Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The Last Scream

Thomas watched as Alby undid the collar and put it around Ben's neck.There was a loud snap as the buckle closed, and Ben finally looked up.Tears welled up in his eyes, streams of snot flowed from his nostrils, and the people in the glade stood silently watching. "Please, Alby," begged Ben, his trembling voice so pathetic that Thomas couldn't believe it was the same man who was going to bite his throat the day before, "I swear, it's just the pain that's making my brain go crazy. Sick. I never meant to kill him—just lost my mind for a moment. Please, Alby, please."

Every word that came out of the kid's mouth was like a punch punched in the guts of Thomas, making him feel more guilty and confused. Alby ignored Ben, who tugged on the collar to make sure it was snapped on and securely attached to the pole.He walked past Ben along the pole, picked it up, and slid it between his palm and fingers.He came to the end, held on to it, and turned to face the crowd.Bloodshot eyes, furrowed face, heavy breathing—in Thomas' eyes, he suddenly looked so evil. At the other end was a strange scene: Ben trembling and crying, a rough collar made of old leather locked his pale and thin neck, connected to a long pole, connecting him with Al twenty feet away Than together.There is some flex in the middle of the aluminum rod, but only a little.Even from where Thomas stood, it was surprisingly strong.

Alby said aloud in an almost solemn voice, not looking at anyone but at everyone: "Builder Ben, you've been sentenced to expulsion for attempting to murder rookie Thomas. The Guardians have spoken, and they Your decision won't change. You can't come back, forever." There was a long pause, "Guardians, take your positions at the expulsion pole." Thomas's connection to Ben had become so public, and he hated it—hated the guilt he felt.Being in the spotlight again only brought him more suspicion, and his guilt turned into anger and blame.Most of all, he just wanted Ben gone, and wanted this to end right away.

One by one, several boys stepped out of the crowd and walked towards the pole.They gripped it tightly with both hands, as if preparing for a tug-of-war.Newt was one of them, and Minho—this confirmed what Thomas had guessed just now, that he was indeed the guardian of the walkers.Winston the Butcher also takes his place. After everyone was seated—the ten guardians were evenly distributed around Alby and Ben—the atmosphere became silent and silent, except for the sound of Ben crying.He kept wiping his nose and eyes.He looked left and right, but the collar around his neck prevented him from seeing the aluminum pole and the guardian behind him.

Thomas' emotions were changing again, and there was clearly something wrong with treating Ben this way.Why did he deserve this fate?Shouldn't something be done for him?Will Thomas feel guilty in the days to come?Get it over, he screamed in his heart, get it over now! "Please," said Ben, raising his voice in despair, "please...you! Somebody help me! You can't do this to me!" "Shut up!" Alby yelled behind him. But Ben ignored it, and started tugging at the leash collar around his neck, pleading for help. "Who told them to stop! Help me! Please!" His eyes swept over one person after another, pleading.Everyone, without exception, avoided his gaze.Thomas quickly hid behind a tall boy, unwilling to face him.I can't look him in the eye anymore, he thought.

"If a fool like you got away with it," said Alby, "we wouldn't survive this far. Guardian, get ready." "No, no, no, no, no," Ben kept saying, lowering his voice, "I swear, I'd do anything! I swear I'll never do that again! Please..." His high-pitched cries were interrupted by the rumble of the East Gate beginning to close, sparks flying from the stone, and the high wall on the right sliding to the left with a thunderous sound, ready to seal the Glade from the Labyrinth at night .The ground shook under his feet, and Thomas didn't know if he could bear to see what was about to happen.

"Guardian, move!" Alby yelled. Ben was jerked forward, his head thrown back.The guardian pushed the pole toward the maze beyond the glade.A nearly choked cry escaped from Ben's throat, over the closed door.He knelt forward, but was pulled up by a big black-haired guardian in front, who roared at him. "No!" screamed Ben, struggling, foaming from his mouth, tugging at the collar with both hands.But the combined force of the guardians was so great that the condemned boy was driven closer and closer to the edge of the glade, and the high wall on the right had moved almost to the same position. "No!" he screamed one after another.

He tried to put his foot against the door, but only held it for less than a second.The pole suddenly tilted, sending him into the maze.Soon, he was lying on all fours outside the forest clearing, struggling desperately, trying to break free from the collar, and the door would be closed in a few seconds. With one last violent struggle, Ben finally twisted his neck in the collar and turned his whole body to face everyone.Thomas couldn't believe he was still facing a human being—the madness in Ben's eyes, the saliva flying from his mouth, the blood vessels and bones stretched tight under his pale skin, he looked like anything Thomas could imagine.

"Hold on!" Alby yelled. Ben kept screaming, so piercingly that Thomas had to cover his ears.It was a beastly roar that would undoubtedly tear his vocal cords to shreds.At the last second, the front guardian loosened the pole from the collar and pulled the pole back into the glade, leaving the child exiled.The high walls closed with a terrible rumble, and Ben's final screams came to an abrupt end. Thomas squeezed his eyes shut, surprised to see tears streaming down his cheeks.