Subject A250: The Fangirl (COMPLETED)

Seven: Oops, Ben Did It Again

Trace didn't know what to do. Should she save Thomas from being attacked by Ben? Or would that ruin everything? How much of the plot would that change?

She thought about it as she and Thomas headed up through the Deadheads in silence.

Ben attacked Thomas. Ben got banished. In the movie, that was why Alby and Minho went into the maze together the next day. In the book, they found a dead Griever. That was the reason Alby got stung and Thomas spent a night in the maze.

Either way, she decided Thomas had to spend a night there. That was integral to the plot. So, either way, Alby had to get stung.

But how?

She tried to work out any other clues as to what plot they'd be following here. Whether Ben's banishment would be as per the book or the movie.

Of course.

Ben was a runner. That meant this had to be the movie version. Good. Nobody was getting shot in the head by an arrow today. Arrow-shooting badass Alby didn't exist in this version.

Darn it. She'd kind of wanted to see that play out.

"What are these?" Thomas asked her, pointing towards the graves as they reached the centre of the forest.

Thomas was a real idiot sometimes, she thought to herself. Those are quite clearly gravestones.

"Is this a graveyard?" was his next question, before she could answer the first one.

"Why do they need a graveyard?"

"Who's Stephen?"

"Why are there so many?"

As attractive as Thomas was, he was just as annoying. Trace opened her mouth to tell him to shut up and follow the plot when something rustled in the trees behind them.

"Who's there?" Thomas yelled, startled by the sound.

It was Ben time.

Trace still hadn't decided what to do. She still wasn't sure whether stepping in would help or hinder the plot. She supposed she'd just do what she felt was right at the time.

But when Ben finally appeared between two, mangled trees, she wanted to turn and run.

He looked terrifying. Far worse than in the movie or how he was described in the book. There was something much freakier about being there in person. Being face to face with him. The threat was now entirely real. Ben was right there.

Purple veins lined his head and neck, and she could see a line of red dribble falling from his lips and chin. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with mania and rage. His lips were parted and his teeth bared as he panted through them.

A shiver went down her spine at the sight.

"Ben, right? I don't know if we've met..." Thomas, the naïve idiot, began saying. He trailed off when Ben didn't respond.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked. Trace was now too scared to speak, relying entirely on Thomas now to keep things going.

At first, Ben didn't respond. He remained there, panting in rage, the Griever sting coursing through his veins as they waited. Then he said something that Trace just never saw coming.

"You could've stopped it."

She was expecting him to pounce on Thomas at any moment. She was waiting for him to attack, and was preparing to step in and help out.