Pasty woke to Minho shaking her gently. She opened her eyes groggily, feeling like she hadn’t had enough sleep. She could see Minho pulling on a shirt.

 “Newt called a meeting. To sort out Thomas. He’s in charge til Alby gets back on his feet,” Minho said.

 “And will he?” Pasty dared to ask. Minho shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but he looked worried.

 “Everyone else does,” he said. What he didn’t mention was the consequences. Pasty thought about her experience with the Changing. It literally had changed everything for her-she’s received her special sight and strange premonitions. For all the good it did us she thought Alby still wound up hurt and now the bloody Greenie’s stirring up trouble.

 The pair of them headed to the meeting together. It turned out they were the last ones to arrive. Newt looked up at Pasty as Minho took his usual seat. There was only one empty chair. Alby’s.

 “You’ll have to sit there,” Newt said with a shrug “Ain’t no other seats.”

 Pasty reluctantly sat down, feeling out of place. It felt wrong to take Alby’s seat. Still. She was glad she wasn’t in Thomas’ place. He looked terrified, his eyes skimming over everyone in the room. Gally looked strangely smug. I bet he doesn’t like Thomas Pasty thought.

 “In place of our leader, sick in bed, I declare this Gathering begun,” Newt said with a roll of his eyes “As you all know, the last few days have been bloody crazy, and quite a bit seems centred around our Greenbean, Tommy, seated before us.”

 “He’s not the Greenie anymore,” Gally pointed out, glaring at Thomas “He’s just a rule breaker now.”

 “Just like you, eh Gally? You should get along just fine,” Pasty said. It had been a long time since she and Gally talked, and any fondness he might have had for her had fizzled out. He glared at her as the others muttered amongst themselves.

 “Shut your hole, Gally. And you, Pasty. Try and keep some buggin’ order around here,” Newt said seriously “Reason we’re here is because every lovin’ kid in the Glade has come up to me in the last day or two either boo-hooing about Thomas or beggin’ to take his bloody hand in marriage. We need to decide what we’re gonna do with him.”

 Pasty was amused by the look of terror on Thomas’ face, though she did feel for him a little. He was only a Newbie, and everything was already heading down the klunk-hole for him.

 “Zart the Fart, you start,” Newt said, earning a chuckle from the group. Zart raised an eyebrow, shifting in his seat.

 “Well. I don’t know. He broke one of our most important rules. We can’t just let people think that’s okay. But then again he’s…changed things. Now we know we can survive out there, and that we can beat the Grievers.”

 “Oh give me a break,” Gally said, rolling his eyes “I bet Minho and Pasty are the ones who actually got rid of the stupid things.”

 “Actually, shuck face, Thomas took care of himself. It was me and Minho who ran off to save our sorry butts. Ain’t no rule against that, but it was a damn selfish move. But it was a team effort to actually get rid of the things. May I continue?” Pasty said, looking to Newt “I mean, I was there.”

 “I have a feeling you would have carried on anyway,” Newt said “Go ahead.”

 Pasty nodded “I think this: the rules here are made for a reason. He could have got himself killed. I think our Greenie here is a damn idiot,” Pasty said “And let’s be honest, we don’t tolerate rule breakers here: Ben knew that. But Tommy ain’t Ben. Ben tried to kill someone. Thomas saved someone. Maybe a few someones. Who knows what the turnout would have been for me and Minho had we not found Thomas. So the guy’s an idiot, but let’s cut him a break. We could all learn a thing or two from that shuck-face over there.”

 “I agree with Pasty,” Frypan piped up “How stupid is this- he saves Alby’s life, kills a couple of Grievers, and we’re sitting here yapping about what to do with him. As Chuck would say, this is a pile of klunk.”

 “So what’re ya recommendin’?”

 “Put him on the freaking Council and have him train us on everything he did out there,” Frypan said, with a pointed look at a gobsmacked Gally. Newt noted something down on his paper, shaking his head at all the muttering voices.

 “All right, writing her down…Now everyone keep their bloody mouths shut, I mean it.”

 Pasty watched Minho carefully as they listened to the other suggestions and opinions. She could see him thinking hard on something. She only hoped he wouldn’t say anything stupid. Especially when they reached Gally in the circle. He certainly had an opinion.

 “Just think about it,” Gally urged “This slinthead comes up in the Box, acting all confused and scared. A few days later he’s running around the Maze with Grievers, acting like he owns the place. I think it was all an act. How could he have done what he did out there after just a few days? I ain’t buyin’ it.”

 “What’re you tryin’ to say, Gally? How ‘bout having a bloody point?” Newt said tiredly.

 “I think he’s a spy from the people who put us here.”

 The room was in uproar. Thomas himself looked terrified, and Pasty shook her head. No… Newt managed to regain order in the room, but Gally’s rant wasn’t over.

 “We can’t trust this shank,” he insisted “It’s like our two psycho girls said! Pasty insisted she saw him in one of her freaky premonition dreams, and the other one’s spouting out that things are gonna change, with that note. Since he came, we found that dead Griever, that girl showed up and then Thomas conveniently spends a night in the Maze, trying to convince everyone he’s some bloody hero. No one saw him do the thing with the vines. How do we know it was the Greenie who tied Alby up there?”

 There was a horrible silence. Pasty’s heart was thudding. Everything Gally had said had a ring of truth and familiarity. She knew the girl wasn’t good. She’d sensed it.  But Thomas? She caught his eye. He looked frightened. She could see the fear in his eyes. The same she’d seen in Minho’s the night in the Maze. The same she knew had been reflected in hers the day she arrived in the Box. Could anyone really fake that? She didn’t think so. She didn’t want to think so.

 “There’s too many weird things going on, and it all started when this shuck-face Greenie showed up. And he just happens to be the first person to survive a night out in the Maze. Something ain’t right, and until we figure it out, I officially recommend that we lock his butt in the Slammer!”

 Pasty made a noise of annoyance, knowing Gally had a point, but wishing she could be on Thomas’s side. Newt shook his head, noting something down.

 “Finished, Captain Gally?” Newt asked dryly.

 “Quit being such a smart aleck, Newt. I’m dead serious. How can we trust this shank after less than a week? Quit voting me down before you even think about what I’m saying.”

 “He’s got a point, Newt,” Pasty said quietly. Newt sighed, leaning back.

 “Fine, Gally. I’m sorry. We heard you, and we’ll all consider your bloody recommendation. Are you done?”

 “I’m not,” Pasty said. She could tell everyone was still against Gally, and as much as she disliked the guy, she knew he’d made a valid point. She just wanted to give her point of view on the dream she’d had “I just wanted to say, that I know Gally thinks Thomas could be bad, but I never sensed that in him. Not once. Not during the dream. He didn’t seem like the other girl in that way. Not in the Maze when we were together, and not now. I just…I gotta feeling…he’s OK.”

 “Yes, well. We’ve got crazy accusations and funny feelings…anyone wanna share anything worthwhile?” Newt said, clearly agitated. “No? Minho, you’re up. Make it good.”

 Pasty watched Minho carefully as he stood up, pointing at Thomas “I was out there; I saw what this guy did- he stayed strong while I turned into a panty-wearin’ chicken. No blabbin’ on and on like Gally. I want to say my recommendation and be done with it.”

 “Good that,” Newt said, looking relieved “Tell us then.”

 Minho’s eyes sparkled with mischief and right then, Pasty knew he was about to do something risky “I nominate this shank to replace me as Keeper of the Runners.”

Hey guys! Thanks for reading so far. I've had a big surge of new readers, which I assume is because everyone is reading the book in prep for the film! :) Anyways, I know it's very similar to the book at the moment, and a lot of the speech is taken from the original, but there will be more original content coming soon. In the next chapter, Minho tells Pasty about his arrival in the Box in detail, and Pasty talks to Alby! :)