𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐀 - TMR, Gally ¹

𝟢𝟥𝟫，𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐝

CH. THIRTY - NINE
┗━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━┛

Surprised, Joan looks up from her notebook. She hadn't expected Minho to join her up this tower. Neither did she realize someone saw her climbing up.

"Hi," he greets, sitting down.

She nods. "Hey. What's up?"

He shrugs. No 'the sky' reply or anything, just shrugs with some kind of sadness on his face. "Jim and Dan quit running today. Just me, you, Ben and Michael left."

Three more Runners to stop.

Yet the sadness on his face uneases her. She feels like a monster. Betraying them like this. Telling them there's Grievers everywhere and when they check it out, sending the Grievers at them but making sure they don't harm.

But they can't escape. They're safer here. It's for their own good.

"Oh," is all she manages.

"I don't know what to do," he says quietly. "I'm a useless Keeper. Takes me two years to figure out there's not even a way out. Then the Runners are just vanishing one by one."

"You're not useless," she says. "The outcome might not be good, but it's awesome you even managed to figure the whole Maze out, Minho. Exit or not, you did that and that's really good."

He shrugs. "Things have changed. No one seems as destined to find a way out anymore."

"Maybe there isn't," she mumbles.

There not being a way out has been the only theory that's wrong so far, but it still feels right.

Unless the Changing is just all fake and they make them remember fake things.

Oh, god— that would be an awful plottwist.

They sit in silence for a while, both staring at the boys below them. Some are walking around, some sitting as they speak, some heading off to bed... kinda entertaining to watch.

"Question," Minho suddenly says. The sadness in his voice has vanished completely, and so has the sad look on his face. In fact, he's grinning as he turns to her.

She raises an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"How's Gally, the annoying ass, in bed?"

"Minho!"

❀

"Oh, fuck! Camil, run— I mean, wheel!" Quickly, the girl pushes him forward, away from Gally and Alby.

It's a few months after she figured everything out, and the Greenie will arrive in a few hours. Except Camil and Joan decided to get back to the good old pranks.

"Dying my clothes pink is one thing, but attempting to get me to wash my hair with pink hair dye goes too far!" Gally yells from across the Glade, followed by Alby's yell, "Posters of my head as a bowling ball?!"

Laughing, the two sneak behind the Homestead. Joan lowers herself until she's the same height as Camil (meaning she only has to bent a little bit), then waits in silence, trying to hold back more laughs.