Day Seven Hundred and Thirty Three

"Things are changing." Gally's voice rang out loud and clear in the council hall, effectively shushing the crowd. He stood confidently in the centre of the room, looking out amongst his subjects like a king. Ada would have found it hilarious if it weren't for the serious expression on his face that she knew spelled trouble. "There's no denying that."

From her seat to his left, Ada's eyes tracked the curious stares of the other gladers, all sixty-something packed into the circular room, listening with rapt attention. Anticipation hung in the air, as well as something darker, sourer. Dozens of eyes kept cutting over to her, flickering to Minho as well where he stood beside her, leaning against the back of her chair. The two of them were the talk of the glade, of that she had little doubt.

No one survived a night in the maze, and they had done it. They had made it out.

"First Nick gets stung in broad daylight, then Ben... and then Alby." He continued.

Ada looked down at the ground, willing the lump in her throat to go away at the sombre tone of his voice. She had changed into the spare set of clothes Newt had left her, relieved at the lack of filth and grime. With each movement she could feel the bandages pulling taught across her body. Her hair was still wet, dampening the fabric at her back, and the strands were rapidly curling in the humid hut.

Gally gestured to Thomas, who was sitting awkwardly to the right, looking as if he were on death row.

"And now our Greenie here has taken it upon himself to go into the maze. Which is a clear violation of our rules here."

Frypan spoke up from behind Newt, one hand braced on the tree in the middle of the circle. They had built the building around it, and the ceiling domed in just before the leaves could sprout. "Yeah," he nodded, "but he saved Alby's life."

"Did he?" Gally scoffed. "Because the way I see it, Alby's lying as good as dead in a hospital bed and he isn't waking up anytime soon."

"Gally." Ada snapped, shooting him a warning glare.

Gally's eyes softened slightly as he looked down at her. "I know it's hard to talk about, alright? Trust me, I get that. This is Alby. But he was stung, and when he wakes up we're going to have to banish him."

"No." Ada shook her head.

"We've banished every single person that's been stung, Ada, and for good reason. It's a rule that was implemented to keep everyone safe. That's what the rules are for," he pressed on, turning to address the rest of the glade. "They keep us safe. They keep order. We need them to survive, and we can't just let someone get away with tossing that system aside."

Minho shuffled behind her, his hand coming down to squeeze her shoulder.

"For two years, we've coexisted with these things. And now?" Gally turned to face Thomas, pointing at him accusingly. "You've killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us?"

Newt leant forward, shifting his weight off his bad leg, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression was unusually closed as he stared at Gally with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

Gally shrugged nonchalantly. "He has to be punished."

Several people spoke up at once, voices clamouring over each other to be heard.

"Woah, woah, wait-" Chuck began, just as the boy next to him flung his arm out in outrage.

"He killed a Griever!"

"That's not fair!"

Newt cleared his throat, annoyance sparking in his eyes. The crowd hushed when he leant forward, peering around Gally to where she and Minho were watching silently. "Minho, Ada, you were there with him. What do you think?"

Ada looked up at Minho right as he glanced down at her, his eyes calculating and pensieve. She nodded, squeezing the hand that was still resting on her shoulder. Minho turned back to Newt, tongue pressed up against the inside of his cheek. The silence was loaded as everyone waited for his response.

"I think," Minho said slowly, "in all the time we've been here no one's ever killed a Griever before. When I turned tail and ran, this dumb shank stood behind to help Alby and Ada. He saw us hurt, and bleeding, and he ran in to help us anyway knowing that it would probably cost him his life. And I don't know if he's brave, or stupid, but whatever it is we need more of it."

He glanced down at her, and when Ada tilted her chin he looked back at the glade with a stern expression.

"I say we make him a runner."

His words were met with cries of outrage. Frypan leant forward, shaking his head furiously. "A Runner? What? Minho, let's not jump the gun here-"

Chuck began chanting Thomas' name, cutting himself off when he realised no one was joining in. Some gladers left their seats, desperate to get their vote in, equal parts furious and intrigued. This was different, she knew, than anything that had happened before. New runners were rare, and were picked after months of deliberation. For Minho to appoint Thomas like that after he'd only been in the glade for two days sparked a reaction that was as entertaining as it was frightening. The society they had built together teetered precariously on the edge of a cliff, each raised voice bringing it closer to crashing down on the rocks below.

Newt looked as if he were having the time of his life when she locked eyes with him, tilting her head at the entertained grin he sported. "Ada?" He asked loudly, cutting through the noise just long enough for her to answer.

She simply shrugged, her own lips quirking up into a smile. "Make him a runner."

She caught Thomas's eye as the crowd started up again, nodding her head when he smiled at her gratefully.

"If you wanna throw the newbie a parade, that's fine!" Gally yelled furiously, "But if there is one thing I know about the maze it is that you do not-"

Gally's words were cut off by the faint sound of machinery whirring to life, cutting through their anger and replacing it with instantaneous fear instead. Ada straightened in her chair, smile slipping off her lips instantly. The siren started up, blaring its familiar tune, and flashes of red light rolled through the gaps in the closed door.

Newt pushed off the tree right as Ada stood up, the two of them sharing tense looks with Gally as they hurried towards the door. The others followed curiously, sprinting across the grass towards the red light that should have been dormant. The gigantic metal wheels on either side of the box were spinning frantically.

"What's it doing?!" Ada yelled over her shoulder, the aches and injuries ignored in favour of the confusion swarming her.

She, Gally, and Newt reached it first, skidding to a stop just as the siren shut off, the large metal slabs on either side of the box swinging open. "It's come back up," Gally panted, a severe frown marring his face. His entire body was tense with confusion and panic.

"It shouldn't have," Newt said needlessly, taking a step forward. He and Gally lifted the doors together, sharing tense expressions of concern.

"This is bad," Ada muttered as Minho came up beside her.

"Maybe they forgot something in the supply shipment." She could tell by the look on his face that he didn't even believe his own words.

"When have they ever done that?"

"First time for everything."

"I'm starting to believe that's true." Newt's voice was tense as he lowered himself into the box. With the stacked crates and the shadows of the walls Ada couldn't see anything beyond the back of his head and the way his entire body seemed to recoil in shock.

"What do you see?" Gally asked, sparking a host of similar questions from the rest of the gladers, now circling the box, trying to peer inside.

Newt straightened, his shocked eyes immediately falling onto Ada. "It's a girl."

"It's a what?"

"Nah, he's just seeing things." Frypan shrugged.

"There's no way."

"I call dibs."

"Fuck off, Dave."

It felt like the bottom of Ada's stomach had dropped out. Another girl. Another one of her.

She knew, logically, that it was very different from her being in the glade. She had already been there when every single glader arrived, had already been embedded so deeply into the glade that after a few days her being part of the group of boys went unquestioned and unchallenged. It felt normal. She had always found it odd that she was the only girl, but it wasn't something she ever questioned too much.

But Thomas had only been there three days, and they weren't expecting a new arrival for another month.

The people who had put them there had never made such a drastic change before, and the fact that this was happening right after Thomas killed the Griever didn't sit right with her. Gally seemed to agree, his sharp eyes cutting over to Thomas as he pushed his way through the crowd, coming to a stop beside her.

The only difference between the two was that Ada didn't blame Thomas for these changes. It was clear, however, that Gally did.

"I think she's dead." Newt muttered, moving to the side just enough for her to get a glimpse of the figure sprawled between the crates. She was pretty, with thick dark hair and a sloped nose, her lips parted as she slept. She looked to be around the same age as them, seventeen at best. She couldn't see from this angle whether or not she was breathing.

Something white caught her eye, tucked away between the girl's curled fingers. "What's that?" Ada asked, nodding her head down to it.

Newt's brow was furrowed as he slowly slipped the piece of paper free, looking as if he were afraid to touch her. Thick block letters were scrawled across the white. "'She's the last one, ever,'" he read aloud, looking back up at them as if they would know what it meant. Something cold and dark settled in Ada's stomach and refused to move. "What the hell does that mean?"

The girl in the box jolted awake, as if someone had shocked her body back to life. Ada jumped backwards in shock, accidentally backing up into Minho, who fell backwards into the grass. The other gladers responded similarly, cries of shock and fear splitting the air as Frypan flung his arms out to shield the gladers behind him.

Startlingly blue eyes stared up at them as the girl gasped for breath. She muttered one word, a name, and then collapsed once more, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

Sixty pairs of eyes came to rest on Thomas, who stared at them all cluelessly.

Gally scoffed, running a stressed hand over his head. "Still think I'm overreacting?"

"Oh, Greenie," Ada sighed. "Why is it always you?"

—

Ada paced the wall at Alby's bedside until her leg almost gave out on her. She lowered herself into the chair beside him, watching as Clint and Jeff carefully lay the girl on the other bed, backing away quickly. They didn't seem to want to keep their hands on her for more than a second.

Understandable, Ada thought. The girl was an anomaly, an outlier. And in the Glade, that made her a threat.

Alby gasped and groaned in his sleep, thrashing against his bonds. They had tied him down for his own safety, not wanting him to wake up and damage himself further, but his distress only seemed to grow. Thick black veins encompassed his chest, winding their way up his neck. They had gotten worse, sore and writhing beneath his skin. An ashy pallor had taken over his face.

Ada looked away, standing and moving towards the other bed so she wouldn't have to see him as much. He was usually so full of life, stern and collected but soft and kind. Seeing him broken in a hospital bed, out of his mind and in pain, was too much for her to handle.

"Jeff," Newt spoke up as he came through the door, Thomas and Minho behind him. "What's going on? Come on, what's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?"

Jeff backed away from the bed, shaking his head cluelessly. "Hey man, I got my job the same way you did."

Newt's hand landed on Ada's shoulder as he came to stand beside her, squeezing it comfortingly as she looked between Thomas and the girl on the bed. Something about the way he was staring at her was throwing her off. "You recognise her, don't you?"

"No," Thomas said a little too quickly.

"Don't lie to me, Greenie." Ada said sternly. "I can see it on your face. You recognise her."

"And even if you don't," Newt chimed in, "she sure as hell seemed to recognise you."

"What about the note?" Thomas asked, shifting back and forth on his feet.

Minho eyed him suspiciously, sharing a glance with Ada.

"We'll worry about the note later." Newt shrugged him off.

"I think you should worry about it now."

"Let's not borrow trouble." Ada disagreed. "We've got enough to deal with at the moment, don't you think? And we don't know for sure what the note means."

"It's a bit concerning though," Jeff said, looking between the four of them with his arms crossed over his chest, "isn't it? If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?"

"No one said that." Newt shook his head. He was getting agitated – Ada could see it in the tense set of his shoulders, in the way that crease seemed to have permanently engraved itself between his brows. She wanted to reach out, smooth her hand over the skin to ease out the stress lines and the dark bruises beneath his eyes. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just... we'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows." He turned to Ada, expectant expression on his face. "Sounds good?"

"I doubt she'll know much." She simply said in response. "They spent two years sending up people with their minds completely erased. You think that's gonna change now?"

"Things are changing." Minho pointed out. "She's not supposed to be here, yet here she is. She's not supposed to be a she, yet she clearly is. I don't trust their change in attitude."

Newt looked back down at the bed, frowning at the unconscious figure. "Someone's got to have some answers around here."

It was one giant puzzle, one giant mystery, and Ada felt as if she were missing the piece that would pull it all together. She ran a hand through her hair, distantly relieved at the lack of tangles, a refreshing change. "We're missing something." She said quietly, lowering her hand to run over her lip. "We have to be."

"Okay," Thomas said suddenly, turning on his heel and striding towards the door.

Ada turned to watch him leave, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "And where are you going now?"

"Back into the maze."

"Oh for fucks sake."

"I got him," Minho rolled his eyes, following after Thomas with an exasperated look on his tired face.

"You should go too," Newt shook his head, "make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"It's Thomas," Ada said, already moving towards the door. "He's always doing something stupid."

By the time she caught up with them, Minho was standing in front of Thomas with a stern expression, arms crossed over his chest. "You just got out, now you want back in? Seriously? Are you an idiot?"

"We've established that already," Ada mused as she came to stand at Minho's side, eyes scanning the agitated expression on Thomas's face. "But I do wonder if Gally's headshot did more damage than anticipated. Should we consider brain damage, Greenie?"

"Technically, I'm not a Greenie anymore, so you can't call me that."

"But it's so funny to watch you get annoyed like that." She reached up to pinch his cheek teasingly, laughing at the blush that appeared there.

"Oh c'mon, guys," Thomas swatted her hand away, "Newt said that no one's ever seen a Griever and lived to tell about it, right?"

"Well, actually-"

"Well now we have one. You're telling me you're not the least bit curious?"

Minho shrugged noncommittally. "Not really no."

Ada's eyes narrowed as she cocked her head. "A teeny bit, however, I have seen enough of those hell beasts to last a lifetime thank you very much."

"And you're about to see more, because you're coming with me."

"Excuse me, I'm what?"

"Alright then, so what's your plan?" Minho cocked a curious eyebrow, staring at Thomas with a hint of respect in his heavily guarded eyes. "You gonna go out there and dissect that thing all by yourself?"

"Ada will be with me."

"Ada will not." She interjected.

"Listen, Thomas," Minho said seriously, "without Alby and Ben, Ada and I are the only other runners, and after last night we sure as hell aren't in a hurry to get back out there. Why are you?"

Thomas pursed his lips, looking away from them in favour of casting his eyes around the glade, taking in the gladers milling about under the shade of the towering trees. "I just think it's time we find out what we're really up against." There was something earnest in his expression, an eager innocence that neither she nor Minho possessed anymore.

It must have been hard, she knew, being trapped in this new place with new people who refused to let you try anything. When she had first come up into the glade, it had only been the six of them to figure things out for themselves. There was no one to help them, no one to guide them, no one to shield them from their own curiosity. She had made an active effort to protect the gladers from their own post memory loss stupidity, but she had never stopped to consider how frustrating it must have been for them.

Looking at Thomas in a new light, Ada nodded tightly. "Fine then. But we're not doing this alone. Minho's gonna gather as many people as he can, anyone willing to join us."

"Non runners?" Minho asked, eyebrows raised in shock. Upon Ada's nod, he let out a low whistle through his teeth. "Gally's gonna be pissed at you."

"Gally's not in charge." She shrugged. "And he's always pissed at someone. Might as well be me for once. I'm gonna go tell Newt what's going on, see if he can smooth things over here while we're gone."

"What do you want me to do?" Thomas asked.

"For once in your goddamn life, absolutely nothing. Meet us back here in half an hour," Ada instructed, "and for the love of God don't do anything stupid in the meantime."

"You ask a lot of me." Thomas said stubbornly.

"Says the one dragging me back into the maze I just spent all night trying to get out of." She checked her watch, seeing midday fast approaching. "Alright, scram, let's get this done."

As she and Minho left Thomas standing under the shade of the tree, cast her eyes around the glade to make sure no one was watching them. The builders were working on the reconstruction of one part of the homestead, their attention seemingly occupied. Others ambled about aimlessly, done with their tasks for the day. When she was certain that they were alone, she dragged Minho by the arm under the shadow of a nearby tree, tucked away in the shadows where no one could see them.

"Uh, Ads?" Minho asked, a cocky smile forming on his lips. "Not that I'm complaining, but don't you think Newt will get a little jealous?"

"Oh hush, you." Ada rolled her eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"I will stab you." Ada threatened. "And I will make it hurt. This is serious, okay?"

Seeing the stern expression on Ada's face, Minho's smirk fell to a concerned frown. "You alright?"

"It's just about something you said back in the council hall, about you running away."

Minho's expression shuttered, eyes falling to the ground. "I did run away."

"Minho," Ada's hands came up to cup his face, staring up at him compassionately. "I asked you to. I ordered you to."

"I left you alone to face a Griever."

"Thomas was with me."

"Right, because that's so much better."

"Hey," Ada slotted her hand into his, squeezing his fingers comfortingly. He clutched onto her hand like it was a lifeline. "I asked you to run. It was a stressful situation, and there wasn't enough room under that ivy for the three of us. You did what I asked, no matter how dangerous it was, and you found us a way out. You did what you needed to do, what I asked you to do. I don't fault you for that, and you shouldn't either."

"It just hit me that... I could have been leaving you to die, you know?"

"And I could have been sending you to your death. It was an impossible situation."

"It's just..." Minho shook his head, smiling down at her. "You're one of my best friends, Ads. I hate the fact that you could have died last night and I wouldn't have been there to stop it."

"You were there." She said softly. "And we both got out. We did what we needed to do, and it paid off. Please don't dwell on this, okay?"

Minho shook his head fondly, a smile curling up his lips. "Okay."

She hugged his bicep, resting her chin on his shoulder. "You're a big sweetheart, you know that?"

"Don't go telling people that, it'll ruin my reputation."

"Come on," she scoffed, "Thomas is waiting, and I fear if we leave it much longer he'll find a way to burn the glade down by accident. Then Gally will have both our heads."

–

The med hut was quiet when she eased her way back in through the door, the low lighting a reprieve from the harsh sunlight that burned her eyes. It was considerably emptier now, with only Newt and the two unconscious bodies on the beds occupying the space.

He looked up when she closed the door behind him, a small smile lifting his lips as he took her in. "Hey."

"Hey."

"How'd it go?"

"He's stubborn." Ada said softly, sinking down into the seat beside him. Her eyes fell onto the girl in the bed — her dark hair obscured her face, and her body was curled in on itself protectively. The slow rise and fall of her chest was the only indication that she was still alive. "But he's also right. We have a dead Griever, for the first time in two years. If anything, looking at it might give us some clues about who put us here."

"So you're going back into the maze?"

"In half an hour." She nodded. "Minho's gone to go rally anyone who wants to join, just a small group of people we can trust. I'd ask if you want to come with, but I want someone here to smooth things over when Gally finds out we're missing."

"Don't trust your sneaking abilities?" Newt teased.

"Dragging a group of teenagers into the maze is hardly subtle. And you know Gally will freak when he finds out." She leant back in her chair tiredly. "I'd rather have you here to keep things under control."

"You don't have to persuade me, love." Newt shook his head. "I'd happily never set foot in that place again. But I am worried that you are. Are you sure you're gonna be alright out there after last night?"

Ada's heart warmed at the worried frown on his face, so she leant forward and reached for his hand. He entwined their fingers immediately, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "I'll be fine. It'll only be a few hours, in and out."

"You're dead on your feet." Newt's eyes tracked her face, taking in the pale stretch of her skin and the exhaustion that clung to her. "And you're injured. Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"I want to do this." She nodded. "I need to do this." Two years without hope of a way out, without a single glimpse of an escape on the horizon. She couldn't sit idly by whilst her friends went out inquiring after the one lead they had. It didn't sit right with her.

"I know. I just worry about you."

"Worry about Gally," she scoffed. "He clearly seems to have a bit of a dislike for Thomas."

"He's just scared." Newt said. "And worried. We all are. The glade is our home, and it's falling to pieces. And we may live here, but he was the one who built most of this place with his own hands. I think he feels responsible for it, in a way."

"I can understand that. I feel the same way."

"Well," Newt squeezed her fingers once more before withdrawing his hand, leaning back in his chair. "Don't worry. Your knight in shining cotton will make sure that this place doesn't fall apart whilst you're gone."

"My hero."

"We make quite the team, you and I."

"That we do." She agreed. "I appreciate you helping me run this place, while Alby is out of commission. I really couldn't do it without you. I know it's a little stressful."

Newt shrugged nonchalantly. "I'd do anything for you. A little stress is nothing."

Ada's cheeks flushed, and she averted her eyes to the ground with a small smile. "I need to head back, we're leaving soon. It just didn't feel right not telling you."

"Go dissect your science experiment." He nodded as she stood up. "I'll see you soon. And be careful, yeah?"

"Always am." Ada winked jokingly at him before closing the door behind her, blaming the warmth of the sun for the flush in her cheeks.

—

They were already waiting for her when she got back, tucked away in the tree line and out of sight. Zart, Winston, Frypan, and Chuck all shot her eager smiles as she slowed to a stop beside them, each holding makeshift weapons that she knew damn well wouldn't last ten seconds against a Griever.

"Damn Minho," she grinned, "pulling out all the stops here, aren't you?"

"Not bad for a ragtag group of criminals, if I do say so myself."

"Criminals?" Chuck squeaked, eyes going wide.

"Uh-"

"You're fine, don't worry about it." Thomas patted his shoulder reassuringly. He glanced around at the other glades, mouth set into a determined line. "You guys all know what we're doing here, right?"

Winston smiled, tapping the handle of his meat cleaver. "Minho and Ada trust you, and that's good enough for me."

"Alright then," Ada cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. "Let's get this show on the road." By the time they reached the maze doors, she was certain they had gained the attention of no less than five gladers, something that Minho was quick to pick up on.

"Okay, they definitely see us."

"I trust Newt to keep the peace." She said after a moment, biting her lip anxiously. The doors loomed high above them, and the smears of dried blood on the stone walkway had her stomach turning. It was only when the walls closed in on either side of them that she realised Chuck was no longer at her back. When she turned, he was hovering at the maze entrance, terrified.

"Chuck," Thomas said, taking a slow step towards him, "you okay, buddy?" When there was no reply, he walked forwards until he was directly in front of him. "What's going on?"

"I... I can't do it." Chuck shook his head, voice barely above a whisper. "I can't do it. I can't go in."

"It's okay," Ada smiled reassuringly, reaching forward to ruffle his hair. "You know what, why don't you stay here, huh? Help Newt keep guard."

"Yeah," Thomas nodded, "Newt's gonna need some help, and who better for the job than you?"

Chuck's chest puffed out with pride as a slow smile began to spread across his round face. Ada was struck with the momentary realisation of just how young he was. The same age as Avin was.

"We'll be back soon, okay kid?" She winked jokingly at him, backing away to leave him with Thomas.

"He alright?" Minho asked, a concerned crease between his eyebrows.

"Let's just get in there and get back," Ada shook her head. Less than six hours ago she had been fighting for her life to get back down that corridor and into the glade, away from the maze and its secrets and monsters, and now she was going back in of her own free will. "Why is this my life?" She muttered to herself.

Thomas joined them after only a moment, patting Ada on the shoulder as he passed her, looking far too eager to go back into that hell hole. "C'mon," he said excitedly, "let's go dissect a Griever."