𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦, thomas (tmr)

Chapter Three

Gally and the boys he grabbed to help him build had achieved a lot in the day. They added a whole room onto the wooden shack in the corner they nicknamed the Homestead, and Gally had mentioned wanting it to be the Glade's kitchen. 

As they all trapezed inside, boys from the Maze leading the way, Siggy had more leftovers of the sandwiches from earlier. Clara knew they were bound to get sick of them soon, but didn't say a word about it, since they had no other foods available yet.

"So, what happened back here?" Nick asked, as he collapsed onto a chair that Gally had expertly constructed.

Everyone else scattered themselves on the ground, taking a well deserved break from the day they spent slaving away. Clara chose to stand, leaning back against a wooden pillar and choosing to trust Gally's building skills.

"Not that much," She realised, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her excitement. "I named the place the Glade, we added a room onto here - obviously - and people got their names back." She summarised, as Nick nodded approvingly.

"We didn't find anything in the Box. We couldn't get down past it." A boy piped up, shrugging.

Clara suddenly felt a pit of guilt form in her stomach. She forgot about the boys checking out the Box. She also reckoned now that the Box was a dead-end, despite what she thought previously.

"What was it like in the Maze?" Clara shot back at Nick, feeling her stomach twist nervously at the prospect of escape, despite not being told anything.

"Well, just like here, we all remembered our names." 

Nick then took the liberty of introducing the boys that all came with him in the Maze: Minho, Newt, Alby and George. Minho proudly butted in to add that he was the first of them to get his name back.

"You have yours yet?" Nick asked her suddenly, and her heart sunk with the realisation that she was one of the very few who hadn't. She shook her head, and Nick grinned back at her.

"Unlucky." He shot back, with a wink.

George; a tall boy with light brown hair and one of Nick's Maze Runners, raised his hand hesitantly. Clara wanted to laugh at his reluctance to just interrupt the conversation, which she would actually encourage, but just about refrained since he was so sweet in doing so.

"There is something though." Clara's eyebrows furrowed at George's ominous words, and he glanced to Nick for approval before continuing. "The Maze - it changes."

Changes? Like, the paths change?

"That's ridiculous." Gally scoffed, earning a few mutters of agreement.

"We were sent up into the middle of a Maze, wiped of all memories of a previous life." Clara argued back, stealing Gally's focus momentarily. "But you think it changing is too unrealistic?"

"George is right," Nick added, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder with a heavy heart. "The Maze changes. The corridor we went down today wasn't there yesterday."

"The Maze is huge." Minho murmured, and his previous bubbliness seemed to have simmered down at the sudden drop in mood.

Clara involuntarily let out a nervous chuckle, earning a few confused glances from the boys around her. Nick in particular was watching her curiously, as she stifled her anxious laughs which appeared to be a coping mechanism, and composed herself.

"Okay, so we'll have to work hard to figure out the Maze. We can do it." She spoke firmly, but she could see that not everyone was being swayed by her words. "We have to, if we wanna get out of here."