Run | TMR X PJO [ Editing ]

Twenty-Three | Group A

Chapter twenty-three, in which a plan is formulated.

"What now?" Teresa demanded, her eyebrows furrowing together. Chuck was buried, and the group was at a complete loss for words — how pathetically easy it would have been to walk by the porky boy and slit his throat, no questions asked. Percy personally wouldn't have put it past any of them (Gally specifically) to just kill the kid, although he strongly suspected that WICKED had a say in his death.

Newt's mind raced at the thought of having to formulate a plan. As their leader, he certainly needed to come up with something quickly, should the group succumb to mindless arguing. "We need a plan — throw whatever you can think of on the table."

"The Maze must be the answer," Minho murmured to himself, his eyes darting back and forth between them. As the one that knew about the stone labyrinth the most, he was almost sure that there was something within those walls that held the answer to all their questions.

"You really think so, Minho?" Percy asked dubiously, his hands set on his hips. While he himself had done a fair amount of running in the Maze, he couldn't think of anything relevant when all he saw was endless stone and ivy. 

He replied quickly, though his voice was laced with doubts and sheer uncertaincy. "Of course."

Thomas had remained quiet this entire time, mentally weighing their options as Minho and Percy discussed the matter with each other. He was by no means a coward, and he would risk life and limb for a shot at freedom — the Glade would not last forever. 

"Okay, the Maze. That's a good place to start as any," Teresa said eagerly, glad for even the faintest of leads to grasp onto. "We need to split this up — Percy and Minho; Newt and I; and Thomas, I expect you to hold you own." 

It was something, Percy decided. Better for there to be something than nothing at all, and he told himself this was all for Annabeth, even if he couldn't remember who the flying shuck she was. 

"Where exactly do we start," he wondered out loud. A plan this elaborate required days and days of planning, mapping, and stockpiling supplies — not to mention it would not be approved by the majority of the Glade, therefore making it an illegal act.

"Get with your partners, and we can start distributing jobs," Minho commanded, already by Percy's side. His eyes were lit with a blazing fire, one filled with a determination unchallenged by anyone else. 

Newt glared at him, though the glare was on the more endearing side if anything. "I thought I was the leader."

"Then you give orders!" he argued back, sticking out his tongue childishly.

"Let's figure out who can do what," he said dryly, causing the Keeper to let out a cry of protest.

Minho crossed his arms, and let out a small whine of disgust. "That's exactly what I said." 

The others snickered despite the rather somber atmosphere, unable to hide their smirks behind their hands, much to the pair's dismay. They more or less ignored it, though it was obvious that they had seen the teasing smiles. 

"Whatever, let's just figure out the distribition," he insisted when no one bothered to speak up. Newt bit his lip in concentration, finally coming to a conclusion after a few minutes had past. "Percy and Minho will work on mapping the Maze — I'm sure you guys have your records, but we need more information. Collect anything you think is relevant." 

"Why not me?" Thomas asked with what Percy swore was a jealous undertone. 

"Two Runners are stronger than one," Teresa piped up quickly, causing Percy to let out a sigh of relief that he didn't have to deal with Thomas and his ceaseless complaining. "Newt and I will be collecting weapons and coming up with excuses for you guys — people trust a good leader, and they'll listen to the only girl in the Glade." 

While Newt did not initially think of that idea, he agreed with enthusiasm. "Great idea; I like that." 

"And what do I do?"

"You're collecting our food and supplies because you're one sneaky shuckface," the leader told him without much room for argument — besides, there really was nothing else he could do than stock up on the materials they desperately needed.

—

It was hard work making up stories about why exactly the five of them were stockpiling food and weapons. Even the charismatic Newt had difficulty explaining to Frypan why some of his ingredients and dishes were suddenly missing, and surely they wouldn't be so lucky in the future. Minho and Percy were blissfully oblivious to the other pair was struggling, though they were having their own problems with the Maze. 

Teresa — Percy had to give kudos to her — was surprisingly good at sneaking weapons around, and even better at stealing them right under Gally's oversized nose. Perhaps it was her "feminine charm," as Thomas once commented, but no one could ever imagine innocent little Teresa doing something so shady.

It was extremely difficult to keep their plan hidden from Alby, and the five of them were constantly looking over their shoulders in fear of their dark-skinned leader suddenly showing up and ruining everything. He was already mentally unstable as it was, and they certainly couldn't risk their covers being blown.

Their bi-weekly meetings were conducted after the Gladers had gone to sleep. The five quickly snuck out of Homestead to update the others on their progress. "How many weapons do we have," Percy whispered.

Teresa and Newt talked with each other for a minute, calculating their inventory. Teresa counted off on her fingers, "Pocket knives for all of us, a gun with ammunition, two bows with a few arrows, and that bronze sword you like."

The blonde added, "There's also a machete but we might have to fix it up before it's useful."

They had a pretty good stock, if you asked Percy, but the two were planning to steal more before they left — by the time they were through, the group would be a walking war machine.

"How's it going with getting Teresa and Newt a Runner's pack?" Minho asked. They needed one if they were going to participate, as it could carry their materials and weapons.

Thomas grumbled about his job for a while before replying. "I have one for Newt, but Teresa's will need some adjustment — it's a little big. I have enough food, blah, blah.

Minho hummed thoughtfully after everyone else had shared their progress. "We should be ready to depart in three day's time. The mapping was done earlier today."