[ MINHO ]

❧

When Minho returned to the Glade after hiding the maps and the device his home in front of him was eerily silent. Slipping past some makeshift barricades that had been made during his absence, his eyes focused on the Homestead.

The last few Gladers were shuffling into the door while Newt beckoned them all inside. Minho ran over and entered the doorway right after Thomas. He knew the Greenie must've been visiting Teresa in the Slammer – where she'd been sentenced for the night – and Minho was surprised Thomas hadn't begged to stay in there with her.

Most of the Gladers normally slept outside so fitting them all into the Homestead was downright painful. All the other rooms were full so Minho settled down alone in the Council Hall without any supplies besides his Runner gear.

He was soon joined by Newt and Thomas. The two entered the room, one of them carrying an old lamp and setting it down on one of the chairs. Chuck snuck in soon after, sitting down in the chair next to Thomas, his tiny eyes wide and his breathing shallow. Chuck had never been particularly good at anything in the Glade, but he was the youngest out of all of them and that did cause Minho to pity the boy a little bit.

Someone knocked on the door very faintly. Newt got up to let whoever it was in and a handful of Gladers crashed into the room, causing more noise than Minho would've liked. Minho held back a glare when Gally was among the boys who entered the room. Fortunately, Gally either didn't notice or purposefully avoided eye contact with Minho and chose to sit in a spot far away from him.

When everything was settled, Minho heard whispering from the corner of the Council Hall. He turned to see Thomas speaking to Newt in hushed tones, their eye contact unwavering. Minho tilted his head at the fact before deciding to join the two boys.

"What are you two whispering about?" Minho asked, also in a whisper, sitting down on the floor next to the other two.

Newt and Thomas looked toward Minho before sharing eye contact with each other, as if debating whether or not they should tell him. Minho furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the two boys but unfortunately another perfectly timed knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

This time the knocking was forceful and loud. All the boys in the room froze for a few seconds as the knocking continued, none of them wanting to volunteer to investigate the sound. Eventually, Frypan got up and answered the door and Alby strode into the room, immediately finding Newt and heading towards the group at the back of the room.

"This is crazy. I ain't ever have suspected the shuckin' Doors themselves refusing to work," Alby spoke loudly, earning himself worried shushes from a few of the Gladers in the room. Alby took in a deep breath before sitting down on the floor beside Minho. He looked down at the wooden floor. His breathing remained loud and forced.

"Alby?" Newt asked, in a whisper. "What do you suggest we do?"

Alby hung his head low, his eyes not leaving the floor. "I don't know. Those things can just waltz right in whenever they feel like it. Nothin' we really can do, is there?"

Minho caught an eye roll from Thomas and it was easy to tell what the Greenie must've been thinking. Alby was giving up, believing that no one could ever survive living alongside the Grievers. But someone had. Electra. Minho wondered if Thomas felt just as tempted to reveal the truth.

Minho remembered how broken she'd become when he met her out in the Maze. Her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks stained with tears while her entire body forcefully shook. He hadn't seen her like that since their first days in the Maze. It was so unlike her, so when he saw her in that state it startled him. He wasn't sure why the Doors not closing got to her so much but he assumed it had something to do with the voice she heard on her first day. Everything surrounding her had something to do with the voice. Minho hated the voice just as much as he hated the Creators.

Nobody replied to Alby's statement until Minho spoke up, "We gotta quit boohooing and feeling sorry for ourselves. Tomorrow morning, first thing, you guys can assign teams to study the Maps full-time while the Runners go out. We'll pack our stuff shuck-full so we can stay out there a few days."

Thomas instinctively nodded at Minho's statement, while Alby shook his head and replied, "What do you mean, days?"

"I mean, days. With open Doors and no sunset there's no point in coming back here. Time to stay out there and see if anything opens up when the walls move... if they still move."

Minho thought about Electra out there, all by herself and how she pleaded with him to stay with her. The recent memory gave him chills. Seeing her so distraught caused his chest to feel heavy.

Alby countered Minho's argument, again. "No way. We have the Homestead to hide in. We can't ask people to go out there and die, Minho. Who'd volunteer for that?"

"Me," Minho said, catching Thomas nodding at him. "And Thomas."

"I will if I have to," Newt said, and Minho turned to look at the boy. He wasn't expecting Newt to volunteer to go back out running again, not after the incident which caused his limp. "And I'm sure all the Runners'll do it."

Right as the memory of Newt's incident began to replay in his mind, Minho pushed the thought right back out, not wanting to relive the moment when his friend had permanently damaged his leg.

Alby laughed harshly, "With your bum leg?"

Minho cast a glare at Alby while Newt frowned and looked at his hands. "Well, I don't feel good askin' Gladers to do something if I'm not bloody willing to do it myself."

Alby's attitude shifted as if a switch had been turned off and he sadly cast a glance at each of the Gladers in turn. "I'm... sorry, really. You guys know I'm all screwed up. Seriously, I'm sorry. I... I don't think I should even be the stupid leader anymore."

"Oh bloody–" Newt started but was cut off by the screeching of a Griever just outside the Homestead.

All the boys in the Council Hall flinched and a couple of them yelled out before clasping a hand over their mouth. Minho noticed Chuck sending a scared glance over at Thomas and Thomas raised a hand towards the younger boy, trying to calm him down.

No one dared to move. The Griever stomped back and forth right outside their room, its metallic claws digging into the grass. The Council Hall didn't have any windows so none of the boys knew exactly where the Griever was located but they could hear the monster churning just outside.

Suddenly, there was a crash from the opposite side of the building a few floors above them. The boys in the Council Hall stirred until Newt got up and shushed all the boys. He snuck over towards the door and placed his ear on the wood.

Screams tore through the building but none from the boys inside the Council Hall. Newt placed a finger over his mouth, warning the boys to stay quiet. Minho could hear footsteps rampaging right outside the door as well as Grievers screeches mixing with human screams.

Thomas stirred beside Minho, motioning to get up, but Minho roughly grabbed onto the Greenie's arm and pulled him back down to the floor. Of course Thomas felt the need to be the hero. Minho wouldn't let Thomas get himself killed out there.

The seconds took take hours and Thomas became antsier with each second that passed. The Griever just outside their room seemed to disappear, its ominous presence outside vanishing as soon as the Gladers' screams filled the Glade.

The chaos just outside their walls made Minho cringe. He wanted to do something but if he did, then not only would he be putting his own safety at risk but he would also be endangering everyone that sat in the Council Hall with him. They couldn't do anything to draw attention to their little hiding space unless they wanted the Grievers to find them.

As if Thomas could read his mind, he whispered into Minho's ear, "We need to do something."

Minho shook his head. "Nothing to do, unless you want all these shanks in here to be killed."

Upon hearing Minho's response, Thomas glanced at Chuck and Minho followed his gaze. The young boy was curled up near the farthest wall, gently rocking back and forth. The wood creaked a bit as he moved and Minho wished the boy would just sit still.

Suddenly, something slammed against the outside wall and all the Gladers shuffled backwards just as the wood came crashing down.

"Stay back guys!" Newt yelled over the Gladers' worried yelps and the boys pushed each other to be the farthest away from the opening in the wall.

A Griever claw reached in and swiftly grabbed one of the Gladers. Minho didn't have time to recognize who the boy was before he was swiftly flung out of the room, his blood-curdling scream flying out with him.

As his scream ended, the boys in the room were paralyzed. Minho tried to look outside past the walls of the Council Hall but the lamp that burned in the room made the outside look dark and broken wood blocked the exit, making it impossible to see outside.

"Chuck, come here," Thomas whispered a couple boys down from Minho, and Minho looked over to see Chuck standing apart from the group, frozen in fear.

Chuck was unresponsive, his eyes focusing on the break in the wall.

"Chuck!" Thomas hissed and when Chuck still didn't move, Thomas took slow steps towards the younger boy. Thomas reached out a hand at Chuck but the young boy didn't take his eyes off the opening.

Another Griever claw plunged into the room, grabbing onto Chuck and beginning to pull the boy away. Thomas dove forward, latching onto Chuck's arm and trying to pull the boy back. Minho jumped into action and grabbed Chuck's other arm, and a few other Gladers joined him.

"Don't let go!" Thomas yelled.

"No shit!" Chuck yelled back.

Out of the corner of his eye, Minho noticed the Griever revealing its spike and aiming it at Chuck. Minho tried pulling Chuck harder, but the monster was too strong. Then, he felt a hand take the knife out of the sheath on his back, and before he could process what was going on, he saw Alby cutting off the spike before swinging the knife down on the Griever's arm.

Alby screamed as he brutally chopped at the arm. After a few swings the creature let go of Chuck before slithering away. Minho and the other Gladers who were pulling on the boy fell over in a mess of arms and legs. Minho couldn't tell where anyone was but he heard Thomas' voice ring out.

"Chuck, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Silence fell onto the group again as they all caught their breath. Minho looked up at Alby who held his knife tightly in his right hand. Alby looked down at the knife before slowly turning towards Chuck.

"Thanks, Alby." Chuck barely got the words out as he was still trying to catch his breath.

Alby simply nodded in return and an indistinguishable look crossed his face. Minho wanted to reach out and pull the leader towards the rest of the group but Alby stood alone near the hole in the wall, looking like he would swing at anyone who got close to him.

Minho didn't have time to get up before the Griever reached in again, this time grabbing onto Alby. Thomas had somehow gotten up, and the boy rushed over and latched onto the leader. Minho struggled to stand right as Alby screamed out.

"Thomas, get them out of here!"

Alby released his grip on Thomas before the Griever pulled him out of the Council Hall. Thomas yelled out after the boy and ran outside, tearing through the broken wood panels.

"Tommy, get back here!" Newt shouted, and ran after him.

Minho managed to stand and he ran after Thomas and Newt. The other Gladers followed him. He promptly bumped into Thomas as he stood right outside the Council Hall. Minho wanted to shield his eyes at what he saw.

Fire. Many of the buildings in the Glade were burning to the ground, their infernos stretching high into the air. Boys were screaming as they ran away from Grievers. The monsters were tearing through the buildings as if they were made of straw.

Worst of all, the Griever was dragging Alby away from them and the boy wasn't even fighting back. Maybe Alby was already dead; Minho couldn't tell. The monster lifted Alby up off the floor before stuffing the boy into its flesh. Alby disappeared within the skin of the monster and the monster snarled at the group before stalking away.

Then, before he could even tell what was going on, Minho saw Thomas get punched in the face by Gally. Thomas fell to the floor, and Minho reacted. He went up to Gally and pushed him back, and Gally tried to break free from Minho's grip. Newt and a couple other Gladers joined Minho in pushing Gally back, while Thomas reached a hand up and felt where Gally had punched him.

"This is all you, Thomas. Huh? Look around!" Gally seethed with anger. Minho caught the look of lunacy in his eyes. "This is your fault!"

"It's not Thomas' fault!" Minho said.

"Gally, calm down!" Newt's voice rang out but it was useless. Gally was too far gone into his rage.

Minho wanted to punch Gally square in the face just to get the boy to calm down. But then, Gally abruptly stopped pushing against the boys and Minho loosened his grip. Gally let out a tiny yelp before bolting in the opposite direction. The Gladers around them scattered in all directions. Minho turned to see another Griever racing towards them its growl rumbling in Minho's chest.

Minho and Newt rushed over to Thomas and pulled him up off the floor before they ran away from the Griever. Turning the corner around the Homestead, they all had to slide to a stop when the Griever rushed past them and screeched at them, sending their backs into the Homestead wall.

Minho reached up to the sheath above his shoulder to grab his knife but realized that Alby had taken it from him when he chopped at the Griever's arm. Now Alby was gone and Minho's knife along with him. Fuck, that's just great.

He had extra knives in his pack, of course, but there was no time to grab them when a Griever was rearing up towards him as if he was its dinner. Minho looked around himself and noticed Frypan, Chuck, and Winston, along with a few other Gladers he'd never really spoken to.

Minho was weaponless. Vulnerable. He felt like poor little Chuck in how afraid he was.

Something slid into his hand and looked down to see Thomas handing him a knife. Minho locked eyes with the boy and Thomas merely nodded at Minho. The Greenie still had his Runner knives. The ones Electra had sharpened. Minho nodded back at Thomas before turning back to the Griever.

The monster slowly crept up to them and Minho tightened his grip on the knife. He bounced on his feet a couple of times. Newt nudged him and when Minho turned towards him, the blond boy shook his head slowly.

What else can we do, Newt?  Minho thought, turning back towards the Griever.

He noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye but within the chaos he forced himself to focus on the creature in front of him.

Right as he was about to run up to the monster, it screeched louder than he'd ever heard a Griever scream before. The scream pushed him and the other Gladers backwards against the Homestead wall.

Once Minho recollected himself he launched forward at the unaware Griever. He brought his knife upward and sliced into the bottom of the monster and it scurried away and out of his reach.

The Griever stumbled a few times before inspecting the wound he'd made. Minho wiped off his knife only to look up and see a person jump off the Griever's back. He blinked a few times, certain that the chaos was playing tricks on him and there wasn't even a person there at all.

The person wasn't disappearing. They stood with their back turned to him, a fire in the distance behind them making their bushy hair look like its own inferno. Minho's vision was hazy, and the fire made his eyes burn, but he focused on who stood in front of him.

Electra turned around to face him, her face covered in Griever slime. Minho's mind went blank as he stared forward towards her. He couldn't process what was right in front of him. How was she here?

The Gladers behind him started to scream when they saw Electra, as if she was another monster. When hearing their screams, Electra broke eye contact with him and ran back up to the Griever, bringing her knife around herself and swiping at its legs.

As she spun around, Minho noticed the blood. On her left shoulder, where the glowing device used to be, there was a bloodied bandage. Actually, he wasn't even sure that a bandage was there, considering how bloody her arm was. The blood trickled down her arm and onto her hands where it stained the knife she was holding.

Electra carved the device out of her own arm.

—

A/N: first of all, TYSM FOR 500 READS!! yayayaya

and we've officially entered the second half of this story!! suuuuuper excited for what's in store for electra and minho!! :,)

also!! wanted to put a little disclaimer that the conversation with alby, thomas, newt, and minho is taken from the book!! i made some very subtle changes but yeah!! it's from the book!!