Banishment.

The cruellest form of punishment in the Glade. But it was inarguably necessary.

There was nothing else they could do for the boys that ended up getting Stung. Seeing it happen to Ben only solidified Ada's fears of the Maze, and she firmly decided that she would never go inside - unless it was to escape. This vastly contrasted from Thomas' growing fascination with the Maze.

Despite everything he had seen and been told about the Maze, he still seemed so intrigued by it. Even when one of their very own was about to get Banished to it.

Ben was dragged out from the Slammer by a number of boys. None of them could look at the boy, the scene paining them far too much. Ada, in contrast, couldn't take her eyes away. It was like a horror movie: she just couldn't stop watching, not matter how awful it got.

And it was about to get really awful.

The boys were crowded around the entrance to the Maze, forming a wall in which someone - especially an infected Ben - would find great difficulty in trying to get past. The Keepers were inside this formed wall, all holding long wooden poles with a horizontal log at the end bound to the stick with rope. It would clearly be used in shunning Ben inside the Maze.

Ada pushed her way into the crowd, found herself beside Jeff, who was frowning at the sight in front of him. Leaning towards her, he explained, "I've only seen two Banishments in my time here. I think this is gonna be the worst one."

And due to the horrified look on Minho's face, Ada could safely agree with this statement.

The Runner was the only Keeper not holding one of the poles - he had seemingly been replaced by Newt - and instead he was stood just to the right of the Maze's entrance, holding some bag that Ada didn't know the contents of. As Ben began to plead for his life, Minho exhaled a pained breath and hurled it inside the Maze.

On cue, the walls of the Maze began to rumble and groan into action. Alby yelled out for the Keepers to raise their poles - simply just shouting the word "Poles!" - and then they all began to advance towards a cowering Ben in the middle of the circle. And then a few boys brandished long sticks from where they were stood at the sides of the crowd, blocking Ben's already impossible way out either to the left or the right. 

Ada found herself backing away, suddenly scared by everyone's lack of emotion in what they were doing. The only person showing a sliver of despair was Minho. The boy looked like he was in immense pain as he watched Ben being forced back through the closing Maze doors and to the outside for the night.

And then the doors slammed closed, sealing Ben's fate with the gust of wind that blew through the Glade from the Maze.

The girl was naïve for thinking it, but she would be internally hoping that he somehow survived the night and made it back to the Glade. If she echoed the thoughts out loud, she'd be laughed at. 'No one's survived a night in the Maze.'

Well, someone's got to be the first, right?

But even Ada had doubts about Ben - despite being a Runner - being able to make it through the night with a Griever Sting coursing through his veins. It was never going to happen.

When Ada crawled into bed that night, she found her mind imprinted with the image of Ben getting trapped inside the Maze. She knew it had to be done, but at the same time, it felt so wrong.

This coupled with the shrieks of the Grievers inside with Ben, was stopping her from getting a single moment's rest. She couldn't close her eyes without the image of Ben haunting her mind. 

And so instead, she got up.

It was the middle of the night, so everyone was going to be asleep. But, she knew someone that wouldn't particularly mind if she woke them up.

Creeping out of her room, she was quickly reminded to when Newt caught her in the kitchen on her second night. She tiptoed down the stairs to grab herself a glass of water, before making her way back up and instead going further down the corridor towards Gally's room.

Butterflies had nestled in the pit of her stomach as she approached the boy's door. She suddenly realised that she didn't really know what to say to him for why she was there. But an audible cry from the Maze of what sounded suspiciously like Ben led her to knock gently on the door, not being able to bear being alone for much longer.

Gally was a lighter sleeper than most of the other boys - Ada had gathered this from him telling her that he was often woken by the Runners getting up earlier - and so she knew that he would wake up to the knock, but no one else would. Once the boys were asleep, it was like they had fallen into comas. Ada truly had no idea how they woke up in the mornings.

Sure enough, the door peeled open, and a sleepy Gally appeared in the doorway. He was barely awake, and squinting at her, he looked a mixture of confused and concerned, along with exhausted.

"What are you-?" He broke off with a yawn, the back of his hand covering his mouth as he did so.

"Can I come in?" She asked softly, batting her eyelashes gently to try and persuade him.

Not saying a word, Gally simply opened the door a little wider, and moved away for her to step inside. She did so, padding across the floor and looking about the room in curiosity. She had never been inside his room before.

It looked almost identical to Ada's, except he had a small desk pushed against one of the walls. On it was a number of scattered papers with sketches of the buildings in the Glade, and other small bits and pieces that Gally and his Builders had put together.

Ada had never thought of it before, but it was now obvious that Gally would have to plan out things before building them.

The boy shut the door behind her, moving back across the room to flop onto his bed. He sat back on it, staring at her as she glanced around and then looked back to him. Shuffling on her feet, she suddenly felt put on the spot by Gally's curious eyes on her.

"What's up?"

It was through his tired voice and ruffled hair that she realised she was a bit of a slinthead for interrupting his beauty sleep. She knew he really didn't mind too much, but it didn't stop her from feeling bad.

"I can't sleep." She told him simply, but the pained looked she gave him said all that she wanted to tell him.

Gally paused, looking like he wanted to say something, but then he stopped himself. He shuffled back from where he was previously sat at the foot of his bed, pulling his covers over him and looking expectantly to her. She didn't want to assume anything, so she waited for Gally to pat the spot beside her before she moved.

She felt her head swirling as she slipped in beside him, leg knocking against his as she made herself comfortable. She felt unsure of whether he wanted personal space, or if it was okay to let her leg rest on his, or her hands on his chest. When Gally shifted closer towards her, his shoulder knocking hers, she realised it was perfectly fine.

"Why can't you sleep?" He asked her gently.

She almost forgot that she had made the statement in the first place. The invitation Gally extended to her which led to her lying beside him in a single person bed had distracted her almost completely.

"The Grievers." She paused, suddenly feeling really stupid for being afraid. "They're like, shucking terrifying. And especially after Ben-"

Breaking off, she let out a heavy sigh. Her breath tickled Gally's neck, sending a shiver down his spine as he felt his heart pick up at the action.

"I just- I can't stop imagining him out there. Him in the Maze, getting attacked by the Grievers, and then all of us getting attacked too."

She spoke quietly and to his chest, rather than his face. She felt far too scared to look him in the eye, especially when she was curled up beside him, her hand hovering close to his.

And then, in one swift motion, Gally had wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders and enveloped her into a hug against his chest. The side of her face rested over his heart, the melodic thudding of it making her feeling peaceful, while her hands bunched up in his shirt.

"The Grievers are shucking scary." He muttered, after a few beats of silence. "But you're safe in here; I promise."

He couldn't reassure her about Ben; that would be impossible. It was a fact that Ben would be torn to pieces by the Grievers, but he could attempt to make her feel better about their position in the Glade.

Ada knew that Gally couldn't be certain about it - that they'd be okay where they were. But for some reason, she trusted him completely. And there was nowhere else she'd rather be than curled up with him in that moment.