During lunch, I didn't talk to anyone. Beth had done a good job pissing me off. So I went to go see Lillie in the Deadheads and began to rant on about what happened with Beth earlier.

"I just don't understand how she can be so mean to everyone," I said, then huffing a sigh. "I don't mean to go on and on about all of this to you. She just infuriates me so much."

Lillie nodded her head in agreement as she picked up her shovel from the ground. She placed the end of the blade on the ground, making the shovel stand upright.

"Hey, guys!" We looked over and saw Sonya walking towards us with a bucket in her hand. "What are you two doing?"

"We're just talking," I replied, turning to Lillie, who gave me a look. I looked back at Sonya. "Well, actually, I'm talking. Lillie is just listening to me rant."

"About Beth?" Sonya asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, about Beth," I replied. "After what happened with her before lunch, I hate her more than I did before."

Sonya shook her head and sat down beside me. "I wouldn't worry about Beth. She likes to get on everyone's nerves."

"Well, I think I got on her nerves so that she knows how it feels," I muttered.

"I think you already have," Sonya said. "Anyway, I only came out here to get more fertilizer." She held up a bucket. "Lillie, would you mind showing me where I can get some?"

Lillie nodded her head and stood up. I took my shovel and stood up with her. Sonya and I began to follow her towards the Deadheads.

"You've been in the Glen for two years and you don't know where the fertilizer is?" I asked.

"I don't come out here that often," Sonya replied.

Sonya and I were walking on opposite sides of Lillie, who was dragging her shovel across the ground. I took my shovel and threw it over my shoulder, the blade pointing towards the trees. I could feel the sweat running down my face as we continued walking. I thought about the thing Cora had mentioned, about eating a Griever because she was so hungry. I also thought about the bonfire and the noise that I heard coming from the Maze. Did I hear a Griever that night?

"Sonya?" I spoke up.

"Yeah?" she said.

"What's a Griever?" I asked. "Cora said that she was so hungry that she could eat one."

Sonya and Lillie looked at each other and exchanged worried looks. Sonya looked back at me. "They're the creatures that live inside the Maze."

"That's what I must've heard the night of the bonfire," I told her.

"Yeah, they don't sound pleasant, do they?" Sonya chuckled, then pausing for a moment. "There have been a couple of incidents concerning the Grievers and other Glenners when we first got here."

"What happened?" I asked.

Sonya sighed as Lillie pointed at a small section by a grave. Sonya got down on her knees and began to fill her bucket up with fertilizer. "Her name was Rose. She was the first Glenner to encounter a Griever. She went inside the Maze by herself and got stung by one, at least that's what she told us. She basically dragged herself to get back to the Glen. By the time she got back, she was in a lot of pain.

"The Creators gave us Grief Serum with our other supplies that week, which was an antidote that had to be given to someone who had been stung. We gave Rose the serum, but it didn't work. She went crazy and almost hurt a bunch of Glenners, so Harriet put her out of her misery."

I felt my heart drop. "Do you still get the serum from the Creators?" I asked.

"Yeah. We get it with our weekly supplies," Sonya answered.

I swallowed hard, wanting to know who the other victim was. "Who was the other Glenner that got stung?"

Sonya stopped scooping up fertilizer and turned to look at me and Lillie. "The other Glenner was Beth."

I widened my eyes in shock. "Beth?" I repeated.

Sonya nodded her head. "About a month after Rose died, she wandered off into the Maze. She didn't go too far, because she got stung shortly after she went in. We were hesitant to give her the Grief Serum. We didn't want her to die like Rose did, but Harriet told us to give it to her, anyway. Once we gave it to her, she started screaming, just like Rose. We decided to wait this time and see how she was in the next few days. She managed to fully recover in a couple of weeks. She went through something that we call the Changing. She had been in pain for days."

"Wow," I stated. "That's crazy."

"It is," the blonde said, standing back up. "But Beth didn't talk to anyone about what she went through, which no one blames her for it. After going through something traumatizing like that, talking about it would be the last thing I'd do."

"You think she's hiding something that we don't know about? Like, something important?" I asked.

Sonya shrugged her shoulders. "If she was, then we would've known about it by now." She cleared her throat, looking at Lillie. "Thanks, Lillie," she said, holding up the bucket. "I'll see you sticks later." With that, she bid us goodbye and strolled away.

"Do you think Beth is hiding something?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "Are you ever going to say anything?" She shrugged again in response, causing me to sigh in defeat. "I know we hardly know each other, but once we're better friends, you can talk to me if you want." Giving me a soft smile, she nodded her head.

With nothing else to do in the Deadheads, we left the Deadheads and headed back to the middle of everything. It was almost getting dark, which meant Maeve and Claire were probably making their way back to the Glen by now. The thought of them not making it back in time had me anxious. What if they didn't make it back? Who would take their places? Who would be the new Keeper of the Runners?

"Do you ever worry about the Runners not making it back before the Doors close for the night?" I questioned Lillie. She nodded her head. "Did you want to be a Runner when you got here?" She snorted, shaking her head no. I chuckled. "I don't blame you. There's a lot more to it than just running the Maze that I couldn't do." She nodded her head again.

We put our supplies back at the Homebase, relieved that we were done for the day. Dinner wasn't quite ready yet, so we left the Homebase and decided to walk around a little. Before we got too far, from the corner of my eye, I spotted Claire running back in the Glen, slowing down her speed and panting at the same time. She stopped, taking her hair out of a ponytail as she made her way towards the Homebase. Why wasn't Maeve with her?

"Claire!" Sonya called out, jogging towards her. "Where's Maeve?" she asked.

Claire looked confused, shrugging her shoulders. "She's not back yet?"

"No, I thought she was with you," Sonya said, now beginning to be concerned. "That means she's still out there!" Sonya ran for the Doors.

Lillie and I shot each other worried looks as we followed Sonya. "Sonya, wait!" I shouted, but she ignored me.

She stopped in front of the Doors, shaking her head. "The Doors will close any minute now. If Maeve doesn't come back--"

"She will," I assured her. "I'm sure she's a smart girl by the way everyone talks about her."

"It's odd, though," Sonya stated. "Why isn't Maeve with Claire?"

"Maybe they decided to split up in the Maze?"

Sonya shook her head. "No, that's not possible. They were supposed to stay together. Two Runners go out there for a reason, Piper."

"Well, maybe they split up by mistake."

She huffed a sigh, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know, to be honest. Hopefully, Maeve will be back in time and then we can figure out what happened out there."

A few seconds later, a sound came from the Doors. Then, the wind began to pick up as the Doors slowly began to close. The three of us had distressed looks now, wondering if Maeve was really close.

"Sonya!" We turned around to see Mary and the other Planters running towards us. "What's going on?"

"Maeve isn't back yet," she replied, facing the Doors once again.

"And Claire already is?" Cora questioned, sounding confused. "But that's not right. There's no way they'd split up while they were out there. It's too dangerous."

My anxiety was getting higher as the Doors were still closing. It almost seemed like they were beginning to close faster. Then, Lillie tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out in the Maze. "There she is!" I shouted at the others.

The other Glenners looked and saw Maeve. While we were yelling at Maeve to hurry up, she began to sprint towards us. Just before she could be squashed by the Doors, she dove for the ground, landing on her stomach.

"Are you okay?!" Sonya asked frantically as her and the others surrounded her.

She rolled over, groaning. "Well, that bloody hurt."

"I'm sure it did," Cora said. "What happened?"

Irritated, Maeve shot up from the ground and was breathing heavily. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" Sonya asked.

"That crackface! Where is she?" Maeve scanned around, then looked towards the Homebase. Her face turned from exhausted to angry. She stormed off towards the Homebase, followed by the rest of us. "Claire!" she shouted. "I know you can hear me, you bloody stick!"

"She seems mad," I stated, stopping outside of the Homebase. Lillie rolled her eyes at me. "Right. Stating the obvious. My bad." She nodded her head.

A moment later, after a series of banging and shouting that came from inside, Claire was almost thrown outside, followed by Maeve's stomping. "Mae, let me explain--"

"Explain what? There's nothing to explain!" Maeve lunged for Claire, but she was stopped by Esther, who grabbed Maeve. "Esther, let go of me!" She attempted to get out of Esther's grasp.

"Not until you calm down!" she retorted, trying to keep her grip on Maeve.

"What's going on here?" Harriet asked as she approached all of us.

"I'll tell you what's going on! That piece of klank right there left me out in the Maze!" she shouted, pointing at Claire.

"I didn't leave you!" Claire protested. "It was more like you left me!"

"That's a lie!"

"Stuff it, both of you!" Harriet shouted at them. "You're both acting like sticks right now." She turned towards Esther. "Take Maeve to the Slammer."

"Are you serious, Harriet?!" Maeve cried out in anger. "If anyone should go in the Slammer it's Claire!"

"It looks like you were the one who attacked first, Mae," she pointed out. "It's only for one night. We'll have a Meeting tomorrow morning." With that, she dismissed everyone else. Esther took Maeve to the Slammer, still glaring at Claire. Beth took Claire inside the Homebase, whispering to her.

"Well, Newbie, it looks like you'll get to see your very first Meeting," Cora told me.

"You don't sound so enthusiastic about it," I said.

"That's because there's nothing enthusiastic about it," she replied, walking away with the other Planters.

I looked at Lillie, worried. "Are they really that bad?" She gave me a small grimace look on her face and walked away from me as well. "Okay, then. This oughta be interesting."

"Indeed it will be," Sonya muttered my way. "Hopefully, you won't have to witness a Banishment, too."

I took a deep breath, not sure what to expect at the Meeting. However, I had a feeling that things would get ugly.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Heyooo! Things are getting intense now!

What do you think will happen at the Gathering? Do you think Maeve will get banished? Thanks to -daisyqueen for creating her!

Song above is Bad Blood by Taylor Swift.

Comment, vote, more to come!

-A