Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen: Expulsion of the Murderer

When the word ghost fire beast was mentioned, Thomas was immediately fascinated.The thought of that ugly thing made him feel terrible, but he wondered why it was so important to find a dead one, had it never been done before? Alby looked as if someone had just told him that he could grow wings and fly freely. "This is not the time to joke around," he said. "Look," Minho replied, "If I were you, I wouldn't believe it either. But trust me, I did find out, big, fat, and ugly." Obviously, this never happened.Thomas thought. "You found a dead Griever," repeated Alby.

"That's right, Alby," Minho said, with dissatisfaction in his words, "it's two miles from here, near the cliff." Alby looked out of the maze, then at Minho. "Then...why didn't you bring it back with you?" Minho laughed again, half grunting, half giggling. "Didn't you drink the sauce that Frypan made? Those things must weigh half a ton, man. Besides, if you won't let me go out and walk freely, I won't touch it." Alby continued to ask his questions. "What does it look like? Are the metal spikes inside or outside? Does it move? Is the skin wet?"

Countless questions popped up in Thomas' mind—metal spikes?Soggy crust?what the hell is it?But he kept his mouth shut and couldn't remind them that he was still there and that they should find a place to talk in private. "Forget it, buddy," Minho said, "You have to see it for yourself, it's... so weird." "Weird?" Alby asked puzzled. "Man, I'm tired and hungry and I've got sunstroke. But if you want to haul him back right away, we might be able to get there and get back before the wall closes." Alby glanced at his watch. "Better wait until tomorrow to get up."

"That's the most sensible thing you've said in a week." Minho leaned against the wall and straightened up, punched Alby on the arm, and walked towards the big house with a little limp.As he walked, he turned his head and said-it seemed that he was suffering from pain all over his body. "I should go back there, but what the hell, I'm going to eat some of Frypan's nasty stew first." Thomas felt a little disappointed, he had to admit that Minho did look like he deserved some rest and some food, but he wished he knew more. At this moment, Alby turned suddenly on him, startling Thomas. "If you know something and haven't told me..."

Thomas was tired of being accused, saying he knew the inside story.Isn't this the problem at the beginning?He doesn't know anything.He looked the boy straight in the eye and asked bluntly, "Why do you hate me so much?" There was an indescribable expression on Alby's face—some doubts, some anger, some shock. "Hate you? Dude, you haven't learned anything since you showed up in the teleportation box. None of this has anything to do with hate, liking, love, friends. We only care about one thing and that's surviving. Put you cowardly Let go of the part, if you still have a stupid brain, use it."

Thomas felt as if he had been slapped. "But...why do you keep accusing..." "Because it can't be a coincidence, dumbass! You pop out of nowhere, and then the next day we have a rookie girl, a crazy note that's going to bite you, dead Griever. There must be something Things happen, and I'm not going to let it go until I figure it out." "I don't know anything, Alby." It felt good to add some personal emotion to his words, "I don't even know where I was three days ago, let alone why Minho found a Griever's dead thing, so please go away!"

Alby leaned back a little and looked at Thomas blankly for a few seconds before saying, "Forget it, rookie. Be mature and use your brains, it's not something you just made out of nothing. But if you remember What, if there is something familiar, you'd better tell me and promise me." Until I get some real memories back, Thomas thought, unless I'm willing to share them. "Yeah, I think so, but..." "Just swear to me!" After saying this, Alby turned and left without saying another word. Thomas found a tree in the cemetery, a nicer one at the edge of the woods, with a lot of shadow under it.He dreaded going back to work with Winston the butcher, and knew he needed lunch, but he didn't want to approach anyone until he had figured it all out.Leaning against the thick trunk, he tried to get a breeze, but there was none.

His eyelids felt heavy when Chuck broke his peace. "Thomas! Thomas!" the boy screamed, running towards him, arms flying in the air, excitement written all over his face. Thomas rubbed his eyes and groaned.He didn't expect much more than a half-hour nap.He didn't look up until Chuck stopped in front of him, out of breath. "What's up?" The words poured out of Chuck's mouth slowly, between his breaths. "Ben...Ben...he didn't...dead." All the tiredness immediately dissipated from Thomas. He stood up and asked Chuck face to face, "What?"

"He... didn't die, the bagger went to deal with him... the arrow missed his head... the paramedics bandaged him." Thomas turned his head and looked towards the woods where the sick boy had attacked him yesterday. "You must be joking. I saw him..." He's not dead?Thomas didn't know which emotion was stronger, confusion, relief, or the fear of being attacked again... "Oh, I saw him too," Chuck said. "He's locked in a cell with bandages all over half his head." Thomas turned to look at Chuck. "House? What do you mean?" "House. On the north side of the big house, it's our cell." Chuck pointed in that direction, "They locked him in there immediately, and the medical staff had to bandage him there." Thomas rubbed his eyes.When he figured out how he really felt, guilt overwhelmed him—Ben's death was such a relief that he thought he would never have to worry about facing him again. "Then what are you going to do with him?"

"The guardians have held a meeting this morning and made a unanimous decision. I wish that the arrow had shot him in the head." Thomas narrowed his eyes, not understanding what Chuck meant. "what are you saying?" "He was evicted, tonight, for trying to murder you." "Eviction? What does that mean?" Thomas had to ask, though he knew that if Chuck thought it was worse than death, it wouldn't be a good thing. At this moment, Thomas saw the most disturbing sight since coming to the glade.Chuck didn't answer, but smiled.Smile, in spite of everything, in spite of how cruel what he just said was.Then he turned and ran, perhaps to tell someone else the exciting news.

That evening, half an hour before the gates closed, Newt and Alby gathered all the members at the east gate.The first ray of shadow at dusk quietly climbed into the sky. The walkers had just returned and walked into the mysterious map room, and the iron door closed with a clang.Minho had already entered early, and Alby told the walkers to hurry up and finish their work - he hoped they would be back within twenty minutes. Chuck had a smile on his face as he broke the news of Ben's eviction, which still pissed Thomas off.Although he didn't know exactly what that meant, it didn't sound like a good thing, especially at this moment, everyone was standing not far from the maze.Are they sending him out there?He thought, to keep company with ghost fire beasts? Others whispered, and the air was filled with dreadful anticipation, and the tension was like a thick haze.But Thomas didn't say a word, just stood there with folded arms, waiting for the opening.He stood still until the walkers filed out of the house, all exhausted and solemn.Minho was the first to come out, which made Thomas guess that he was Walker's guardian. "Bring him out!" Alby yelled, jolting Thomas out of his thoughts. He dropped his arms, turned around, and looked around for Ben, fear slowly building up in his mind, wondering how the kid would react if he saw him. On the far side of the big house, three big boys appeared, actually dragging Ben along.He was so ragged that he could hardly stand up straight, and a thick bloody bandage covered half of his head and half of his face.He would not put his foot down, much less obey.He looked just as lifeless as the last time Thomas had seen him, except for one thing. His eyes were open and wide with fear. "Newt," Alby said softly, and Thomas heard him a few feet away, "get the pole out." Newt nodded and was already heading towards a small tool shed in the vegetable garden, where he had obviously been waiting for orders. Thomas turned his back on Ben and the guards, poor boy pale.He still didn't resist, letting them drag him across the dusty flagstones in the middle of the courtyard.They went to the edge of the crowd and pulled Ben up to stand in front of Alby, their leader.Ben hung his head, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "You brought it on yourself, Ben," said Alby.He shook his head and glanced toward the cabin where Newt was heading. Thomas followed his gaze just in time to see Newt coming out of the crooked door.In his hand he held several aluminum poles that could be joined end to end to form a pole about twenty feet long.After picking it up, he grabbed a strange-shaped thing on his head and dragged it all the way back to the crowd.The sound of metal rods rubbing against the ground sent a chill down Thomas's spine. Thomas was horrified by the whole thing, and he couldn't shake the guilt he felt—even though he didn't do anything to anger Ben.What could be his fault in any of this?He had no answers, but he still felt guilty, like a plague in his blood. Newt walked up to Alby and handed him the metal rod in his hand.Thomas finally saw the strange appendage.A ring of rough leather, fastened to metal with huge nails.A big buckle suggests it can be opened and closed, and its purpose couldn't be more obvious. This is a collar.