the maze runner
chapter fourteen

❛❛ next time, i'm gonna let you leave ❜❜

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The noon went on rather quietly and slow. The pigs were squealing on and off, cows munching on haystack, Teo and Poe had to slaughter at least three chickens and a boar for the bonfire tonight. The usual welcoming bonfire for the Greenie every once a month. Last month's bonfire was rather dull, Poe almost felt bad for Chuck because how less hyped his welcoming bonfire was due to their loss.

Winston had Bill, Sam and Phil to take the slaughtered animals to the Cooks so they can cook them for tonight meanwhile Teo and Poe cleaned themselves up outside of the barn where the small pool of water was. Poe took off his bloodied blue muscle shirt before putting on a new one.

"I've been here and worked in Slicers for almost a year now—" says Teo, pulling off his t-shirt and still wore a white muscle shirt, "they still don't send us some protective robes, this is like the hundredth shirt that I have to throw away. At least send up maybe a washer where we can wash our clothes? Jesus man, I don't get why they don't send us anything electrical. Maybe at least flashlights? Or tv? These people down there are bullshit"

"How do we know if they still have electricity and all that? Maybe they're extinct" Poe shrugged, he sat down on the chair nearby.

"Pff! You're stupid, Poe" Teo scoffed, "Like they gotta have an advanced technology to built this goddamn place, think about it. Even if we live in Stone Age, we wouldn't even know that TVs existed"

Poe just laughed in response. He threw his dirty and bloodied muscle shirt in the garbage bag.

"Isn't that the Greenbean?" Teo was looking ahead towards the Doors.

Poe followed his gaze, they see the new Greenie with Chuck by the Doors, the Greenie was walking close to the Doors, getting too close.

"Can tell he's curious" Teo commented, "just like you were, Poe— well, he's standing way too close to the Doors now. Oh no—"

There was Gally jogging towards the Greenie, that's when Teo and Poe jogged forward. As they were hurrying to the Doors, Gally shoved the Greenie sideway, like the kid was thrown and looked almost weightless.

"Gally!" Teo blurted, he and Poe stopped about ten feet from the tall boy. "Come on, leave him alone"

"What? We can't let him wander off out there, can we?" Gally scoffed and turned his head back down at the Greenie.

The Greenie got up "Get off me!" He hissed and angrily shoved Gally away.

"Alright. Calm down" Gally stepped away from the boy.

"Don't touch me!" The Greenie yelled as he was stepping backwards towards the maze but Gally was behind him and blocking the doorway. Every Glader in the Glade were rushing to the Doors

"Hey, take it easy, mate!" Teo uttered. As he attempted to get close to the Greenie, he just backed away. "We're just trying to help you!"

"Just relax!" Gally was standing in the doorway. Half of the Gladers were surrounding the boy.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" The Greenie demanded. Meanwhile Poe just stood by without saying a word and looked at everyone that were in the area before glancing back at the new boy. He felt no concern for the boy at all, unlike how he felt for the Greenies after him, but this one, there was no sympathy at all.

"Just calm down, alright?" Newt tried but the kid was pushing back away from the Second in Command.

"No, okay?!" The new kid uttered, "Why won't you tell me what's out there?!"

"We're just trying to protect you" Alby told him.

"It's for your own good" Newt added.

"You can't just keep me in here!" Said the Greenie.

"We can't let you leave!" said Alby

"Why not?!"

With that, there was a rumbling, mechanical loud noise within the Doors, signalling the Doors closing time. Another rumbling noise followed before a large wind entered the maze, Poe turned his head from the dust of winds blew through the Gladers. The loud rumbling noise grew louder and the Doors began to close. Everyone watched them closing as the Greenie stared at the Doors closing, all stunned and baffled.

After the Doors closed, it was all silent momentarily. "Next time, I'm gonna let you leave" Gally told the Greenie. With Gally leaving, so did everyone else.

Poe stood there for a moment as he stared at the Greenie. The familiarity feeling made him stay for a moment, trying to get something out from the new kid, Poe couldn't explain the feeling, there was an urge, a sudden urge of wanting to confront the kid but he would think he's just crazy. Poe wants to ask him if the kid knows him but he predicted that the kid won't know him at all.

"Welcome to the Glade" Alby pat the kid's back then left.

Poe didn't move until the kid finally shifted his gaze away from the Doors, he met Poe's glance, that's when he finally turned and walked away without saying a word.

The evening passed and night came. The bonfire started when few of the Keepers and the leader threw the torches into the pile of wood, and the fire grew instantly. The cheers and the claps began.

Poe sat afar from the bonfire, sitting on an empty bucket as he watched and listened to the Gladers cheering on, smiling, laughing, playing the drums with buckets and sticks, and wrestling in the circle. He had a stick poking through a roasted meat and a drink that they call "Gally's recipe" that makes everyone feel funny that makes them ease and feel good as well.

Eating and drinking alone until Newt showed up. "Poe, Poe, Poe" he sighed and he was stumbling a little as he approached him. Newt sat down on the ground. "You don't look so good, meaning like your mood suddenly changed during the day. One moment, you're all laughing and smiling and then all of sudden, you're looking moody. Did I say something?"

Poe gave a strange look at Newt who raised his brows and kept his glance at Poe. "No, no... just a... weird day" he chewed on the meat he was eating. It's been truly a weird day for him.

"Weird day, always a weird day for you, Poe. Oh it's just it's been a strange day, like that's your typical excuse of your moodiness" Newt smiled.

Only a month he's known him, and he already knows Poe like he can read his mind. "You can't always question and concern whenever I look moody or sad, you know? Like I can't even question you about those bad months we had and you can't even tell me what really happened to your leg"

Newt glanced away, he pouted his mouth and shrugged "Fair enough" they both gazed at the bonfire.

Poe spotted the Greenie walking away from the bonfire, he was walking toward the Doors, he hopped over a large log before sitting down. "Met the Greenie yet?" Poe asked Newt. Poe took a gulp of Gally's recipe, it tasted awful, the bitterness and with only little flavour of a familiar fruit. He still scrunches his nose in disgust no matter how many times he drinks it.

"Yeah, just only seconds until Alby told me to look for Chuck. Haven't properly met him and still don't know his name, I don't think he knows his own name yet" Newt stated, he gulped his drink, "How about you? Met him yet?"

Poe shook his head, "No"

"Well then, let's go introduce ourselves, shall we?" Newt got up. Pulled Poe's arm up to get him off the seat.

He didn't want to, for some reason, he didn't want to meet the Greenie despite an urge of confronting the new kid. "Actually—" Poe uttered, "I'm gonna go find Anton" they both walked towards the bonfire together.

Newt scoffed, "Alright then, see ya—" he gave Poe a slight shove towards the crowd.

"See ya" Poe said back as he walked towards one of the huts. He walked around the bonfire to look for Anton. Around once, almost bumped into Nico as he was wrestling with Gally in the ring and luckily Poe dodged forward.

He found Anton sitting with Siggy, and with Teo. Bark was with them. The dog barked as soon he spotted Poe. "There you are, you party-downer" Winston threw his arms around Poe's shoulder. "Where've you been hiding, huh?"

"I think you're a little too drunk," Poe laughed as he pat on Winston's chest.

The bonfire went on, Poe finally let himself go, to have a little fun with his friends, they talked, they horsed around as they laughed. They watched the Builders wrestling, the Baggers, the Bricknicks, even Winston wrestled against one of the Builders where they bet another with something, making trades. Poe, Teo, Anton and few others were cheering on Winston as he beat the Builder winning back his hammers that the Builders took.

Poe haven't had this fun for a while now, he can't remember the last time he smiled and laughed like that. It's been a while and it felt good.

As they were watching Gally fighting another Glader, until the Glader got shoved off of the ring and bumped into the Greenie. Every Glader slowly fell silent, Gally's attention was on the Greenie.

"What do you say, Greenie?" Gally asked, "Want to see what you're made of?"

Almost everyone began chanting "Greenie! Greenie! Greenie! Greenie!" slowly then quick before clapping and cheering him on. Poe was silent as he watched and his friends around him were joining the crowd's cheer. The Greenie didn't say anything but seemingly he had to.

Once the cheering stopped as slow claps and low cheers went on. "Rules are simple, Greenie" Gally began, "I try to push you out of the circle. You try to last more than five seconds"

There were sudden laughs and chuckles. "Take it easy on the Greenie, Gally!" Nico jeered.

"Ready?" Gally asked the Greenie. Gally was inches taller than the Greenie, making the kid looking kind of small and weak. Within seconds, Gally charged forward and shoved the Greenie backwards, the kids fell backwards, the Track-hoes behind him stopped him from falling out of the circle then they pushed him back into the ring. Gally dodged him but shoved him down. The Greenie face-planted onto the ground. Gally went around him, "Come on, Greenie. Get up. We're not done yet"

The kid got up, rather looking peevish. "Stop calling me Greenie" he demanded.

There were slight chuckles from the Gladers. "Stop calling you Greenie? What do you want to be called? Shank?" Gally taunted. There were multiple bursts of chuckles and cheers from the Gladers. "What do you think guys? Does he look like a shank?" There were multiple agreements.

The Greenie charged forward at Gally, attempting to tackle him, Gally had him and went in around in circles few times before Gally threw him off and the Greenie was on the ground again.

"You know what? I think I've settled on shank" Gally claimed.

The Greenie charged again, this time Gally seemed to be struggling to get the kid off. To everyone's surprise, the kid managed to push Gally onto the ground and everyone exclaimed in surprise and have cheering.

"There you go, Greenie!" Teo cheered. Poe didn't realize that he was smirking and let out a soft chuckle.

"Not bad for a Greenie, huh?" The new kid went cocky.

With that, Gally moved quickly, kicked his foot across the Greenie's ankle, and he fell back and slammed his head on the ground. Poe winced "Ooh" he uttered softly.

The Greenie was on the ground for a moment, Poe had seen his face like the realization had hit him. He was muttering something out. He quickly got up and said something again, "Hey!" He called out everyone. "Thomas! Hey!... I remember my name! I'm Thomas!"

There were smiles all around him, then Alby shouted "Alright, Thomas!" Then almost everyone began to cheer.

While everyone were onto Thomas, welcoming him and shaking his hand. Almost everyone meanwhile Poe stood by as everything sounded fainted for a moment, the cheers were fainting away.

Thomas. Thomas. Thomas

He heard that name before. He never who Thomas was, Poe heard the name from his dreams before, few times, it was the same one over and over. A girl was crying out "Thomas!" in his dreams while Poe stood by and watched a blurred human figure being whisked away from a girl.

Theres a sudden monstrous roar echoed into the Glade, interrupting everyone, the sounds were coming from behind the walls.

Grievers.

One of them was just by the wall, literally just behind the wall. As if the Griever had heard the Gladers cheering and hated the sounds of the boys cheering. Every gaze were at the wall where the Griever was.

"What the hell was that?" Thomas was startled.

"That, my friend, is a Griever" Gally told him. "Don't worry, you're here with us. Nothing gets through those walls"

With that, Alby announced it was bedtime. "Alright guys. Let's tuck in for the night. Come on. It was a good night" he began to clap.

Everyone began to head to the camp and call it the night. Tonight was strange for Poe, unsure about this Thomas guy. Why the familiarity keeps bugging him. This Thomas who was arguing with him in the dream, who told him to go to hell with hate in his tone, did Thomas hated Poe before this? How do they know each other?

"Had a good night?" Newt pat Poe's back. Poe didn't realize how slow he was walking to the camp with Bark following him.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it truly was" Poe nodded.

"Good seeing you all smiling again"

"Oh, I was? I didn't realize" Poe replied sarcastically.

"Come on, you slowpoke—" Newt gave him a slight push, "Time to rest"

Poe's and Newt's hammocks were near each other with Anton's between the two. The night was getting late, most of the Gladers in the camp were already sleeping while the rest took a while to fall asleep and Poe was one of those rest who had a hard time falling asleep.

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