NINE. 

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Harvey's account of what he had seen wasn't helpful whatsoever. Not that it was his fault; it was just that we had already heard everything from Gally. So, that was how Minho and I ended up slumped on a couch together in the back of the Homestead. The room was one that we basically never used- in fact, I had almost forgotten it existed. In the beginning, it was meant to provide a place of relaxation, but now it only accumulated dust.

Minho sneezed for the eighth time since we had sat down. My nose twitched at the dust floating around. We were both feeling pretty low since we couldn't think of anything else to do to find out why Alex had gone into the Maze.

"You should move into this room," Minho spoke up suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence between us.

"Why?" I asked. He had confused me by this random suggestion. Why would I move in here when I already had a room?

He shifted so he was facing me on the couch, one arm on the back of the couch, propping up his head. "Because you struggle getting up the stairs every time you need to get to your room. Don't think I haven't noticed. And, as your babysitter, I would recommend this. It'll make it easier and faster."

"Okay, yeah, I see where you're coming from," I sighed and picked at a loose thread on the couch. "Maybe we could clean up this room and turn it into a livable space."

Minho nodded, standing up from the couch with a righteous expression. "I will present the proposition to Nick." And he was out of the room before I could blink.

Groaning, I rested my head against the back of the couch and closed my eyes for a second. I grabbed my bad leg with both hands, cringing at the slightly damp feel of the brace as I lifted it up onto the cushions beside me. My muscles tightened in protest as I stretched out my leg so it was straight. Ever since the brace got wet, it had been taking its toll on my poor leg- it was hurting quite a bit more than it had before, as if I should still be in crutches. It occurred to me that maybe I should switch back to them for the meantime, but I had no idea where Clint had put them, and he wasn't letting anyone talk to him as he dealt with Newt and Theo.

Everyone was still in their exposed and completely vulnerable states. Walls were down, people didn't try to cover up their feelings, and a stifling sense of despondence still hung in the air like a thick fog. Frypan's meals weren't as flawless as usual, most of the Keepers weren't getting much sleep - if any at all - and there was so much going on that nobody knew what to do as waited out the storm.

For the first time in what had to be forever, I closed my eyes and let myself delve into my own mind. Thoughts grabbed at my brain almost immediately. My constant fear of having to live with my injured leg, the sadness I felt when Luke had practically slapped me in the face with his harsh words, and about a million other things that I had to ignore at every waking moment. They clawed at my nerves, making me flinch as flashes of images from getting stuck in the Door stabbed at me. My own scream rang in my ears like a distant echo.

"Nadia!"

I snapped my eyes open with a gasp and was met with the worried eyes of Minho. I hadn't even heard him come back in, but the door was closed and he was crouched before me. One hand was gripping firmly on my shoulder and the other was nonchalantly placed on my knee. He had been shaking me.

"You alright?" he questioned, releasing my shoulder but tightening his hold on my knee in a comforting manner. It slightly surprised me since we had never had physical contact like that before.

I nodded, shivering as a spike of cold slid down my spine. "I'm fine. What'd Nick say?"

A small smile appeared on Minho's face. "Welcome to your new room. He seemed perfectly fine with it and said 'yes' right away. Poor shank. He's so stressed." He patted my knee gently and pushed himself to a standing position. "I can get some Builders to help me carry all of your things down here once we get rid of all of the dust." His nose twitched at the mention of the tiny particles zooming through the air. "I have a giant urge to sneeze."

I nodded, starting to swing my leg around to the front, when Minho put a hand on my shoulder again and pushed me back down onto the couch. I sent him a confused look. He tutted me childishly, "Ah-ah-ah! I know your leg's been hurting; you can't hide these things from me. You sit here and rest."

"But I can't just stay in this stuffy room all day!" I exclaimed tiredly. "I have to get up at some point. I want to see Newt."

Minho pretended to be deep in thought as he ran his thumb and index finger over his chin. It was a somewhat amusing expression to see on his face, but then again, Minho was full of amusing facial expressions. I couldn't even count how many times he had made me smile.

"I've got it!" he shouted so loudly that I jumped in fright. I watched with a furrowed brow as he crouched down with his back to me, holding his arms bent out behind him. He looked over his shoulder at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Climb on my back."

My eyes widened in shock, sure I had misheard his instruction. "What?"

"Climb on my back," Minho repeated impatiently, waving his hands at me as a gesture to hurry up. "I can't bend over like this forever. My thighs hurt already."

I rolled my eyes at his drama queen attitude. "Minho, you exercise every day. There's no need for your thighs to hurt."

"Whatever, buttercup." It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Just climb on board."

I shakily got to my feet and took a single step using my good leg, then winced as I used the bad one to propel myself safely onto his back. My arms immediately latched around his neck and my thighs tightened around his hips as he swayed from the momentum. I curled my fists around the fabric of his shirt to get a tighter grip. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that Minho was trying to hold me up at the same time he clawed at my arms that were blocking his airway.

"Nadia - you're choking me--" he wheezed, stumbling and nearly causing the both of us to tumble to the floor.

"Oh!" I gasped, immediately switching the position of my arms so I wasn't squeezing his neck. "Sorry. I've never been carried like this before."

Minho's face was slowly draining of its red flush and he turned to squint at me. "Really? You've never been given a piggyback ride?"

"Not that I remember."

It was weird, that was for sure. I wasn't positive I was even comfortable with it- the way he was holding onto the backs of my thighs and how I was practically resting my head on his shoulder. I could smell the scent of rain on him and his slightly damp hair tickled my cheek. It was a close proximity that made me begin to blush.

"Well, I'll make it the best first piggyback ride anyone has ever received," Minho assured me with a grin. It faded away as he looked down at my brace, a frown replacing the smile. "But first, can we take off that brace? The shuck thing weighs a ton."

The next ten minutes were spent with Minho bent over enough so I wouldn't fall off his back and he could use both of his hands. I dangled awkwardly with my arms latched around his middle as he attempted to undo the straps and connections on my brace. I offered to simply be put down, but he was determined to do it himself, and I felt like a sloth as I clung to him.

"Got it."

The last velcro strap was ripped apart and Minho practically threw the brace backwards toward the couch. Because it had been damp, my jeans were slightly darker there from where the water had stained my dry clothes. The feeling was unpleasant, but there was nothing I could do except ignore it.

"Off we go!" Minho shouted, suddenly straightening up without a clear warning. I shrieked as I regained my iron grip on his chest, arms locked but not close enough to his neck that I would choke him. He kept a firm grip on my legs and refrained from dropping me flat on my butt as I had expected. My heart raced from the scare as he opened the door, letting in a flood of conversation from the Gladers that were assembled in the Homestead.

We received many confused stares as Minho carried me out of the room and into the foyer on his back. He turned his left to go up the staircase, letting out slow pants as he struggled to carry me up so many steps. When he finally made it, he let out a long breath and paused to regain his composure. He then continued down the hallway to the last door on the right. He stopped and swallowed.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked breathlessly, voice just above a whisper.

I nodded in response, which he was somehow able to see, because he let go of my one leg just quickly enough to twist the handle and push the door open with his foot. He grabbed onto my thigh again to keep me from slipping off of his back.

However, the moment he started to step inside, a voice shot back at us like a slap to the face.

"Get out."

Minho froze in place. The door wasn't opened wide enough to see the bed, but it was unmistakable that the order had come from Newt. His voice sounded hoarse, groggy, and foreign. So unlike the one that had always been so cheerful.

"Get out!"

"I - I'm sorry." Minho, clearly taken aback by this response, fumbled with the doorknob and took a step back so he could slam it shut. The doorframe rattled with the force. For a long moment neither of us said a word to each other, the only sound in the hallway being our breaths. "Well, I guess he woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

He tried to joke off how hurt and shocked he was. In such a short time, I had been around Minho that I noticed his little habits. He played it off when he was upset, and got hostile when he was scared. I wasn't sure which he was feeling now.

"I feel sick," I admitted weakly, feeling bile rising in my throat. I was positive it was only metaphorical and that I wouldn't actually throw up, but when my head bobbed forward, I wasn't so sure anymore.

Minho nodded and somehow was able to swiftly shift me around so he was carrying me like a baby. My head rested against his chest as he paused to get a better grip. We just stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. My face felt like an electric current was running through it, tingling oddly. My clammy hands awkwardly positioned themselves across my chest.

"All Keepers to the Gathering Room, now!" Alby's voice called from downstairs. It was strange for him not to be up here with Newt, but judging by how he had reacted to us, I could guess he didn't want any company.

Without a word, Minho started walking down the hallway and to the lower level with me in his arms. I decided along the way that I liked the piggyback ride a lot better. In this fashion, I felt immobile and powerless. At least on Minho's back I could see much better.

We made it to the stuffy Gathering Room, obviously the last ones to arrive. The room was so stuffy from the storm outside that the air literally felt like water, and my limbs were even more heavy than usual. Most of the boys had taken to rolling up their sleeves and pants. Nick had his shirt off.

Link, ever the kind soul, helped add in an extra chair for Minho to sit in. After Minho had set me down in my spot, he took his new seat between Zart and I. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with being in a room that held so much importance and was intimidating in itself. I could tell that he still wasn't used to being among the most influential people in the Glade.

"Alright!" Nick yelled above the voices of everyone else, sounding exasperated and tired. He rubbed his eyes as everyone simmered down. "I declare this Gathering begun. We'll be addressing two things: one, a new possibility to getting out of this shuck place, and two, Alex the Greenie."

"What does Alex have to do with anything?" Clark demanded crossly, running his fingers through his ginger hair to smooth it down. It was sticking up in all directions from the humidity. "This sounds like a waste of my time."

"Shut up," Nick retorted to everyone's surprise. He was usually so nice and patient, and never would I have imagined him saying those words. This week had been taking a much larger toll on it than I thought. Upon noticing that all eyes were on him, he sighed. "Sorry. This whole thing's been rough on me, and all of you, I know. Let's just try to be civil here so we can all go take a nap afterwards.

"First order of business is the new idea. We've all heard the story of Newt the Runner and what he tried to do a few nights ago. Don't lie and say you haven't been gossiping about it. Anyway, it came to my mind that if he was able to climb to the top using the ivy, why can't we?"

"Say we do get to the top," Gally intervened. "What then?"

"I was getting to that," Nick replied coolly. "Once we get to the top, we could see the Maze as a whole and possibly find a way out." He paused, blue eyes flickering over everyone to examine their reactions. "We'd have volunteers only. Whoever wants to go is free to, but we're only rounding up ten at max. I'm cool with having less than that. I'm cool with going by myself. Any takers?"

Most of us just shared glances as a way of getting out of it, but Link raised his hand, again to everybody's surprise. He was the last person I expected to volunteer. With his introverted ways and incredible shyness, I never thought he'd be up for the challenge.

"Alright." Nick nodded almost proudly. "Anyone else?"

More exchanged gazes. Seconds ticked by with no more volunteers.

"Okay, then," Nick said, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees. I could see sweat glistening on his topless chest. "Second order of business is Alex. He came up with a... unique reaction to the Glade, that's for sure. But it has been brought to my attention that he may be responsible for some unusual actions that will not be tolerated, and I decided to present the story to all of you as a whole. Gally?"

All heads turned to where he sat at the left end of the half-circle. He had sweat stains around his neck from the intense heat in the room, but it may also have been because he was nervous. I was positive that even he was capable of getting scared with all eyes on him like that.

He basically told the same story he had presented to me- about how Harvey saw Alex run into the Maze. Nick scribbled away on his notepad the entire time he talked, and something hung in the air that wasn't humidity.

When he finished, our leader looked up from what he had written. "And you're sure that there were no other eyewitnesses?"

Gally shook his head. "Just Harvey. At that time, the Runners either hadn't reported for duty yet or were in the Map Room."

Nick nodded and bit his lip in thought. "Alright, well, I can't make a full sentence on just one eyewitness account. If he had run into the Maze, then how did he go out with Minho and Theo?"

"He was late," Minho replied. His voice was a little too quiet compared to Nick and Gally's, another sign of him not being used to his new position of leadership. "Theo and I were all ready to go, and it took twelve minutes of waiting for him to finally show up."

Nick scribbled more notes down onto the paper with his pencil. The room buzzed with silence, only the occasional sniffle or cough breaking it. The stifling heat was causing my head to spin. I had to close my eyes briefly to make it stop.

"I have more evidence," Link spoke up even more quietly than Minho. Gazes of interest landed on him, causing him to shift uncomfortably. His owl-like eyes stared at the floor.

"Yeah?" Nick asked, waving his hand to keep him going. "Go on."

Link took a deep breath and looked up. "I have a spy."

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OFFICIAL CAST LIST FOR (MOST) MINOR CHARACTERS IN AEGIS:
jos canela as alex
diego boneta as theo
mason dye as garret
blake michael as harvey

this was more of a filler chapter, but at least we had some nadia x minho moments, right?

also: i'm changing their ship name to ninho because i decided i like it better than madia

who do you think link's spy is?? comment below!

THE GIF IS SO CUTE

-kristyn