I Know Places [Thomas The Maze Runner]

[12: The Note]

Newt and Gally shared a concerned look, equally surprised by the blaring of the Greenie alarm. They instantly stood and ran up the stairs to exit the Council room. The two leaders were followed by the rest of the Gladers, who pushed through the open door and legged it to the Box as it rose.

Elle cringed, shrinking into her seat. She felt too uneasy on her jelly legs to get up and follow the Gladers, eyes flitting over to Thomas for help. He was the boy she had arrived in the Box with, the only person in the Glade who knew what she felt. As if he could read her mind, Thomas got up from his chair and took her hand. He squeezed, reassuring her that he was there for her, and urged her up.

"Come on," Thomas prompted, helping her and leading her up the stairs and out of the Council room.

Her legs felt like lead, and her ears rang, muffling the sounds of the confused Gladers as they talked amongst themselves. If it wasn't for Thomas pulling her to the Box, she would never have made it there alone. Elle's body responded to the Greenie alarm as if she was fighting for her life. Blood rushing in her ears, her heartbeat picking up, breath quickening; she was getting ready to fight or flight. Only Elle had nowhere to go and nothing to fight, so she followed her friends to the Box.

"Okay, we all know that sound," Thomas commented. Just like Elle had, he felt chills go down his spine as he remembered being in the Box three days ago. He could still remember how disorienting it was to wake up without memories, submerged in the darkness. Thomas woke up with absolutely nothing. He couldn't see in the dark and didn't remember anything, not even his name.

All he had was her. From the moment Thomas arrived, Elle was the only thing keeping him sane.

"The Box is coming back up," Chuck realised, following Elle and Thomas outside. He turned to look at Minho for help.

"It shouldn't be," Minho replied, patting Thomas's shoulder and racing ahead.

"Why is it back?" Elle asked rhetorically, joining the Gladers as they approached the Box. She knew they would find the answer soon enough, but she didn't like where this was going. "It's too soon. We only came up three days ago. It shouldn't be back for another week."

That was how things worked in the Glade; that was a part of the agreement the Gladers had with the people who placed them here. The Box came weekly with supplies, and once a month a new Greenie was on board. This month, there were two. Elle supposed if the Creators broke a rule to send her and Thomas up together, they might be happy to break the rules again.

Gally and Newt made it to the Box first, having jumped up and ran to the Box the second they recognised the alarm. The Box opened and revealed something they had never seen before. The two boys opened the cage doors together, and Newt leapt in to investigate further. Elle watched him disappear into the Box from a distance, arriving once a crowd already formed around him.

"Newt, what do you see?" someone shouted into the Box as Elle and Thomas stepped up to see what was happening.

Newt stood upright and glanced at the Gladers. He had a confused, nervous expression as if he didn't quite know how to proceed. His brows were pulled together, and his mouth was slightly agape. "It's just some supplies," Newt said, frowning. "And a note."

"A note?" Gally echoed unsurely. "From the Creators?"

Elle felt a lump in her throat, pulling away from Thomas to shuffle closer to the opening of the Box. "Why would the alarm go off if there isn't a Greenie inside?" she asked, dreading the answer. Newt met her eyes, hickory irises wide and baffled. He shook his head. "When there are only supplies, the alarm doesn't go off, right?" Elle added, remembering what Chuck told her on one of his many rambles about how things worked in the Glade. "That's why you call it the Greenie alarm."