The Glade was dark, cool and silent. It was an uncomfortable, tense silence. The apprehension was the worst; she knew something bad was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. Alby set off towards the opposite side of the Glade, towards the Map room. She took a quick glance at the young man beside her, he still had a sickly paleness to him, he was sweating and muttering to himself. He didn't seem to even know she was there.

He's not stable, I'm not sure he will ever be stable again. Those memories messed him up. Oh Alby, I'm sorry.

That last thought broke her heart. Her leader, her friend, her family...he was so broken. And she didn't know how to help him. She came out of her thoughts when a screech echoed through the Glade. Those things were almost here. Alby didn't seem to hear it, he had no reaction to the noise.

"Alby, come on, we gotta hurry, they're almost here!" She whispered urgently, touching his arm. He jumped and looked at her with wide scared eyes. Alex looked up at him sadly, "come on, we need to go faster, I still need to get back... you will be safe inside, probably the safest."

Shuck! I should have piled the guys in here! Shuck it! Too late now.

They finally made it. She twisted the handle and it creaked open. Alby hesitated then looked at Alex, with what she thought might be guilt.

"Alby...we'll be ok. We'll get out of this shuck rat race and whatever is out there, we face together. As family. We have each other's back. Always. Okay?" She said quietly.

"I...I don't know...I don't know if I can-"

He was cut short by a whirring sound and a screech of the mechanical monsters.

They were here.

She pushed Alby inside and pulled the door shut. At the entrance of the West door came 2 big ugly biomechanical monsters. They were here in all their glory; with their jelly blob bodies, long mechanical spider legs that could easily impale a few Gladers at a time like a shishkabob, and their long Scorpion tail with a claw to grab and rip. The Grievers' heads slowly looked side to side. Their beady black little eyes searching for something,- or a someone. The lead Griever opened its mouth and let out a wild scream, showing off rows of razor sharp metal teeth.

Alex shuddered. She pressed herself up against the door, her heart rate jumped, she was terrified. And yet it was a rush. She could feel the adrenaline flooding her veins. She didn't want to move...but she had to, if they came any closer they would see her.

But maybe... maybe if they did see her, she could distract them. They might leave the homestead alone. It was a shot she was willing to take. Her life for the Gladers. She very slowly turned her head to the side. All the lights in the Homestead were out, and she couldn't hear anything.

Good. Be the distraction. Be their shield. Not a martyr...but a shield. Protect my family. It's a cause I'm willing to die for.

Her determination settled inside her. It gave her an eerie calm. Knowing what she was going to do. She was willing to throw her life in front of the danger to defend her boys.

So far, there were only 2 Grievers. She forced herself to close her eyes, and take a long slow inhale, preparing herself. As quietly as she could she slipped off her bow, and slid an arrow from her quiver and nocked it, ready. She knew as soon as she released it they would know her location. She would have to shoot and run to the next patch of shadow. She brought her bow up and aimed, right for the second one's eye.

If I could blind it, I'll have a fighting chance...

She released the string. She didn't wait to see if it made its target, she ran. She heard an animalistic scream...so the arrow hit something. She came skidding to a stop under the closest tree in the deadheads. Panting hard, she turned. She saw her arrow sticking out of an eye socket. The Griever had reared back on 4 of its legs, shrieking and screaming. She grabbed another arrow aimed at the second eye. Waiting for a clear shot. As the creature came back down, she released. The arrow missed, and sailed past its head, but buried into the body. The first Griever turned in her direction.

Shuck!

She ran for it as it charged her general location. Alex sprinted along the line of trees. She ducked under a branch and stopped behind a tree. She crouched to catch her breath. She spun around when there was a snap of a twig. She had an arrow nocked and ready in a split second. She did not expect to see an ally appear out of the darkness. She came right up to Alex and sat down, her head cocked.

Alex sighed and whispered, "Good girl! Where have you been huh? I'm sorry I didn't come find you! You're a good girl!" She placed her forehead on the dogs for a second. Alex sat back on her heels. "Bark, we need to keep those things distracted, away from the house. You up for a deadly game of tag?"

Bark stood up, understanding that the situation called for quiet. Her dark intelligent eyes looked up at Alex. Waiting for her instructions. Alex peeked behind the tree, those Grievers could be awfully quiet. She slowly stepped out from behind the tree, Bark beside her. She saw the one with an arrow in its eye still thrashing. But she couldn't see the other one from her hiding spot.

Where the shuck did that other one go?

She was trying to decide what her next move would be when she felt something wet on her shoulder.

The shuck? Uhg...it better be raining..! This better be shucking sky drool!

She turned her head to look. It was thick greenish mucus. Griever slime.

Shuck. Not sky drool.

She slowly looked up, Bark started to growl, her haunches up. Hiding in the trees, somehow, was the other Griever.

How the shuck did it get there?!

It screamed down at her. Alex let a scared yell escape her lips and she took off into the middle of the Glade. The Griever sprung out of the trees with surprising agility, but a few of the back legs got tangled in the branches. As she passed the other Griever she shot a third arrow at it, hitting it in the face.

She had a sudden idea. She whistled to Bark, her loyal dog took off and around one side of the thrashing Griever. Alex ran for the other side. Alex whistled again. Bark started to dash in and out, nipping at the legs, keeping it busy. Alex ran around shooting it. It worked for a few seconds, until its tail shot out and smacked Bark sending her beloved dog flying, with a yelp.

"NOOOOOOO!" Alex screamed.

She didn't have time to see what happened to Bark. The Griever tail came swinging back at her and she had to dive to the ground to avoid it. The second Griever had now joined the fight.

Alex only had 4 more arrows. Like a slint head, she had left the 2nd quiver upstairs, in the homestead. She had to roll to avoid being impaled. She didn't roll fast enough. She felt the cold steel of its blade- like leg, slice her arm. She let out a shriek of pain. She rolled again and got to her feet. She didn't have time to check the extent of the damage. She hissed through the pain of reaching back to grab an arrow. She growled in the back of her throat, as she pulled back on the string. As she released the arrow, she screamed, all her frustration and fear and anger, flying with it. The arrow sliced into the Griever. She saw a spark, as the arrow shot into the body and made contact with the mechanical core.

Somehow it kept moving. And she had to too. Alex had to duck again when a tail came at her. She still couldn't see where Bark landed. She was closer to the homestead and heard commotion from inside. So did the Grievers. They turned their beady eyes towards the wood building.

No no no no!

She had 3 arrows left...then it was knives. She grabbed one more arrow, hissing.

"HEY YOU HUNK OF JUNK!!" she screamed at the Griever, it turned to the noise. "YOU LOOK LIKE A SHUCKIN PIN CUSHION!"

Keep its attention. Be the shield.

"CAN'T EVEN TAKE ON ONE LITTLE GIRL? COME ON YOU BIG UGLY SLIME BALL!" She screamed at it.

They roared at her, showing all its dagger teeth and charged. She turned and ran, trying to keep them away from the house. She looked over her shoulder and saw only one was following.

Not on my watch! You BOTH will follow me!

"LEAVE MY SHUCKEN FAMILY ALONE!" Alex screamed furious at her shucked up life.

Alex skidded to a stop, lifted her bow, praying she could make this shot, it was a long way. Her bleeding arm was shaking, but with all the furry she felt, all the adrenaline coursing through her, she screamed again, but this one was full of anger, challenge. Full of fight. She was fighting for more than her life. She was fighting for every boy in that house. She would fight and defend those boys against these Monsters until her last breath She pulled back on the string as hard as she could and released. The arrow whizzed incredibly fast through the air.

It hit the Griever in the side of the head. There was enough force from the arrow to make the Griever stumble sideways. There was no way the arrow should have made it that far with that amount of force. But she didn't have time to think. She heard it before she saw a metal appendage swing above her. She tried to dive out of the way, but she was too slow, it smacked her right in the head, and she flew a few feet to the left and landed hard on her back. Her head bouncing off the ground. She thought she heard someone scream, but her head was spinning, and her hearing was fuzzy. All the wind knocked out of her. Gasping for breath she rolled onto her stomach and up into her hands and knees, trying to shake away the spinning and fuzziness, a few sharp stabs of pain shot through her head.

She had to get up, her boys needed her.

"I can...do this...all day.." she mumbled to herself.

She pushed herself up, her legs wobbly, she shook her head again, trying to see straight.

"I can do this...ALL DAY!" She said louder.

She reached behind her to grab an arrow.

"I CAN DO THIS ALL SHUCKEN DAY!" She screamed at the Griever.

There was only one arrow left. She should have had 2...one must have fallen out in the field.

Shucken mother of a bloody Griever!

One arrow. She lifted the bow to aim at the Grievers, they were both in the middle of the Glade, staring at her with their dark awful beady eyes, screaming. Two ugly mechanical engineered monsters and one lone tiny girl, the creator of these monsters, with one arrow left.

"COME ON!" She screamed again in challenge, desperately trying to keep them away from the Homestead.

With her fuzzy hearing she could vaguely hear screams from the Homestead, she couldn't make out anything distinguishable. Praying no one was being ripped apart, she risked a quick glance to her right to see the homestead.

The front door was wide open and someone was screaming and yelling, they were being held back by a few people. Her eyes snapped back to the Grievers. She had one arrow against two monsters. She aimed at the less injured.

She released her last arrow, this time it finally struck its eye. Now both Grievers only had one eye. Not blind, but better than nothing. She slid her machete out of its loop as she sprinted towards them. Both Grievers screamed and ran towards her, she ran straight at them. A deadly game of chicken. She wasn't going to lose. At the last second she dove under one of them and rolled, as she did she sliced her machete up into the underbelly. She rolled a second time, losing momentum but managed to stab her machete up into the underbelly, right to the handle, seeing a few sparks. She got up onto her knees. She was getting to her feet to run, one of the many legs lashed out and sliced her side.

Alex dropped to her knees again with a cry of pain. She pressed a hand to her side. She knew if this wasn't dealt with soon, she could easily bleed out. The white hot pain seared through her again. She gasped in pain. It was almost too much. Her eyes were watering and her head was spinning.

Alex tried to grab another of her knives, but her hands were slick with blood. She was shaking and couldn't make her hands stop. Her fingers kept fumbling, they felt numb. She dropped it, she picked it up. Trembling, she got to her feet. She screamed with whatever energy she had left and threw the blade, it flew end over end and landed in the body of the Griever. She dropped to her knees.

I hope that was enough, now it's up to the boys to finish them...

At the same time the blade landed, its tail lashed out again. She was too slow, her body sluggish, her head spinning, she couldn't get out of the way. The claw grabbed her around the waist. Alex screamed in pain, crying as the pressure of the claw dug into her. It squeezed tighter. She was going to die. It was going to squeeze her until she broke.

At least I fought back. I defended my family the best I could...my family...Newt...Chuck. Matt...Teresa...Tommy...Fry...Alby...Jeff...Clint.

Minho.

His face flashed in her mind. His laugh and dimples when he smiled, the pride and admiration in his dark coffee brown eyes, how his lips felt on hers, his smell that made her feel safe. The butterflies in her tummy every time he touched her. All this made her heart swell, and it felt like it was breaking at the same time. She loved him.

She gasped for breath. She was holding onto the claws, knowing her tiny human body would never be able to pry it apart. Her tears of physical pain mixed with emotional pain. She wasn't going to see him again. She was desperately trying to pull the claws, she needed oxygen. She was glad she kissed him one last time...

I love you!

She clawed at the metal claw clamped around her. She fell. She hit the ground in a heap and didn't move, blood soaking her clothes and the grass. The last thing her conscience was aware of was Minho's voice in her mind... It made her feel safe and comfortable. The seduction of black nothing took over.