The Huntress Descent

The Labyrinth: Chapter Eighteen

I awoke to a weak, lifeless light radiating through the window above my head. My first thought was the feeling that I must have gotten up earlier than usual, that dawn was still an hour away. But, then, I heard the shouts.

"What the?" I sat up from my bed and gazed out of the window. A few of the Gladers pointed towards the sky, questioning the looks across their face. I followed what they were seeing and the cause of the commotion. The sky was a dull slab of grey – not the natural pale light that greeted me every morning. There was no blue, no black, no stars, no artists and his splash of paint. Every inch of that sky was slate grey. Colourless and dead.

I scrambled from my bed and joined the others downstairs, hoping one of them would give me answers on what was happening.

I caught Clint as he re-entered the Homestead, a bowl of soup in his hands. We both moved out of the doorway, letting others past us.

"The sky, what's wrong with it?" I inquired, pointing towards the broken sky.

"Dunno, woke up and it was broken," he shrugged, moved past me and carried on up the stairs.

Outside, I expected the sky to change back to its normal state. But it was all grey, like a ceiling. Stepping out of the Homestead I noticed the sun no longer producing a brightness, and with that I found most of the Gladers standing near the entrance to the Box, pointing at the dead sky, everyone talking at once.

If this was later than I thought, then breakfast should've been already served, people working round the Glade. But there was something about the largest object in the solar system vanishing that tended to disrupt normal schedules.

I found Thomas silently watching the commotion unravel, his face as calm as I see now every day. Smug, in fact, he looked smug. Mocking the ones that didn't understand. Obviously, the sun couldn't just disappear, it was near impossible to just drop out of the sky. Yet, it seemed that exactly what happened.

"You know what's going on?" I questioned him. He didn't reply. Instead, he crossed his arms and carried on staring at the sky

He pursed his lips.

"Look, I know I have been ignoringg you. I wouldn't do it intentionally. It's just ..." I hesitated for a second. "What Alby said the other day got me thinking. Those dreams aren't really dreams. I recognise you and I don't know if it's a good or bad thing."

"I thought that," he finally said. "The look on your face said it all. I hoped that it wasn't true but there was no way from that. Only Alby, Ben and Gally have looked at me like that."

"I'm not gonna ignore you," I stated fast. "I hope you know that. I won't do what they do. I won't judge you on that. You could be an entirely different person now. I'm sorry. I want you to know that. I was just in shock. I don't want to hold a grudge against you for something that we both can't remember."

"You have with Gally," he joked.

"I said can't remember. I remember everything that Gally does and he deserves it," I said, as I stared up to the sky. "But, that's him. I'm talking about you, stop changin' the subject." I smacked his arm, careful not to lose my crutch from under my arm.

"Okay, keep goin'," he said, rubbing his arm from where I hit him.

"I'm just sayin' I forgive you. I no longer hold a grudge." I put my hand, coaxing him to shake. "Let's start again on better terms. Buddy."

We shook hands.

"Well then, buddy," Thomas smirked. "How do you think the sky is broken?"

"I asked you the question." I smiled. "Eaten?"