The Girl In The Glade

Part Seventeen: The Gathering

   "You all know very well why we're here. (Y/n)'s punishment." Alby said and you felt like you should address what happened, but when you opened your mouth to say something, Newt's glare stopped you.
   You remembered what he told you. It's just not gonna be easy.
   "We'll go around and ask for everyone's opinion, and then make our final decision. No one will be left unheard." Alby added and all the boys nodded in sync. As much as you hated to be in trouble like this, you couldn't help but admire the order and responsibility these teenage boys had shown.
   "Good that." Newt agreed looking at you seriously. You stayed quiet but you know you heard Minho laugh. Seeing you suffer like this was amusing to him. You glared at the Runner, but he ignored you.
   "Then I'll start." Some kid named Ron spoke up. "I know what your all gonna do. Your gonna start praising this shank. But someone's gotta say it. Banishment." There was a lot of gasps and you ignored the urge to stand up and plead your case. You stayed quiet. It killed you to stay quiet, it went against who you were, but you knew there would be repercussions.
   "Banishment? Are you insane?" Frypan spoke up, speaking your own thoughts. At least you knew he was on your side.
   "No, think about it. First, she is the first girl to show up in the Glade, then, Ben gets stung in broad daylight, Gally runs away from her and into the Maze. And then, he gets stung too. Maybe we should have listened to Ben. We should get rid of her before he gets rid of us." You had enough.
   "That's bull—!"
   "(Y/n)!" Newt aggressively whispered and you looked over to him. He was mouthing the words 'don't speak unless spoken to'.  The two of you stared at each other, Newt winning as you sigh heavily and sat down with your arms crossed. Every part of you hated this.
   "Anyone else think she should be banished?" Alby asked and two others raised their hands. You knew people were entitled to their opinions, and you respected that, but when they were about killing you by sending you to hell itself, your gonna have a little problem.
   "Slintheads." You muttered under your breath. You felt Minho lean in closer to you.
   "Keep talking and I'll raise my hand too!" Minho whispered aggressively in your ear, then leaning back against the wall. A part of you just wanted to punch Minho, but you realised he was just trying to get the message across. You have to shut up.
   "I believe," Newt said stepping up, "that we should listen to what Minho has to say before making any rash decisions."
   "I agree." Alby said, turning his attention to the Runner as he lent relaxed on the wall. That boy always acted like he was too cool for anything or anyone. Maybe he was.
   "Oh, so I can speak now?" Minho said to everyone, which made Alby roll his eyes.
   "Yes Minho. You were there, what do you think?" Newt pressed and Ably nodded. You knew he was your friend, or at least you think he is, but you were worried about Minho. He was a loose cannon.
   "In all my years of being a Runner I have never seen anyone do the things she has done." Minho started his argument strong in your case, that put you at ease a little. "Look, I don't know if she's brave or stupid, but whatever it is we need more of it. Since she's been here, this shank has proven that she is brave, smart, confident, selfless and quick on her feet and in her head. She has thought of ways to survive a night in the Maze like no one ever has,
and those graves in the Deadheads are proof of that. This is what qualifies one to be a runner, don't you think?" All the boys mumbled in agreement.
   You couldn't help but smile at Minho's strong words. You never thought of yourself as any of those things, but he has. It made you pretty confident that Minho was your friend and was on your side.
   "Is that all Minho?" Alby asked but you didn't expect him to say anything else. He didn't need to. But leave it to Minho to make every situation more dramatic than it has to be.
   "No. I think the slinthead should be the Keeper of the Runners. Not me."

   It was pandemonium. People were arguing, Chuck was chanting your name, and Newt and Alby were trying to calm everyone down. You couldn't hold the smirk back. For some reason, the chaos was soothing. Is that bad? Then, Alby finally spoke.
   "Are you jacked in the head Minho? A Keeper?"
   "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." Minho said flatly and you realised that you hadn't seen him so serious before. This left you to think.

A Runner? A Keeper at that? He thinks you should be the Keeper of the Runners?

   "Minho—" Alby started, but Minho cut him off.
   "Alby, I'm serious. But don't get used to it." Minho repeated.
   "She's only been here three days!" Frypan brought up and there was a part of you that agreed. You couldn't take such a high position like that.
   "Yeah and in the process she saved two lives, survived the Maze, and killed a Greiver. Did I forget to mention that part?" Minho said and your mouth gaped open. It's not like it was a secret that had to be kept, but this probably wasn't the best time or place to bring it up.
   "She what?" Newt piped in and the whole room went dead silent. You could feel the tension and it made your chest tighten.

This isn't going to go well, is it?

   "What do you mean you killed a Greiver." Alby asked.
   "Well..." Minho started but Alby put a finger up.
   "Not you. Her." He said, moving that same finger to point at you. You looked him dead in the eyes and sat up straight. You looked and felt in charge, but you didn't speak. You kept quiet and looked at him seriously. Then your eyes met Newt and it took every bone in your body not to smile.
   "Bloody hell (y/n), stop being a stubborn ass. I told you not to speak unless spoken to, not don't speak at all!" Newt said and so you decided that it was time to finally say your peace.
   "Look, we're fast, but so is the Greiver. No matter what we did I knew it was going to find us one way or another. It was only the one following us. The plan was to lose it in the Maze but the chances of that happening were slim. So when I saw Minho's machete and the speed the Greiver was going, I also saw an opportunity. I slid under the Greiver and I sliced right through it, right down the middle. I killed the Greiver." They all stared at you blankly, all except Minho. "I did what I had to do."
   "(Y/n)—" Newt was going to say something but was cut off by Ron, who stood up quickly.
   "You see this! This is what I am talking about! (Y/n) is crazy and unstable! Do you know what kind of consequences this could being down on us? "
Unstable
   This wasn't the first time someone has used this word to describe you and you knew you hated it. It was only in your memory moment, but it still made your heart beat faster.
   "What did you just call me?"
   "Unstable. Cause that's what you are!"
   "Don't you ever call me that again or I'll take that ego and I'll shove it up your—" you were going to continue and you knew Minho was getting a kick out of this and maybe Newt too, on the inside.
   "(Y/n)! That's enough!" Alby shouted when all of a sudden, Jeff ran into the homestead, out of breath.
   "Alby.... Newt.... (y/n).... you might want to see this."
   "We're kind of in the middle of something important here Jeff." Newt said calmly.
   "Well whatever it is it can wait."
   "Is Gally okay?" You asked quickly.
   "I don't know." He said.
   "What's that supposed to mean?" You asked cooly, keeping the fear out of your voice. You had to be tough as nails in front of the Gladers. But at this point, you don't think any Glader would even think about messing with you. Except that Ron kid.
   "Just come on!" He said and then ran out of the building. You stared at Newt and Alby and they looked at you, then at the door and back to you.
   "Well? Let's move!" You said without asking for permission to leave.