomas. I watch as he looks back at us puzzled. He seems to have no idea why she knew his name.

"You still think i'm overreacting?" Gally asks with a frown.

I once again, help Clint and Jeff as they lift the girl greenie out of the box. We carry her to the Medhut, placing her gently on an empty bed. Newt, Minho, Thomas follow in behind us. 

We can all hear Alby suffering in his sleep, coughing and gasping. I hope he wakes up soon.

"Jeff, what's going on? What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?" Newt asks, as the three boys stand next to the girls bed.

Damn Newt, give the poor boy a chance.

"Hey man, i got my job the same way you did" Jeff replies, having no idea what's wrong with her.

I watch as Thomas stares at the girl. I also watch as Newt notices and looks to be jealous. 

It's so obvious that Newt likes Thomas.

"Well, do you recognise her?" Newt asks, failing to hide the jealousy in his voice. 

Wow, this just got even more interesting. 

"No" Thomas replies, still sounding puzzled over it.

"Really? Because she seemed to recognise you" Newt says, in slight annoyance. 

I bet Minho can smell the jealousy too. I'll have to ask him later. I glance at Clint and Jeff, who both send me small grins. Oh, they know too. I have to talk to all of them about this later.

"What about the note" Thomas asks.

"We'll worry about the note later" Newt says, looking at the girl.

"I think you should worry about it now" Thomas says, looking at Newt.

I find it funny how Minho, Jeff, Clint and i all have the same idea. To stay silent and let the smitten boys have their lovers quarrel.

"We've got enough to deal with at the moment" Newt replies.

"He's right Newt. If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we will last?" Jeff asks.

"He's got a point, Newt. Without supplies coming up every month, we won't last long" I add.

"No one's said that. Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just... We'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody's gotta have some answers around here" Newt replies, trying to reassure us.

It's good to see Newt taking charge in Alby's absence. He's a good leader and Alby will be proud when he wakes up.

"Ok" Thomas says quietly, starting to walk off.

"Hey, where are you going?" Newt asks.

"Back into the maze" Thomas replies, heading out of the medhut.

Newt, Minho and i glance at each other, then minho moves to follow.

i turn back to Jeff and Clint.

"Could you guys let me know when she wakes up, if i'm not here? Seeing a girl will be less scarier than waking up to boys" I ask.

"Yeah, we'll come and find you first" Clint replies, Jeff nodding in agreement.

"Thanks" I say, rushing out and catching up to Minho and Thomas.

"Hey, Thomas. Hey. Hey. Come on. What is this with you huh? A death wish? You just got out, and now you want back in?" Minho asks, stopping Thomas.

"Yeah, this seems crazy" I add, crossing my arms and raising a brow.

"Newt said that no one's ever seen a griever and lived to tell about it, right? And Minho, Madeline, now we have one. You're telling me you're not even a little bit curious?" He asks, looking at us.

Minho and i look at each other before replying "Not really, no".

Damn, we are so in sync.

Thomas looks done with us and begins to walk off before getting stopped my Minho again.

"So, what's the plan? You're gonna go out there and dissect that thing all by yourself?" Minho asks. 

"I will if i have to. Have the other runners left yet?" Thomas asks, adamant on his decision.

"The other runner quit this morning. After Alby got stung, they're not in any hurry to get back out there" Minho says. 

We all look at where the runners are sitting by a small fire. Yeah, they're not going to go out there any time soon.

"Why are you?" Minho asks curiously. 

"I think it's time we find out what we're really up against" Thomas says.

"Thomas is right. We need to find out all we can about these things" I say to Minho. Thomas sends me a look of gratitude.

"All right, but you're not going back out there alone. Meet me in the woods in half an hour" Minho orders Thomas, turning to walk away.

I nod at Thomas and catch up to Minho.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Getting a team together, and your not coming" Minho says sternly.

"I don't want to anyway. I'm not as curious as Thomas. However, i have a couple of people in mind who might be worth asking" I say, trying to match Minho's speed.

He's too damn tall. 

"Who do you have in mind?" He asks, raising a brow at me.

"Well Frypan will want to help. I also think Clint and Jeff will do it to get their minds off of what the note said" I explain.

"I'll ask them. Do you think Zart is worth asking?" Minho asks.

"Yeah, he will probably want to help. If he turns it down, he won't blab to Gally either. If Gally finds out, your all in trouble" I say to Minho.

"Isn't he your boyfriend?" Minho teases.

"No, he's not, but he will be pissed and will stop you guys from going, so i'll go talk to him and distract him until you guys get back" I say.

"Thanks Maddie, we won't be long" Minho assures.

"If you all are not back before the doors close. I'll kill you" I threaten. 

"I'll be back this time. I promise" He replies, jogging off to find the boys. 

I scan the glade for Gally. I find him walking into the hut where the meetings are held. I feel really awful keeping this from him, but he would try to stop it and we need answers. I understand that he's scared of change, but the note means the box may not come up again, and we need to do whatever we can to find some answers. 

I just hope he's not too pissed with me when he finds out.

Author's Note:

I planned to post yesterday, but work has me so tired recently. Sorry this update was a little late.

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Xxxx