They were coming. The Designers were letting Grievers in.

"Everything is going to change..." Teresa's breathy voice whimpered.

Before I could say anything there was an inhuman scream from deep in the maze. Chaos broke out. Gladers started yelling, and everyone was moving, but nothing was happening, no one was going anywhere. It was panicked chaos. I needed their attention... I jumped up onto the picnic table, lifted my fingers to my mouth and let a loud sharp whistle out.

"SLIM IT! LISTEN UP!"

The Gladers froze. At least someone was taking charge. I looked around at the terrified faces. I narrowed my eyes and glared at them all. Gally had sunk back down to his knees, head lowered and unmoving. No one else had experience in this. No one else knew what to do. They all seemed to look to me for answers. I growled.

How did I end up leading these idiots?

"We have an hour, maybe two before those Grievers make it inside the walls. We need to do everything we can to be ready."

No one moved, every eye was on me and it was silent. Everyone was waiting instructions.

"Baby Shank! Where are you man?"

"Here!" Squeaked a voice, Chuck came elbowing his way to the front but stayed away from Gally.

"Good. Chuck, go to the council hall, take the rest of the sloppers and start barricading everything. Dug you idiot, you go too.
Builders, take extra boards scraps anything that'll burn, like it at the entrance of the South doors. And once you're done go help nail up any holes there, reinforce anything you can in the council hall." The ones I named rushed off.

"It won't work. They are coming." Gally whispered again. "Each night until we're all dead...they are coming..."

"Phil...I dunno what to do with this guy, how'd he get out?" I pointed at Gally. Phil shrugged.

"Well Gally, your on your own right now. Either pitch in and help or get lost. I don't got time for your phsyco right now."

He just stayed on his knees and shivered. I shook my head and looked to the next guys and gave instructions.

"Fry, Zart. I need you to find all the cooking oil and grease you can. Bring it to the South doors." Fry nodded and grabbed a few Track Hoes and rushed off into the kitchen.

I turned to my Medjacks. "Jeff. Clint. Make sure you're ready, can you pack some first aid bags? Hand them out to The Keepers."

"Everyone else, find a place to help and go!"

There seemed to be some slight confusion from the ones left. I growled.

"Move you idiots!" When I yelled they all jumped and scurried off.

"Minho, Newt, Thomas, Tess, Winnie, Jason. I need to talk to you!" I jumped off the table and they circled up.

"We need as many weapons as we can carry, we need to arm as many Gladers as we can. I'm sure they can handle a knife or spear. I hope. I've never seen most of these guys with anything more than a shovel or fork...but...it's what I got to work with.  Protect the Council hall. That'll be ground zero, base camp..."

Winston took off with Newt and Alby and went to The Blood house for the butcher knives. I grabbed Teresa's arm and pulled her away from the guys.

"You and me and heading this one."

She nodded. "I want out. I don't want to go back. I'm not going back. I'd rather die then go back to Him."

"Agreed."

She nodded, her bright electric blue eyes were hard and set. She reached out and clasped the back of my neck. I did the same. We leaned our foreheads together for a second.

"Sisters?" I asked quietly. It just came out, involuntarily. Like muscle memory or something; maybe it was the situation we were in or I had cracked under pressure. Or maybe it was some weird ritual handshake thing we did back in The Hall...either way Teresa answered without hesitation.

"Sisters."

We took one last deep breath.

"Let's go kick some ass."

"Hell ya." She grinned.

We turned and chased after the guys. We caught up with them just as Minho was yanking the Map room door open. It still smelt like burnt wood and smoke. We all waded through the ash to the back corner where Minho unlocked the hatch and climbed down the stairs. Jumping down the hole I landed next to Teresa. She stood up with a whistle.

"So this is where you hide the good stuff."

Jason, Thomas and Minho grabbed as many speers as they could and headed back out. I tossed Teresa a holster for knives and strapped my own on and started stuffing it full of knives. I also saw a few throwing stars I grabbed.

Teresa turned around with a frown, "why is there a gun?"

"What?" I looked over my shoulder and stepped closer. Laying in her hand was a small black hand gun. I picked it up. And ejected the magazine. "Fully loaded. Seems..."

"Weird. I get knives, spears, some of this other medieval weaponry. But a gun?" Teresa said.

"Ya. Doesn't sit right. But I'm assuming you know how to use one?"

She nodded. I tossed the gun back.

"You keep that part. I'll keep the magazine. The last thing we need is some lunatic running around with a gun."

"Agreed."

She shoved the gun into the holster on her hip and I slid the fully loaded magazine clip into my pocket. We were just finishing strapping weapons to ourselves when the guys came back for another arm full. This time followed by Newt, Winston, Alby and Frypan. Everyone grabbed another armful and headed back upstairs.

I went for another bunch of arrows when I was grabbed from behind, spun around and pushed into the nearest wall. I melted, my knees weak, and my eyes fluttered shut. He kissed me so passionately I forgot to breath. He pulled me away from the wall and slid his hands down to my hips and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. His one hand around my hips, holding my butt the other buried into my hair.

He walked us over to one of the weapons tables and set me down, I tightened my legs around him. My hands grasped onto his shirt clenching it tight in my fists. Minho broke the kiss and looked into my eyes.

"If something happens to you, I'm burning the shucken world down."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me." I reasured him.

"How can you be so sure?" He whispered back, anxiety and fear I'm every word he said.

"Because I have you on one side of me and Tess on the other." I whispered against his lips.

"But-"

I kissed him gently to cut him off. "No." I whispered again. "Nothing's gonna happen, Sparky. Because your battle is my fight. And my fight is your battle. We do this together."

His hand grabbed my neck, tilting my head up, his dark intense eyes looked deep into mine. I could look at his eyes all day. They were dark dark brown, but a few light chocolate brown flecks in them, all surrounded by a frame of thick long eyelashes. Sometimes they would dance with amusement and mischief, others times they were dark and needy with desire, and other times cold strong and steady. Right now they were soft and gentle, memorizing everything about my face.

"I love you so much Jessie."

My hands slipped up into the back of his hair. "Minho...I trust you with my heart and love." I whispered. I pulled his head down for another kiss. His lips gently brushed mine when there was a dry cough and a throat clear.

"Hope our end of the buggen' world crisis isn't interrupting your bloody personal life."

"Actually, yes Winnie. It is. Here I am trying to make out with this smoke show of a human and The shucken Designers and Grievers have inconveniently desided now I'd a good time to storm the Glade. Rather rude." I scoffed.

Minho snickered and looked over at the stairs and hatch with a smug smirk. Winston, Thomas, Newt and Teresa were there. Winston and Teresa looked smug and like they were enjoying this, Newt looked exhaspirated and Thomas looked slightly bewildered.

"Come on ya bloody love birds."

"Ya ya." I waved. "Just so we set the record straight," I pointed at Newt. "Uou wanted this to happen." I glared accusingly at Newt.

"Ya ya." He waved with an eye roll.

Minho stepped away and I hopped off the table. The rest of the guys stomped up the stairs. I grabbed Minho's arm. He twisted back around, and I kissed him roughly, one more time. All my unsaid words into that one kiss. Minho kissed me back immediately, also trying to convey all the unsaid things into that quick but passionate kiss. I didn't want to say it, but what if something did happen. I held on I but tighter for a second longer, but pulled back unwillingly. We had a fight on our hands.

"We need to hurry, we're running out of time."

We headed back up the stairs and out the map room door.

As they ran, they could hear the screeching of the Grievers coming closer. I slid to a stop  by the entrance, trying to see anything. It was black. Winston came running, a bright flame at the end of his branch.

The South doors were the only door that was open, so we put our efforts into blocking this opening. Frypan was handing out sticks that had cloth wrapped around and soaked in oil. Every Glader here was armed with set but solom faces. They were the Braves one willing to fight. It was mostly keepers but a few Gladers.

"Okay. Here's how it's gonna work-"

I was interupted by the loud mechanical animal scream of a Griever.

"As I was saying!" I yelled. "We wait, blow as many up as possible- I don't know how many will be coming, but we blow as many as possible. Then it's up to spears, and klunk. The most efficient is through the mouth into its brain."

"Yeah which only you'll be able to get!"

"Not true. Tess can also aim." I said simply.

Thomas rolled his eyes.

Another scream echoed off the stone walls. They were just around the corner now.

"Kill them, stop them. Whatever it takes. They are fast and big, but not very smart or agile."

"Here they come." Minho yelled. His knuckles were white as he gripped the speed in his hand, the flames flicked over his face casting it in shadow, making it sharp and angular.

"Steady!" I growled to the group around me. I split the group up half on one side half on the other side. Teresa and I stood in the opening. The giant pile of scrap wood, and oil. Our bows held tightly in our hands. I pulled an arrow from my quiver and nocked it. I could hear the long metal legs slamming into the stone.

The steady drum beat of the metal legs on stone grew louder. The hum and moaning from the Griever was there just to mess with them. I could feel the anxiety and fear from the Gladers around me. I ground my teeth, feeling my muscles tensing with the anticipation of a fight. Out of the gloom came the huge hulking figure of a Griever. It slowly stormed down the hall towards them. The moaning making the Gladers shift nervously.

"STAY PUT YOU SISSYS PANTS WETTING BABIES!" Minho roared, when a few guys took a few steeps backwards. He looked pale and I could see the beads of sweat from fear on his forehead, but he stood steadfast beside me.

Ten feet.

The steady thudding of the legs on stone was like thunder, and the slow haunting whirring and moaning echoed off the walls, like they were trying to scare us. I lit the arrow on fire.

Five feet.

"STEADY!" I screamed. I pulled the string back. Teresa's followed my lead.

Three feet.

"LOOSE!" I roared.

I released my arrow as the Griever opened its mouth. The flaming arrow struck the Griever in the mouth. The impact jerked the head back, it slowed it down enough for the Griever behind to slam into it. Teresa released her flaming arrow. They started to smoke.

"Back up!" I yelled.

Teresa and I backed up. The Gladers on each side of the wall scrambled back. The first Griever exploded. I ducked down, throwing a hand above my head. I felt Teresa beside me. Firey parts, scraps and biological parts went everywhere. Debris rained down on me and Teresa. We had to scramble backwards again.

"Torches! Get ready!" I screamed, pointing at the next guys. I straightened up and pulled another arrow from my quiver. From the small fires around me I stabbed a small piece of the blubber that was on fire. A d nocked my arrow again. Pulling the string back.

"Wait!" I barked. "Hold!"

The next few Grievers could be seen crawling over the remainder of Griever parts.

"Hold!"

I pulled back even more, my shoulder muscle was shacking. Teresa was beside me. Fire in her eyes. I smirked. I saw out if the corner of my eye, the Gladers were posed ready to throw.

"LOOSE!"

Teresa and I let out arrows fly. The guys with flaming torches threw them into the pile of wood in the entrance.

I could see the long sharp teeth and the beady black eyes in their mechanical head. A few of them scrambled over the pile of grease and oil soaked wood and cloth. The woof went up instantly. The Grievers screamed, as it caught on fire. The wires sparked and it started to smoke, the smell of burning oil made me want to puke.

"It's gonna blow!"

I grabbed Teresa's arm and dove out of the way. A few of them had caught fire, making them scream and flail around. They exploded with a deafening boom. It made the ground shake. Teresa and I hit the ground. We rolled a bit, our limbs were tangled together, but we managed to get to our feet The Grievers that exploded caused the ground to catch fire, a fee more machines coming behind in the hall just climbed up the wall and jumped over the fires.

They kept coming, like a swarm of spiders. heard Thomas's voice yelling for Gladers to hide or go to the Council hall. Gladers screamed. Grievers roared their wild animalistic screams.

Teresa and I were separated from the rest of the guys. I lost Minho in the explosion and now the smoke was too thick.

"MINHO?!" I screamed.

I couldn't hear anything distinguishable. It was chaos in a matter of seconds. The Grievers were here for one thing; our distraction. Gally was wrong. It wasn't just one kid a night. It was anyone they could grab.

"MINHO!" I screamed again, I inhaled a lung full of thick black smoke making me cough and sputter. Fear shot through me, for the first time tonight.

"MINHO!" I screamed again, despritly. I knew it was useless to yell. He wasn't going to hear over the noise if the Grievers and the screaming of Gladers.

"Jessie! We gotta go!" Teresa had grabbed my arm.

"No! Where's Minho?" I cried.

"Probably on his way to the council hall."

"MINHO!" I cried, a sob stuck in my throat as a Griever turned towards us. It's evil black eyes fixed on Teresa and me.

"They're coming for you." Gally's menacing whisper bounced around my head.

Rage. That's all I felt. White hot burning rage. I wasn't going back. I'd rather die fighting on my feet than die on my knees giving up.

"COME ON!" I screamed.

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