I sit in one of the less destroyed rooms of the Homestead, sitting between two beds. In one bed, lays the new girl of the Glade. She has dark hair, olive skin, a nice complexion, and seems to be moderately tall. The boys are sure to like here. Hopefully not too much.

She still hasn't woken up. The Med-Jacks and I are assuming that she has arrived in the same state of that which Teresa did.

The other bed, contains Alby, still unconscious from his hit to the head. Clint said he'll be awake in a few hours, tops.

As I feel myself beginning to drift off, something breaks through the surface if my thoughts.

Lori? It's Thomas, speaking in my head once again. Great.

Lori, meet us in the Weapons Room. Please get here right now.

I externally sigh and rise from my seat, making my way towards the Weapons Room, apparently.

I tug down my singlet and pay off my shorts as I run off into the Glade.

When I finally find the room, I open the door and jog down the steps, to be greeted by the confused faces of Teresa, Minho and Newt. Obviously Thomas knew why I was here.

"Chuck told me he saw you guys go in here. Decided to investigate." I lie.

They just nod, so I sashay deeper into the room. It contains any weapon imaginable, from a small dagger, to a long bow. From slingshots, to swords. It's quite impressive actually.

I clap my hands together, "So, who wants to catch me up to speed?"

//////////

"Woah" is my first reaction. "So, all this time, the Maze has actually been a code. How does it work Tommy Boy?"

Thomas shakes his head, grinning, "Well, the Runners have always compared these day to day" he points down to the box, filled with the Maps from Section Two.

Newt and Minho had been smart enough to keep them hidden in here after they heard Alby's warning. Now, we can figure this out. Hopefully.

"They would always look to see if there was a pattern that would somehow help figure out a way to an exit. Minho even said, that he didn't really know what he was looking for, but he kept studying them anyway, right?" Thomas turns to Minho, who simply nods in reply, folding his arms across his chest.

Tommy continues on his discovery, "Well, what if all the wall movements had nothing to do with a map or a maze or anything like that? What if instead the pattern spelled words? Some kind of clue that'll help us escape."

"That's, actually, kinda brilliant" I point out.

Instead of congratulating Thomas and Teresa on their find, Minho points to the messy pile of maps in front of Thomas. "Dude, you have any idea how much we've studied these things? Don't you think we would've noticed if it were spelling out freaking words?"

"Maybe, maybe it's too hard to see straight up, comparing a day to the next" I say quietly, hoping that if I'm wrong, I'll be ignored.

"Exactly. Maybe you weren't supposed to compare one day to the next, but look at it one day at a time?"

Newt chuckles, "Tommy, I might not be the sharpest guy in the Glade, but sounds like you're talkin' straight out of your butt to me."

I smack him on the arm, "Newt, give him a chance."

I recurve a smile from Thomas, and a strange look from Newt.

//////////

Twenty minutes later, the five of us are sketching copies of the Maze's Sections onto the wax paper, which we had to convince frypan to sacrifice.

Newt huffs, before standing up, "I've had enough. My fingers are bloody burning like a mother. See if it's working."

Thank god someone said it. I flex my fingers whilst standing up.

Thomas walks over to the table in the middle of the Weapons Room, "Okay, give me the last few days of each Section - make piles along the table, in order from Section One to Section Eight. One here" - he points to one end of the table - "to Eight here." He points to the other end.

We all do as he says, until we have eight neat piles, lined up along the table. I'm looking at Section Three, and I gasp at what I see. The lines of the maps create a grid, and where more than one line appears, they overlap, creating a thicker line.

Right in the middle of the Section Three pile, is the letter , clear as day.

"Could be a coincidence" Teresa gulps, "Do more. Quick."

We do as told. The five of us quickly sketch and construct more piles, until we find ourselves with a word. FLOAT.

"Float? What could that mean?" I whisper to Newt.

"I have no idea. Let's do some more, there might be other words or something."

And Newt is correct, after a while longer, we reveal the word CATCH. FLOAT and CATCH. Interesting.

"Definitely not a coincidence" Minho says to us all.

"Definitely not" I sigh.

Teresa walks over to the boxes and pulls out more maps. "We need to get through all of these boxes as quickly as possible."

"I agree, but me and Thomas here can't stay. We need to get Runners out into the Maze." Minho points out.

"What?" Thomas shouts. "This is way more important!"

Minho takes a calm breath, "Maybe, Thomas, but we can't miss another day in the Maze."

"You said the Maze has been repeating itself, so how is one day going to change anything?"

He really needs to just stop talking, he's only making it worse, and Minho will probably snap soon.

Minho pounds a hand onto the table, "That's bullcrap, Thomas!" Called it. "Of all days, this might be the most important to get out there. Something might've changed, something might've opened up. In fact, with the freaking Walls not closing anymore, I think we should try your idea - stay out there overnight and do some deeper exploring."

Thomas seemed to be considering the offer. "But, what about this code? What about -"

"Tommy," Newt interrupted before he could go any further, "Minho's right. You shanks go out and get Runnin'. I'll round up some Gladers we can trust and get workin' on this."

I can't help but smile. He sounds exactly like the leader I know he is meant to be.

I raise my hand, "I second that."

"Me too. I'll stay and help Newt and Lori." Teresa tells Thomas.

Thomas frowns slightly, "You sure?"

"If you're going to decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different Mazes, I'm pretty sure you need some girl brains running the show." She smirks as she points to me and herself. I smile politely at her.

"If you say so."

Minho grins, before heading for the door, "Good that, everything's fine and dandy. Come on."

But Thomas does not follow.

Newt sighs, "Don't worry, Tommy, your girlfriend will be fine."

I laughed at Newt's comment, as the other two boys left the room and Teresa just stands there blushing.

//////////

Ben and a few other Gladers, whose names I did not know, we're called down to help with the code.

I have sat beside Newt for the many hours we have been down here, sketching and piling up copies of Maps. We have found six words during that time.

FLOAT

CATCH

BLEED

DEATH

STIFF

PUSH

We decided, to be sure, that we would do a few more Sections, to see if any more appeared. Nothing though. After PUSH, a day would pass without any letter, than restart at FLOAT.

We still can't figure out what it means.

I turn to the tired blonde sitting beside me, "I think that's all we're going to get, Newt. We're all tired, you look absolutely buggered, and I'm pretty sure that it's morning."

"I guess you're right. But the Runners will be back soon, so let's just let them go. We might still find something."

"Okay. I'm going to go check on Alby and that girl who Gally brought here. That was really weird by the way. I thought they said Teresa was the last one?"

"When have we ever been able to trust the bloody bastards who put us here, Lori?"

"You're right. Nevermind." I lean over and kiss him, before standing up and walking out the door, towards the room where they are resting.

//////////

The girl remains unconscious, whereas, Alby sits up in his bed, looking dazed.

"Hey Alby, how are you feeling?"

"Hm? Yeah I'm better, I guess. I'm awake, so that's a start." He chuckles lightly.

"True. Do you mind if I ask, what happened in the Mapping Room? Who burnt it down?"

"I'm tired right now, Lori. We'll discuss this later." And with that, he lays down and rolls over, facing away from me. I know he got hurt, but he's still a jerk. You'd think getting whacked across the head would knock some manners into him. Apparently not.

Just as I go to leave the room, I hear a whisper.

"Did you say something, Alby?"

No reply.

I walk back through the door, and stand beside the girl's bed. It couldn't have been her. Could it?

But right then, the whisper comes again. And unfortunately, I understand it this time.

"Newt, please find me. Newt!"