Thomas and Zart were weeding a long row of young corn when Thomas decided it was a good time to start asking questions. This Keeper seemed a lot more approachable.
“So, Zart,” he said.
The Keeper glanced up at him, then resumed his work. The kid had droopy eyes and a long face-for some reason he looked as bored as humanly possible. “Yeah, Greenie, what you want?”
“How many Keepers total are there?” Thomas asked, trying to act casual. “And what are the job options?”
“Well, you got the Builders, the Sloppers, Baggers, Cooks, Map-makers, Med-jacks, Track-Hoes, Blood Housers. The Runners, of course. I don’t know, a few more, maybe. Pretty much keep to myself and my own stuff.”
Most of the words were self-explanatory, but Thomas wondered about a couple of them. “What’s a Slopper?” He knew that was what Chuck did, but the boy never wanted to talk about it. Refused to talk about it.
“That’s what the shanks do that can’t do nothin’ else. Clean toilets, clean the showers, clean the kitchen, clean up the Blood House after a slaughter, everything. Spend one day with them suckers-that’ll cure any thoughts of goin’ that direction, I can tell ya that.”
Thomas felt a pang of guilt over Chuck-felt sorry for him. The kid tried so hard to be everyone’s friend, but no one seemed to like him or even pay attention to him. Yeah, he was a little excitable and talked too much, but Thomas was glad enough to have him around.
“What about the Track-hoes?” Thomas asked as he yanked out a huge weed, clumps of dirt swaying on the roots.
Zart cleared his throat and kept on working as he answered. “They’re the ones take care of all the heavy stuff for the Gardens. Trenching and whatnot. During off times they do other stuff round the Glade. Actually, a lot of Gladers have more than one job. Anyone tell you that?”
Thomas ignored the question and moved on, determined to get as many answers as possible. “What about the Baggers? I know they take care of dead people, but it can’t happen that often, can it?”
“Those are the creepy fellas. They act as guards and poh-lice, too. Everyone just likes to call ’em Baggers. Have fun that day, brother.” He snickered, the first time Thomas had heard him do so-there was something very likable about it.
Thomas had more questions. Lots more. Chuck and everyone else around the Glade never wanted to give him the answers to anything. And here was Zart, who seemed perfectly willing. But suddenly Thomas didn’t feel like talking anymore. For some reason the girl had popped into his head again, out of the blue, and then thoughts of Ben, and the dead Griever, which should have been a good thing but everyone acted as if it were anything but.
His new life pretty much sucked.
He drew a deep, long breath. Just work, he thought. And he did.
By the time midafternoon arrived, Thomas was ready to collapse from exhaustion-all that bending over and crawling around on your knees in the dirt was the pits. Blood House, Gardens. Two strikes.
Runner, he thought as he went on break. Just let me be a Runner. Once again he thought about how absurd it was that he wanted it so badly. But even though he didn’t understand it, or where it came from, the desire was undeniable. Just as strong were thoughts of the girl, but he pushed them aside as much as possible.
Tired and sore, he headed to the Kitchen for a snack and some water. He could’ve eaten a full-blown meal despite having had lunch just two hours earlier. Even pig was starting to sound good again.
He bit into an apple, then plopped on the ground beside Chuck. Newt was there, too, but sat alone, ignoring everybody. His eyes were bloodshot, his forehead creased with heavy lines. Thomas watched as Newt chewed his fingernails, something he hadn’t seen the older boy do before.
Chuck noticed and asked the question that was on Thomas’s mind. “What’s wrong with him?” the boy whispered. “Looks like you did when you popped out of the Box.”
“I don’t know,” Thomas replied. “Why don’t you go ask him.”
“I can hear every bloody word you guys are saying,” Newt called in a loud voice. “No wonder people hate sleepin’ next to you shanks.”
Thomas felt like he’d been caught stealing, but he was genuinely concerned-Newt was one of the few people in the Glade he actually liked.
“What is wrong with you?” Chuck asked. “No offense, but you look like klunk.”
“Every lovin’ thing in the universe,” he replied, then fell silent as he stared off into space for a long moment. Thomas almost pushed him with another question, but Newt finally continued. “The girl from the Box. Keeps groanin’ and saying all kinds of weird stuff, but won’t wake up. Medjacks’re doing their best to feed her, but she’s eatin’ less each time. I’m tellin’ ya, something’s very bad about that whole bloody thing.”
Thomas looked down at his apple, then took a bite. It tasted sour now-he realized he was worried about the girl. Concerned for her welfare. As if he knew her.
Newt let out a long sigh. “Shuck it. But that’s not what really has me buggin’.”
“Then what does?” Chuck asked.
Thomas leaned forward, so curious he was able to put the girl out of his mind.
Newt’s eyes narrowed as he looked out toward one of the entrances to the Maze. “Alby and Minho,” he muttered. “They should’ve come back hours ago.”
Before Thomas knew it he was back at work, pulling up weeds again, counting down the minutes until he’d be done with the Gardens. He glanced constantly at the West Door, looking for any sign of Alby and Minho, Newt’s concern having rubbed off on him.
Newt had said they were supposed to have come back by noon, just enough time for them to get to the dead Griever, explore for an hour or two, then return. No wonder he’d looked so upset. When Chuck offered up that maybe they were just exploring and having some fun, Newt had given him a stare so harsh Thomas thought Chuck might spontaneously combust.
He’d never forget the next look that had come over Newt’s face. When Thomas asked why Newt and some others didn’t just go into the Maze and search for their friends, Newt’s expression had changed to outright horror-his cheeks had shrunk into his face, becoming sallow and dark. It gradually passed, and he’d explained that sending out search parties was forbidden, lest even more people be lost, but there was no mistaking the fear that had crossed his face.
Newt was terrified of the Maze.
Whatever had happened to him out there-maybe even related to his lingering ankle injury-had been truly awful.
Thomas tried not to think about it as he put his focus back on yanking weeds.
That night dinner proved to be a somber affair, and it had nothing to do with the food. Frypan and his cooks served up a grand meal of steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and hot rolls. Thomas was quickly learning that jokes about Frypan’s cooking were just that-jokes. Everyone gobbled up his food and usually begged for more. But tonight, the Gladers ate like dead men resurrected for one last meal before being sent to live with the devil.
The Runners had returned at their normal time, and Thomas had grown more and more upset as he watched Newt run from Door to Door as they entered the Glade, not bothering to hide his panic. But Alby and Minho never showed up. Newt forced the Gladers to go on and get some of Frypan’s hard-earned dinner, but he insisted on standing watch for the missing duo. No one said it, but Thomas knew it wouldn’t be long before the Doors closed.
Thomas reluctantly followed orders like the rest of the boys and was sharing a picnic table on the south side of the Homestead with Chuck and Winston. He’d only been able to eat a few bites when he couldn’t take it anymore.
“I can’t stand sitting here while they’re out there missing,” he said as he dropped his fork on the plate. “I’m going over to watch the Doors with Newt.” He stood up and headed out to look.
Not surprisingly, Chuck was right behind him.
They found Newt at the West Door, pacing, running his hands through his hair. He looked up as Thomas and Chuc
k approached.
“Where are they?” Newt said, his voice thin and strained.
Thomas was touched that Newt cared so much about Alby and Minho-as if they were his own kin. “Why don’t we send out a search party?” he suggested again. It seemed so stupid to sit here and worry themselves to death when they could go out there and find them.
“Bloody he-” Newt started before stopping himself; he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. “We can’t. Okay? Don’t say it again. One hundred percent against the rules. Especially with the buggin’ Doors about to close.”
“But why?” Thomas persisted, in disbelief at Newt’s stubbornness. “Won’t the Grievers get them if they stay out there? Shouldn’t we do something?”
Newt turned on him, his face flushed red, his eyes flamed with fury.
“Shut your hole, Greenie!” he yelled. “Not a bloody week you’ve been here! You think I wouldn’t risk my life in a second to save those lugs?”
“No… I… Sorry. I didn’t mean…” Thomas didn’t know what to say-he was just trying to help.
Newt’s face softened. “You don’t get it yet, Tommy. Going out there at night is beggin’ for death. We’d just be throwin’ more lives away. If those shanks don’t make it back…” He paused, seeming hesitant to say what everyone was thinking. “Both of ’em swore an oath, just like I did. Like we all did. You, too, when you go to your first Gathering and get chosen by a Keeper. Never go out at night. No matter what. Never.”
Thomas looked over at Chuck, who seemed as pale-faced as Newt.
“Newt won’t say it,” the boy said, “so I will. If they’re not back, it means they’re dead. Minho’s too smart to get lost. Impossible. They’re dead.”
Newt said nothing, and Chuck turned and walked back toward the Homestead, his head hanging low. Dead? Thomas thought. The situation had become so grave he didn’t know how to react, felt a pit of emptiness in his heart.
“The shank’s right,” Newt said solemnly. “That’s why we can’t go out. We can’t afford to make things bloody worse than they already are.”
He put his hand on Thomas’s shoulder, then let it slump to his side. Tears moistened Newt’s eyes, and Thomas was sure that even within the dark chamber of memories that were locked away, out of his reach, he’d never seen someone look so sad. The growing darkness of twilight was a perfect fit for how grim things felt to Thomas.
“The Doors close in two minutes,” Newt said, a statement so succinct and final it seemed to hang in the air like a burial shroud caught in a puff of wind. Then he walked away, hunched over, quiet.
Thomas shook his head and looked back into the Maze. He barely knew Alby and Minho. But his chest ached at the thought of them out there, killed by the horrendous creature he’d seen through the window his first morning in the Glade.
A loud boom sounded from all directions, startling Thomas out of his thoughts. Then came the crunching, grinding sound of stone against stone. The Doors were closing for the night.
The right wall rumbled across the ground, spitting dirt and rocks as it moved. The vertical row of connecting rods, so many they seemed to reach the sky far above, slid toward their corresponding holes on the left wall, ready to seal shut until the morning. Once again, Thomas looked in awe at the massive moving wall-it defied any sense of physics. It seemed impossible.
Then a flicker of movement to the left caught his eyes.
Something stirred inside the Maze, down the long corridor in front of him.
At first, a shot of panic raced through him; he stepped back, worried it might be a Griever. But then two forms took shape, stumbling along the alley toward the Door. His eyes finally focused through the initial blindness of fear, and he realized it was Minho, with one of Alby’s arms draped across his shoulders, practically dragging the boy along behind him. Minho looked up, saw Thomas, who knew his eyes must be bulging out of his head.
“They got him!” Minho shouted, his voice strangled and weak with exhaustion. Every step he took seemed like it could be his last.
Thomas was so stunned by the turn of events, it took a moment for him to act. “Newt!” he finally screamed, forcing his gaze away from Minho and Alby to face the other direction. “They’re coming! I can see ’em!” He knew he should run into the Maze and help, but the rule about not leaving the Glade was seared into his mind.
Newt had already made it back to the Homestead, but at Thomas’s cry he immediately spun around and broke into a stuttering run toward the Door.
Thomas turned to look back into the Maze and dread washed through him. Alby had slipped out of Minho’s clutches and fallen to the ground. Thomas watched as Minho tried desperately to get him back on his feet, then, finally giving up, started to drag the boy across the stone floor by the arms.
But they were still a hundred feet away.
The right wall was closing fast, seeming to quicken its pace the more Thomas willed it to slow down. There were only seconds left until it shut completely. They had no chance of making it in time. No chance at all.
Thomas turned to look at Newt: limping along as well as he could, he’d only made it halfway to Thomas.
He looked back into the Maze, at the closing wall. Only a few feet more and it’d be over.
Minho stumbled up ahead, fell to the ground. They weren’t going to make it. Time was up. That was it.
Thomas heard Newt scream something from behind him.
“Don’t do it, Tommy! Don’t you bloody do it!”
The rods on the right wall seemed to reach like stretched-out arms for their home, grasping for those little holes that would serve as their resting place for the night. The crunching, grinding sound of the Doors filled the air, deafening.
Five feet. Four feet. Three. Two.
Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the Maze.
The walls slammed shut behind him, the echo of its boom bouncing off the ivy-covered stone like mad laughter.
CHAPTER 17
For several seconds, Thomas felt like the world had frozen in place. A thick silence followed the thunderous rumble of the Door closing, and a veil of darkness seemed to cover the sky, as if even the sun had been frightened away by what lurked in the Maze. Twilight had fallen, and the mammoth walls looked like enormous tombstones in a weed-infested cemetery for giants. Thomas leaned back against the rough rock, overcome by disbelief at what he had just done.
Filled with terror at what the consequences might be.
Then a sharp cry from Alby up ahead snapped Thomas to attention; Minho was moaning. Thomas pushed himself away from the wall and ran to the two Gladers.
Minho had pulled himself up and was standing once again, but he looked terrible, even in the pale light still available-sweaty, dirty, scratched-up. Alby, on the ground, looked worse, his clothes ripped, his arms covered with cuts and bruises. Thomas shuddered. Had Alby been attacked by a Griever?
“Greenie,” Minho said, “if you think that was brave comin’ out here, listen up. You’re the shuckiest shuck-faced shuck there ever was. You’re as good as dead, just like us.”
Thomas felt his face heat up-he’d expected at least a little gratitude. “I couldn’t just sit there and leave you guys out here.”
“And what good are you with us?” Minho rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude. Break the Number One Rule, kill yourself, whatever.”
“You’re welcome. I was just trying to help.” Thomas felt like kicking him in the face.
Minho forced a bitter laugh, then knelt back on the ground beside Alby. Thomas took a closer look at the collapsed boy and realized just how bad things were. Alby looked on the edge of death. His usually dark skin was losing color fast and his breaths were quick and shallow.
Hopelessness rained down on Thomas. “What happened?” he asked, trying to put aside his anger.
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” Minho said as he checked Alby’s pulse and bent o
ver to listen to his chest. “Let’s just say the Grievers can play dead really well.”
This statement took Thomas by surprise. “So he was… bitten? Stung, whatever? Is he going through the Changing?”
“You’ve got a lot to learn” was all Minho would say.
Thomas wanted to scream. He knew he had a lot to learn-that was why he was asking questions. “Is he going to die?” he forced himself to say, cringing at how shallow and empty it sounded.
“Since we didn’t make it back before sunset, probably. Could be dead in an hour-I don’t know how long it takes if you don’t get the Serum. Course, we’ll be dead, too, so don’t get all weepy for him. Yep, we’ll all be nice and dead soon.” He said it so matter-of-factly, Thomas could hardly process the meaning of the words.
But fast enough, the dire reality of the situation began to hit Thomas, and his insides turned to rot. “We’re really going to die?” he asked, unable to accept it. “You’re telling me we have no chance?”
“None.”
Thomas was annoyed at Minho’s constant negativity. “Oh, come on-there has to be something we can do. How many Grievers’ll come at us?” He peered down the corridor that led deeper into the Maze, as if expecting the creatures to arrive then, summoned by the sound of their name.
“I don’t know.”
A thought sprang into Thomas’s mind, giving him hope. “But… what about Ben? And Gally, and others who’ve been stung and survived?”
Minho glanced up at him with a look that said he was dumber than cow klunk. “Didn’t you hear me? They made it back before sunset, you dong. Made it back and got the Serum. All of them.”
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