CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE ESCAPE PLAN

Layla sat in the slammers with Thomas and Teresa close by, glaring at the floor as her mind wandered to Gally. She couldn't believe that he would blame her for something she couldn't possibly understand. I could've helped? She thought, and why didn't I?

     Layla did, however, understand why Thomas did what he did, but that didn't change the fact that she thought it was incredibly stupid. The boy laid unconscious in Teresa's arms, his eyes moving underneath his eyelids at a rapid speed.

     Layla couldn't believe that he had stung himself. He made the choice, and he did it. She couldn't think of another Glader who would even think of doing it, let alone going through with the act.

     Then, Thomas opened his eyes.

     "Hey." Teresa smiled down at him, her hands resting on his face, moving to his shoulders. "Are you okay?" Thomas lifted his head up a little, but quickly lowered it after he realized how tired he was.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck scolded from where he sat. At this, Thomas quickly shot up, turning to face Chuck, Newt and Minho. The small group surrounded the slammer door, eyeing Thomas with varying looks of disbelief and relief. Soon after, he realized that Layla was a few feet away from him.

Thomas looked around at them with his mouth wide open for a few moments before he spoke, "what happened?"

"Gally's taken control." Newt informed. "He said we had a choice. Either join him... or get banished at sundown with you." Newt gestured to the three who were locked away.

Thomas groaned as he moved around, trying to get comfortable. "And the others agreed to that?"

Teresa sighed, "Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened."

     Thomas nodded, rubbing his hands along his pants. "Well, he's been right so far." The others sent him confused gazes. Did Thomas just admit that Gally was right?

     "What are you talking about?" Minho frowned, tilting his head at the statement. He leaned forward, looking through the holes of the slammer door.

     "This place..." Thomas started, "it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They'd give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork."

     Newt quickly caught on, much like the others did. "They were sending them up into the Maze." He muttered.

     "Yeah," Thomas nodded, "but not all of us."

     Newt frowned, "what do you mean?"

     Thomas sucked in a breath, wringing his hands together. "Guys, I'm one of them. The people who put you here, I worked with them. I— I watched you guys for years. The entire time you've been here I... I was on the other side of it." Teresa stared down at the ground in shock, and Thomas sighed. His eyes held a sadness that Layla had never seen before—regret even. "So were you." He mumbled.

     Teresa's mouth dropped open slightly, "what?"

     "Teresa, we did this to them."

     Teresa slowly shook her head, refusing to believe it. "No. That can't be true."

     "It is." Thomas frowned, "I saw it." He then turned to Layla, his face grim. There was a glint in his eyes, an emotion she couldn't read. Curiosity? Fear? Layla couldn't be sure, but Thomas began to speak before she could figure it out. "You weren't like the others. You could... do things..." he struggled, unable to put his thoughts into words. "You had power—and they were scared of it. They found a way to contain your power. I don't know how."

     Layla stared at him for a long time, "Thomas, what do you mean?" She asked. Despite her confusion, a gut feeling told her he was telling the truth. Her stomach felt like it had been tied in a knot. She felt sick—still, she yearned for more knowledge of who she was.

     Thomas seemed uneasy, like it was a difficult thing to say. Like he didn't understand it at all, but he still wanted to help her. "I don't know. None of us ever knew much. We weren't supposed to know anything about your power at all, but you told us." He frowned, "I only have pieces. I... I can't remember."

     I can't remember. The sliver of hope that Layla had was gone.

     It was like Teresa hadn't heard any of it. Her mind spiralled with the shock that she had worked for them. "Why would they send us up if we were with them?" She stuttered, bringing the attention back to her. Her tears were shining in the dim sunlight.

     Thomas shrugged, "it doesn't matter."

     "He's right." Newt nodded. "It doesn't matter. Any of it. 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 went into the Maze and you found a way out."

     Thomas frowned deeply, "yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive."

     Layla felt like she had been punched in the gut at the reminder. She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry at all the loss, all the death. Layla blocked out the feeling of death around her, but the voices were still whispering into her ears. She wanted them to stop, because she knew the voices, and who they belonged to.

     She wanted them to leave her alone.

     "Maybe." Newt's voice was soft, pulling Layla out of her own head, "but I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing: pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing... then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that."

     Thomas stared at Newt for a long time, the frown on his face never leaving. He slowly nodded, "okay." He sighed, letting Newt's words sink in. "Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first."

Layla let herself be dragged by two of the Gladers who had sided with Gally, battling every instinct to fight back. Teresa was in the same boat as her, and Thomas pretended to unconscious, leading to him being dragged across the ground.

Gally sighed, "this is such a waste." He mumbled softly, glaring at Teresa and Layla. His eyes were narrowed, as if even looking at them was a waste of his time.

"Gally..." Winston interrupted, and Gally looked up at him, surprised that he dared to speak up and possibly go against him. "It doesn't feel right, man."

Jeff nodded in agreement, "yeah, what if Thomas is right?" Gally took slow steps towards the boys. "Maybe he can lead us home."

Gally pursed his lips, "we are home." He sighed, "Okay? I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall." He pointed to the nearest wall in the Glade, which was littered with names—a gut wrenching amount of them were crossed out.

"You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?" Teresa questioned, one of the Runners held her arms tightly so that she couldn't run away.

Gally shook his head, "no." Layla narrowed her eyes at him. "But this isn't a banishing. It's an offering."

     Layla stared at him in disbelief as her arms were lifted above her head, and tied tightly to the wooden post she had been slammed against. The rope scratched against her skin, causing her to grit her teeth. "You're insane!" She called out, which earned her a glare from the two boys tying her up, and Gally.

Teresa stared in shock as she was pinned to a different wooden post, "what are you—" her wrists were tied just as tight as Layla's. "Gally, what are you doing?"

Gally began to raise his voice, "you really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the Maze after what he's done?" Layla had to force herself not to lash out at him right then and there. "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."

     "Are you listening to this?" Teresa looked around at the Gladers with wide eyes, "Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!"

     Gally raised a brow, "you shut up?"

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

     "Shut up!" Gally shouted, "tie him up!" He pointed to Thomas, who laid on the ground, limp. The boys just stood there, beginning to rethink what they were doing, so Gally yelled at them once more. "Do you hear me? I said tie him up!"

Just as the two boys began to lift up Thomas, he yanked one of his arms out of their grip and elbowed one of the boys in the stomach. He quickly grabbed a wooden spear and smacked the other one in the head, knocking them down.

     Minho and Layla's eyes met in the distance, and she watched as he lifted up his crossbow, aiming it between her hands. Layla pulled her hands as far away as she could, and he released the arrow, hitting the rope dead on. Layla pulled her now freed hands down, taking her compound bow from him when he was at her side. She took her quiver and readied her bow.

     Of course, she would never fire an arrow at any of the boys. They were all she's ever had in the Glade, but if any of them tried anything, at least she was prepared.

Eventually, Gally and his small group of Gladers began to realize that they wouldn't be able to put up a fight.

Gally stared down Minho, who had his crossbow pointed between the boy's eyes. Layla wasn't concerned, because she knew Minho wouldn't do anything unless he needed to, and Gally didn't show any sign that he would be putting up a fight.

Layla made her way over to Thomas, keeping her bow steady.

Gally sighed, looking over to Thomas who held his spear pointed to Gally. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving." Thomas' face was twisted up in anger. "Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance."

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare you." Gally held up a hand, glancing at the Gladers around him.

"No, I'm not trying to scare you." Thomas shook his head, "you're already scared. All right, I'm scared." He paused as he sucked in a deep breath, his grip on his spear tightening. "But I'd rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here. We don't belong here. Hey, this place... isn't our home. We were put here. Okay, we were trapped here. At least, out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here. I know that."

In silence, a few boys began to make their way over to them, leaving Gally to watch them in shock. Gally nodded slowly with his lips pursed. "Gally," Thomas called out to him, "it's over." He held the spear at his side. "Just come with us."

Gally looked at him for a long moment, an emotionless expression on his face as he thought of what to say. "Good luck against the Grievers." He decided, causing Layla to sigh softly.

Slowly, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her as the others ran into the Maze. Layla frowned softly, "goodbye, Gally." She muttered, watching as the boy frowned. The two hadn't always seen eye to eye, but there was an unspoken sort of respect they had for each other. It was hard to leave him behind, even after everything he did to her.

     Then, Layla followed the others into the Maze.

—————
lizzie speaks...

"goodbye, gally" lol sure, you'll see him in, like, two minutes <3

Gally: You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the Maze after what he's done?

Layla: