Minho, Alex and Newt were standing in front of the Slammer door, "Big day, Greenie. Are you sure you don't wanna sit this one out?" Minho teased as he fiddled with the lock and key, agonisingly slow.

"Come on, man. Get me out of here." Thomas bagged, wrapping his hands around the bars, he heard all the commotion and laughing last night, he was ticked he missed it..

"All right. All right." Minho replied "Let's go!" Thomas pushed his way out even before the door was fully opened.

He likes to squeeze through small places doesn't he? This is totally going to be a thing! 'thonased that' is definitely gonna be a thing!

"Wait, hold up ya shank! You need some food and some gear." Alex grabbed his arm.

"Whyyyy? Why can't we go now? What kind of gear?" He whined.

"Tommy. Slim it. One, the walls aren't even open. Race you to the closed walls... And two. Follow Minho. He has info you need and I'll meet you."

With that she and Newt left Thomas in Minho's care.

"Bye Babe!" Minho called.

"Babe! Bye! See you real soon!" Alex called. Newt rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along.

Minho over exaggerated a big wave goodbye. Thomas had grabbed Minho's upper arm and hulled him towards the map room.

Alex had turned around, walking backwards "Bye Babe! Hey Babe! I'm going to miss you so shucken much!" She reached the arm Newt wasn't holding out towards him, and blew him kisses.

"Babe! I love you! Babe, remember that, Babe! Hey, Babe? Don't forget! I looooooove yoooou!" He called back, grabbing her kisses, and blowing some back.

Thomas rolled his eyes, yanking Minho's arm even harder, while Newt pulled Alex towards the kitchens.

"BABE NOOOOO! BABE! COME BACK TO ME BABE!" Minho yelled. At this point they were on the either side of the Glade, and they were just yelling at each other.

"Come on man!" Thomas yelled frustrated.

Alex and Minho both burst into hysterical laughter,

"HAVE FUN BABE!" Alex managed to shout before Newt clamped a hand over her mouth and hulled her over his shoulder. She still struggled and tried reaching for him, laughing the whole time. He didn't let go. So she licked his hand. He shrieked and dropped her onto the ground where she lay laughing at her brother's disgusted face, as he wiped the slobber onto his pants.

"Relax Mama Newt. You are so easy to mess with." Alex laughed at her now annoyed brother.

"Haha. Very funny. Now look, I know you 3 are going into the maze to check out that dead Griever. But the other runners quit and are absolutely refusing to go back."

"Shucking cowards," Alex muttered, picking herself off the ground.

Newt ignored that, "What's the plan?"m

"Newt, the less you know the better. Minho and I worked it out last night. Okay? Just do your thing here and we will be back as quick as we can." She patted his shoulder and walked into the Homestead to suit up.

__________________

Minho and Thomas stood by the door, covered by the trees of the Deadheads waiting anxiously. The doors had just opened. Thomas was itching to go. He was bouncing on his toes in his new running shoes and pack on.

"Just Slim it! Alex would skin us alive if we left without her." Minho said, checking his watch.

"You're totally scared of your girlfriend!" He teased.

"Shuck ya man, have you seen her shuckin' ninja skills? She can shoot with deadly accuracy, she can throw knives and fight. I took a left hook from her in her sleep... dude she's terrifying!" Minho said, eyes wide.

"Awww babe! Say some more sweet nothings about me" Alex said with a smirk, waltzing up behind him, followed by Frypan, Winston, Matt and Chuck. "Will this be enough? Sorry we're late, Gally almost caught us." Alex said, nodding her head towards the guys. Thomas and Minho nodded.

"Okay, let's go!" Minho took the lead and ran into the maze. Everyone followed, but as they got to the entrance, Chuck hesitated. And then stopped. Alex turned and ran back towards him, he looked at her with fear in his eyes.

She knelt down in front of him, "Hey, Chuck, it's ok. We need someone to help keep an eye on things. Newt knows Tommy, Minho and I are going but not about the others. Help keep him and Gally busy. You're our ears and eyes. K?" Chuck nodded his head gratefully. She patted his shoulder and then messed his curls up, "see ya soon Chuckles!" She sprinted to catch up with the guys.

She kept pace with Minho, Tommy right behind them, she looked behind her and saw Fry, Winston and Matt lagging behind. She slowed down and ran beside the boys for the rest of the morning.

"Just up here, last turn!" Minho yelled from the front. They all stopped. Halfway down the corridor was the squished Griever. One of its legs, part of its body and head sticking out between the doors. As they got closer they could see slime and other juices puddled on the floor.

"That's disgusting!" Matt said with a shiver. Alex agreed.

How could I have ever had an idea like these monster creatures? It's absolutely horrible!

She was looking at the head and body, she took a step closer, examining it. She took another step forward, wanting to be even closer. Minho grabbed her wrist. She turned her head to look at him, "..just...just be careful, the last one we saw wasn't actually dead." He said quietly.

"Okay. But I'm pretty sure its Griever guts are on the ground .. don't think there is any coming back from that. And I always have you to save me."

She turned back to the smooshed thing inside the wall, "but I think there's something in there!" Alex said, looking back at the Griever's body. She could see the squishy blubber, it was a clear greenish colour, but under that blubber skin she could see robotic machine parts, and something glowing.

"You mean, besides a Griever pancake?" Frypan asked, absolutely disgusted.

He took a step backwards, while Alex took another step forwards. She turned to the side and reached her hand into the crack. Alex felt the cool jelly bloob of the skin, it was like shoving her hand into a big bowl of jello and in the center was snotty slimy goop. It was a very gross feeling, and she scrunched up her face.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Thomas asked, "what can you see? What does it feel like? Can you reach whatever you're trying to grab? Can I help?"

Question after question, the guy never stops.

"Whoa!" Minho yelled, and pulled Alex back. As her arm came out it made a gross squelching suction noise. But just in time because the Grievers leg lashed out, and the head moved, clamping its razer teeth together.

"I thought you said it was dead!" Winston yelped.

"Was it a reflex?" Matt asked.

"You hope." Fry answered.

"Yeah, must be, when I touched the metal part inside it must have made it twitch...Okay, come on. Let's try and pull it out!" Alex replied quickly, she had an idea. "Everyone come on, give me a hand." The boys hesitantly grabbed onto the metal leg, avoiding the sharp sword like blade at the tip of its leg.

Once everyone was evenly spaced out, Minho quietly called, "All right, ready? On three. One, two, three!"

Everyone gave a massive tug, and with a wet ripping that sounded like a wet suction cup being pulled off, the leg tore out of the body and landed on the floor, making everyone fall back.

"Are you okay, Fry?" Thomas asked, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah. Thanks, brother."

Minho reached out a hand for Alex, she grabbed it grateful, and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet, "Thanks Babe."

Minho smirked, "anytime sunshine. "

"What the hell is that?" Thomas asked, squatting down to look at the leg and the guts that fell out into the stone floor.

"Interesting." Is all Alex said.

She reached into the goop and held up something that resembled a brain or heart. It was a greyish green, oval in shape and covered in slim and the jelly goop from inside the Griever body. The brain-heart was glowing a little, and then it shut off. After a few seconds it would glow again. Alex flipped it over to examine the other side. The bottom had a hole and there was something mechanical shoved inside the organ. It looked like the two parts, biological and mechanical, were fused together, veins attached to wires, and what looked like tendons attached to more wires.

She pulled the mechanical part out, and tried to wipe the slim off her hands. It didn't work, she wiped a little on her pants. She wasn't sure what she was looking at, it was a long silver cylinder that had some wires sticking out the end when she ripped the brain off. She rolled it in her hands, on one side there was a small screen that was slowly flashing the number 7 in red. And on the other side the letters W-I-C-K-E-D. Thomas and Minho were both leaning over her shoulder to see what it was, she handed it to Minho who inspected it, rolling it around his hands, he used his thumb to try to wipe more slime off the screen. His face was fixed in concentration. He handed it to Thomas to take a look at.

"Okay, whatever it is...can we take this up back at the Glade?" Matt asked, he was looking up and down the corridor.

"Ya I don't want to meet this guy's friends." Winston added in.

"He's right. It's getting late. Come on." Minho looked up to the sky, seeing where the sun was, and back down to his watch. Thomas handed the cylinder back to Alex who slipped it into her holster around her leg.

"Ok boys, lets go!" Alex called.

They set off for the Glade, Alex in the lead, mentally going over the turns in her mind that brought them there, just going backwards. She heard Thomas whisper to Minho.

"How does she remember the way back, isn't this only like her third time in the maze? Did you tell her the way back? Did you show her a map before coming here?"

Alex glanced over her shoulder as she took a turn without hesitating and smirked at him, "No Shuck face, I just don't ask stupid questions and pay attention."

Minho laughed at her sass.

"All you gotta do is memorize the turns here and then to get home it's just backwards. Also, did you not notice the vines Minho cut down on our way here..."

She pointed to a chunk of ivy on the ground, kicking it out of the way as she passed.

Minho slapped his back, "Pay attention man! Rule one of being a Runner"

"I thought rule one was Never stop running?" Alex called over her shoulder.

"Okay, rule one A. Pay attention." Minho sassed.

"Bread crumbs" Alex laughed at the look on Thomas's face.

They all made it back to the Glade, Newt, Gally and Chuck were waiting by the entrance door for them. Newt looked worried pacing up and down, and Gally looked like he was ready to blow a gasket, more none runners in the maze.

"We found this." Alex said, pulling the mechanical cylinder out of the little bag around her thigh, handing it to Newt.

"It was inside a Griever!" Thomas added excitedly. Newt's eyes widened, looking at it, rolling it around in his hands.

"These are the same letters we get in our supplies." he said looking up at Alex and Minho, for confirmation.

"Yeah." Minho nodded.

"Whoever put us here obviously made the Grievers." Thomas said, piecing things together, his forehead was furrowed in concentration.

Alex shot Newt and Minho a guilty look, she hoped no one else noticed. Minho placed a hand on her lower back, giving it a small reassuring rub. Thomas continued

"This is the first real clue, the first anything, you've found in 2 years..." He paused and looked at Minho, "Right, Minho?"

"Right." Minho said again, nodding.

"Newt, we gotta go back out there. Who knows where this could lead us!" Thomas exclaimed. He turned back towards the maze. Alex and Minho both pushed him back.

"Nah man, doors close soon, and there ain't time to do a proper look for anything. This is a good start. We will go back out tomorrow morning." Minho said crossing his arms standing in Thomas's way.

Newt stepped in, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Look Tommy, we love your enthusiasm, but it is still dangerous, and Minho is Keeper. Tomorrow."

Thomas was about to argue.

Minho held up a hand, "But that night, when you killed that Griever...Section 7 was open. It must be where it's from. Tomorrow, you and I are gonna take a look." Minho added.

"Excuse me?" Alex asked with irritation in her voice. She crossed her arms, looking at Minho.

"You said 'Tomorrow you and I AND ALEX will take a closer look' wrong."

"Sorry babe." He looked at her sheepishly.

"Fine." Thomas huffed and stormed off, so did Gally. The other guys had left a while ago, not really understanding the conversation about the maze things.

Newt ran a hand through his hair, and said with a sigh "I think you should probably show Thomas the display in the weapons room...he's too curious, and he needs to know what he truly is up against."

Minho deflated.

"Want me to come with you?" Alex asked gently. He looked at her and then laughed,

"How about you wash that griever goop off yourself and then meet us in the map room?" She gave him a quick kiss and went to shower.