We ran to the Box, a strange feeling in all of our chests. The Box was only supposed to come up once a month with new supplies and a new Greenie. Who knew the blaring alarm could cause such a commotion and blistering fear...

Close on Thomas' heels, I pushed to the front of the crowd who was looking down. I studied their faces and noticed that almost all of the boys had their eyebrows furrowed and looking down at Newt, who was already in the Box. He stood back up just as Frypan asked what was down there. He made direct eye contact with me, before muttering three words that invoked different feelings in every person.

"It's a girl..."

I leaned forward on my right leg and looked down, seeing that there was another girl in the Box. Making a quick decision, I leaped inside, kneeling next to her unmoving body. She was quite pretty actually. Her dark hair fanned around her face, and her pale skin contrasted with the dainty freckles. But as soon as I looked at her, I got an unsteady feeling in the pit of my stomach. She was either a glitch in the system— because we weren't supposed to have another Greenie for a month, or something bad was happening.

I looked back up at the boys right in time to see Thomas push his way to the front, his eyes landed on the unconscious girl. He froze as if he knew something that the rest of us didn't.

Newt leaned over her body, examining it without actually touching her. He moved his way over to my side, and knelt, "I think she's dead..."

My eyes lifted and I turned my head to him, but he didn't meet my gaze. My heart started to race with the thoughts of why they would bring a dead Greenie to us. Was it a warning? A sign? Gally was right, things are changing. And not for the better. Ever since Thomas came up, weird things have been happening every day. I refuse to believe that it's his fault though. He always looked clueless and like he didn't have a hint of knowledge of what was happening. But the way he was looking at the girl was a bit suspicious.

"What's in her hand?" Gally asked.

I gazed up at him and back down at the girl. Slowly leaning forward, I hesitantly reached into her hand and grabbed the small roll of paper she was holding by her temple. Looking over at Newt, I opened it and read to the entire Glade.

"She's the last one..." I furrowed my eyebrows, "Ever."

Murmurs broke out above the ground, and I looked up at Thomas and Gally while Newt spoke all of our thoughts, "What the hell does that mean?"

As soon as the words fell from his lips, the girl let out a loud gasp, making me squeal. Newt put his arm out in front of me and fell backward as well, taking me with him. The girl's eyes were bright blue, almost like they were fake. She gasped for air, as though she had been deprived of it for quite some time. She kept her eyes on something above the ground, and I didn't even have to turn around before I knew what she was looking at.

"Thomas," She breathed his name, "Everything's going to change."

And as quickly as she woke up, her head hit the ground, and her breathing slowed down like she had just been put into a deep sleep. Everybody in the Glade suddenly lifted their heads slowly to look at Thomas, who had just been handed the spotlight. He looked back at all of them with parted lips, acting like he was just as shocked as us. I exhaled a shaky breath and shook my head of the fearful thoughts, reminding myself that giving in will only make things worse.

"Still Think I'm overreacting?" Gally asked, looking at everyone in the Glade. I rolled my eyes and clenched my jaw, knowing that he might be right. But I didn't want to believe him.

"Let's...uhm..." I looked at Newt, who finally met my gaze with soft eyes, "Let's get her up. hand me the rope."

The guys started moving silently, some dispersing from the Box, and others grabbing the rope as I told them to. They threw it down to Newt and me, who tied the girl up and carefully lifted her out of the Box. I got out next and helped him up, trying not to hit his leg or anything. We peered down at the girl for a few seconds, going over the possibilities in our heads of what to do with her. She seemed to be fast asleep now like she wouldn't wake up even if a meteor were to hit.

"Med-Jacks," Newt spoke. They nodded immediately and picked her up in their arms, taking her away to the hut. I stared after the girl, wondering what in the hell was happening. Without thinking, I turned around and made my way to Thomas, who looked shell shocked standing by Minho.

"Do you know her?" I asked in a soft, but stern voice. He immediately shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"No, of course, I don't know her...I don't know anyone."

I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight to my right leg, the one that wasn't sore, "You know what I mean, shank. Does she look familiar to you?"

Again, he shook his head, "N-No."

"Are you telling me the truth?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow. He looked very suspicious right now, but I just had to confirm my thoughts.

"Yes."

"And you would tell me if you did, right?" I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Just like I trusted telling you about Newt?"

Thomas nodded, but kept his gaze on the floor, "Yeah. Yeah, I would tell you."

"Okay. Speaking of Newt, I need to find him," I murmured, turning around and noticing that the blonde was nowhere to be found. I looked at the Med-Jack hut just in time to see him walk through the door with Minho. I grabbed Thomas's arm and pulled him along, ignoring the awkward stares and the mutters that were coming from people who looked at Thomas. I didn't know how to make him feel better—hell, I didn't even know how to make myself feel better. My mind was a mess, and I was worrying about fifty different things right now.

There was Newt, and why he wasn't talking to me...I probably scared the hell out of him last night, and I understand that he hasn't had a moment to relax since we returned, but I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about our conversation we were going to have later today. Then, there was the new girl, who was in some sort of coma, messing up with the pattern that we had. She arrived two days after Thomas, making me believe that she wasn't like the rest of the Gladers. We didn't even get any supplies. And there was Thomas, who I was going to make sure was okay. He looked like he just needed a break. And on top of all of that, I felt like I was going to collapse. Overall, today's a great day.

My head started to get dizzy as soon as I walked through the doors of the Med-Jack hut. Newt and Minho were at the end, staring at the girl. I looked to my right and saw Alby, who was tied to a bed and breathing heavily. His chest rose up and down with every hyperventilation, and he groaned in pain from the Changing.

I shook my head and kept walking towards the back, "Jeff, What's goin' on? What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?"

Newt and Minho looked over their shoulders at me, and I looked back at them. Newt was biting his fingernails, telling me that he was a nervous wreck as he stared at her. Minho had his hands in his back pockets as he breathed slowly and dove deep into his thoughts.

Jeff looked up at me, "Mae, I got my job the same way you did..."

I clenched my jaw and sighed, looking back down at her like she was just going to spring awake again. He motioned towards me, and I followed him as he pointed to a chair in the corner of the room.

"You look awful," He told me something I already knew, "Anything hurting?"

"No," I shook my head, "I'm just tired."

He nodded and pat my shoulder, looking back at the rest of the boys who were staring at Thomas.

"Well, do you recognize her?" Newt asked him. Thomas shot his knowing gaze from the girl and looked into his eyes, shaking his head like he had done for me.

"No."

"Really? Cause she seemed to recognize you..." Newt challenged. I could tell he had the same feeling as I did about this entire situation. If I thought I had things to worry about, he has it about ten times worse. He was in charge of everyone now, and things were taking a drastic turn. I knew he needed a hug, but he was trying to stay strong, which made my heart hurt a little more.

"What about the note?" Thomas asked, looking at me.

Newt shook his head, "We'll worry about the note later..."

"I think you should worry about it now," He told Newt. I raised my eyebrows, suddenly feeling a fire burn in my chest as I moved to get up. Jeff glared at me, making me slump down again. Newt looked just as shocked as I did as he stared back at him.

"We've got enough to deal with at the moment..." His eyes were laced with annoyance as he shook his head at Thomas.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and quickly tying it into a bun at the top of my head.

"He's right, Newt," Jeff muttered, making all attention turn to him, "If the Box isn't comin' back up, How much longer do you think we can last?"

Newt licked his lips and rolled his head back nervously, "No one said that..." I looked at him with sympathetic eyes, "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We just...We'll just wait until she wakes up to see what she knows."

I nodded, agreeing with him, "Somebody's gotta have some answers around here."

He looked up at me and met my eyes, giving me a small smile and a nod. He looked so worn out...so nervous. I've always known that he didn't like being the leader while Alby was out doing something. It made him feel like he wasn't gonna do as well as him. He never wanted to upset anyone. Newt was all about order and balance. Now that everything was beginning to crumble, and the balance was beginning to break, he didn't know how to react.

"Okay," Thomas interrupted my thoughts by walking out. I stood up just as Newt asked where he was going, "Back into the Maze."

I rolled my eyes and made a move to follow him, but Minho was already doing that. Newt stood in front of me, blocking my path from following the two boys, "You're not going anywhere."

I sighed, "Newt, they can't just go out there alone..."

"No. I will not..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself down, "I can't have you going out there anymore."

Before I could respond, he turned around and made his way out of the hut, leaving me alone with Clint and Jeff. I groaned and turned around on my heels, feeling like everything was crashing down. I wanted to go out there with Thomas and Minho...I needed to. I was there with them last night, so I had every right to go back.

"He was a mess, ya know," Clint told me. I removed my hands from my face and tilted my head to look at him, "Never seen him like it. But...Thomas and Minho can't go out there alone."

My eyes widened and I turned my body towards him as he grabbed an orange bottle of pills from the counter behind him. He took out three and gave them to me, handing me a glass of water that was randomly there, "Here."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Adderall," He murmured, "It'll wake you up. Improve your focus when you go out there."

Immediately, I snatched the water from him and put the three pills into my mouth. I quickly swallowed them down and slammed the empty glass on the table, already feeling the effects in my system. I pointed at Clint and skipped backward towards the door. He nodded at my way of saying thank you and smiled as I jogged out of the hut.

Minho and Thomas were still standing close by, looking like they were on the brink of a small argument as Thomas articulated his words with his hands. I skipped up to them and interrupted, "So, where we goin' shanks?"

The two boys furrowed their eyebrows at me, "How did you get out of there? Thomas asked.

"And where did your energy come from?"

I smiled but ignored the questions, "So...Thomas, what's the plan?"

"He wants to go dissect a Griever by himself," Minho informed me, smirking.

Pouting, I shook my head, "Well, that's just not gonna work, is it? You're going with us, or you're not going at all."

Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed, "Have the other Runners left yet?"

"The other Runners quit this morning before the Gathering," Minho told us, looking behind his shoulder at all of his old friends who were now being all chummy with Gally—which wasn't a good sign, "After Alby got stung, they're not in a hurry to get back out there."

He turned back to Thomas, "Why are you?"

The boy swallowed and pointed at the East doors, "I...I think it's time we find out what we're really up against."

"Well hallelujah," I draped my arms around the boys, "Where do we start?"

Minho giggled at me, but furrowed his eyebrows, "You both meet me in the woods in half an hour."

And with that, the boy ran off to do whatever he needed to do, leaving Thomas and me alone again. I drummed my hands on his shoulder, having too much energy all of a sudden, "Well, Tommy boy, let's go. I wanna show you some cool moves you might wanna use in the distant future against Gally."

He scoffed, "What did they give you?"

"Adderall, probably too much of it but I could care less. I'm feeling like I could conquer a hundred of those slimy booger things," I started to run into the forest, Thomas following me with a small grin on his face.

When we reached the tree line, we kept running, just like Minho told us. I wanted to make sure that nobody knew we were gone—that I was gone. Especially Newt, who would probably be furious.

"Have you told him yet?" Thomas asked as soon as we stopped running and rested against a couple of trees.

I groaned, "What is your deal? Do you have an obsession with Newt and me?"

"No," He laughed, "You guys are perfect for each other, so I don't see what the hold up is."

"You're very pushy. But no," I looked to the ground, "He hasn't had a moment to relax since we got back. Everything's been spiraling out of control. I've hardly spoken three words to him. I definitely don't think today's gonna be the day where we get all soft with each other though. I would rather do that when the whole world isn't falling apart."

"That makes sense," He told me, "I'm only being pushy because I know that you'll wait until the very last moment to do it."

"Well..." I tried to find a reasonable argument to stand up for myself, but my mind went blank, "See, you might just be the tiniest bit right."

He laughed, "I always am."

I hummed in response, rolling up the sleeves on my shirt, "Okay, whatever. Now, do you know how to punch?"

"Sure," He responded, "I think I do. Do you?"

"Want me to show you?" I asked. Thomas contemplated for about five seconds before shaking his head, making me roll my eyes and groan, "You're no fun. Just say something mean to me so that I can tackle you."

"Why would I want you to tackle me?" He asked, throwing his hands into the air like a little kid.

"Because I don't just want to wait here for Minho...I'll probably fall asleep. Plus, I have a lot of energy for someone who hasn't slept in three days, so I need to do some physical activity," I told him, getting in the stance that Minho showed me a few days ago.

Thomas scoffed, "We're about to run into the Maze again!"

"Too bad, Tommy!" I yelled at him before charging. I quickly pulled a new move out of my back pocket, making sure not to hurt Tomas at all. He grunted as I moved my body around him strategically, and I brought him to the ground on a big pile of leaves.

He looked up at me, breathing heavy, "What the hell was that for?"

I shrugged, "I told you. I was bored."

We did some battle moves for a couple more minutes, and I eventually taught him how to punch someone without looking like he was having a seizure. I taught him to do a backflip, and I learned that I could also do one. Granted, the first time, Thomas almost broke his neck...but after that, he could do it like a pro. He's a fast learner. When we were tired enough, we rested against the sides of the trees, engaging in small talk like we always seemed to do.

"Is this enough?" Minho's voice broke us through our thoughts. We both stood to our feet and saw that most of the Keepers were standing behind him. There was Zart, Winston, Frypan, and Minho. But when someone smaller pushed through, looking a little more scared than everyone else, I scoffed.

"No, Chuck's not coming with us," I tried to sound as nice as possible, but I knew there was no nice way to say this. He was just a kid.

Thomas looked at me, and back at the rest of them, "You guys all know what we're doin' here, right?"

They nodded, but Winston spoke up, "If Minho trusts you, it's good enough for me."

I clenched my jaw and looked back down at Chuck, an unsteady feeling in my stomach. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. If I was going to be there, then Chuck should be fine. I just gotta keep an extra close eye on him and run behind him. Shouldn't be much of a big deal.

Unless we get stuck again.

As soon as the thought entered my mind, I opened my mouth to protest, but Minho already started running out of the forest, with everyone after him. I groaned and quickly punched the trunk of the tree, knowing that I would never forgive myself if something happened to Chuck.

We secretly made our way to the East door, running right through it so that nobody would notice us. But when I turned my head to check on the little boy, he was standing right at the line of where the dirt met concrete, looking up at all of us timidly. I turned to Thomas, who nodded and ran over to Chuck. I stayed in my spot, watching with the rest of the guys. I watched as he patted his shoulder, talking to the little boy in what seemed like a soft tone. When Thomas started running back into the Maze with Chuck staying behind, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," I muttered to him. He nodded, and I looked back at Chuck, giving him a warm smile that he didn't hesitate to return.

And with that, we all turned around to make our way into the Maze for the second time that day, with three newcomers.