"Here I am with all my heart, I hope you understand. I
know I let you down, but I'm never gonna make that
mistake again. You brought me closer to who I really
am. Come take my hand. I want the world to see what
you mean to me."
—Sterling Knight, What You Mean To Me

CONTROL,
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

THOMAS HAD RUN off before Ruby could ask if he was okay. What was with this kid and wanting to run instead of talk about things? Everyone else was so focused on Teresa finally coming out of her coma that no one noticed him leaving. But Ruby did. She always did.

With a heavy sigh, Ruby just shook her head and went to find Leo. She imagined he wouldn't be going girl crazy. Or at least she hoped he wasn't. She just couldn't take it. "You're not freaking out about a weird girl coming out of a coma, right?", she asked when she finally found him.

Leo barked out a laugh, like this was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. Maybe it was. It wasn't a joke, but she was glad it made him laugh. She loved to hear him laugh. "No. No, I'm not obsessing over weird coma girl. There are certain things around here that just aren't my business, and that is one of them."

Ruby sighed in relief, allowing her head to fall onto his shoulder. "Good, because I don't wanna hear another word about it."

"Don't be so grouchy, Ruby", Leo snickered. "Why do you dislike her so much anyway?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I don't dislike her or anything like that. I just feel guilty. The less I hear about her, the less guilty I feel."

"You know, usually when we feel guilty about things we address the problem instead of running from it", Leo pointed out.

Ruby gave him a flat look, flicking his nose. "No, thank you."

Leo's eyes locked onto something in the distance. Both his brows rose. "Well, your problem is addressing you, because it's coming this way."

Ruby glanced up. Sure enough, Teresa was standing there. Her lips parted for a second before she closed them. Teresa shook her head, turning on her heel and running off. She went in the same direction Thomas had.

Yeah, because no one saw that coming. Absolutely not.

Ruby scowled and turned back to Leo. "What was that about?"

"I'm not the brightest apple in the bunch, but I believe she wants you to talk to her", Leo said flatly. "And I think you should."

"Me talking only results in me making things worse", Ruby mumbled.

Leo furrowed his brows as he looked around them. The Gladers had begun panicking again, this time for an entirely different reason. "Hey, Ruby... let me see your watch?"

Ruby absentmindedly held her wrist out to him. Leo took it gently, reading the numbers multiple times. When he was sure he wasn't losing it, he jumped up. This startled Ruby into reality. "What?" Ruby stood up, looking around in a panic. "Leo, what is it?"

"The Doors, Ruby", Leo exclaimed, pointing at them. "The Doors, they aren't closing."

"That can't be right", Ruby whispered. She checked her watch herself. Sure enough, it was past closing time. The Doors remained wide open. Ruby felt sick. No sun. No Box supplies. And now? No protection. "We're screwed", she mumbled, stunned.

"What the hell is going on", Leo mumbled.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed two boys, Billy and Jackson, leading Teresa to the Slammer. What could that girl have possibly done to anyone in the few minutes that she'd been outside? "I'll be right back." Ruby didn't wait for Leo to respond, she was already hurrying across the courtyard.

"What are you doing?", Ruby asked between pants as she caught up to the two large boys. They were already locking her up when she finally caught up. "What's going on?"

"Alby wants her locked up. Newt told us to keep watch", one of them, Billy, responded.

Ruby frowned. Had Alby lost it? He had to have lost it. "Move", she grunted.

"Can't do that", Jackson said, shaking his head. "Go help out, or something, Ruby."

Ruby huffed, stomping her foot. "God damnit, Jackson, do I seriously look like a threat to you? I just wanna see her. I need to talk to her. Now, if you don't move and let me talk to my friend, I'll kick your sorry ass. Do you understand that or do I need to repeat myself in smaller words?"

The two boys looked at each other. Billy only shrugged. Reluctantly, Jackson stepped out of the way. "Make it quick", he grunted. Ruby rolled her eyes, pushing past him.

Teresa was standing with her hands around the bars. Her already bright blue eyes seemed to light up when she caught sight of her. "Ruby!" She faltered a little, leaning back. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

Ruby furrowed her brows. "You remembered that I was mad at you?"

Teresa nodded her head. "Sort of. I remember not liking that you were mad at me. It made me feel pretty awful."

Ruby sighed, feeling even more guilty than before. "Of course I'm not still mad at you, Teresa. I never should have been in the first place. I was being stupid. It's all my fault, I'm sorry."

Teresa laughed a little. "Don't worry about it. Considering I don't even remember why we were fighting, it shouldn't even matter anymore. I'm just glad you're here. Please, don't leave me out here alone."

"I don't think I can promise that", Ruby sighed. "But I promise that I'll help you in any way that I can."

"What's going on? Why is everyone panicking?"

"The Doors won't shut. If they don't... If they don't close, we're expose to dangers that you could only dream of in your nightmares", Ruby explained. "You're safest in here, for now. I promise you that."

Minho ran over to them, placing his hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Alby and Newt want all the Keepers to gather their groups up and get them in the Homestead as soon as possible. We've gotta go."

Ruby nodded. As she turned to follow, Teresa grabbed her hand. The girl looked panicked and sad and scared all at once. "You'll come back, right?", she whispered. "Or Thomas will?"

Ruby gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "One of us will come back for you, I swear." Teresa nodded. Minho guided Ruby away. "Leo—"

"The Builders are trying to keep the Grievers out right now. I'll make sure he gets inside, don't worry", Minho said quickly. "Help me get the weapons out of the basement."

"Got it", Ruby nodded. As the two of them went in and out, Ruby caught sight of everything else going on. The Builders were putting up haphazard walls, that didn't look like they'd keep them in, let alone keep something else out. Newt had a group gathering up the flashlights. Minho had already explained that everyone would sleep in the Homestead with no lights, unless it was absolutely necessary. Frypan had his cooks getting all the nonperishable foods inside, just in case they got caught inside. Ruby shuddered at the thought. Everyone else was gathering supplies.

"Have you seen Thomas?", she asked hesitantly.

Minho nodded. "He's helping the Builders out, I think. They're down a man with Gally still missing."

Gally. She'd forgotten about him. Was he even still alive?

Thomas came over to help them once, not too long after she'd asked about him, but Minho was so frustrated that he wouldn't talk to the poor kid.

"Alright, that should be all of it. I've got some kind of special assignment from Newt." Basically, he was telling them to get lost. "Go help someone else out, Ruby. Please, check on Leo for me."

"Of course", Ruby nodded. She gave Thomas's arm a gentle squeeze. "If you wanna talk to someone, your best bet is Newt. He seems like he's the most level headed right now. Check the Blood House."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem", Ruby shrugged. "Good luck. Be careful." She borrowed a flashlight from someone and ran off on her own mission to find her friend. No doubt, she'd annoyed some of the Builders by shining a bright light in their eyes, but she didn't particularly care at that moment, she had one job and one job only: find Leo. "Leo of the Builders." She deepened her voice, imitating Alby. "You have been summoned to the Homestead by your loving boyfriend."

"Yeah, let me just finish—"

"Nope, right now. Come on." Leo looked down into Ruby's impatient eyes and nodded, tapping the last nail into place. Once he was finished, he took her hand into his and they made their way back into the homestead. In the distance, a Griever screeched, almost like an eagle.

The night of terror had begun.

DECEMBER 15, 2019
i might double on some chapters again because a lot of
these are Thomas and Teresa centric, and clearly Ruby
isn't always with Thomas. she has her own stuff going
on too. ( meaning i like having leo around too much ))