" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

thirty-three.

[CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE]
sent down

~

Eleanor stood with her back against the wall of the Homestead, her eyes glued to her hands as she picked at the dirt that had collected beneath her fingernails. Chuck stood beside her, skinning leaves from a branch that had fallen from a nearby tree as he, too, anxiously waited. Just as the Gathering was brought to an end (Eleanor was more than thankful when Newt finally dismissed the Keepers), Chuck had come and told them that Alby had woken up- and he was asking for Thomas. Newt wouldn't allow Eleanor or Chuck to accompany them on their visit to see the leader, and ever since then, the pair had been impatiently waiting outside of the Homestead.

In the end, the Keepers had finally decided on throwing Thomas in the Slammer for a night without food. Once he was released the following day, the Greenie would be handed over to Minho to begin training as a Runner. Several boys had shown their obvious disagreement towards the punishment, whilst others cheered loudly for the boy. Eleanor thought it was a good idea- after all, why let his skills go to waste?

Eleanor snapped out of her thoughts as the rickety door to the Homestead hit the wall just beside her. She turned to see Newt storm out of the building, face flushed red with annoyance as he slammed the door shut behind him. He stopped as his eyes landed on Eleanor, and his shoulders heaved as he let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked, taking a step towards him with her lips pursed in concern. His hair fell over his eyes, though she could see the evident hurt shining in their depths. She reached up and brushed the hair from his eyes, a small smile appearing on her lips as she looked up at him.

"The shank's jacked in the head, there's not doubt about it," Newt grumbled lowly. He looked as though he wanted to say more, though before he had a chance to, a shrill cry for help pierced through the air. It was coming from the Homestead, and Eleanor recognized the voice as Thomas.

Newt immediately turned on his feet and reached for the door once more. Eleanor went to follow him, though he quickly turned around and stopped her by placing a hand on her chest. "I don't know what's goin' on," he said with a shake of his head. "Stay here."

Although she wanted to follow him, Eleanor knew that she had no choice but to stay. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded reluctantly, stepping away from the door. Newt eyed her for a moment, as if making sure she was really going to stay, before he disappeared inside the Homestead for the second time that day.

~

Eleanor awoke to a dim, lifeless light shining through the single window. For a moment, she wondered if she had woken up earlier than she was supposed to, and was about to fall back on to the cot to go to sleep once more. Though she then noticed that Newt was nowhere to be seen- he must have already been awake- and she could hear the voices of several boys outside the window.

Confused, Eleanor slowly pushed herself out of bed. It was hard to see across the dark room, though she managed to make it without tripping over anything and slid through the door and into the even darker hallway.

When Eleanor exited the Homestead, she was surprised to find the Glade full of life. She wondered what everyone was doing up so early, and she then noticed Rick standing close to the clump of trees where the other boys slept. She approached him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.