003. KNIVES

THE NEXT MORNING, the rising sun peers over the maze walls, looking down on the snoring boys as they shuffle uncomfortably in their hammocks. The only people missing from the homestead is Evelyn and Ben, who are perched on a log together. Both of them are relaxed in a comfortable silence as they let the cool morning air wrap around them. It was their morning routine for the pair to have a quiet chat before either of them had to go running that day. Evelyn found it hard to tolerate a lot of the boys for longer than a few minutes, but Ben just had something about him that made it easy for her to like him. Maybe it's because her subconscious knows that Ben and her were friends before the maze.

"What do you think about the new greenie?" Ben breaks the silence to speak in his usual soft caring tone.

Evelyn let's out a long breath, rolling her shoulders back before she answers, "He asks too many questions."

Ben hums, "So you've spoken to him then?"

"Briefly. A minute conversation and he managed to still ask too many questions," Evelyn mutters, remembering back to her short conversation with the new boy the night previous.

Ben turns his gaze away from the expanse of the Glade and he studies Evelyn's expression closely, "You have something else to say," He decides.

Evelyn meets his eyes, sighing because he couldn't be more right, "I recognise him."

At her words, Ben's brows furrow, "How?"

"During my first year here, I had dreams," She swallows thickly, turning her eyes back to the maze walls as she continues, "I think I was dreaming about my life. I think whoever put us here messed up the stupid memory loss stuff."

Ben shuffles on the log, becoming more invested, "What exactly did you dream about?"

"Him," Evelyn whispers.

"The greenie?" Ben's head tilts.

"Thomas," She nods, "His face was a slight blur but his voice was so clear, and I only realised it last night when he finally remembered his name."

Ben sits in silence for a moment, his mind working to make sense of it all. He says, "Is this not a good thing? Maybe this is a sign that we're getting closer to find the exit out of here."

"That's the thing," Evelyn spins on the log to properly face Ben now, each of them sat facing one another like giddy little girls in a sleepover gossiping about boys, "Something is telling me not to like him, not to trust him. That he's bad news."

Ben's face falls sympathetically, "Eve, you say this about every greenie."

She shakes her head, "I know, I know. But I have a feeling. Like my body is telling me something. I feel like he betrayed me somehow. I felt it as soon as come face to face with him yesterday."

"This is another reason for you to start sleeping again," Ben says.

"You think I'm crazy," Eve's brows furrow, "You think my lack of sleep has got me thinking weird shit?"

"No, no," He reassures, "I mean that you need to start sleeping again so that you can these dreams again. Maybe now that you've connected the dots with Thomas and your dreams that they'll become less hazy."

Evelyn licks her lips, her mind running wild and she turns her head away from Ben to look over the Glade once more and check to see if any other boys have awoken. At the homestead, she spots Alby shaking Thomas awake and she says, "Maybe I should speak to Alby about it."

Ben nods in agreement, "Alby always knows what to do."

Evelyn wipes her palms on her knees before facing him once more, "Good luck in your run today, Benny," She raises from the log, as he does the same, "Come back alive."

He smirks, "I always do."

She rolls her eyes, hitting his chest jokingly at his cockiness.

Across the expanse of grass, at the homestead, Alby's hand curls around the new boy's bicep and shakes him awake gently. Thomas' eyes fly open and before he can react properly, Alby has placed his palm over his mouth and raised a single finger to his own lips to make him be quiet.

"Shh," He whispers, "Follow me."

Reluctantly, Thomas rolls out of his bed and his eyes momentarily flick over to Evelyn's hammock only to find it empty and swaying in the morning breeze. His brows furrow at her disappearance, but instead o thinking too much about, he turns and jogs after Alby.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" Alby smiles gently as the pair of boys walk through the green grass, their shoes getting painted by the cold dew that developed over night, "I know it's hard to believe but it wasn't always this way. We had dark days. We lost a lot of boys to fear — to panic."

Then, they come to a stop just before the huge maze wall, and the both of them turn to face the homestead. The loud sound of clicking crickets and the wind brushing against the trees and grass bounces against the maze walls, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

Thomas' eyes immediately land on Evelyn, who's walking away from Ben after their conversation. The boy wanders into the wood, while Evelyn makes her way to the cook's kitchen. Thomas watches them both for a moment as until eventually they disappear from his view and he turns to Alby again.

"But we've come far since then," Alby continues, "Established order, made peace."

"Yeah," Thomas nods slowly, before his brows crease, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're not like the other boys. You're curious. But you're one of us now," Alby slips a knife out of his waistband and displays it Thomas before placing it into the new boy's hand and ensuring his fingers are wrapped tightly around the weapon before he releases it, "You need to know what that means." He nudges his head towards the maze wall.

Thomas' gaze follows his motions and his eyes land on dozens of names carved deep into the stone of the maze wall. A large amount of them are crossed roughly out, while others aren't — giving Thomas an idea of who's still alive, and those who aren't as fortunate. But one particular name stands out the most to him, and he taps the tip of the blade against the name.

"Why is Evelyn on here twice?" He questions, his eyes flicking between the two carvings — one being etched out, and the other seeming relatively fresh compared to the other.

Alby sighs, holding his hands together behind his back while he sways back and forth on his heels peacefully, "Evelyn is the only person who survived a night in the maze, as I'm sure you've heard. We thought she was dead when she didn't come back after her run that day. The next day she came through the doors, smiling her ass off because she'd proved us all wrong before she collapsed to the floor due to blood loss. It took a while for the Medjacks to get her back up to full health. Surprisingly, the people who shoved us here sent up medical supplies for her. Look, Thomas, Evelyn has had a rough three years here, compared to the others."

Thomas listens to his words carefully before nodding and stepping forward, digging the blade of the knife into the wall and working slowly to carve his own name into the old stone. Earning his place as a Glader.

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    LATER ON IN THE DAY, Evelyn rests against the plant trellises while Newt is knelt down, working on beating some new seeds into the dirt. She watches silently as he works carefully. Ever since he became unable to run, he's been dabbling in and out of any job he likes, but gardening is something she's noticed that he prefers to do more of.

At the sound of new footsteps, Eve raises her head and watches as Thomas wanders over cluelessly, and she sighs, pushing away from the wooden beam. Her hand gently pats Newt's shoulder, "Talk to you later, Goldie." The both of them share a small goodbye before she spins on her heel, ready to wander into the woods.

She carefully steps over a vegetable patch, only to be stopped as Chuck rushes in front of her, his rosy cheeks lifting as he grins up at her, "I finished them," He beams, holding the two knives out to her.

Slowly, her hands curls around the handle and she gently pulls them from his grip, before she admires the delicate woodwork. An intricate design of flowers and vines decorate the wooden handle, and Evelyn's jaw falls in admiration, "Holy shit, Curls. These are beautiful. Thank you," She lowers her body slightly and pulls the small boy in a hug. His breath hitches for a moment at the contact before he relaxes into her touch, the hug bringing him more happiness that she intended.

"Well, I better go and try these out," She pulls away before staring down at the gorgeously decorated deadly weapons in her palms, "Once again, Chuck, thank you," She nods at him gratefully, "Now, you better get back to your job before Newt sees."

He grins giddily, "Bye!" He waves before running off to join the rest of the sloppers.

Evelyn flips the knives around in her hands as she continues her walk to the centre of the wood. She follows her usual path, where a small sliver of leaves has been squashed by her boots, creating a desire line. Eventually, she gets so deep into the wood, that the Glader's voices are nothing but small noises in the distance.

She slides the knives her waist band before finding her usual tree and the single branch that sticks out, perfect for a perch. She pulls herself up and rests on the uneven branch, making sure to face the makeshift target on the tree opposite. The other tree is at least twenty metres from her current position, and she has to squint to spot the red mark painted on the target.

She slides a single knife from her waistband before she takes a deep breath and rolls her neck, a small satisfying click filling her ears and loosening her muscles. She displays the knife out in front of her, holding it with a straight arm so that the tip of the blade is directly on her eye line and she focusses on it. She releases a small short breath as she flicks her arm, sending the weapon flying. It spins through the air elegantly before burying itself deep into the red mark of the tragedy vertically.

A triumphant proud smirk works it's way onto her lips as she grabs the other knife. This time though, she wastes no time and throws the weapons soaring through the air. A loud crack sounds as the knife lands in the bed, just above the other knife, but instead it's horizontal, leaving only a few centimetres between the blades.

Thomas' head whips back in terror as the object flies past his face, very nearly scaring the bridge of his nose. With wide, shocked eyes, he slowly rotates his head to look directly at the target board, noticing the two knives, one precisely above the other.

A loud thump and the shuffling of leaves causes his head to snap back around, his eyes netting Evelyn as she dusts off her knees, informing him that she'd previously been up on the branch above her head.

"Did you throw them?" He questions, nudging his finger at the wooden circular target to the side of him.

She narrows her eyes as she walks past him, "No, the boars did," She guts, "Yes, shanks, obviously I threw them," One of her hands grabs the handle of the knife, while the plan of her other hand pushes against the wooden board, making it easier and quicker for her to wriggle the knife out of the wood.

"You're good," He states with a short nod, watching as she ticks the pair of daggers into her belt, slipping her tight tank top over the top so they're hidden.

"I would sure hope so. I've had enough practice," She glances back at him over her shoulder for a second before walking away.

Thomas jogs after her, nearly tripping over a large root that she had subconsciously stepped over. The empty basket that he's supposed to be filling with fertiliser rattles against his legs as he moves beside her, but his gaze lands on the ground at his feet and he drags himself to a stop. A large set of bones are buried into the dirt, only the ribs and a part of a leg being visible.

Evelyn comes to a stop too, and she turns to look at him, noticing his panicked face and she can't help but chuckle, "They're just animal bones, calm down."

Thomas nods warily before kneeling down, sliding his finger gently across a wood plant that has George etched into it. The stick formation built around it, makes it clear that it's some sort of grave stone and he starts to doubt that they're just animal bones.

Behind her, Evelyn hears a step of broken steps and she spins around quickly, only to watch as Ben emerge at the top of the small hill above her. Her brows furrow as she studies him. He's slouched over, his white tank caked in dirt and his face too pale for it to be normal. He'd been a run today. If anyone he should be bright red and drowning in sweat.

Evelyn's eyes full with concern, "Ben," She says gently.

Her voice snaps Thomas out of his thoughts, and he quickly stands up, spinning around to see who she's speaking to, and finally he spots the runner, who's arms are swinging uselessly by his side.

Evelyn knows something is wrong once her worried eyes finally reach Ben's eyes. Even from so far away, she can see that they don't hold their usual light and glimmer. Instead, they're dark and lifeless. The boy stood above her isn't her Ben.

He starts to pant heavily, causing a line of drool to fall from his lip. Thomas takes a determined step forward, but Evelyn quickly pulls him back, shaking her head, "Something's wrong," She whispers.

All of a sudden, Ben jumps down from the hill and lands directly on Thomas, pinning the dark haired boy to the ground and spitting in his face as he roars, "It's your fault! I saw you! You did this!"

Ben continues his yells while Evelyn snatches Thomas' small gardening spade from the floor, "Please forgive me," She mutters before whacking the metal tool across Ben's head, causing him to collapse off Thomas.

Thomas takes the small space of time to scramble up and break off into a run. Evelyn charges after him, hearing Ben gurgle and groan behind as he attempts to catch them. Thomas' voice cracks as he shouts through the wood frantically, trying to get some other Gladers to hear his distress.

Evelyn breaks through the tree line first, and Thomas soon after but Ben is sharp on their tail and with one last spout of strength, the diseased boy pounces forward onto Evelyn. She rolls over, and he straddles her stomach and his strong dirty hands grip onto her neck roughly.

Below him, Evelyn hears as the other Gladers run over with Gally's yells carrying the loudest as they all shout with worry. But, Evelyn just stares up at Ben while her hands are wrapped around his wrists. She begins to choke, letting out short coughs, but she can't drag her eyes from his distorted face. Her heart falls in on itself.

She shakes her head rapidly, "Please, Benny, please," She begs, but he refuses to listen, continuing to snap and snarl at her while he squeezes more life out of her.

Fighting tears, Evelyn jerks her knee up, hitting him in the balls and he falls to her side in pain, releasing her neck. Instantly, she's rolled over him and is now straddling him. She grasps his flailing arms and pins them at either side of his head to keep him still.

The Gladers around are still shouting in shock and horror, but she can't speak or tell them to shut up. She can't function properly while Ben writhes under her desperately. He snaps his jaw at her like an animal, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't get free, reminding her of all their stupid play fights where, more often than not, she'd win.

To the side, Thomas watches in slight admiration as he watches Evelyn effortlessly hold down a boy miles taller than her. Her muscles flex and her knuckles go white due to how hard she clutches at Ben, but neither of his arms can move a single inch towards her.

"Ben, stop," She snaps, being to become agitated as her brain tricks herself to think he's joking around, "Stop."

Gally's hand lands on her shoulder, and for the first time in a while, she draws her eyes away from her close friend. Gally's eyes hold nothing but sympathy and sorrow as he motions of her to climb off. With shaking breaths and a thumping heart, Evelyn slides off Ben, letting the surrounding boys hold him down instead. Newt stands by Evelyn's side, his hand resting down on her shoulder as she stays slumped on the floor.

"Yo, what the hell happened?" Fry questions loudly, his eyes burning into Thomas.

"He just attacked us," Thomas rushes.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing her tears, Evelyn raises from the dirt. Her hands move up to her head as she paces back and forth in front of the crowd of teenage boys. Once she notices the large amount of shocked eyes on her, she drops back down to Ben's side, biting her lip anxiously as she has a felling she knows what's happened.

Alby pushes through everyone and stand above Ben, who's now sobbing and begging.

"Lift his shirt," Alby instructs.

Newt reaches down and does so, lifting up the boy's white shirt to reveal his stomach. A loud gasp rushes through the Gladers as everyone sees the dark blue and purple veins growing under the boy's skin, flourishing from a small hole. A dark black liquid pours from his wound, staining his skin further.

Evelyn's jaw clenches at the horrific but familiar sight and she tries her hardest not to listen to Ben cries as she goes back to staring at his face, "He's been stung," She stares as Alby kneels at her side, "In the middle of the day, is that even possible?"

"Please. Please. Just help me. Help me!" The diseased boy whimpers desperately, squirming ina. few of the Glader's grips. Evelyn has to turn her head away, not able to even look at her friend any longer.

"Put him in the pit," Alby orders, moving his gaze over the other boys as he claps his hands together, "Everybody help! Take him to the pit."

Ben's shouts and protests get louder when more rough hands are placed on him and he's lifted from the ground. Not able to watch another second, Evelyn slowly stands up and steps away, a shaky hand raising to cover her mouth before she spins around and trudges over to the homestead, her body jerking as she finally lets out a sob now that she's away from the boys.

Her Ben was gone.

❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀

ben :(

first part of the chapter is completely new cause i felt like i needed to show more of the friendship between ben and eve

not proof read at all