Chapter 8

Throughout the rest of the day, Emily tried her hand at all the various jobs.

And now, the only job left was the runner.

"So.. how to I try out for this?" Emily asked, feeling exhausted from the different tasks she'd been assigned to.

"I'll give you a bunch of things to do and I'll assess your physical fitness from there." Minho said, folding his arms across his chest.

"He's really fit. " Emily thought to herself.

"Okay, first, I want you to sprint from one end of the glade to the other."

Emily nodded and braced herself.

On the count of three

The moment the word left Minho's lips, she shot off, pushing herself to keep going, moving her legs as fast as she can.

Her lungs felt like they were on fire.

Her feet felt like there was a ton of bricks chained to them.

But she kept going.

As soon as she passes the end point, Minho stops the timer.

"You made it back in one minute and 45 seconds. Very impressive."

She grinned at his compliment, pride swelling in her chest.

For once, Emily felt like she was actually good at doing something around there.

Eventually, the long day of trials came to an end, and she took her nightly walk with Newt.

"So... how'd it go?" Newt asked, his fingers casually lacing through Emily's.

"It was not bad actually- although I didn't like working at the Slaughterhouse or scooping up klunk for plants." She laughed, and Newt grinned at her.

Her laugh was infectious and Newt fell more for her each time.

"Although, I think I did really well for a Runner! Even Minho said my results were impressive!" Emily exclaimed, obviously excited about the prospect of becoming a runner.

The two words "Minho" and "Runner" created an uneasy feeling in Newt's gut.

He stopped walking, and turned to face Emily.

"I don't think that's such a great idea...being a runner." He said.

Emily was taken aback by his comment.

"Excuse me? You think I can't handle it?" She asked, feeling a little offended that Newt thought she couldn't take care of herself.

"No! Its not that... but the Maze is so dangerous. And I... I can't lose you to it. I know it's selfish, but you can't." Newt admitted.

A mix of emotions flooded through Emily. On one hand, she was touched that Newt cared so much about her, but on the other hand, she was upset about Newt's disbelief in her.

"I can do this Newt - don't worry."

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The next day, the keepers gathered at the homestead to assign the Greenie a role.

"Alright shanks busy day we have here, gotta y'know escape the place, get a wife and all..." Alby said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. It earned an eye-roll from Newt but Minho just smirked.

"So, each of you state how the Greenbean did and we'll come up with an evaluation of sorts and give that shank a job." Alby announced, folding his arms accords his chest.

One by one, the Keepers gave their evaluation.

Zart said she did okay, not too great but not too shabby.

"That toothpick of a shank has no muscle in her. Bet she'll break her arm trying to carry a brick." Gally scoffed. He obviously didn't think she could pull it off.

Newt glared at Gally and shot a thousand flaming daggers at him.

Gally caught it but instead of backing down, he outright challenged Newt.

"What is it lover-boy? Got an eye problem after looking at that shuck-face shank?" Gally smirked.

Before Newt could reach out and clobber Gally, Alby put his arm out.

"One more word from you Gally and I'm banishing you. That is not the way we treat each other around here." Alby's voice was stern and unwavering.

The whole room fell silent.

"Minho you've been awfully quiet. Do tell us how the Greenie did."

Newt's hands started to get clammy and he was going to make sure Emily did not become a runner.

There's no way -

"Actually, she did great. Out of all the shanks I've assess before she's one of the best." Minho said calmly, leaning against one of the beams with his arms crossed.

An uproar sparked and everyone started talking and yelling at once.

Most were shouts of disbelief.

"There is no way a Greenie is going to become a runner."

"No shucking way!"

"What's up with you Minho?"

"Bloody hell."

"That is enough!" Alby's voice thundered through the whole room.

"Minho are you sure?" Alby gave him a questioning look.

"Look. All I'm saying is that she'll make a great runner. Remeber when she was left in the maze? Not only did she actually survive, she also had the shucking brains to leave a trail of vines. That's how I found her. She was quick on her feet - she even almost launched a surprise attack on me.." Minho said, shrugging at the end.

Alby nodded and took it all in. It was true that she had the brains and the build to be a runner.

And some of the other Keepers seemed to think so too.

"Alright let's take a vote. All in favour of the Greenie being a runner raise their hands." Alby instructed.

Everyone but Frypan, Gally and Newt raised their hands.

"I think she'd be an okay cook too. She did quite well actually, but I'd give her something easy to start with then she can work her way up." Frypan says.

Alby then looks to Gally.

"There's no shucking way we can let a Greenie into the maze. Much less a girl." Gally rolls his eyes.

Roll 'em some more and soon they'll roll right off. Newt thought to himself.

Lastly, Alby questioned Newt.

"It's not safe - I mean she hardly knows the place, much less the maze. She'd make a much better cook." Newt said, his face dark.

Minho picked up on that but didn't say a word.

Alby sighed. "Okay then since we don't have a unanimous decision, we'll just let her choose."

Almost immediately, Newt barked out a no.

Alby's head snapped towards Newt, warning him to watch himself.

Newt felt frustration and anxiety bubble in him, and stormed out of the Homestead, before he really punched someone.

------------------------------A/N Hello there lovelies:)) here's an update!(well duh) so what are you guys up to? And if you have any ideas that you'd like me to incorporate into the story do drop a comment:))

Lots of love ♡