Once In A Blue Moon

Twenty-Five

The sound of metal against metal woke you up the next morning. The Doors were openeing. You looked around, but only to see that every other Glader was gone. The sleeping bags were thrown carelessly, as if each person had left in a hurry. You rubbed your eyes, which felt drier than a desert . The absence of being able to remember the feeling of being in a desert was frustrating, and you let out an angry sigh at the unsuccessful attempt at remembering something. After you had stretched out your back, you let yourself listen to the sounds of the Glade. But the sounds you heard were not the ones you expected to hear.

"Yeah!" you could make out Chuck's young voice among the others. You looked to them, wondering what they could all be cheering about. They were standing in a large pack around the North Door. You pushed yourself up with your arms, noticing that they seemed weaker than usual. You crossed your arms across your chest as you walked closer to the boys, still curious about the sudden excitment.

They were all crowded around a single thing and you pushed your way through the congested area to figure out what exactly that was. And there, the literal center of attention, sat three boys you had never thought you'd see again.

"Oh, my god," you exclaimed as you stumbled backward. A Glader behind you put his hand on your back, stopping you from falling. You didn't turn to see who it was. Instead, your gaze was fixed on the sight of Minho and Alby. It was clear that the latter had been stung by a Griever. You saw the veins already forming around his stomach. That's why he seemed unconscious yesterday, he really was.

Clint and Jeff, the two Med-Jacks, were leaning over his body. They were doing some medical routinues that you didn't bother watching. Instead, you found your voice and spoke to Minho. "What he hell happened?"

Minho didn't answer, but just looked at Thomas. You looked to Chuck, who was staring at the wound on Alby. "You saw a Griever?" he asked. It hadn't even occurred to you that they had probably seen plenty of Grievers in the night.

"Yeah, I saw one," Thomas answered Chuck. His breaths were quick and steady. He sounded a little too relaxed for having just survived an entire night in the Maze.

At the words, Minho shook his head. "He didn't just see it." Everyone went silent, waiting for him to finish. "He killed it."

Minho looked right at you, the thought of a dead Griever sending a quick chill down your spine. Nobody seemed to have anything to say to this, but you knew that everyone was thinking the same thing. Who is this kid?

The Council was meeting to discuss what should happen to Thomas. After lots of arguing, Newt had agreed to let you stand in the room as long as you promised to remain silent. Those were his only terms and you had agreed to them.

Thomas sat calmly in the same chair that you had been in a while ago, when the Council decided on you being a Runner. It felt like decades had passed since that day.

"Things are changing," Gally announced. Everyone looked to him, some nodding in agreement. "There's no denying that. First Ben and Nick get stung in broad daylight, and now Alby's going down the same path."

The words were unsettling as both Ben and Nick had died, but you didn't make any noise other than letting out a shaky breath.

Gally went on. "And now our Greenie here has tasked himself with entering the Maze. Our number one rule is that nobody goes into that Maze."

"But he saved Alby's life," you heard Fry say matter-of-factly. 

Gally raised his eyebrows. "Did he?" 

You looked to Newt, who creased his eyebrows at Gally. He looked intrigued by the boy's declaration.

"For three years," Gally continued, "we have coexisted with these things. And now" -- he turned to point at Thomas -- "you've killed one of them. We don't know what that could mean for us."

Newt licked his lips before replying. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"This shank needs to be punished."

This broke the room into a clear dichotomy -- some expressing their agreement with the proposition and some clearly against it.

"Alright, enough!" Newt called across the room. "Thank you, Gally. You can put your listening skills to use now. Anybody else have an opinion about the shank?"

Newt went around the room, asking opinions from each of the Gladers. Some agreed with Gally, saying that Thomas should be punished for going against the clear rules of the Glade. Others argued that it ought to be acknowledged that he saved both Alby and Minho from whatever the Maze held inside of its treacherous walls.

You watched patiently until Minho made his recommendation. "I nominate this shank to replace me as Keeper of the Runners.

It took every ounce of self control you had plus some more to not yell out what a ridiculous idea that was. Thomas was the Greenie and didn't know klunk about the Glade itself, let alone the Maze.

Gally stood up, throwing his arms in the air. "That's ridiculous!"

"Sit down!" Newt yelled at Gally. The older boy complied, throwing himself back into his seat like a child who was just denied candy at a store. "That's some pretty serious klunk, brother. You gonna need to talk it up."

"You should have seen that shank out there. He goes out into the Maze to save some people he hardly knows. Plenty of us had told him about what it's like in there, especially at night. And he still stepped out there, a shuck second away from being crushed to his death, and the only thing on his mind was that two people needed help.

"And then he saw me leave Alby for dead. And he should have given up right then. But he didn't. Think about the willpower it took to watch me,  the veteran -- the one with the experience and knowledge -- give up and then still be determined to save both of the boys he had come to help. Think of the strength it must have taken to pull Alby up onto the wall and hide him, so that he would be safe, as Grievers walked through those shuck walls hunting him down."

"We get it," Gally ended his sentence for him, rolling his eyes. "Thomas here is a lucky shank."

Minho groaned in frustration and pulled back his hair, coming up with a retort. "No, you worthless shuck. You don't get it. It must be easy for you to sit here and talk about something you don't understand. I'm the only Runner here and the only one who's even been in the Maze is Newt."

Gally interjected again, "Not if you count the time I-"

"I don't! The only reason you got stung is because you broke the same rule you're blaming Thomas for. That's called hypocrisy, you shuck-faced piece of-"

"Enough," Newt said before Minho could finish his thought.

But Gally wasn't done. If anything, you watched him grow more enraged. "Say one more thing like that and I'll break your neck right in front of everybody."

Minho stood up, laughing. He shoved Gally onto the floor. He fell face-first onto the concrete below. Nobody tried to stop him -- everyone watched in awe as Minho stepped on Gally's back, pinning him to the ground.

"I swear, Gally," Minho sneered, "don't ever threaten me again. Ever. If you do, I'll break your shuck neck, right after I'm done your arms and legs."

At this, Newt and Winston lept out of their seats and grabbed Minho before you even knew what was going on.

Gally stood up, maddness spread across the ugly frown on his face. "You should not have done that." He turned to Newt, anger growing impossibly more conspicuous. "I know you hate me. You should be Banished for your embarrasing inability to lead this group. You're shameful. Anyone who sticks with you is no better. Especially her!" He pointed toward you. You felt yourself start walking toward him, but Newt grabbed your arm. 

Gally walked toward the door, stopping to turn and face Thomas. "Whatever you came here for -- I swear on my life I'm gonna stop it. I'll kill you if I have to."

The the door slammed, leaving the room in a fragile silence that nobody broke.