˚ ༘✶₊˚.                         ⊹ ˚ .  FIRST ACT
❪         FOUR      ♥︎    ₊˚༢࿐
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FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE SHE ARRIVED TO THE GLADE, Mae felt a sense of dread when she walked into the council room. Minho, Newt, Alby and Nick were there, all looking pale and shaken but her eyes instantly landed on George, who was being tied down against a support beam. He was thrashing and screaming against the rag in his mouth, and it only worsened when Mae walked into the room. While she was busy helping Gally, Nick and George had gone into the Maze for one last explore.

And what came back wasn't George.

"Can you explain it again? So they can't hear," Alby spoke lowly to Nick, who looked pale and deep in thought.

"Nick," Mae came forward, placing a soft hand on his elbow. He leans into her touch slightly as she said, "What happened out there?"

"I don't know. . ." He says rawly, "I went ahead, exploring a pathway and memorizing it. I thought he was close behind but. . . I heard something weird, like metal. It sounded like gears turning."

Mae remembered when she was stuck in the Maze. Had he heard the same thing she did? Did he find the same pathway too?

"Then I heard George scream," He continued, they both look to George, who looked deadly, "But when I got to him, he was alone, and wouldn't speak to me the whole way back, and then—"

"He attacked Alby," Newt spoke up, arms crossed over his chest, "George must've saw something in that Maze. Now he's gone ballistic."

"All I did was step on his shoe, I apologized but," Alby rubbed his sore jaw and it didn't take a genius to guess what happened next. "He also mentioned a sting," Alby added.

Mae paled. Was it the Grievers? None of them had ever actually seen one, they only go off of what they hear from the Maze. Not only was there a freakishly loud creature out there, it could sting people too? How are they ever going to find a way out of there.

"What do we do with him?" Gally asked instantly, "Throw him into the Slammer?"

His suggestion made the others groan. Ever since Gally made the Slammer he was keen on using it every chance he got. Mae patted his shoulder in comfort when the idea was thrown out the window and he deflated.

Minho shook his head, "Something happened out there. I'm telling you, George wouldn't just attack Alby like that."

"Clearly," The Builder replied, motioning to Alby's bruised face.

Mae moved forward slightly, crouching in front of George. The others quickly grow tense with how close she was to him, but the girl gave George a calming smile. He was screaming something, but they couldn't hear it through the rag in his mouth. At the sight of Mae, he began to act out more.

"George," She says, "George it's going to be okay. You just need to calm down, and we can figure this out, together." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he reels forward, scaring her.

Minho quickly lifted her up from the ground, pushing her behind him as he glared at George. Mae stopped to think about what Minho was feeling. This wasn't just one of his runners, this was his friend. He was probably just as scared and confused as everyone else, he was just better had hiding it.

"What do we do, Nick?" Alby turned to his leader.

The boy, who was quiet until then, pushes off the wall to take Mae's spot on the ground in front of George, looking him dead in the eyes. Nick could tell, that the boy he knew wasn't really there anymore.

"Well, we can't let him go and we can't leave him here. . .so, I guess we'll have to put him in the Slammer," He said, Gally instantly nodding in agreement, "In the morning, we'll have a council meeting with the rest of the Keepers to decide what we do with him." He said this more to George, who reeled forward again at his words.

Mae sighed, turning away from George as Minho and Newt untied him from the beam and grabbed both of his arms tightly. She couldn't watch as they dragged him out of Homestead, reluctantly following behind Gally and Nick as they made their way through the Glade.

Still, Mae kept her distance as a small crowd started to gather.

They had heard the screams from George━━ and considering most of them had witnessed when he attacked Alby anyway, they kept their distance as they watched the scene unfold. Mae simply kept her head down as they approached the makeshift jail. But because her head was down, she hadn't seen that George was quickly wiggling out of his rope cuffs, and in a swift motion he was throwing both Minho and Newt off of him.

Then one of the boys yells for someone to do something.

All of this happened so quickly, that Mae didn't register it when George plowed straight through the crowd and towards her, where she was walking up the hill. He crashed into her, and together they stumble down the little hill. Mae's head smacked against the grass, and George quickly wrapped his hands around her neck.

"MAE!"

She couldn't hear the boys running to help her. All she could hear was the sound of her choking and the crying from George as he screamed in her face. She begged him to stop, her fists slamming and clawing at his hands.

The friendship bracelet is snapped off his wrist in her attempts.

His eyes were a silk black, and dark veins started to appear on his pale skin as he pressed harder into her neck, "We can't leave," He croaks out, "We can't leave and you knew it— you knew we wouldn't. It wasn't safe and you knew! You helped her!"

She began to cry, begging George to let her go. Mae didn't understand. What did he mean? Who did she help?

"I— didn't— George," Mae chokes out, "Please—"

Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, but before she could go unconscious a spear is stabbed right through George's neck. The boy above her froze, and in horror Mae watches him splutter.

Blood caked her face and dress, and in a shuttering cry both Gally and Newt peel the dead body off of her.

She was frozen in shock, Mae couldn't shake or cry, because she still hadn't registered the dead boy beside her.

"Mae?! Mae are you okay?"

The boys were crowding her now, but all she could do was stare at George's lifeless body. Alby, as pale and horrified as ever, is holding the spear that he used to kill a friend.

Shakily, he bends down and lifts George's shirt, exposing a growing sting on his torso. He and Nick exchange a few words, before Alby closed the dead boys eyes and walked away toward the forest.

"Mae, answer me!" Gally shook her shoulder.

"She's in shock, man!" Jeff said, "Someone snap her out of it!"

Newt mumbled an apology before backslapping the girl.

Her eyes snap widely, and out of panic she slaps him back.

"I'm sorry!" She said breathlessly, "I'm so sorry. ." Her pressed her hand against her mouth to silence the sob that came out, and then, she began to shake, "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

"It's all right," Newt shushed, pulling her into a hug. He soothed her as best as he could, shielding her face away as Clint and Minho dragged George's body away. "Don't look." He said, even though his own eyes were still strained on the blood trail beside them.

Nick had run off to find Alby, known that his second shouldn't be alone after something so brutal. Gally had taken it upon himself to shoo away the other Gladers, telling them to go to sleep━━ truthfully no one would be able to sleep after that.

Newt didn't seem to care that his clothes were now stained with blood, or that Mae's face was covered in it as he pressed his forehead into hers. She was like a toddler in his arms, and without warning he swept her up and carried her back into Homestead.

Mae allowed him to put her on his bed, where he lowly stripped away her dress. She had her white tank top under it but the blood had seeped through the blue.

"What did he say to you?" He asked lowly, dunking a rag into a bucket of water before rubbing it against her skin. Mae didn't respond, and he sighed, "Mae, you need to talk to me. What did he say—"

"That we can't leave," She blurted out, her eyes stinging with tears, "He said we can't leave and that I knew about it. . .that I helped her."

"Her?" He repeated.

"I don't know," She said genuinely, "I don't understand. Why don't I understand—"

Newt firmly grabbed her arm, stopping her, "Mae, stop. This isn't your fault."

"George thought it was."

"George lost his mind," He insisted, "He didn't know what he was talking about."

They both knew that wasn't true. Newt always knew that something was off about Mae, that her being there just didn't feel right. She didn't belong and that wasn't her fault— but if it wasn't her fault then who's was it? Who put her here?

"I told you this. Whoever we were then, it doesn't matter," He tells her, "Who we are now is important. . .and you? You're a good person, Mae."

She grabs the rag from him, and wipes her face clean. He didn't expect her to say anything else, so he turned around to give her privacy as she stripped off her tank top. Newt hands her one of his shirts, and the girl quickly puts it on. Thankfully it covered her underwear and stopped at her knees.

Minho knocks once before opening the door. In three long steps he swept Mae into a tight hug, "Shuck, I'm sorry Mae. I thought I had a good hold on him."

"It's okay," She muttered into his shoulder, "Are you? Okay I mean."

Minho couldn't respond honestly.

"You should get some sleep," Newt said, "You can stay in here if you want. I'll have someone wash this for you," He holds up her dress.

"I don't think I'll be getting any sleep," She mumbled, rubbing her sore neck.

"We'll have Clint and Jeff check that out in the morning too," Minho added, saying it more to himself. "I-I still can't believe it. . ."

"What are they going to do? With the body," Newt asked. He couldn't bring himself to say George's name.

"Alby and Nick are digging him a grave," He explained, "We'll have a few boys bag up the body before we toss it in, have a proper funeral for him in the morning."

Mae gave a shaky breath, and sat back down on the bed. She bit at her nail anxiously, her mind racing. She wanted to know what George meant by her helping someone. Her. Was it the same her from Mae's dream? Or was it someone else? What did she know and why couldn't she remember it?

She closes her eyes, shaking away her thoughts. Mae watches as Newt softly put pressure on Minho's cheek, causing the boy to wince. The Brit rolled his eyes, muttering about how he was being a baby.

She smiled, realizing that there was something between them as Minho grabbed his shoulder in comfort.

"I should go," Minho mumbled, his hand falling back to his sides as he gave them a sad smile, "Long day tomorrow."

"Me too," Mae responds hoarsely, her throat burning every time she spoke. The girl gets to her feet, "I think I need to be alone."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Newt asked quickly.

Mae wraps her arm around his waist and gives a soft squeeze, "I'll talk to you in the morning." She said simply, bidding them both a goodbye.

She couldn't bring herself to go back to her room, not when the George was being buried in the woods so close to her. She was surprised that any of the boys could sleep knowing that one of their own was dead.

But she had to remind herself that Gladers don't dwell, and they probably grieved at their own pace.

And so did she. Mae walked out of Homestead and grabbed a lit torch, slowly traveling into the forest. Newt's shirt started to ride up every time she walked, but she was quick to pull it back down with each step.

To her surprise, only Nick was there. She expected more people, at least Alby or Clint but no, just Nick. Mae quietly pushed her torch into the dirt, before kneeling down beside him.

He felt her presence, but he continued to look straight ahead at the wooden cross, that had George's name carved into it.

"Alby said he caught you in Gally's room," He said suddenly, looking at her with a raised brow, "Should I be concerned? Maybe get a lock on everyone's door."

Her face reddened, "It's not like that." She explained, "I was just helping. ."

He scoffed a chuckle, "Oh yeah, I'm sure you were helping all right."

Mae softly pushed him away, smiling. Nick's smile slowly vanished when he looked back to George's grave.

"Do you blame yourself?" She asked quietly.

The leader sighed, "I was the one who took him with me. I went ahead, this is on me. If I had just. . ." He trailed. If I had just kept an eye on him.

Mae shook her head softly, and grabbed his hand, "You shouldn't think that way," She said quickly, "You can't think about what could've happened. George. . . he died trying to help us find a way out," She explains, "We should honor that."

It wasn't until she hear him sniffle, did Mae realize Nick was crying. For some reason, she had forgotten that although Nick was their leader, he was still just a boy.

Seventeen years old, leading a whole village of people.

Instantly, Mae wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. His arms laid loosely around her waist as she rubbed his back in a soothing manner. She allowed him to grieve for a moment, not just for the death of a friend but the death of his innocence.

A snip of reality that everyone, no matter how hard we try to stop it, dies.

She didn't say a thing to Nick, her being there was enough.

"I don't know what I'm doing," He admits.

"You're doing your best," She responds.

Nick lifts his head, looking at her with teary eyes, "How can you say that?" He muttered, "If I was doing my best he'd still be here—"

"If you weren't doing your best none of us would be," She corrects.

Mae was too optimistic for her own good. But sometimes, it was all she could be. And it worked.

"Where do you think he goes?" He asked her, looking back at George's grave, "Where do you think we all go when we die?"

She took a moment, "I think we go to the place where lost things go when they're found."

He frowned, motioning for her to elaborate. Mae grabs his hand, and points his finger up to the moon, which was shining full above them.

"We go on the other side of that, that's where we become found," She tells him, "George is waiting there until it's our turn to join him."

"I don't understand. . ."

"He was lost, and then he was found again. That's what we all are, isn't it? Lost until we're found," She looks at him, "We have no idea where we are, or where we're going. But when we die. . . we aren't lost anymore. We're there," She looks at the moon again, "Where it's far away and safe, and no one can hurt us ever again."

Nick is quiet, absorbing her words. When she said it out loud, she sounded crazy, but for some reason through the madness he understood.

"Sometimes. . ." He began, swallowing thickly, "Sometimes when I can't take it anymore, I really want to go there, to that place." Nick looked down at his hands, "I start to think I'm better off there. So I don't have to be in pain anymore."

Mae rested her head on his shoulder, "I don't think we should choose when we go. You never know when the universe decides to take us, and sometimes that's okay. I'd rather be here until I can't be. Maybe then I'll make a difference."

Nick gave a sad chuckle, "I wish I could see life through your eyes, Mae. You're always looking on the bright side. Maybe if I lived like that, I wouldn't be so hard on myself. . ."

Mae gave a teary smile, placing the broken friendship bracelet on GeorgeMs grave. Her hand goes around the bruise on her neck, replaying what he told her before he died. Then, she looked at Nick again.

"Who says I'm not?"

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