"Would you look at that, he survived his first day on his own." Minho crossed his arms, standing at the opposite side of the table in the map room.

"Shut up, Minho." Thomas laughed.

"So, bring anything interesting back?" He asked.

Thomas shrugged weakly and skipped his gaze around the room, trying to avoid Minho. He pulled out some of the papers he'd shoved into his pocket and they dumped all over the floor. Quickly, he scrambled to pick them all up and locate Y/N's drawing, making sure Minho didn't find it. When he did, he shoved it back into his pocket and handed Minho the other drawings.

The keeper of the runners took Thomas' drawings, but eyed Thomas suspiciously as he struggled to jam the paper down. "What's that you got there?"

"Oh—nothing, just uh—a bad drawing." Thomas cringed.

"You're not hiding anything from me, are ya greenie?" Minho's voice got deeper and darker as he approached Thomas. The brunette stumbled back and shook his head, face going pale.

"You scare easy, Thomas. Grow a pair, would ya?" He snickered, backing off. "I know I'm intimidating, but not that scary."

A quick, sharp, nauseated breath escaped Thomas' lungs and he followed Minho back to the table. "Looks like you explored a little of section five..."

Minho rambled for what felt like forever. Thomas, very quickly, found himself losing focus entirely and becoming lost in his swarm of thoughts.

"Who else was Y/N close with?"

"You ever gonna stop asking about her?" Minho raised a brow. Thomas could tell that even when Minho tried to brush off any discussion of her, the thought of his former running partner still stung. "But, uh—Besides Gally who was glued to her, she was close with Newt, Winston and Frypan. She and Fry talked a lot, actually.."

Minho grew quiet, busying himself with the map that lay before him. Thomas could tell he was purposely trying to distract himself.

"You don't honestly think she's gone either, do you?" He asked.

Minho stood stiffly and ran his hand through his hair, letting out an aggravated, yet broken sigh. "I dunno, greenie. I've just been trying to forget."

Thomas knew it was probably better he didn't ask too many questions, no matter how many swelled in his mind. In order to resist the urge, he slipped out of the map room without Minho taking notice.

Of all people, Frypan was the last person he'd expected Y/N to be close to. It didn't seem they'd have anything in common, but regardless, it seemed Y/N got on with just about anyone. Confronting Frypan about his seemingly dead friend didn't seem like the greatest idea. But, Thomas wanted answers. He wanted insight. Hopefully, Frypan could give that to him. If not, well, he'd likely leave with a black eye.

Walking towards the homestead, Thomas spotted the cook. He was cleaning up the kitchens, obviously focused and lost in thought. Hesitantly, Thomas approached, knowing he was doing the right thing, no matter how terrifying.

"Frypan..." Thomas piped up a couple metres away from the cook. A pair of lively brown eyes met Thomas' and Frypan dropped his things.

"Ah, Greenie! Thomas? What's up?" He placed his hands on his hips and furrowed his brows.

Thomas' words got stuck in his throat. "I wanted to talk to you about Y/N."

The name made Frypan's face fall and his entire frame sink. It obviously wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it also seemed to weaken him. Under the influence of her name, Frypan didn't seem so filled with energy. "What do you want to know, Greenie?"

"I—" Thomas hadn't exactly thought this far ahead into the conversation. "Anything. I know I'm not the only one who thinks she could still be alive."

"Still alive?" Frypan set down the supplies in his hands roughly and crossed his arms. "She's been in the maze for a couple of weeks. Alone."

"What if she was still alive? Are you saying you've all given up on her?" Thomas snapped and immediately regretted it.

Frypan's eyes bored into Thomas' sharply. "We haven't given up, but we sure as hell aren't gonna stay hopeful, Thomas. What else are we supposed to do when a glader's been missin' two weeks?"

"Think about where she might've gone! Send out a search party—"

"We sent one last week. No sign of her. If she escaped, well, good for her." Frypan went to pick up his things again. "I wouldn't come back for us either."

Thomas sighed and kicked the dirt as his feet. "Fry—you know Y/N wouldn't leave without any of you."

The cook, whose eyes were drown out by sorrow warned Thomas off. So far, he'd only seen Frypan be a kind, outgoing, lively picture of a human everyone knew they could find a friend in. But, here and now, he looked weak and vulnerable. Y/N had obviously meant a lot to him.

Thomas forced himself to bed despite it being nothing less than impossible. He couldn't stop thinking about Y/N, why she'd stayed in the maze this long and most importantly, how she'd stayed sane the past two weeks. Running the underground of the maze to only turn up in the same spot every time would have been beyond frustrating.

Either way, once sleep did come for Thomas, it wasn't peaceful. It came with nothing but nightmares which seemed all too real, leaving Thomas restless and paranoid. In his dreams, he saw Y/N and the others, all working together behind computer screens. One by one, they began to disappear, needles plunged into arms, his friends thrown into tanks of water until they stopped pounding on the glass. He dreamt of the grievers and just how easily they could tear apart anyone who crossed their path.

When he woke, he had to count his fingers to make sure he wasn't dreaming anymore. Minho was shaking his hammock, an angry and disgusted look smothering his normal energetic, egotistic look. Thomas knew not to question it when Minho darted off towards the map room, following right behind him.

Inside the hut, Thomas was hit with a sharp chill which sent shivers down his spine. The cool night air truly had all gathered in the map room.

"What's going on?" Thomas nervously held one of his hands in the other and fiddled his fingers.

Minho slammed a piece of paper down onto the table and locked his eyes on Thomas. "Did you know about this?"

The boy's throat seized and body began tremor. As he came closer the table to view the paper, it was of a drawing, one obviously done by Y/N. It was a second copy of Y/N's drawing that Gally had given him. How Minho had it, he wasn't sure, and certainly wasn't looking forward to having to lie his way out of this situation.

"Uhm—well," Thomas croaked. Sweat began to build on his forehead and his heart beat erratically in his chest. "No."

"Don't lie to me, greenie. You were hiding something yesterday." Minho stood tall and seeming towered over Thomas, even though he was only a couple of inches taller.

"I'm not lying," Thomas said defensively, reaching into his pocket to make sure this paper Gally had given him was still there. Big mistake.

"Give it," Minho snapped. "Now."

Thomas retracted his arm and eyes went wide. "What?"

"The paper, you shank. Give it." Minho held out his hand.

Thomas had never felt more conflicted. Well, in all of the time since his memory wipe, that is. He was loyal to Minho, he wanted to get everyone out of the maze and he wanted to make sure Minho knew he could trust him. But, another part of him knew it would be wrong because he'd made a promise to Y/N. Even if he kept the drawing and his encounter with Y/N a secret, how long could he hide it? It didn't feel right. Why Y/N wanted to stay hidden in the maze seemed completely irrational to Thomas, and it was seeing how hurt Minho, Gally and the others were by her disappearance which caused him to make up his mind.

"Ok, here." Thomas handed off the paper and Minho opened it up frantically. It was the same as the one laid out on the table, causing his face to contort in confusion.

"Y/N left that for Gally the night before she disappeared," Thomas declared, a burning in his throat knowing he'd betrayed her. "She found something."

"Did you—" Minho dropped the crumbled paper, causing his entire demeanour to shift. He looked weak, almost like a lonely and lost child. "Did you see her?"

"Yeah." Thomas stuttered through regret.

"And she made you promise not to tell me she's alive, didn't she?" The keeper of the runners sighed heavily. Thomas wasn't quite sure if it was one of regret or pure anger.

"Yeah..."

"Typical Y/N." Minho rolled his eyes. "This morning we go find her."

The runner threw his pack over his shoulders in a rush whilst Thomas stood frozen. "Minho, wait."

"What? We need to get her before she does some stupid shuck thing and gets herself killed!" He snapped. "I am not leaving her out there to keep picnicking with the grievers." Minho grumbled, throwing the door to the map room open.

Racing after him, Thomas scrambled to gather his things and sprinted to the maze doors. Per usual, they very unpleasantly groaned and screeched as they slowly slid open. "Minho wait—"

"Take me to her." Minho demanded. "I'm not just doing this for me. I'm doing it for Gally. He hasn't been the same since she left."

"I can't just—"

"I don't care what she told you. She's my running partner, my friend, my family." Minho's voice hit Thomas like a shockwave. It almost stung from the force it had resonated in his ears with. "Might think it's better to figure out this crap on her own, but even she knows that's not true. Being a brave slinthead as usual."

Even though everything inside of him said it was a bad idea, Thomas agreed to take Minho. However, he wasn't just going to take the keeper of the runners and knock on Y/N's door with a smile on his face. He had to devise a plan. He truly didn't want a knife to be lodged between his eyes.

"Alright," Thomas slowed to a walk, getting as close to the wall as he could. "I need to go first. She's usually on top of the walls, so stay here until I come get you. Otherwise, she'll see you a throw a knife at you."

"She threw knives at you?" Minho gaped. "What the hell? Is she feral now?"

"Yeah," Thomas scoffed. He was referring to the throwing of knives question, not the feral one. He hoped that was clear to Minho. "Now wait for me."

The brunette departed in a hurry and came into the clearing before the hidden door. Sure enough, he heard some scuffling and muffled footsteps from behind him. "You came back?" She asked.

"Told you I would," Thomas muttered stiffly, something Y/N took notice to immediately. Her hands relaxed at her sides and she backed off, eyes burning with a feeling of hurt.

"What did you do?" Y/N heaved, looking around in a panic.

That was when Minho appeared from around the corner. In that moment, Y/N didn't look so fierce. She looked like an abandoned dog being cornered by two mutt wranglers. Her words were caught in her throat as she scrambled for a way to get herself out of the situation.

"Y/N?" Minho nothing short of sobbed.