EIGHT. 

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When the rain finally came, it came down hard. I was sitting in the Deadheads for all of ten minutes when a droplet of water dampened a page in my notebook. I took my time packing up my things and making it back to the Homestead, which ended up being a mistake. The sky seemed to open up and slam buckets of water onto the Glade in sheets of rain that made it nearly impossible to see. The sky turned grey, making me squint.

I had my notebook tucked into the waistband of my jeans with my coat over it so it wouldn't get wet. That wasn't the case for me. There was no barrier between me and the forces of nature that were currently being slammed upon me while I hurried to the Homestead. If we hadn't had lights on in there, I wouldn't have been able to see if I was going in the right direction.

I opened the door with a gasp and heaved myself inside, dripping wet and shivering. All eyes turned to look at me as I leaned against the door and breathed heavily through my mouth. My leg was aching from the strain I had put on it to get inside so quickly, and my brace was weighing it down. Instead of lifting the pressure, it made it somewhat worse.

Nick came pushing through the packed foyer with two towels in his hands. They were the thin, worn kind that should probably have been thrown out long ago. I made a mental note to ask the Creators for some new ones as I accepted them from our leader, whose hair was also damp. Quickly, I wrapped one around my body and used the other to wring out my hair. It was all I could do until I could get upstairs and change.

I slid the water off of my watch, which was luckily resistant to liquids. The time on the face read 11:34. Some of the Runners should have been coming back to the Maze by now. It was the protocol for a rainstorm as bad as this one. It was either navigate your way back or find somewhere that'd block the oncoming water and wind. Most usually chose the second option.

I was worried for Minho. I couldn't help it. He had to deal with two Greenies on their first trial run with a demonic storm surging through. The stones on the ground were slightly slippery, but the soles of Runner shoes had much better grip than your average sneakers. However, it was a pain to see with water everywhere in such a confined space.

"I need to talk to you."

I turned to see Gally heading toward me with an urgent expression on his face. His eyebrows were pinched together and he seemed genuinely troubled.

"About...?" I trailed off the question, confusion written on my face. It was slightly alarming to see Gally like that- he usually didn't have much of a facial expression besides a scowl.

"Not here." He beckoned me through the crowd and to the back of the Homestead, where there weren't many people. I didn't have to push through the crowd like he did; people avoided me because I was still dripping water all over the place.

We stopped beneath one of the dimly lit bulbs in the ceiling that was sure to go out soon. The light illuminated him in an eerie glow, but I wasn't scared. There was no need to be afraid of Gally.

"Listen," he commanded, voice hushed. "One of my Builders, Harvey, told me that he was up bright 'n early and saw Alex run into the Maze."

My eyes widened. Alex? In the Maze? "That's against the rules. But why on earth would he go in there? And nobody else noticed?"

Gally shrugged. "It was the split second the Doors were wide enough to fit him that he went in, apparently. But listen here. I'm sayin' this as a Keeper to a fellow Keeper- I don't trust that shank one single bit. If it were any of us who'd screwed up as much as he has so far, we'd be in the Slammer for months."

"I see where you're going with this," I sighed as I squeezed more water out of my hair with the towel, "but I'll have to have more proof than Harvey's claim. Are you sure nobody else saw?"

"Not that I know of," Gally admitted flatly. "Just keep an eye on that kid and thank the heavens if he doesn't shuckin' murder Minho and Theo while they're in the Maze."

My heart went cold at that last part and my widened eyes watched as Gally turned and walked away. I had ceased to dry my hair; instead my hands were holding onto the towel but not moving. I shook my head and sifted through the crowd again, this time to go upstairs. Gally was just being overdramatic again. Alex wouldn't actually murder two Gladers.

I limped to my room, stopping in the middle of the hallway to stare at the closed door of the room that Newt was in. To be fair, all of us kept our doors shut all the time, but somehow that one screamed at me to keep out. It seemed heavier. If I hadn't been so level-headed, I would've thought that there was a force field around the door.

I quickly got into my room and changed out of my wet clothes. They stuck to my body like second layers of skin, making me basically have to peel my jeans off. The towel was somewhat rough against my skin as I dried myself off and changed into a navy blue v-neck. Unfortunately, I had no other pants than shorts and jeans. Maybe once I had sweatpants, but those quickly got too worn out because I wore them everywhere. I made another mental note to ask for more sweatpants, too.

On went another pair of jeans. My brace was still completely soaked and therefore unusable for the meantime. I would be sitting on my bed for a long time.

I sat with my back against the wall, and my pillow propping up my leg. It felt strange to have nothing on it- almost loose, like it was going to fall off. The thought scared me more than it should have. I tried my best to dismiss it and flipped to the page in my notebook with the water droplet on it. It had already dried, slightly crinkling that portion of the page.

I slid my pencil out of the binding and immediately began to draw. At first I had no idea what the picture was - it was like the utensil had a mind of its own - but then it hit me. The lead made high walls and dark corridors. Vines littered the stone. I didn't even have to think back to draw the Maze correctly; the picture was still fresh in my mind.

Near the end of the corridor, I drew a girl. People weren't my strong suit at all, but by blending her in with the shadows a little bit, she didn't look half bad. I finished off her hair and wrote at the top of the page, "I miss running."

And I did. I hadn't thought about it much until now, but I truly did miss the exhilaration of being on the move all day. Running was a way to clear my head. The Maze was a place for me to think, because it was just the walls, the ivy, and I. It had been almost cathartic. Now, running had been replaced with drawing. It still wasn't the same.

I glanced at the blank page beside my new drawing and bit my lip. An idea came to me suddenly, and I started sketching as quickly as I could before the thought got away. I drew the same corridor as before, trying my best to make the ivy the same as well. It wasn't an exact mirror, despite my efforts, but it would have to do.

The girl was replaced by a boy. I gave him hard muscles and hair so dark it almost blended in with the shadows. He was running in the same position the girl had been, except he didn't have a ponytail whipping behind him. He had a Runner's pack bouncing on his back. At the top of this page, I wrote, "...But I trust him to take my place."

A sudden yell from outside made me jump. Luckily, I had removed my pencil from the page so I didn't skid across it. I grit my teeth and managed to push myself close enough to the window to peer out of it, but I couldn't see through the raindrops sliding down the fogged glass.

A pounding on the door came from downstairs. Whoever was outside screamed, "Open the door!" so loudly that I could hear it clear as day. My heart leaped into my throat. It was Minho.

I basically threw my sketchbook onto my dresser and carefully slid my body around so my feet were almost on the floor. Grabbing my brace, I slid it onto my leg and tried to ignore the fact that the wet material was soaking through my jeans. The stupid brace was too thick to dry in an hour.

I heard the front door opening and the pounding of rain from outside as it did so. Multiple yells floated up the stairs; it sounded like someone was crying. A feeling of dread clenched my heart. Not again.

I hobbled to my door and walked as quickly as I could to the top of the stairs. From there, I could see Nick slamming the front door shut. Minho was breathing heavily. His black hair stuck to his forehead as he dripped water all over the place. He had one of Theo's arms around his shoulder, holding him up as best as he could with how clearly exhausted he was. Alex had the other arm, though he was shorter than both of them and was struggling even more so.

Theo. Something was wrong. He was the one who was crying, but I could only tell because of the sobs that wracked his body. The tears blended in with the water soaking his face and the rest of him. His curly hair was matted onto his forehead like Minho's.

"What happened?" Nick questioned over the boy's cries. He was damp again from the rain that had come in through the previously opened door, and his light blue shirt was sprinkled with water.

"I-I dunno, man!" Alex insisted through his ragged breaths. His thick eyebrows were pushed together. "I stopped to tie my shoe before I tripped and the next thing I knew he was on his side! He must've hurt his hip, he kept complaining about it--"

"Alright, it's okay," Nick comforted the Greenie, knowing he was obviously shaken up. I couldn't see his face, but I knew what expression he was wearing without needing to look. He placed a hand on Alex's free shoulder. "I'll help Minho take him upstairs. Someone get this kid a towel!"

I watched with widened eyes as Nick replaced Alex's position of helping Theo up the stairs. I quickly moved out of their way so they could pass. Newt was still in the Med-jack's patient room with Clint and Alby, and we had no other free rooms up there. Where would he go?

"He can take my room," I offered, the words spilling out before I could exactly process them.

Nick shot me a disapproving look over his shoulder. "No way, Nadia. I ain't askin' you to give up your room. He'll take mine."

They paused at the first door to the left. Nick struggled to twist the doorknob, so I moved to help him, but he managed to kick the door open before I could. One of the hinges busted and the door flew open so hard it hit the wall on the other. My jaw dropped open in shock.

"I got him," Nick told Minho, wrapping his free arm around Theo's torso. "Go get Clint and tell him it's an emergency!"

Minho nodded and raced out of the room. I peeked inside. Nick grunted as he set Theo down on his bed, but the boy was still dripping wet and I knew the sheets would be soaked within seconds. As quickly as I could manage, I got to my room and grabbed the semi-damp towels that were draped over the end of my bedpost. Then I made it back to Nick's and tossed them to him.

Theo was swearing in Spanish, some of which I could understand. His eyes were clenched shut, fists white compared to his naturally tanned skin. He eventually gave up trying to suppress his pain and screamed out loud, one of his shaking hands flying to his hip.

"What happened?" Clint asked as he skidded into the room. He rushed to the bed and crouched beside Theo, blue eyes darting around to view the damage. A crease of worry wrinkled his forehead.

"I slipped, amigo," Theo managed to tell us between his pained gasps. He grit his teeth to suppress a shout, muscles going taut. His breathing was heavy when he continued, "Alex stopped to - to tie his shoe and I kept running and slipped on some wet, loose pebbles. I - I fell hard on my side and next thing I know my hip hurts like a mother."

I heard the pounding of feet from behind me and turned around to see Garret slowly entering the room. He appeared cautious while he came closer, almost like he was afraid to see his best friend in a state like that. His face had gone pale.

Minho was leaning against the far wall, giving them space. I decided I should do the same. I backed up from the bed and came toward Minho, beckoning him out into the hallway. He complied and followed me out.

"Gally told me something," I whispered to him quietly. With Theo's continued screams of pain in the room beside us, it was slightly hard to hear my own voice. Minho had to lean closer to decipher my words. "Harvey saw Alex heading into the Maze as soon as the Doors opened. He went into Section Four."

Minho paused and flickered his gaze to me. Water droplets rolled down his face. "You think he has something to do with this?"

I shrugged. "Just seems like a pretty big coincidence, you know? Alex is seen going in the Maze and Theo falls?"

"Alright." Minho nodded and leaned back with a scowl. "I'm gonna go pound his face in."

"No!" I exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm to stop him from leaving. "We don't know for sure yet. We can talk to Gally and Harvey, okay? For now, just keep training Alex until we get more evidence."

"What the shuck're you doing?" Garret screamed from inside the room. Minho and I shared a confused look and peered around the wall to see what was going on. Clint pressed a portion of the towel over Theo's nose and mouth as the injured boy thrashed and yelled at the top of his lungs. His hands clawed at our Med-jack's to pry them away, but Clint was stronger than he looked. Theo's body eventually fell limp. Garret stared at him in utter disbelief. "The shuck is wrong with you?!"

Clint stood up and removed the towel. "He was in too much pain. I had to make him pass out. This is the only way I'll be able to see what exactly is wrong without him feeling it."

Garret, still not pleased, crossed his arms over his chest and turned to leave. He brushed past us quickly, storming down the stairs. Theo was like a brother to him. I could understand why he'd disagree with Clint's treatment methods.

"I'm gonna have to ask all of you to leave," Clint said as kindly as he could while still managing to be strict. He glanced at Nick. "Nick, I'm sorry, but I have--"

Our leader raised his hands. "Hey, it's fine. Do what you have to. Everybody out."

The only one actually in the room was him, while Minho and I were still in the hallway. He gave us a pointed look that clearly ordered, "Get lost."

Minho and I resumed our positions next to the door and waited for Nick to head back downstairs. Once he did, Minho asked, "What now?"

"Now we talk to Harvey."

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now you guys know the story of how theo hurt his hip!! my poor latino son

how are you guys feeling about alex now?

-kristyn