˚ ༘✶₊˚. ⊹ ˚ . FIRST ACT
❪ TEN ♥︎ ₊˚༢࿐
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     On the next morning, exactly an hour before the sun was scheduled to rise over the Glade walls, Mae was startled awake by a nightmare. Her hands had grabbed around her neck, where the ghost of a glass shard cut against it as she let out a throaty scream.

     The phantom pain made her eyes water, and when everything around her started to feel suffocating, Mae pulled off the blanket and ran outside of her hut.

     When the fresh air brushed against her skin, Mae let out a sigh of relief. Her hands dropped from her neck and her eyes slamming shut to gather herself. For a moment, everything around Mae was clam. And to her, it was all that mattered.

     She takes a second to admire the sunrise, which blended together from over the walls in a soft blue, purple and Orange haze. She had to remind herself that a new day meant a new chance. That somehow, in some way, she had made it through yesterday and lived long enough to see today.

     She smiled at the thought.

     Mae felt a pounding headache sink in as she walked through the Glade toward Homestead, remembering how she drank at least three jars of Gally's drink and now she was cursed with a hangover. Not that Mae usually had those, but every once in a while the blonde needed to let loose and alcohol always seemed to do the trick.

     "Good morning, Fry." She greeted with a yawn, stepping into the kitchen with an adoring smile. It wasn't uncommon to see the Keepers up before everyone else, and it was Frypan's job to be up and cooking breakfast before the others had time to complain, "Early start?"

     He shrugged, scrubbing away at a pan, "We got a new mouth to feed."

     Mae frowned, opening the storage and grabbing a jar of freshly squeezed raspberry juice. She knew it was fresh because she drunkenly made it herself before falling asleep on the Kitchen floor, Gally had to drag her back to her room before Frypan noticed them there without his consent.

     "He seems to fit in just fine," Mae hummed, taking a long sip before adding, "A bit odd though."

     Frypan laughs, handing her a steaming piece of bacon that she took eagerly, "Never thought I'd hear the oddest person I know, call someone else odd."

     She smiled, reaching over and plucking a few extra pieces on a napkin. Frypan tries to slap her hand away with a spatula, but Mae was already out the door with a swift kiss on his cheek and a loud sorry. Then, she ran out of Homestead and toward the Maze doors.

     Minho and Ben were there, stretching their limbs. Mae smiled, walking up behind Ben and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He panics for a split second, but eases up and pats her hand in his way of affectation.

     She pulls back and says, "Good morning, I've brought you breakfast!" She hands the napkin between them.

     "Our savior," Minho jokes.

     Mae happily crossed her hands behind her back, watching them eat breakfast with a satisfied smile. After that, she gave Minho another smooth rock and bid them a safe journey before making her way around the Glade.

     She stopped when she noticed Alby and Thomas standing around in what looked like a serious conversation. Feeling eyes on him, Thomas' turns his head in her direction. Mae raises her hand and gave a small wave, which he returned.

     A part of Thomas was eagerly wanting to talk to Mae. Everything about her made him curious, she was the opposite of what the Glade was, and there was something so familiar about her that it made Thomas visibly frustrated that he couldn't but a feeling to it.

     She fascinated him in every way.

     Thomas tore his eyes away from Mae when she walked away into Homestead. And it wasn't until Chuck roped him into a prank did Thomas see her again.

     The younger boy had pulled a prank on Gally in the bathroom, and in hopes not to get in trouble with the Builder, Thomas ran for his life and into the deadheads.

     Thomas could hear Gally yell around for him as he walked deeper into the wood. He turns back to make sure he wasn't being followed before leaning his back against a tree to catch his breath.

     What he hadn't realized, was that Mae was standing just above him, her legs dangling from each side of a thick branch with a handful of flowers that she had picked herself - twirling the stems together to keep them in place.

     When she had finally noticed him, the girl couldn't help but smile. Slowly, leans forward and lays against the branch, resting there as she grabbed a single flower and dropped it down on Thomas' head.

     "What the. ." He brushes the flower off, thinking it was just something that fell from the tree before continuing his paranoid search from behind it.

     Mae shifts a laugh, and plucks another flower from the pile before gently placing it on his head again. This time, Thomas looks up and stumbles away from the tree. His face heats up at the sight of her, and he didn't understand why his heart flipped at the sound of her laugh - which reminded him of the sound honey made when being poured into a jar. smooth and mesmirizing.

     "Uh, hi- hello," He stammered, his hand awkwardly smoothing down his hair as he stepped in front of the tree.

     Mae looks back toward the Glade at the sound of Gally yelling at Chuck, "Sounds like you got roped into one of Chuck's pranks again," She says, holding her hand out. He stared at it, not knowing what to do. She jerks it out again and laughs, "Come on, before he catches you too!"

     Thomas looks back at toward the Glade one last time before grabbing her hand. She pulls him up into the tree, but he underestimated her strength and shot up and right into her. Mae yelps, grabbing his forearm as she slowly started tilting backward.

     Thomas quickly grabs the branch above him, the other wrapping around her waist and pulling her into his chest.

     Mae's eyes widen slightly, not noticing how close they were until he was looking down at her. They were both frozen, a mixture of heavy breathing and their rapid hearts were the only thing that was heard as they looked at each other.

Familiar. That was the first thing they thought. I've seen those eyes before. To Thomas, the thought of something being familiar about Mae made him relieved. It idea of having someone like Mae feel so familiar made him less scared of his situation.

Mae on the other hand, felt the opposite. Why was Thomas so familiar to her? And if something as simple as his eyes made her feel so nostalgic, then why didn't she remember more of him? Why did she trust Thomas but fear him all the same?

     The girl seemed to snap out of it first, and slides up the branch to make room for him. Thomas composes himself by clearing his throat, looking back out to the Glade in a hopes that Mae wouldn't see his red face or hear his rapid heartbeat.

     "Do you like it here?" She asked him, her voice now quiet as she pulled her knees into her chest and rested her chin on them, "The Glade."

"It's. .pretty," He managed the compliment. Mae smiled, remembering when she said the same thing when she first arrived, "How long have you been here?"

"Two years, eight months and two days. ." She smiled, "I arrived five months in."

Thomas frowned at the thought, "That's a long time."

She shrugged, "Others have been here longer. .since the beginning."

"Who's Nick?" He asked randomly. Mae's breath hitched at the name, and Thomas quickly backtracks, "Sorry. .it's just, Alby mentioned I was the first Greenie after Nick died and—"

"He was the Leader before Alby," Mae answers, pushing down her pain at the memory as she smiled patiently at Thomas, "We were close. ."

     "I'm sorry," He says, realizing it was a touchy subject.

     She smiled his concern away, "It's all right. It's just still fresh for everyone, he died last month. He was stung and—"

"Wait, stung?" He asked, frowning.

Mae realized then, that she had said too much. "It's mid-day, you have to get to the gardens and I have to go work with Clint and Jeff." She says.

Thomas let out a frustrated sigh, but nodded in agreement. He hated that no one was answering his questions, he hated the secrecy. Thomas thought that talking to Mae would clear his questions - but the girl was just as selective as the rest of them.

     Thomas slides down from the tree, and holds his hand up to help Mae. She insist that she had it, but her foot gave out on the stomp and she fell right into Thomas.

     He breaks her fall, letting out a groan as she lifted her head up. She was laying on top of him, and his hands were tightly secure around her waist.

     "Thank you," She squeaked out.

     "Yeah, no problem." He said nonchalantly.

     They didn't have a chance to get up before a someone cleared their throat a few feet away. Mae closes her eyes in embarrassment, while Thomas looked horrified as he quickly moved from under Mae and got to his feet.

     Newt was standing there, arms crossed over his chest and a serious expression on his face. His eyebrow was raised as he looked between them, his jaw flexing in a way that made Thomas shift away from Mae even more.

     "I can explain—" Thomas said instantly.

     "Come on, Greenie." Newt responds, turning away and limping back toward the Glade, "We have work to do."

     Thomas turns back to Mae nervously, but she gave him an awkward - barely comforting - thumbs up. With a sigh, both Mae and Thomas walked in opposite directions.

——————————

     Thomas worked silently beside Newt and Zart, slamming his shovel into the ground with afar off look. Physically, he was helping them make room for more crops. Mentally, he was thinking about every way he could to escape this place.

     "Has anyone ever tried climbing to the top?" He asked suddenly.

     Newt looked amused, "Tried it."

    "Okay. ." He said slowly, "And what about the Box? You know, next time it comes up—"

     "No, we tried that," Newt cuts off, tying the wood together with rope, "The Box won't go back down with someone in it."

     Thomas grows annoyed, "Okay, we'll what if we—"

     "No, we tried it, all right?" He cuts off again, still amused, "Twice. Trust me, anything you think of, we've already tried. The only way out of here is through the Maze."

     Thomas takes that answer, and continues back to his shoveling.

     "Unless you want to stand by Mae's idea to build a catapult," He added with a chuckle.

     Zart shakes his head at the memory, Mae walked into a Keepers Meeting one day and suggested they built a catapult. The others thought the idea was so funny that they told her that if she could find sticks, the Builders would build it for her.

     To this day, Mae could never seem to find enough sticks - because everyone hides them from her behind the Blood House.

     "Newt. ." Thomas began awkwardly, "About what happened earlier, in the wood with Mae, I—"

     Zart raised his eyebrow curiously, "What happened in the woods with Mae?"

     Newt put his hand out, indicating to Thomas with his eyes that gossip traveled fast in the Glade, and if he wanted to keep his hands he'd best say nothing at all. If the wrong thing got out, things wouldn't be good. Thomas somehow seemed to understand this, and instantly closed his mouth.

"Just be glad it was me, all right?" Newt said simply, "If Alby or Gally got word it've been a different story. Just, don't try it, yeah? Last person you'd want to kick it with, knowing the rule," Then he added suddenly, "Minho will skin you."

Thomas nods instantly, sensing that deep down Newt wasn't joking.

Zart deflates, "All right, now I've got to know!"

"Shuck up," Newt responds, before turning to Thomas, "Now, look. Do you want to be helpful?" He throws a bucket at him, "Go dig us up some more fertilizer."

     Zart chuckled, "And try not to let a flower breeze into the Maze while you're out there."

     Thomas frowned at the obvious inside joke, and Newt leaned over to slap him upside the head. Muttering you himself, Thomas reluctantly went into the Deadheads.

——————————

     Mae smiled brightly at Winston, who rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as she bandaged up his other hand. He foolishly sliced his finger during his work at the Blood House.

     "Slicers are supposed to slice animals, not their limbs," Mae teased. Winston rolled his eyes, smiling as she kissed his bandage and said, "There, all better!"

     He slid off the table, "Do you have to kiss every wound you patch up?"

     Mae frowned, "How else is it supposed to get better?"

     He shook his head, "Oh, I forgot to say. Have you talked to Gally by any chance?"

     She frowned, realizing she hadn't seen much of him all day, "No, I haven't. Why?"

     He shrugged, "Apparently, when Minho and Ben got back, he and Ben got into a little screaming match by the watering hole. Minho had to break it up. Ben was acting a little manic so he told him to walk it off."

     Mae's frowned deepened. Ben and Gally were friends - good friends. Why would Ben act that way?

     Noticing her worried expression, Winston was quick to say, "I'm sure it's nothing. You know, Gally. He probably said something ignorant and Ben must've got annoyed."

     Mae nodded, putting back on her happy smile, "Please, for the sake of our supplies, be careful."

     He opens his mouth to respond with something sarcastic, but the sound of shouting outside made both of them freeze up. They turn to each other nervously, before they got to their feet and ran outside.

     "HELP!"

     Mae had ran out just in time to see Thomas running out of the Deadheads, her chest tightened in fear when Ben ran out right behind him. The boys drop their things, and when Ben tackled Thomas to the ground Mae snapped into action and ran toward the fight.

     "I'll kill you!" Ben screamed.

     Newt ran up and smashed a shovel across Ben's face, knocking him back. Thomas scrambled away as Gally, Frypan and Newt held Ben down.

     "Are you okay?" Mae asked quickly, scanning Thomas' body for any cuts and bruises.

     "I-I'm good," He responds, holding his arm where Ben dug his nails into his skin.

     Mae nods, and turns back to Ben.

     "Calm down!" Frypan yelled.

     "What are you doing?!" Newt grunts, trying to keep him steady on the floor.

     "Calm down, Ben." Gally wavered, gripping at his ankles.

     Frypan turns to Thomas, "What the hell happened?"

     "He just attacked me!" He responds.

     "Ben, please, calm down!" Mae grabbed at his head, his shining with tears, "Just tell us what's wrong!"

     Ben slowly starts to stop thrashing, and it wasn't until his eyes opened slightly did Mae notice his glossed over eyes. When Alby pushed through the crowd, he demands they lift up his shirt.

     Mae covered her mouth with a sob when she saw the sting on Ben's torso. The other Gladers step back at the sight, and as Ben continued to trash and plea Mae felt the familiar dread wash all over her.

     "He's been stung," Gally said, "In the middle of the day?"

     "Please. . .please just help me!"

     Mae turned her head away, not wanting to watch as the boys picked Ben up and dragged him away toward the Slammer, screaming about how Thomas was at fault.

     "Mae?" Chuck walked up to her, and it was then she realized she was the last on in the area, huddled in a ball. "Come on," He said softly, "You gotta fix up Thomas."

Mae blinked once before registering that she was no longer sitting on the grass, but on a log, bandaging up Thomas' wrist. Had she zoned out the whole time?

"So, what happened to him?" Thomas questioned Alby.

"It's called the Changing," Alby explained, "It's what happens when someone gets stung." Thomas frowned, remembering when Mae said the same word. Stung.

"Don't worry," Mae added in, "There are people who've made it through. I'm sure Ben will be just fine."

Her optimism made Thomas ease slightly, but not enough to make him any less curious on the subject.

"Listen," Alby voiced. "We haven't been able to get a clear word out of Ben since it happened. He ain't making any sense, and it's only gonna get worse. The infection is spreading, he's dangerous. What did he say to you?"

Thomas hesitates, and Mae leans forward and grabs his hand, squeezing it in comfort. He turns to her, and doesn't break his eyes away as he explained to able what happened in the Deadheads.

"He said he saw me, and that this was all my fault. How could this be my fault?" His voice wavered.

"It isn't," Mae said instantly, and Alby made a noise of disapproval as she continued, "I'm sure whatever is happening is just a misunderstanding."

Alby gets to his feet, "Get some rest," He tells Thomas before pointing at Mae, then pointing in Homestead's direction. She got the hit, and stood up too.

"Goodnight, Thomas." She muttered.

"Wait!" He stops them, "What's gonna happen to him?"

Alby doesn't say anything and when he turned back and walked away Mae had realized that the boys who followed were holding long familiar poles. Her heart dropped.

"Banishment."

Thomas looked to her, "Banishment? What do you mean Banishment?"

But Mae was already running away toward the Maze doors. With a curse, Thomas runs after her.

"Stop!" Mae screamed to them, "We can't just do this!"

Clint stops her, "We don't have any more syringes," He explained, "They didn't send one up this month, as you used the last one."

Mae shook her head, trying to push her way to the front, "Shouldn't we get a night to sleep on this?! It's Ben!"

     "Enough, Mae!" Said Alby as he held his own pole, "Just. .enough."

     "Listen to me!" Ben screamed as Minho dragged him towards the doors without a word, "Just, please, listen to me! Minho!"

     Mae was forced to watch as Minho cut the rope from Ben's hands and threw a small bag of supplies into the Maze like a ball being thrown for a dog to chase after. Ben started to cry, his hands on his knees as he called out for them to listen.

     "No, please." He begged, "Please, don't please."

     She can see from here, that Minho was trying to keep himself together. He had lost two partners in a span of two months by the exact same thing. His friends. She can only imagine what Minho was feeling right now.

     "Mae!" Ben cried, turning to her. His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she almost cried when she saw him there, pleading with his eyes, "Mae, tell them! Tell them not to do it! Please, help me!"

     Mae fought every urge not to run and help Ben, and Gally quickly moved himself in front of the girl to block Ben's view.

     "Don't listen," He muttered. Mae covered her mouth and turned her back, crying.

     Another friend. Dead.

     As the wind picked up, and the doors slowly began to close, the Gladers used their poles to shove Ben. Poking and prodding away until Ben was shoved deep enough inside the Maze for him not to get smushed by the doors.

     Then, when it slammed shut, everything was silent - the only thing heard as the sound of Mae crying. Thomas stood horrified at what he witnessed. 

     "He belongs to the Maze now," Alby tells him. When he walked away, the others followed, moving away from the door.

     All except Thomas, and Mae. He wanted to comfort her, tell her something optimistic. Hell, apart of him even wanted to hug her. He steps forward to do just that, but Mae turns on her heel and runs toward her hut to mourn in peace.

     She felt it in her bones that Ben's death was only the beginning of something bigger, that somewhere, somehow, things were going to change.

     It was whether Mae wanted any part of it was the question.

{ gally & mae are 4lifers but thomas & mae are growing on me— }

09. 27. 21