Her || The Maze Runner

Twenty Six

Later that night every Glader gathered around the East Door about half an hour before it was time for it to close. The rest of the Runners had just joined the group after spending about twenty minutes in the map room, other than Minho who had appeared ten minutes before and was now standing next to Alby.

Mara was standing next to Chuck and Thomas a little further back from them. None of them were keepers or the leader, so luckily they didn't have to participate in Ben's banishment. She didn't understand how they could take part in condemning someone to their death, especially with the Grivers mixed in. But that seemed to be the only way to die, other than being thrown off of the so called Cliff or being killed by another Glader.

The Keepers and Alby stood at the gap in the wall, all of them except Newt who had gone into the Homestead a few minutes before Minho had arrived. The other Gladers murmured in a chorus of hushed tones, but Mara stayed silent. It felt like a funeral, but at the same time it didn't. They weren't morning Ben's death yet, they were waiting for it to happen. There was no way he was going to survive alone in the maze, there was no way he was going to make it back to the Glade in the morning.

"Bring him out!" Alby shouted, the Gladers' mumbles silencing as he spoke.

Each Glader turned towards the Homestead, where the Slammer was located, to look for the sick boy. He wasn't there. But then three of the more muscular boys turned the corner, stepping into view and dragging the boy out with them. The clothes he wore were clinging to his body, only just hanging onto the boy's sweat drenched skin. A blood covered bandage hid half of his face and head from vision, hiding a nasty arrow shaped scar. He wasn't helping with the process, he was trying to do all he could do to save himself.

The boy was being forced through the Glade, the other three Gladers dragging him across the cracked courtyard. Mara watched as the boy grew closer and closer to the crowd, and was then placed in front of the Keepers and Alby. He hung his head so not to look his Leader and old friend in the eyes.

"You brought this to yourself Ben." Alby told him, looking back over to the Homestead. Newt was walking towards the crowd carrying multiple aluminum poles and as he walked he was connecting the poles to create an even longer metal stick perhaps twenty feet long. 

He was carrying something else that looped around his right arm and was also joined to one end of the pole he was still creating, but Mara couldn't quite make out what it was. Newt was getting closer, attaching the last pole to the elongated shaft and then dragging it along the ground behind him. As he walked the connected pole scraped over the bumpy concrete flooring, sounding similar to the noise the Maze doors made when they were closing. 

Once Newt reached Alby the Gladers had gone completely silent. He handed one end of the pole to Alby that was attached by a gigantic staple to the- now that she could see it- leather loop. The loop had a rather big button snap, revealing to Mara that it could be open and closed, but what would they need that for? Then it dawned on her.

It was a collar.

Alby  unbuckled the collar and wrapped it around Ben's neck, clicking it shut with a loud pop. Ben finally looked up, his eyes occupied by tears and opened wide in terror. His gaze went between Gladers, landing on Mara's for a second longer than the rest, except Thomas. She didn't know what he was going to do, but she could tell he was scared to death. Of course he was, why wouldn't he be? He was going into the Maze unprepared and alone, left for the Grievers.

"Please, Alby," The boy pleaded, he was a different boy from the night before. It was the sanity left in him trying to crawl out and save what was left of him. "I swear I was just sick in the head from the Changing. I never would've killed him, or her- just lost my mind for a second. Please, Alby. Please."