Ben fell onto his face, crying and writhing in pain. Minho and Alex panting, gasping for air, also crumpled to the ground. When Ben let out another scream of pain Alex crawled over to him, flipped him over and pulled up his shirt, there in the center of his back, was a very small hole. Around the puncture was red and raw, and slowly spreading out from that were his veins, but they were black. Alex rolled him back onto his back. She looked up desperately.

"Jeff! Clint! Grief Serum! Now!" Alex demanded.

Someone went running. She felt someone drop down beside her, when she glanced at them she recognized the biy. Matt had a panicked look on his face. It had drained of colour and he sat with eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. Alex didn't really know what to do to help him or Ben. She just placed Ben's head in her lap and tried to talk to him, stroking his hair out of his face. He was still twisting and screaming in pain. Someone had come beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Alex, your bleeding come on, you need to go to the MedHut!"

She ripped her arm away, "No. I'm fine."

"Come on Sunshine, you need the MedJacks too!" Minho's voice was exhausted and strained.

"I said I'm fine Minho. Leave it." She snapped back, she flinched when Ben screamed again.

A few minutes later Jeff came back with a syringe in his hands. She grabbed it, ripped off the sterile packaging and stabbed it into the squishy part of his arm. He instantly stopped screaming and his breathing slowly settled.

"We gotta get him to the MudHut." Alex said. Jeff, Gally, Alby and Newt picked him up and carried him off. Matt was right behind them. Alex was dead on her feet, but got up and followed at a jog. The guys laid Ben on one of the beds. Clint grabbed some rope and tied his arms down to the bed so he wouldn't hurt anyone. Matt sat huddled in the chair beside the bed, his eyes still wide and scared.

"There isn't much we can do now but wait for him to go through the changing." Jeff said with a nod. Gally sighed, glaring at Alex. He spun on his heel and left, slamming the door. Alby and Newt nodded at Jeff then rounded on Alex and Minho.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Newt yelled at Minho, anger and fear in his eyes.

Minho sighed in frustration, pointing a menacing finger back at Newt, "Listen shuck face, it's not like we asked it to chase us!" He threw his hands around exasperated while he explained. "We weren't playing a shuckin fun game of tag! Alex heard it before Ben and I. We had to run through section 8 to get back! So lay off!"

Newt took a breath and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Alby patted Newt on the shoulder, he looked at the 2 runners standing before him.

"Look we ain't mad...just..worried is all." He rubbed his bald head, "Alex, you're always finding danger or trouble."

Alex growled from the back of her throat in annoyance as she crossed her arms, sticking a hip out. "You said 'Danger and Trouble always finds ME' wrong."

Minho snorted," Ha. 'ain't that the truth."

Alex glared at him, if looks could kill, he would drop dead. She turned back to Alby. Trying to control her frustration.

"Alby, it's like he said. We were on our way back, and would have made it in plenty of time, but I could hear a griever blocking the path. We had to go around to the next section, and another door, but there was another one, seemed to be waiting for us. We had to fight past it and run for our lives Now if you don't mind, I'm exhausted, hungry and need a shower." She spun on her heel and stormed towards the door.

"Alex, your arm is bleeding, you need to stay and get that checked!" Newt called.

"I said I'm fine, Newt." She snapped and slammed the door on her way out.

The boys looked shocked. Minho sighed sadly and lowered his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. He kicked the table leg gently. Newt looked back at him, "What's up with her?"

"Nothing. I don't know. Ask her." He snapped back, "I'm going for supper."

He left and slammed the door after himself.

Newt looked to Alby, both confused with their behavior.

"What else happened in the maze? I'll talk to Alex. You got Minho?" Newt suggested, "Those two are way too stubborn to do this themselves."

"Good that."

_______________________

Newt went looking for Alex. She wasn't in the showers or in her room. Fry said he hadn't seen her. He was worried about his sister. Newt thought for a second, then spun around and walked away, knowing exactly where she would be. Stopping by the kitchen quickly, grabbing a sandwich and heading over to the tree house.

Alex was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, her chin resting on her knees, with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She heard someone behind her, she didn't bother turning around, she knew who it was.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

"I didn't even bloody say anything." He replied as he sat beside her, swinging his legs over the ledge of the tree house. He handed her the sandwich and then rested his arms on one of the boards that was supposed to function as a railing. They were quiet for a moment, she placed the plat down beside her, having no appetite right now. She still had a sick twisting in her gut. Alex was thankful Newt pretended he didn't see her wipe a few stray tears.

"Alex" he finally said quietly, "what else happened in the maze. You and Min were all snuggly and flirty and gross this morning and now it's like ice between you."

She sighed. Letting go of her legs, letting her hands fall into her lap. She nervously played with fingers.

"Alex. You know you can tell me and I won't judge- sibling code." His voice was gentle, encouraging but patient. She knew she couldn't hide secrets from him. Even before finding out he was her brother, she told him everything.

"I had another memory flash. But this one was... bad...it was awful, Newt." She looked away. Her body sagged. She told Newt everything in her flashes.

"Newt, I worked for them! And I'm the reason Minho was sent up here early...and it sounds like you and Sonya were also sent because of me! I made the monsters that kill us! I'm just as bad as the Creators! I'm a horrible person. Chris was right, it's my fault!" tears filling her eyes. "Minho is going to hate me if he ever finds out this was all because of me."

"Alex. You are not a bad person." He layed his hand on top of hers. Alex snorted in derision.

He smiled at her. "Know how I know?"

She looked at her brother, "How?" She challenged him. She knew what she saw and how she felt in those memories, she didn't think anything he said would make a difference.

"Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now. And what we do, right now. You fought to join the runners to help find a way out, you went into the maze and fought off a Griever." He said matter of fact, "also, would a bad person throw themselves into danger to save a kid?" He smirked at her, leaning towards her and pumped her shoulder again, "Or cry when you couldn't find that chicken that ran off the other night?"

Alex smiled despite her tears "hey, poor Henrietta was lost and couldn't get home to her friends!"

"See what I mean?!" He chuckled at her. He paused, looking at her, then continued "I also believe you wouldn't do anything awful without being forced for some reason. You said they tried making you and Sonya forget about me. And they threatened to harm you if you were caught in a relationship. That tells me they did some awful things. Alex, you are not the bad guy. They are."

He gave her a side eye, "and I'm sure Minho would say the same. I'm 100% certain he wouldn't blame you for anything that happened before the maze. Stop blaming yourself Alex."

Alex sat quietly chewing on her bottom lip.

Newt looked out over the Glade. He sighed. "You know Alex, you don't see it, but since you showed up, this place has changed. I've seen Gally smile and get involved. Something he hasn't done since The Changing. Alby has softened, and turned into some kind of proud Father. You have given Minho a new hope, and you have given me life again. You have changed everyone here, you bring the sun and break up the dark clouds. You have no idea the effect you have had. Please, stop thinking you're the bad guy."

Alex brought her sad eyes up and looked into his soft gentle ones.

"I love you Newt."

He reached over and pulled her into a tight warm hug. She sighed contently, there's nothing quite like a big brother's loving embrace. They spent the rest of the evening watching the sun sink behind the walls and then watching the twinkling stars come out. Alex was exhausted. Her eyes kept fluttering closed. She was emotionally, mentally and physically drained. She put her head on Newt's shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she fell asleep on his shoulder within minutes.

_____________________________

She woke up early the next morning in her bed. She couldn't remember how she got there. When she heard a faint snore coming from the floor she peeked over the side of the bed. Newt had pulled his sleeping bag into her room and fallen asleep on the floor. With Bark curled up into him.

Awww!

She tried going back to sleep, but she was too restless. She decided to get up. As slowly and quietly as she could she got out of bed, grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the shower. Bark followed. It was still early, even Frypan was still sleeping.

After washing her face in the cool water and waking herself up, she decided to go check on Ben. Alex and Bark slipped into the Med Hut, she saw Jeff slumped over in a chair. She tapped his shoulder lightly, hoping to wake him without scaring him. He still jumped a mile high with a yelp.

"Sorry Jeff! I'm really sorry!" Alex apologized. Jeff rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, yawning, "no no, it's fine. Shanket, what are ya doing here?"

"Woke up to Newt snoring. Came to see how he's doing. I can take over for a bit. Looks like you should go sleep." Alex whispered. Ben was out of it, but it felt weird to not whisper in his presence.

Jeff nodded, getting up and stretching. "Ya, ok. Good idea. When the other keepers start getting up, I'll send Clint to take over, since your in the maze again. We're gonna need you tomorrow though. New Greenie being sent, they usually end up here one way or another."

Alex nodded, and took Jeff's seat. She sighed and when the door closed behind Jeff, she put her head in her hands and sat in the silence, thinking, staring at the floor. Was there a way to have prevented Ben from being stung? She really did try her best. But that wasn't enough. She had created those monsters, so yes, it was infact all her fault.

Bark came up to the bed sniffing Ben. Alex watched the dog without paying much attention, her mind wandering. It was only when she started to whine and took a step back with a growl, Alex focused on everything in front of her. Ben lay still, his eyes closed. His breathing was regular, but heavily. As her eyes travelled the rest of him, she noticed he had dark veins bulging out of his skin, like thick black rope making his skin look even more sickly green. He was sweating and every once in a while he would twitch and whimper. She had seen black veins once before, and she shuddered. Maybe being alone wasn't a good idea.

But he's already tied down. And I have Bark. Also in the next room is Alby and every other keeper. Pull it together Alex. You're a MedJack. This is what you do! This is your shuck job.

She got up to get some cool water for his forehead, to help with the fever and sweating. She had just filled up the bowl when her head buzzed.

"ALEX?? E.T. PHONE HOME!"

Alex jumped and yelped, the bowl slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor.

"Shuck it Sonya! You scared the klunk out of me!"

"Ha. Ops, sorry!"

Alex bent down to clean up the mess.

It's fine...You're up early. What's up?

"Now that we can communicate, I've been getting very brief flashes of your emotions, and right now, you're very uneasy and it's making me feel sick. It woke me up. What's going on, love?"

Alex briefly explained the Chris situation and then what happened yesterday in the Maze with Ben. She was getting better at concentrating on talking and doing other things. She still had to stop numerous times, and close her eyes to concentrate on the connection. She had cleaned up the shattered bowl and got another one.

..so now I'm in the MedHut, getting him a cool cloth. Waiting for a shift change and I go into the maze again.

When you call it The Changing, do they remember anything? The last girl to go through it told us she remembered a voice saying 'wicked is-

-good! I heard that too!" Alex cut in.

"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"No idea, but anything or anyone that calls themselves wicked is definitely not a good thing. Seems creepy."

Amen sis.

Alex had brought the bowl over and set it down on the side table, placing a cloth in the cool water and then placed it on his forehead.

So Sonya, how did you remember me? I came out of the box, Newt was the one to help me out and his eyes looked so familiar. Then it was like I don't remember, maybe a week went by, and I had some crazy dreams, but they weren't dreams, they were memories. You and Newt were in them!" Alex quickly explained

Ya, I've been here about 2 yrs-

-"Wait, really? That's the same as Newt! You guys must have been sent at the same time to your own mazes!" Alex sat up straight, realizing her siblings were ripped from her roughly the same time.

That's messed up! Ya, been here about 2 yrs, and then like 3 months ago, I started getting these weird emotions at random times. Like I was sitting by the fire at night and all of a sudden just pure terror. Or I'd be helping the ranchers muck pig poop and I would feel all nervous and excited, happy. Weird feelings at weird times. Then I had a dream. Memory I guess, one night. Your face, clear as day. We were playing in a park, and our mother called us for a snack. And then it changed to a second one, we were both on medical beds, strapped down, doctors everywhere saying awful things like we need to cut deeper, these chips better work, this experiment better work. The last one was of us at a desk, with some dude who was all twitchy telling us to try again, talk without our mouths-we were like 10.

Sonya explained in a hurry.

Shuck that's messed up!

Alex got up to get more cool water, Ben's fever was higher than she thought. She waited for the water from the tap to cool off. While she did, her mind vibrated some more.

So sis. You need to tell me about this one really hot guy you never got to tell me about the last time. I need all the details. Come on, spill!

The bowl was full and she turned around. Alex screamed and dropped the bowl, shattering the second bowl. The buzzing in her head shut off like a cord being snipped.

Ben was awake and his eyes were open, looking right at her. His eyes weren't light blue anymore, they were now black pits. He let out a feral animalistic scream. Alex screamed. She scrambled back, slamming into the table.

"Find a weapon!" A loud deep male voice yelled inside her head.

Her hands searched for a weapon, while her eyes never left Ben's. Her fingers found medical scissors. Alex held them tightly in her fist. Bark had sprung forward in front of Alex, growling. There was all sorts of banging and yelling from the hallway. The door flew open and Alby, Gally, Frypan, Newt, Minho, Winston, and Clint all came crashing into the tiny room.

"What's going on?"

"What was that noice?"

"Alex!"

"Who hurt you?"

"I'm going to bloody kill 'em!"

"Slim it!" Alby yelled over everyone's yelling. The Keepers stopped yelling. The only thing they heard was Bark growling and Ben and Alex panting.

"Alex, what's going on?" Frypan asked, breaking the silence.

She ripped her eyes away for the boy on the bed.

"I got up to get some more water, turned around and he was awake, with the same eyes as...as...as" her voice hitched. She closed her eyes, took a breath, opened them and continued, "as him... And he screamed, just like him. Glad you guys tied him down."

The boys nodded, understanding.

Clint stepped forward, placing a hand on Ben's arm, who had closed his eyes again, like nothing happened. "That was our bad, I guess Jeff forgot to tell you, during the changing, they kind of look like that and if the serum works, it disappears after a day or 2 and they're fine, tired and cranky, keep to themselves..won't ever be himself again."

"Sorry Alex, you're still pretty new and I forget you don't know everything." Jeff had joined the crowd, his hair disheveled and his shirt was on backwards.

"It's fine. Just scared the bloody living daylights out of me." Alex said, running a hand through her hair, pushing it out of the way. Her heart had slowed back down to a regular rhythm. "Thanks for all coming to my rescue though. Makes a girl feel awfully special!" She said as sweetly as she could while she clasped her hands under her chin and batted her eyelashes.

Frypan bowed with much flailing of his arms, "My fair maiden, thy Glade Damsel, fear not! For these mighty Glade warriors fight for the!"

Alex giggled. She loved her boys.

Gally snorted and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. She's fine, Ben's fine. Let's have some shuckin breakfast, I've got things to do."

"Ah yes, the bloody Glade Jester needs sustenance!" Newt laughed.

Alex had to bite her fist to keep from laughing at Gally's horrified facial expression. Winston dragged Gally out of the room before he could start a fight.

"You guys go, I'll take over, Alex has to get ready for her run anyways. Just someone bring me breakfast and coffee!" Clint said, taking over the chair by his bed.

Newt saluted him and left with Alby. Frypan held out his arm for Alex to take. She hesitated, quickly glancing at Minho, before looking away. He didn't say anything, which wasn't like him. She glanced at him again. He was already looking at her, he looked like he was about to say something but he closed his mouth and shook his head. Instead he scratched the back of his neck, looked at the floor, then up to her face and back to the floor. "I gotta...something.. be at the West doors in twenty minutes." He muttered, and stomped away down the hall, slamming the door to Newt's room.

She hooked her arm through Fry's, her heart sinking. Frypan was looking the way Minho had left, a slight frown on his face.

Frypan escorted her down to the picnic area and he even brought her breakfast over to her. She smiled at him, forgetting for the moment, about those black pitless eyes.

After a quick breakfast she ran upstairs to get her backpack and shoes, and jogged over to the West door. Minho was there already giving orders to the other runners.

"Alex, you're late. Don't make this a habit." He barked at her, his arms crossed, he didn't even look at her. Her face went red with embarrassment.

"Oh, it's going to be a fantastic day.." She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" He rounded on her, she raised an eyebrow at him. She crossed her arms glaring at him.

"Oh it was nothing to worry your pretty face about." The two just glared at each other for a few more seconds. The other runners awkwardly looked at each other, and then down at the ground. Minho finished partnering everyone up, and sent them on their way. He finally turned to her arms folded, her jaw clenched. His mood swings were all over the place, and she was over it. She didn't want to quit, Minho needed all the help he could get, especially now with Ben strapped to a MedHut bed. However if his mood swings were going to continue like this, maybe she would stick to being a MedJack and a Cook. Then her stomach twisted into a knote of dread, she couldn't let him go alone into the maze with creatures she created. This was her fault, and she would be damned if she left him hanging.

"You're with me again. This time I want to see you cut vines and take notes as you run, and, hopefully if we're not fighting a shuck Griever for our lives, I'll get you to map after we get back. Now come on." He turned to leave, bouncing on his toes.

"Wait!"

Minho spun around, "What is it Shank?"

Newt was limping towards them, Bark trotting beside him. Newt called again, "Bark goes with you." He came to a stop in front of Minho and Alex. "The dog goes. No exceptions."

Bark woofed happily, jumping around Alex, and trying to lick Minho's hands.

"Fine. Whatever. Let's go." He turned and the new trio ran into the maze.