⚠️ Trigger Warning - attempted Suiside⚠️

Teresa and I slowly made our way back through the trees to the edge of the forest, the Glade seemed awfully quiet. I looked around, something wasn't right. I had a gut feeling something was wrong. Teresa tensed up beside me. I glanced at her, and she gave me a side eye. We both had matching frowns.

That's when I heard the first shout. Teresa and I whipped around at the sound.

"What's going on?" I asked

"No idea!" She answered, her big blue eyes wide. "No one could find you. So we were gonna split up, uh the little guy..curly hair-"

"Chuck?"

"Yeah. Chuck. Chuck came running. He said Jeff told him to go get Thomas. Alby was awake and wanted to see him. Newt, Thomas and Minho went to go see him. Winston and Chuck and I came to find you."

"Alby's awake?"

"That's what Chuck said." She shrugged.

There was another cry. I turned again, this time I saw a grey cloud of smoke. Frowning I cocked my head. Then my mouth dropped open and a cry left my mouth.

"That's the map room!"

I took off at a sprint. Teresa right behind me. It didn't take long to see the huge cloud of smoke and the crowd of Gladers. I skidded to a stop, and pushed through the guys.

"Jason!" I cried, grabbing the boy, "what the actual fuck?"

"I don't know!" He cried.

Smoke and flames were billowing out of the room through the door.

"Is anyone inside?"

"I don't know."

Growling in frustration I grabbed his shoulders, making him look at me. "Grab some guys and strat bringing water buckets!"

He nodded and took off, grabbing some of the other guys. I grabbed another guy by the front of the shirt, his huge terrified eyes snapped to mine.

"Go find Newt and Minho." I demanded. "Now!" I gave the kid a shiver towards the Homestead.

Turning back to the Map room and fire I growled in frustration. Before I could stop and think I ran head long into the flames. Pulling my shirt up over my mouth and nose I tried to look around. Teresa had followed at my heels. I nodded once at her and we started to look around. Tried to see if anyone was inside.

The smoke was thick and made my eyes water and my throat burn. I started coughing, it was hard to breathe. It was so hot inside I was covered in sweat almost instantly. The fire was coming from the trunks full of maps. They had been piled on top of the big wood table and doused in some kind of oil. The flames wouldn't be this big or this hot otherwise.

"Fucken dammit!" I screamed. Which just caused me to inhale a huge breath of smoke, which made me cough.

"There's no one here!" I heard Teresa yell.

I turned to see her bent over, hands on her knees, coughing wildly, smoke and fire swirled around us. I stumbled over, my eyes burning and watering, making everything hard to see.

"You're sure?"

She nodded. I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me towards the door. We stumbled out into the open just as Jason came back carrying buckets of water. Frypan Winston and a bunch of others right behind him. It took them a few trips to get the fire under control. In that time Newt and Minho showed up. Minho took one look at the map room and he sunk to his knees, a look of horror on his face.

I didn't have time to deal with that, a kid had just collapsed, hacking, coughing and dry heaving from smoke. I ran back into the room and grabbed the kid, pulling him out and dumped him on the grass beside Clint who was dealing with a kid who had burnt his arm.

"Jessie!" Winston grabbed my arm, his face was dirty and sweaty, and covered in soot. I stopped and looked around at him. "The flames are gone. It's just smoking."

I deflated in relief. I looked around as another shout of my name caught my attention. Newt and Teresa came over. Followed by the rest of the Keepers and Thomas.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Newt demanded. He had a big white bandage around his head, but the blood was seeping through.

"I could say the same to you." I frowned, pointing to his head. He waved my concern away, folding his arms and asked again.

"I dunno. Teresa found me asleep in the forest. We talked for a bit, came out here and..." I waved my hand towards the map room, "come out to this chaos!"

Dug scoffed.

"Shut it Dug or I'll use you as a pin cushion." I snarled. I turned back to Newt, "What about you? What the fuck is going on?"

"Chuck said Alby was awake, we went to talk to him...he kicked me out, he just wanted to talk to Tommy."

He sounded like he was pouting a little.

"Waited for a bit, Tommy started yelling, we went back in and Alby was trying to bloody choke himself! It took all three of us to stop him."

"That's shucked up." Winston shuttered.

"Yeah, that ain't normal!" Frypan agreed.

"Yeah. It was buggen' weird." Newt nodded.

"He said he didn't do it. It wasn't him. It was like he switched...he was gonna tell me something about my past and then his eyes went wide and he started chocking himself." Thomas explained quietly, his body shivered.

I felt the blood leave my face. The world teetered around me and my knees gave out. Winston grabbed me.

"Whoa there JayJay. You okay?"

I blinked a few times, pressing my lips together I nodded. My eyes flicked to Teresa. She didn't look much better. Her big blue eyes were wide and staring at me, she knew. She understood. They were controlling Alby. Just like They could control us. I felt a shiver travel down my spine. I forced myself to stand up and take a slow breath.

"Okay...but...how the hell did you end up looking like Frankenstein's monster?" I asked pointing to his bandaged head.

"Came out here went ta' help look for you, Jess, walked around the corner of the map room and that was it. Don't remember anything until Jason came sprinting into the Med room shouting the map room was on fire."

"Fuck sakes!" I growled.

"It was the new girl!" Dug yelled, pointing a finger at her.

"How the hell did you come up with that? I just told you she was with me!" I rounded on the guy.

"Ya...says you!"

"Ya, says me, you idiot. How would she manage to talk to Winston at the same time knock Newt out all while talking with me in the Deadheads- the opposite side of the fucken Glade and then risk her life by going into the burning room?" I yelled, taking a few angry steps towards him. Winston grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I glared at him for a moment longer. "Fry? Smack him again for me."

Frypan smacked the back of Dug's head, much to the whining and yelping of Dug.

"Thank you!"

Fry nodded. I glared at everyone else.

"Anyone else have a fucked up theory about Tess? Also, how the fuck would she know where we keep the maps? You're assuming a lot."

Everyone shook there heads.

"No. We saw her with Winston or you the whole time." Jeff shrugged.

Teresa gave him a small smile of thanks.

"Wait a bloody minute." Newt said, his brown eyes flicked around the circle of Keepers. "Where's Gally and Minho?"

"Oh shuck!" I cursed. "I saw him, Minho. I was just busy at the moment pulling Aaron from the fire."

"Ya know...I haven't seen Gally since you're fight." Zart said, rubbing his chin. I raised an eyebrow.

"Ya...he stormed off in one direction. You stormed off in the other. We thought we'd give you some space." Winston added.

"So...he wasn't at super either?" I asked.

Everyone shook their heads. Something was off. I didn't know what, but I knew something was definitely wrong. Frowning I slowly turned around in a circle, my eyes flicking all over the place. I looked back at the keepers.

"Okay. Well he's a hot head, and needs time to cool off. But he's also adamant on wanting to stay in the Glade." I looked at everyone. "What are you opinions. Do you want to stay here or get the hell out of here?"

Everyone, including Dug, shook their heads.

"Nah. We all want out. This ain't home." Frypan spoke for the group.

"Good. Then we need to find Gally. A few of you go talk to his builders, see if they know anything."

Jason came running up panting, he was covered in sweat and soot.

"What up?" I asked.

"Can I talk to you?"

I nodded and he pulled me aside. Away from the others, Newt shoed everyone one away.

"Ya, Newt, Thomas...you'll wanna hear this."

The guys came over. We all looked at Jason waiting, I folded my arms and raised my eyebrows waiting.

"There's nothing to be salvaged. Everything was burnt. All three years of maps, all our work gone. Burnt up, nothing left!"

I smirked and gave Newt a side eye. He pressed his lips together, trying to hide a smile.

"You two lose it? Why are you smiling? I just told you all our work for three years is gone! Burnt to ash."

I reached out and clapped his shoulder. And grinned evily. Thomas looked confused lost and frustrated, his eyes flicking back and forth between us.

"Oh ye of little faith."

"After that bloody gong show of a council meeting, after Gally stormed out, did ya really buggen' think we'd leave the bloody maps out for anyone?" Newt asked, his face was quite neutral.

Jason was opening and closing his mouth his eyebrows knit together. I folded my arms and smirked.

"Those weren't the real maps." Thomas said slowly.

"Wait what?" Jason sputtered.

"Ahh. Our Intelligent Idiot figured it out." I gave Thomas a twisted grin.

I chucked at Jason and Thomas's confusion. As much as I wanted to stand here and laugh as their minds tried to process what happened, I knew I needed to find Minho.

"Newt? Wanna deal with this? I gotta find Minho."

Newt nodded. He guided Jason and Thomas away to explain everything. I turned and went in search of Minho. I went to our room first. It was quiet in the Homestead. As I pushed out bedroom door open I knew right away he wasn't here and something was wrong. Our room was trashed. Blankets and pillows all over. The drawers were pulled out. My backpack was sitting on the disheveled bed, everything was dumped out. My stomach dropped, and my worked spun again. Pain shot through my chest.

I noticed right away three things were missing. My knives my extra length rop and my bottle of pain meds for my leg were gone.

"No! No no no." I whispered.

My eyes dilated in fear. Minho had told me he had at one point planned everything out. He hated it here as much as the next shank, but I knew the pressure of the entire Glade counting on you to get them out...he told me it gets too much sometimes. He told me Newt had the right idea, just didn't excite his plan very well.

I felt panic rise, it was boiling at the surface. He wouldn't...would he? He would try to leave me now...after everything we've been through and all his promises...he wouldn't try kill himself now...

I had to find him. With my chest feeling like it had a hundred pounds sitting on it, my world teetering and tears stinging my eyes, I turned and ripped the door open and sprinted back out of the Homestead. Skidding to a halt in the middle of the Glad I spun in circles trying to think where he would be. Closing my eyes grabbing my hair and forced all my panic back inside.

Where would you go?

Everyone said they hadn't seen him. I saw him sink to the ground in front of the map room, that was the last time. I had to think this through. Taking a slow deep breath I started talking to myself, trying to figure out where he could have gone.

"He's not in our room...he wants to be alone. He doesn't want to be found. Map room isn't an option. Wall doors are closed. Tree house, Deadheads or -"

My eyes snapped open. I was already sprinting in that direction. Ignoring the full throb in my leg I ran as fast as I could. Taking a turn around the kitchen building I skidded and slammed into a tree. Pushing off I kept running. Praying, hoping I wasn't too late and he hadn't done anything stupid.

I didn't stop or slow down, I launched myself at the low hanging branch and pulled myself up, I had to slow down to get my balance, walking out on the limb of the tree, I jumped and grabbed the roof of the Bloodhouse, I pulled myself up. As fast as I could I scaled the roof.

"Minho!" I yelled, I could hear the frantic panic in my voice.

I heard it. I heard the unmistakable sounds of angry hopeless crying. I slid down the other side of the roof and saw him hunched over. My feet froze, my lungs felt like they were crushing under the weight of panic. The knife lay beside him, he had something loosely grasped in his hand.

"No!" I screamed so loud it ripped my throat. I sprung at him, and tackled him hard.

"No! No no no! Please no! Fuck! No Minho!"

He just lay on his back, his eyes rolled.

"Fuck No!" I screamed, tears rolled down my cheeks. I grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him hard.

"Minho!" I screamed again. His eyes fluttered open.

"Jessie?"

I looked over my shoulder, Winston had appeared.

"Winnie!" I cried, "I need Jeff! Now! And something to make him throw up! Now! Please!"

Winston's eyes went wide and he scrambled back down the roof. I turned back to Minho who's eyes rolled back into his head. I shook him again.

"Please! Please come back. Don't do this to me! Please! Please don't leave me!" I cried.

It felt like forever. But Winston was back scrambling up the roof, followed by Teresa. They skidded to a stop.

"Okay, Jeff is at the bottom, he's scared of heights. But he said to give him this. Roll him into his side and he'll start in a minute or two."

My hands were shacking. My mind couldn't focus on what he said. Teresa grabbed the bottle and measuring syringe. She got the meds measured out and looked at me.

"Jess. I need you to open his mouth." She said it slowly, but firmly, making sure I heard her.

I forced Minho's mouth open and she pushed the top of the syringe, the medicine went down his throat.

"Close his mouth. Make sure it's gone."

I followed her directions.

"Okay, now roll him into his side." Winston instructed.

The three of us got him situated, just in time. He started vomiting. The three of us took turns making sure his vomiting didn't get stuck in his air way.

I had a hard time, I couldn't stop shaking. The tears and hyperventilating had stopped, now I just sat my knees to my chest, eyes glassy and unresponsive.

It took Winston, Newt, Frypan, Phil (the Keeper of the baggers,) Clint, Jeff, Thomas, Jason and Teresa to get a still unconscious Minho off the roof of the Bloodhouse. Teresa and Winston came back and got me to my feet. And off the roof. It felt like a dream. A nightmare. A full awful nightmare that was my living reality.

Minho had tried to take his own life and just about succeeded.