The Hunter.

Chapter 18

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Artemis wasn't sure what to expect. An angry Newt, yes. Disbelieving boys, yeah. Overprotective Newt, sure. But she'd never expected that Gally would possibly use this to his advantage.

So, as she sat in the middle of the semicircle again with Thomas beside her, she could only raise her brows and blink.

Thomas didn't look much more contained than her. He too could only gape at the assembled keepers.

"It's Gally," Thomas had said to her that morning, "he could put a negative spin on anything."

She'd nodded in agreement, "We did break a rule..."

"I guess we did... But they wouldn't...banish us?"

"I...I don't know."

"Missie, you scared?" He'd asked, his voice low.

"No. You?"

"No."

They'd stared at each other before smiling and saying simultaneously, "You are so scared."

"Alright! Time to get this over with." Newt stepped to the front. "In the absence of our leader, I will be running this here council meeting. Anyone who has a problem with that can go knock themselves off the shuck cliff, see how deep it goes, save us the bloody oxygen."

They all just stared at him.

After the they'd arrived in the Glade, Artemis and Thomas had directed some Runners to the place where they'd hung Alby. They'd found him and brought him back in time to give him the grief serum, he was still in what Newt called 'the Changing'.

"Right. Up front we've got Missie and Tommy who, within the past day ran into the Maze and spent a night in there in turn breaking our number one rule and rendering possible our highest impossibility." He turned to the said pair, "You two, about half a billion Gladers have come to me each one either wanting to kill you or marry you, which, in Missie's case, ain't so strange but for Tommy...not so much. Now, we're gonna resolve this in a civilized enough manner. I'm gonna hear all o your takes on it, then make a decision based on whatever the hell I see fit. Now, with out further ado, I declare this meeting officially opened. Winston, what's your take?"

Newt went back to his chair and sat down pulling a notepad and pencil out of his pocket.

Winston leaned forward, "Well, I think a rule was broken. And no matter what, we've got to enforce our law. I'm not going to say what kind, but a punishment would be suitable. No offense to the both of you."

Newt nodded and jotted something on the notepad.

"Alrighty, Frypan." He pointed his pencil at the cook.

"Well, honestly, I don't know why we're still talking about this, what these two did was pretty awesome, nothing we've ever seen. I say we reward em." Frypan shrugged.

Newt nodded, Missie decided to stop paying attention, she turned to Thomas and found that he was already watching her.

Their eyes met. It was like... They were communicating...not telepathy, but...close. Their eyes just seemed to exude a certain language.

Thomas's eyes said, Well, this sucks.

Hers replied, Tell me about it.