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"Glad you're okay, Zelia," Chuck said as the girl helped him get weapons from the Armory.

Because Minho told her that they are now entering the Maze. Thomas thinks they have found a way out. Not a good idea if you think about it because this is where the Grievers come in or out. They have nothing to lose if they try.

"Well, yeah. I thought it's my end, but I didn't expect what happened while I was unconscious," Zelia said, and she hid the knives in her pockets. "I'm thanking Alby because you're with us."

The girl smiled at Chuck, holding a six spear in his left hand while in his right hand were arrows and a crossbow. Zelia took a crossbow and some arrows—it had a holder and a long strap so it wouldn't be difficult to carry—and put it on her shoulder.

They didn't take the other weapons because Zelia had a strong feeling that someone would still be left in the Glade. Well, she teaches them how to defend themselves so they're going to survive if they don't intend to leave this place. They can't force the Gladers if they don't want to go.

"What do you think, knowing Thomas is your older brother?" Chuck asked and slung another bag over his shoulder for their friends. Only clothes and other necessities are placed in the bag.

"Happy, really. But this is not the time to celebrate. Even if I want to hug him right now, we still need to get out of this place," Zelia said and took the bags to help Chuck.

She first looked around the Armoury to see if they had forgotten anything. She will admit that she will miss this place, but they have to move on. She invited Chuck to go to the entrance of the Maze, where they will meet everyone.

"I'm happy for you that you reunited with your brother."

"Not unless he's the reason you all here, suffering. He did this just because of me."

"That doesn't mean it's all your fault. WICKED is still the reason we're here."

Zelia was unable to speak what Chuck told her. She really felt guilty for them. They were quiet until they reached their destination.

They saw that everyone was here. Teresa's hand was tied to the wood while Thomas was sprawled on the grass while Gally was telling them something. It's true that Gally took over this place.

"I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall," they heard Gally say while pointing to the wall where their name was written.

"You really think Banishing us is going to solve anything?" Teresa asked. Zelia couldn't determine if she was afraid for her and Thomas or if she was just good at hiding her emotions.

"No. Of course not. But this isn't a Banishing." Because of what Gally said, Zelia frowned, obviously confused by what the man said. "It's an offering."

"What? Wait!"

"Gally, what are you doing?"

Zelia heard how the Gladers started complaining; they didn't expect what the man said. He immediately spoke to silence everyone.

"You really think I'm going to let Thomas back into the Maze after what he has done? Look around you! Look at our Glade! This is the only way. And when the Grievers get what they came here for...everything goes back to the way it was."

As Zelia sees Gally now, she doesn't think this is the person she used to know. His eyes are full of hatred. It was so different from what she had met before that even though he always seemed to be angry, it was still obvious to him that he was kind.

"Are you listening to this? Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!" Teresa yells at the Gladers that she is forcing the others not to listen to Gally.

"You shut up."

"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back. They're going to keep coming back until you're all dead!"

"Shut up! Tie him up!" Newt and Minho, Newt and Zelia, Zelia and Chuck stared at each other, giving them a sign to make a move. She took her crossbow and arrow, just waiting for it to move.

"Do you hear me? I said tie him up!" Gally said to Peter, and before he could touch Thomas, he immediately stood up and punched him in the stomach, causing him to fall to the grass.

Frypan immediately cut Teresa's tie on her hand with the long knife he was holding. Zelia saw that Gally was about to approach the two when Minho suddenly stopped him. It didn't even try to fight back and just let them do what they did.

"Go Chuck," Zelia whispered and readied her crossbow, in case someone rushed Chuck as they walked to Thomas' side. Gladly, nothing happened, and they both arrived safely.

Zelia and Thomas stared at each other; it was obvious in their eyes that they wanted to hug each other but couldn't yet. They still need to get out of this place.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Gally said, and Newt and Minho gradually came next to them. Zelia looked around and saw Kendrix, Maggie, and Winston confused by what they had done.

"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving." Thomas speaks first. "Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance."

"Don't listen to him; he's just trying to scare you," Gally said while just looking at Thomas.

"No, I'm not trying to scare you. You're already scared. I'm scared. We both all are," Thomas said as he looked the Gladers in the eyes. "But I'd rather risk my life out there than spend the rest of it in here."

"We don't belong here," Zelia said, and her friends slowly stared at her. "This place isn't our home. We were put here. We were trapped here. At least, out there we have a choice."

As much as possible, she tried her best to convince some of them. Especially her close friends. They do not belong here in the first place. Even if they are not sure what happened when they entered the Maze, they still have to take a risk of what will meet them once they have left the Glade.

"We can make it out of here. I know that. Some of you here have been living in this place for a long time, but here's our only chance to leave this place," Thomas said.

Everyone was quiet, and Zelia seemed to be able to breathe as the other Gladers gradually approached their place, including Kendrix, Maggie, and Winston.

"I'm sorry," Zelia heard Jeff say before walking to the front with them.

"Gally, it's over. Just come with us," Thomas said, but they saw how he slowly shook his head. There were more than ten people who wanted to stay, including Gally.

"Good luck against the Grievers," the man said last, but he was looking at Zelia, who gave him a nod before Gally completely turned his back on them.

Even if she wanted to force her friends to join them, there was nothing she could do because they had already decided what they thought was right. It's sad to think about, but this is what they want—to stay.

Zelia turned her back to the Glade and saw that there were 25 of them. Everyone has weapons in their hands so that anytime they see Grievers, they are ready to attack them.

"Nice speech out there." Zelia looked next to her when she heard someone speak. She saw Thomas looking at her.

"Yeah, right, I can't help it, I don't want you to took all the spotlight out there," the girl said and rolled her eyes at him. They both laughed and only now noticed that their friends were looking at them.

Thomas cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. We still need to get out of here."

"Thank you for noticing," Minho said and received a slap from Newt on the arm.

"You may have forgotten who Thomas was in Zelia's life." Because of what his friend said, Minho coughed and turned his back on them to face the Maze. The three stared at each other while smiling.

"I really need to talk to you two, especially him," Thomas said, and Zelia just scoffed.

"Everybody, this way! Follow me!" Minho ran first before the Gladers followed him one by one. Thomas, Zelia, and Newt were last to run to see that none of their friends were left behind.

They also run for a few minutes. Every turn they made, the ivy on the walls didn't disappear. They just follow Minho, who spent a few minutes looking behind him to see if his friends were still following.

They went through the very centre of the Maze and went to the left path. They did a few runs before the things around them changed again. Zelia saw the huge irons.

She didn't let herself look around and kept running until Minho suddenly stopped. One hand was raised to stop them from running. They had reached where the path leading out of the Maze was.

"Is it a Griever?" Thomas asked, and Minho faced them.

"Yeah." Zelia sensed the growing nervousness among her friends. She looked at the Gladers, but not one of them had any intention of returning. They made their decisions; nothing could stop them just to get out of this place.

"You take this, Chuck. Stay behind us," Thomas said and handed Chuck something in the shape of a metal cylinder with WICKED written on it. The boy did not hesitate to take it.

"It's okay. Just stick with us, Zelia and Maggie. We will protect you," Teresa said while tying her hair, so Chuck nodded.

"Once we're through, it will activate and the door will open," Thomas explained, looking at his colleagues one by one. "We stay close, we stick together, we get through this. We get out now...or we die trying."

Zelia saw how the fear disappeared from the Gladers' eyes because of what Thomas told them. She smiled to herself. She can sense the determination in their eyes that they want to get out.

"Ready?" he asked before the Gladers say yes and held their weapons tightly.

"All right. Let's go!" Thomas said, and he was the first to run to where the Grievers were. Zelia let the men run aside from Chuck before the four of them ran.

"I got your back, guys! Move!" Zelia said as she prepared to release the string and arrow anytime the Grievers rushed at them.

After the girl spoke, suddenly more Grievers approached them. Zelia aimed the arrow at the head of it, and she heard it screech, but that doesn't mean it will stop; she already expected what would happen. She did this several times before completely falling off the cliff.

Zelia saw Maggie on her side holding a spear and stabbing the head of a Griever while trying to push it to the edge of the cliff. The Griever was about to grab Maggie with its claw on her leg when Teresa suddenly attacked it, causing Maggie to thank her before they finally pushed the Griever.

As Teresa attacked its claw, she accidentally hit Chuck using her elbow and accidentally let go of the key to get them out. Chuck chased after it and was thankful that he got it before falling off the cliff.

"Oh no...someone help me please!" Because of what Zelia heard, she saw Chuck on the edge near the cliff, so she quickly ran to his place. She noticed that Maggie and Teresa also went to his side to help him get away from the Griever, who was crawling towards them.

They managed to pull Chuck and quickly stand up. She looked at where the door was and saw that the men gave way, so she immediately confronted Teresa.

"Go run over there. I got you covered; I'll follow you; I'm on your back," Zelia said before she aimed the arrow at the Griever in front of them. The three did not think twice and ran to the door.

"Zelia!" She heard Maggie scream and take an arrow before letting it go and quickly running to where Teresa and them were. She still noticed that the boys were still fighting the Grievers until she got to Chuck's place.

Chuck took the key, and suddenly a red line appeared. It was as if they were really happy with what Thomas told them.

They were about to open the door, but it wouldn't open. They tried to push but still didn't want to. Maggie's eyes wandered before pointing at something.

"There! There's something we need to type a code." After saying this, Teresa immediately pressed a button and faced the men to look for Thomas.

"Thomas! There's a code!" Teresa shouted because they had just heard how loud the Grievers were as they tried to attack their friends. "Eight numbers!"

Zelia didn't know if Thomas was listening to them because she didn't hear if he spoke. She was about to try to repeat what Teresa said, but suddenly she heard Thomas shout.

"Hey, Minho! What's the sequence?"

"What?"

Shuck. Zelia said to herself before helping the boys attack the Grievers. She noticed that the Gladers were gradually getting tired, so she had to help while waiting for the door to open. She didn't even have to leave her place and attacked the Griever with her bow and arrow—which she's thankful because she still have many arrows on her back—causing it to back away from Jeff.

"The sections of the Maze! What's the sequence?" Thomas asked again while still pushing the Griever away from him.

Minho immediately said the numbers, but he was interrupted when suddenly a Griever fell on top of him. Zelia saw that and immediately threw arrows at the Griever to cause it to retreat.

Minho quickly stood up and continued saying the numbers, and he and Zelia also looked at each other quickly before continuing what they were doing. The girl heard a scream behind her, so she looked at Maggie and saw that the door was open.

"Guys! The door opened!" Teresa shouted, and they entered the door. Their friends followed them.

When everyone got out, the lights suddenly turned on, and they saw a hallway; it was two ways, left and right. Thomas looked at the two hallways before walking on the right path.

They couldn't complain and just followed the man. They walked silently for a few minutes until they reached a door with an exit sign at the top.

"Seriously?" Frypan said it was as if he could read his friends' thoughts.

"There's one way to find out," Thomas said and slowly turned the doorknob.

It's now or never. Are we going to give up now if we are about to get freedom?