I stayed on my knees, watching the place where Minho was swallowed up by the darkness and mysterious fog.

"He left..." I whispered. "He left me."

I knew we had to get up and move, but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Minho, the my steady rock had left me. Ditched me, after all his promises and apologies, he left me. Again. I knew it was bound to happen...but this hurt, this hurt more than anything else. Another burn on my broken heart. Thomas kneeling down beside me snapping me out of my despair.

"Jessie?" He asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine," I snapped, "We need to get moving."

The wild animal screaming and the metal on metal and metal on stone was getting louder.

"Are you sure? Jessie, you don't seem okay.." Thomas said again.

"Yeah well, when the person you love and trust the most ditches you because-" I stopped, clamping my jaw closed. I shook my head. I shoved all my emotions back down behind my stone walls again. I got to my feet and turned towards Alby.

"Come on! We gotta get moving." I said sharply.

I grabbed my bag and bow again, throwing them over my shoulders. Thomas sighed and we grabbed Alby and hulled him up. We started down the hall, away from the noise. It was slow going. Alby felt even heavier. My legs and back hurt from being in the maze all day already.

"Is there any place to hide him?" Thomas asked.

I shook my head. Not talking, trying to conserve energy and breath.

"Come on Jessie, there isn't anywhere to hide him?" Thomas asked again.

I growled. I stopped and let Alby slid to the ground. I spun towards him.

"Look here shuck face! This is my third year stuck in this hell hole, I've run this place for three years! I know every single inch, crack and crevice in this godforsaken place, if there was a place to hid him I'd sure as shuck would tell you!" I snapped, poking him in the chest. "It's all stone, stone wall after stone wall, some covered in moss some covered in ivy." I cried, throwing my hands around, spinning in a circle to prove my point.

He had stopped listening and was wondering away.

"Where the hell are you going?" I fumed.

He turned to look at me over his shoulder. He had a look of confusion, but his eyebrows were pulled together, he was chewing his bottom lip and his eyes were glassy and had a far away look. He was thinking through something. I was frustrated and irritated, but I stayed quiet, letting him work through whatever he was thinking. It gave me a few minutes to catch my breath.

"...Ivy.." He muttered.

I groaned again. "What about it, shuckface?"

His eyes snapped to mine, if it was possible I heard the pieces of the puzzle snap into place and I swear I saw a light bulb flicker on above his head.

"We use the ivy and send him up the wall. Hid him in the ivy." He exclaimed, his eyes lit up, as he turned to the patch of ivy beside him, stepping over to it. I left Alby laying in the middle of the hall and came to stand beside Thomas. I crossed my arms and looked at the wall covered in ivy.

"How exactly do we use the ivy to help, Greenie?"

"Give me a minute."

"We don't have a minute."

"Okay...well...the Ivy is thick like rope..."

I nodded.

"Okay...we tie it around him and get him up the wall..."

I frowned and tilted my head. I was starting to understand what he was thinking.

"Okay, Greenie, I'm picking up what you're throwing down."

"Yeah?" He asked, looking around at me, excitement in his voice.

I nodded slowly. I glanced at him, "He's fucken' heavy, and it's gonna suck, but it's our best option right now. Come on."

I turned back to Alby. We heaved him over to the wall, and started to tied the ivy around his chest. we grabbed the ivy and yanked it hard, pulling him up to stand. He slumped like a life sized marionet doll. I heard the unmistakable noises of the Grievers getting closer.

"We need to hurry."

"Wow thanks captain obvious." Thomas muttered and rolled his eyes.

"Greenie!" I gasped, "Was that sarcasm?"

"Maybe?"

I snorted, a ghost of a smile appeared on my face, "Okay, up we go..." I groaned as I looked up, dreading this next part. I was already exhausted.

"Yep.. up we go, push and pull Alby up. Tie off vibes as we hull him."

I nodding I stepped closer towards the wall, grabbing my one vine I heaved myself up, scaling the wall. Thomas and I climbed up a few feet above Alby, tying the vine around ourselves. I glanced at Thomas. He let go first without hesitation and reached down grabbing Alby's arm. I took a shuddering breath and copied him. Together we heaved our leader up a few feet. While we held him we rewrapped a new vine around his upper arms.

We worked together, he would push Alby up and hold him while I pulled him up and retied the vines. We surprisingly worked quite well as a team, but it was extremely slow going. Having to retire ourselves as well. Using the same method of pushing each of Alby's arms and legs up two or three feet at a time. We slowly made our way up the stone wall. Repeating the whole process over and over. Climb, wrap, push up, tie off. Climb, wrap, push up, tie off. The Grievers at least seemed to be moving slowly through the Maze. Over and over, little by little, up they went.

My mind was able to wonder. It wondered to Minho. I clamped my jaw even tighter, so tight I thought my teeth would crack. I felt a sharp pain in my chest, it made it hard to breath, and it had nothing to do with the vein wrapped around my chest it felt like my heart would feel like a knife was twisting. . I tried to shack the horrible thought of him panicking through the maze, a Griever on his heels. Why would he think splitting up is better, why didn't he listen to me? Obviously he didn't trust me as much as he said he did. And how could he leave me after all the shit he yelled at me just yesterday about leaving? How could he leave Alby unconscious and at the mercy of the Grievers? Here I was, the loan ranger, the one who never had attachments, who could care less about anyone or anything, stuck around to help the shucken Greenie and Alby. He left me. And he called me selfish.

We had got Alby about 20 feet off the ground now, Thomas had just finished tying himself off again.

"Stop!" I hissed, "It's at the end of the hall!"

His eyes went wide in fear, I pressed my hand to my lips, indicating silence. He moved a few vines over Alby and then pushed into the ivy as much as he could. I also pushed myself as much as I could into the vines, hiding myself. Just in time. A Griever slowly materialized out if the dark gloom. It's blubbery body, long sharp stabbing legs, slowly stabbing into the stone, like a giant deadly spider. It's long scorpion tail whipping back and forth. The whirring sound was coming from the horrible saw blade on its back. The haunting moan was coming from it like some kind of sadistic purr. It's eyes reflected in the stars above me flashed. It turned its head back and forth, like it knew that Thomas and I are hiding here somewhere.

I could hear Thomas breathing hard on the other side of Alby. I could hear my heart slamming into my chest, and my breathing sounded even louder. The Griever stopped right underneath us. I knew it knew we were around. The shucken beetle blades were scurrying around, probably communicating with the Designers, which probably had some control over the Grievers. It lifted its heard, its beady black eyes searching, it opened its huge mouth, showing off its rows of jagged sharp teeth, and screamed.

It was trying to scare us out of hiding. I heard Thomas sharp inhale of breath.

"Steady." I breathed.

The Griever reared back on its back legs and used the front sharp blade legs to stab into the wall, and it slowly clawed its way up.

"Time to go!"

"Where?" he asked, fear and panic laced his voice.

"Diagonal, down the vines to the floor. And then we run."

"Got it."

I ripped the vine off as fast as I could, unwinding myself from the vine that held me. Thomas was faster, he hadn't run a full day and carried Alby for an entire afternoon. My legs screamed and my arms burned. I managed to get free from the vine just as the Griever jumped.

"The fuck? That's new!" I cried.

I swung out of the way just as the leg slammed into the stone wall, right where my head had been a second before. Thankfully the leg also missed Alby; he was hidden enough that the Griever didn't notice him. The Griever had decided to pick me as its target, probably because I still hadn't died like the Designers wanted me to. It lunged at me again, screaming, trying to impale me to the wall. With a yelp of surprise, I slipped. Not having any vibes to help support me, I fell backwards.

Flailing my arms, I managed to catch hold of a vine. I held tight trying to slow down the fall. In the process I ripped a layer or two of skin off my hands. The Griever jumped again. I was now, under in, its long spider legs on either side of me. Holding onto the vine with one hand, I could feel the blood and sweat making me slid down the vine a little. I reached down and pulled a knife from my belt. I slammed it into the Grievers body and let go of the vine, holding the handle with two hands, I slid down the wall, ripping the body apart. I was now lower then the Griever as it shrieked, like it felt pain. I yanked my knife out. I held the handle in between my teeth as I grabbed the vines again.

I chanced a quick glance at Thomas. He was climbing and swinging getting lower each time. The Griever was trying to flail and hold the wall at the same time. It screamed again, weather in pain or frustration with losing sight of me, I don't know. I gulped and pushed off the wall with my feet and let go slightly of the vine. I slid down the vine, like a fireman's pole. I hissed in pain as the skin on my hands ripped some more. But I managed to drop a few more feet.

The Grievers flailing finally made it loose it's balance. It went crashing down to the ground. It caused a small earth quack when it landed. It was now directly underneath me. It looked up and screamed. I saw the motor oil spilling onto the ground, a few wires sparked. The Griever reared back and tried to slam it's sharp legs into me, but I swung out of the way. Thomas glanced over.

"Jessie!" He screamed.

"Little busy!" I screamed back.

"When its clear jump."

I didn't have time to ask questions, having to push off the wall again and dodge another attempted stab.

"Don't do something stupid!"

"Too late!"

He threw a huge chunk of the wall at the Griever's head. It slammed into it, making it stumble. The monster turned its angry beady eyes on Thomas instead. It clawed its way over to him and started up the wall.

"GO!" He yelled at me.

I didn't need to be told twice. I climbed and slid down the rest of the wall until I knew I could jump off and land safely. Landing low in my crouch, I whipped the bow off and nicked an arrow. Thomas kept its attention, kicking off the wall, and swinging sideways to grab the next vine; yet somehow going lower and lower. Thomas had just swung to another vine, the Griever stabbed its leg where he had been only a second ago. The tail came around and slammed into the wall, making Thomas duck and slip down the vine a few feet. The tail came back, the claw open now. The Griever screamed and swung its tail like a whip. Thomas swung to the next vine. The tail slammed into the wall, cutting the vine in two. With a scream, Thomas fell. I released the arrow. It streaked through the air. Just as the Griever opened it's mouth wide to scream. The arrow went into it's mouth and buried in the back of it's mouth and stuck into it's wired machine brain making it spark and spasm.

Thomas landed in a heap, some of the moss and vines broke his fall. The crumpled heap of a monster landed right beside him, smoking sparking and very much dead. Thomas scrambled to his feet and backed up. His mouth wide open in a silent scream, his eyes wide, looking back and forth between me and the dead Griever. I walked up beside him. Slinging my bow back onto my shoulder.

"If it wasn't so close to Alby, I'd blow it up."

"How...how the shuck would you blow it up?"

"Okay one, Glader slang is weird coming out of your Greenie mouth. and Two, pull some wires, making it spark and then dunk it into the oil. Griever goes boom."

He opened his mouth and then closed it. Then nodded. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Well...what now?" He asked.

"We keep movie. Alby is as safe as we can get him. I can't believe I'm going to say this...but that was a good idea."

"It was, wasn't it!" He sounded proud of himself.

We both looked up towards the wall. Alby was hardly visible through the veins. I hoped he would make it through the night. I hoped the serum would work, and with Minho having knocked him out, hopefully he wouldn't scream with the changing, at least not yet...

"Bye Alby." I saluted him, like the Admiral he was.

I turned and walked away, down the hall.

"Come on Thomas."

He caught up and fell into step with me. I felt him glance at me.

"What?"

"You called me Thomas."

"It's your name, isn't it?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. But you always used Greenie..."

"I can always go back to Greenie, if you want."

"No. No..it's just...thank you."

"Whatever shuckface."

We walked for a little bit, I was trying to catch my breath and gain some strength.

"So...You killed two Grievers now."

I just nodded.

"So..how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, all of it?'

"All of it.." I repeated, glancing at him, "Ya know for an intelligent person, you can be pretty dumb."

"Umm...thank you?" He asked, "I am intelligent."

I rolled my eyes.

"So how did you do it? And advice?"

"Yeah. Always give 100%. Unless your giving blood."

He groaned, and I lifted the corner of my lip into a ghost of a smile.

"Okay, fine. Here is my secret Thomas, listen closely." I started, he turned his head, his eyes wide and eager.

"There are three rules in life." He nodded. "Never give out all the information." I said with a nod of my head, and closed my mouth and watch his mind short-circuit for a second. He opened his mouth and then closed it, I could see his mind working. I was trying hard not to laugh at him.

"I'm messing with you."

"No...I know, but...there is some truth to that." He said thoughtfully. He was chewing his lip again, his eyes far away. He was thinking through something. "It's like the whole, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Like...you gotta be the calmest person in the room, you gotta know more then they think., think more then you say, and notice everything....people are scared of you because your like that. You never really let people know you fully."

"Holly shit Thomas." I stopped and stared at him.

"What? What did I say?" He asked, also stopping and turning to look at my stunned face, his far off look was replaced by confusion.

"You really are an intelligent idiot."

"Again...thank you?" He asked, scratching his head.

I shook my head and continued moving. The sounds of Grievers came floating down the hall from behind us. I glanced behind me. It was still far away. I hoped, but we needed to keep moving. Thomas followed, we were quiet, as we took a few more turns.

"Are you afraid of anything?" He asked suddenly.

"No."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Fear is not real. Fear is just the product of thoughts that you create. Danger however. Danger is real. But fear? Fear is a choice."

"Whoa."

"Fear has two meanings. Forget everything a run. Or. Face everything and rise. THe choice is up to you." I shrugged.

"Dang Jessie, that was deep."

I snorted. "That's what she said."

"And apparently the humor of a 12 year old boy."

I shrugged. "All about balance Thomas."

He rolled his eyes and we kept walking. We turned another corner when I grabbed his shirt and yanked him backwards and slapped a hand over his mouth. We had walked into a swarm of Grievers, three big ugly Grievers were just sitting, waiting for us.