But before I could speak, Newt leaned in eagerly and asked, "What happened, Tommy? Didja remember something?"

"I — I —" Thomas stammered, still looking around. "I could swear I just heard —"

That was all he got out before he jumped out of his chair and scrambled away from the bed, breaking my grip and knocking over a lamp. It crashed in a mess of glass, but I ignored it and stood up, quickly walking over to him.

"Thomas," I said. "Thomas, is she speaking in your mind?"

It sounded crazy — mad, insane, impossible. I half-hoped that Thomas would shake his head and stare at me liked I was nuts, but Thomas whispered, "Yes."

"What is it?" Newt interrupted and striding over to us. "What's bloody wrong?"

Thomas swallowed and I could tell he was fighting the urge to run screaming away. "It's like — she's talking in my freaking head. In my head! She just said my name!"

"Tommy, I think you're tired. You need some rest," Newt said.

"No — I swear — I'm serious!" Thomas said, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his hands to his ears.

I shook him, trying desperately to bring his focus back to me, but all I succeeded in doing was freaking him out even more.

Finally, it seemed that Thomas couldn't take anymore. He yanked open the door and stumbled out. I shot Newt an apologetic look before following.

Man, could he run. Thomas sprinted non-stop for almost an hour, which I associated with adrenaline and shock. He was heading for the Maze. I had been Keeper of the Mappers back at 'my Glade' so I could keep up with him, but often I lost him in the turns and bends and had to run randomly before I caught a glimpse of him.

"Thomas!" I yelled the next time I saw him. "Tommy, please! Let me help!"

Thomas stopped for a moment, but that was all I needed to catch up and tackle him to the ground. Thomas struggled, his expression wild and eyes wide, but I said, "Please, Tommy, please. Let me help."

Thomas swallowed nervously and nodded once. Just once, but I knew he was ready. I slid off his body and wiped the sweat off my head as Tommy sat up, watching me.

"You'll be a good Ma — Runner," I said softly to break the silence. "Minho's lucky to have you."

"How did you know?"

I sighed and turned to face him. "Aris and Rachel. They could do it too, so I figured. .  ." I trailed off. "Anyway, I told Newt that before, but I reckon he's forgotten it by now."

"I don't think he'd forget anything you said." Thomas managed a weak smile and I gave him a sharp look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"So," I said quickly, changing the subject. "What did Teresa say to you?"

He hesitated, looking slightly scared, and I gripped his shoulder. "C'mon, Thomas. Please?"

"Well, my name first. That's what freaked me out. And then. . ." He rubbed his eyes, leaning against the Maze walls. "'Everything is going to change.'"

I sensed that he didn't want to go on, but he had to. "C'mon," I urged. "What else? This could be important."

He met my gaze again sadly. "I — Teresa and I — did this. To them. To you."

***

I dragged Thomas out of the Maze, forcing him to stand up and running back to the Glade. By the time we got back, the Doors were only minutes from closing. He went straight into the Deadheads and I started to follow him, but he shook his head.

"Can I be alone?" he whispered and I stopped, watching him as he disappeared into the dark shadows of the trees. But just before his tall frame slipped away, he turned slightly.

"Neil?" he said quietly. "Can you -- can you keep this a secret for now?"

I nodded.

When I couldn't see him anymore, I went straight to my hammock and piled two blankets into my arms.

"Need some help with that?" came an amused voice and Newt took one of the blankets from me. Chuck saw what we were doing and grabbed a few extra pillows. It took a while but together, we found Thomas asleep in the deepest part of the Deadheads, leaning against the corner where two walls met. I propped him up on a pillow. Chuck tossed the blankets over him and I stepped back, smiling.

He looked like a kid who had fallen asleep while reading a comic book - young, innocent, free of troubles and worries. Newt prodded me with his elbow and I scowled playfully at him.

The next morning, Chuck shook my hammock and I rolled over, forgetting I was in a hammock. I slammed into the ground and Chuck cracked up laughing.

"Shut up, you shuckface," I groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "Whaddya want?"

"For you to wake up."

"Ha-ha," I grumbled. "What about breakfast?"

"Fry is setting it out now."

I was already shoveling eggs into my mouth by the time Thomas showed up. I waved my fork at him cheerily in greeting and called, "Over here!"

Thomas slid into the empty seat next to me, ducking his head. "They're all staring at me."

"Duh!" I said, rolling my eyes. "Newt just told us you're gonna be a Runner. You're starting with me! Or I'm starting with you, whatever way you prefer."

"Wait — you're running?" Chuck asked, looking confused. "Since when?"

"Since yesterday," I said, returning to my breakfast.

"That's not really protocol, is it?"

"I could run faster than any of you shanks," I declared. "Also, I fixed the maps, remember?"

"Hey, Chuck," Thomas cut in. "Did they ever find Gally?" 

"No. I was gonna tell you - someone said they saw him run out into the Maze after he left the Gathering. Hasn't been seen since," Chuck told him.

Thomas dropped his fork halfway to his mouth and I quickly caught it before it fell onto the ground. "What? You're serious? He went into the Maze?"

Chuck quickly filled him in while I scooped up a handful of blueberries and ate them. Thomas started looking more and more nervous, cracking his knuckles and staring down at his food.

Thomas picked up his half-empty plate and started to stand up.

"I think I'm full," he mumbled, but I grabbed his wrist and scraped the rest of his food onto my plate. Thomas gave me a weak smile and Chuck stood up with him, taking their plates to the counter.

"All I want is one day — one day to relax," Thomas sighed.

"Then your wish is bloody granted," said Newt and I turned to see him grinning at Thomas. I waved and he smiled at me before returning his attention back to Thomas.

"C'mon, ya buggin' jailbird," Newt said. "You can take it easy while you're hanging' in the Slammer. Let's go. Chucky'll bring you some lunch at noon." Thomas nodded and followed Newt out.

It took me a while to finish the rest of my breakfast, but when I polished off my last waffle, Clint jogged into the Kitchen and smiled at me.

"Hey Neil!" he called to me. "Can I get some help in the Homestead?"

I nodded, cramming the rest of my food in mouth and Clint led me back to the Homestead and into the room where Teresa was still laying in. I noticed that Alby was gone.

"Where is he?" I asked , gesturing at the empty cot where Alby had been. Clint glanced at where I was pointing and said, "Oh, yeah. Alby got up maybe fifteen minutes ago and now he's just relaxing, mostly — trying to get a bit of feeling back into him until he goes back to being the big boss of the Glade." He chuckled to himself as Jeff tossed me a roll of Ace bandages.

"Here," he called, motioning at one of the Builders who was sitting on a stool, cradling his wrist. "You do know how to wrap those, right?"

For the next two hours, I bandaged sprained wrists, cleaned cuts, and handed out ice packs until Clint told me I could go. I waved goodbye to them and the Builder I had just bandaged and left, deciding to go talk to Thomas.

As I peeked through the tiny window, Thomas lifted his head and brightened. "Thank god!" he said, grinning. "I was about to die from boredom!"

"No doubt." I pushed myself onto my toes to try to get taller and Thomas laughed.

"So you're a Runner like me, then?" he asked and I nodded. "Wow. Do the other Gladers know?"

I thought about that for a moment, then shook my head. "No, I don't think so. You didn't see them staring at me, didja?" Thomas shrugged.

"I dunno. They seem to like you a lot better than they like me," he said. I wasn't quite sure what to say to that so I quickly switched the subject.

"Has Teresa contacted you again?" I asked, tapping my temple. "You know, in your mind?"

Thomas shook his head, looking defeated. "No, and I can't figure how to do it myself. How did Aris and Rachel do it?"

"They kinda like, visualized the words and pushed it out of their minds to the other person, if that makes sense," I explained. Thomas furrowed his brow, like he was concentrating, and closed his eyes. After a few tense moments, he opened his eyes again and sighed. "No can do."

After that, we talked a little this, a little that, not really focusing on one subject. What do you think of Fry's food? It's awesome, really. Do you think I'll be a good Runner? Definitely! How long did you sleep last night? Long enough. We talked about everything and nothing at all until Chuck showed up, reminding me to go get lunch myself.

Chuck passed Thomas a few chunks of chicken and a glass of water as I waved goodbye to Thomas. But I had barely walked two steps away before Chuck launched into an explanation of what had been going on since Thomas got stuck in the Slammer.

One of the Cooks passed me a bowl of rice and what looked like orange chicken. I gave him a look and was about to explain how I was vegetarian, again, until the Cook said, "It's cauliflower."

I thanked him and found an empty table tucked away, but Newt soon slid next to me, along with Zart and surprise, surprise, Alby.

I did a double take as I took in his appearance. He looked a lot better than he had when he had tried to kill himself. His skin was full of color again and he looked like he had just had a good night's sleep.

"It's not polite to stare," Alby joked and I smiled.

"You look well," I commented, starting to eat. "How do you feel?"

"Awful."

***

WORD COUNT: 1987

***

Please don't kill me

I haven't really had the same motivation for a while, so I just kinda took a break for a while. Plus, school sucks pretty badly and I just kinda want to get my homework done, ya know?

And holy crap, I had no idea this story would get so many reads!! 1.7K readers... I'm so happy!!

Also, please, please, please vote... I see y'all adding this to your reading lists it not a single vote from you!! And it makes me sad :( so please vote if you liked it!!

Also, this might be a weird question, but any Ling Ling wannabes our there?

Also!!! I've gotten obsessed with The Umbrella Academy and published a fanfic called Smoke Bomb! Please check it out!!