"Don't you die, damnit! Don't you know that life is
pain? You just get used to it!"

*the author is pretty sure she didn't type this quote right*

CONTROL,
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

WHEN THEY MADE it back, Ruby was surprised to see many Gladers giving up. However, she couldn't blame them. It did all seem pretty hopeless now. Even Minho had given up, having an entire outburst. They'd received the disheartening news that the Grievers did come back that night. They had taken a kid named Adam. Ruby could put a face to the name, but she'd never spoken to him.

After checking on Leo and Chuck, she went to join the others in the Map Room. Newt was the one to let her in. "Have you seen Minho?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not since he declared us all shucked and ran off."

Newt sighed. "Bloody hot head", he muttered.

"Can you really blame him, though?", she asked, raising a brow. "We didn't find anything. The Glade is basically dead. It all seems so... hopeless."

Newt groaned, rubbing his temples. "Don't you start too, i can't handle it if you're all talkin like that."

"My bad", Ruby said, raising her palms. "I'm just saying that I get it. He's got a right to be upset." When they made it into the room, she spotted Thomas and Teresa with a group of boys she didn't know. They all looked tired. Maps were all over the place. "Anything new?", she asked.

Thomas handed her a paper with six words written on it. Float, Catch, Bleed, Death, Stiff, and Push. Freaky. "The Maze has been repeating these words for months", Teresa explained. "Any idea?"

"Not a clue", Ruby mumbled. Thomas eventually left, claiming to feel tired. She stayed with Teresa and Newt. The rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur, because soon she was asleep on the bottom floor of the Homestead.

Sleep didn't last long though. Leo had woken her up when the Grievers returned for the night. Something upstairs exploded, and several boys came running.

"It's got Dave!", someone shouted.

"Something is wrong with Dimitri!" Dimitri. Somehow she recognized that name. A little redhead, barely twelve years old, came to mind. He'd slept in her room the night before.

Ruby was up in seconds, trying to find the source of that scream. She eventually did find him. A group of other boys were huddled around him, as if protecting him. She couldn't tell what was wrong, but his ears were bleeding. "I've got him. Get downstairs, okay?" You didn't have to tell them twice. The boys immediately took off, far from the impending danger. Ruby, with some difficulty, lifted the boy up into her arms. She wanted to find Clint or Jeff, but it was nearly impossible in all the chaos.

She had no other choice but to take him back downstairs and help him herself. Just as she was descending the stairs, she noticed Thomas bolting outside. Where was that idiot going now? "Thomas!" He just kept running. Ruby rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't exactly worry about Thomas at that moment.

She took Dimitri back to the room she and Leo were in and placed him on the bed. She turned to the other boys. "If any of you come across the Med-jacks at any time, let me know." Still shocked from the events, they only nodded.

Ruby went out into the hall to try and find some cloth to wet, only to find everyone fussing over Thomas. "What happened?"

"He got stung", Newt responded. "Twelve times. He's an idiot, I don't know what he was thinking!"

Ruby shook her head, kneeling down beside him. It looked like he was struggling to stay awake. His eyes fluttered every few seconds. "Don't worry", he whispered, his voice strained with the effort. "I did it on purpose..." And then nothing.

"Please stay alive", she whispered, hoping upon hope that he would hear her. Moving back to let the Med-jacks do their job, she turned to Clint. "When one of you gets time, I have an injured kid." The boy nodded.

"STAY ALIVE."
—HAMILTON

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Days went by. Three, to be exact. The Med-jacks couldn't figure out what had happened to Dimitri, brain damage or inner ear problems, but the boy could barely hear a word, much less speak. Either way, Ruby clung to him like a mother hen.

As for Thomas, he still hadn't woken up. Ruby stayed by his side often, only moving when she went to check on Leo or Dimitri. Chuck was there too, waiting.

"He's moving!", Chuck exclaimed.

Ruby leaned forward, searching for any sign. Thomas's brow twitched. "Thomas, it's Chuck and Ruby! Are you okay? Please don't die, dude", Chuck was saying.

Ruby squeezed Thomas's pale hand. "Come on, Thomas. Rise and shine." Thomas groaned. His eyes fluttered before he finally looked at them, squinting. Ruby sighed in relief. Chuck grinned. Despite it all, Chuck grinned. "Welcome back to the land of the living", Ruby smiled.

"He's awake!", Chuck shouted. "Thomas is awake!"

Thomas flinched. "Please, don't scream — either of you", he groaned. "I still don't feel so good."

"Sorry, I'm just glad you're alive. You're lucky I don't give you a big kiss."

Thomas scrunched his nose up. "Please don't do that, Chuck." He pushed himself up. He struggled a little, but at least he made it. "How long was I out?"

"Three days", Chuck and Ruby said simultaneously. "We put you in the Slammer at night to keep you safe, and then brought you back here during the day. We thought you died at least thirty-six times, but look at you. You look brand new!", Chuck rambled on.

"Did the Grievers come?"

They both suddenly looked sad, giving Thomas his answer. "They took Zart, a few others. One a night, just like Gally promised", Ruby mumbled. "Minho and then others keep going out there to look for an exit, but..." Ruby trailed off.

Thomas looked visibly upset. "Get Newt and Alby. Tell them I said we need to have a Gathrting as soon as possible."

"Serious?", Chuck asked.

Thomas sighed. "Chuck, I just went through the Changing. Do you think I'm serious?" Chuck didn't say anything more, just running out of the room.

Ruby crossed her arms, leaning back. "You are in no shape to be having a Gathering."

"I'm fine", Thomas grunted. Liar. "How long have you been here."

Ruby shrugged. "All night." She turned to find him staring. "What? I got something on my face?"

Thomas shook his head. "I just wanna look at you for a little while, that's all." Ruby mumbled what sounded like 'weird' under her breath. But then Thomas said something familiar. It was so quiet that she'd almost missed it. "Too good to be good for me."

Ruby's head snapped up quickly. Her lips parted slightly in shock. "You— you remember?" She didn't want to get her hopes up. How could she?

Thomas smiled tiredly. "I promised you till death, and we aren't dead yet."

"Can we never forget each other again?"

Thomas wanted to laugh, but he was still too nauseous. "I'll try my best." Not long after that, Newt came in. He and Thomas chatted for a section before moving on to more important things. "We need to have a Gsthrting before I start forgetting things", Thomas said, shifting.

"Yeah, Chuck said that, but why? What did you figure out?"

"It's a test, Newt. The whole thing is a test", Thomas explained.

Ruby stood up, figuring this was not a conversation she should be listening in on. "If you need anything, let me know." She gave Newt's shoulder a squeeze on the way out.

DECEMBER 15, 2019
Dimitri wasn't supposed to come in until
The Scorch Trials but I couldn't help my
damned self, okay? He's too fucking cute.