Chapter 43 Chapter 43: The Floating Cat

Thomas had mixed feelings: the relief of success, the surprise, the excitement, and the speculation about what it might entail. "Oh my god." Minho summed up Thomas' mood in two words. "Maybe it's just a coincidence," Teresa said, "let's make a few more, quickly." Thomas did.He put together each day's eight pages, in order from District One to District Eight.Each time, a clear letter appeared in the center of the criss-crossing lines. After F comes L, then O, A, T, and then C...A...T. "Look," Thomas said, bewildered, pointing to a line of letters they had spelled out.However, the clear letters made him very happy. "The spellings are FLOAT (floating - translator's note) and CAT (cat - translator's note)."

"Floating cat?" Newt asked. "That doesn't sound like a rescue code." "We have to go on," Thomas said. The next two letters let them realize that the second word is actually CATCH, FLOAT and CATCH. "It's not a coincidence," Minho said. "Absolutely not," agreed Thomas, who couldn't wait to find out more. Teresa pointed to the storage room. "We need to see all the maps—everything in the chest over there." "That's right," Thomas nodded, "let's do it." "We can't help much," Minho said.The three looked at him together, and he met everyone's gaze, "At least Thomas and I can't, we need to gather walkers and rush to the maze."

"What?" Thomas asked. "It's a lot more important now!" "Maybe," Minho replied calmly, "but we can't miss a day, not yet." Thomas was disappointed that running through the maze seemed like a waste of time compared to cracking the codes. "Why, Minho? You said that those patterns are basically repeating—an extra day doesn't mean anything." Minho clapped his hands on the table. "That's bullshit, Thomas! This is probably the most important discovery in days. Maybe something has changed, maybe something has been opened. In fact, now that the walls are no longer closed, I think we should go to Try your idea - stay out overnight and explore further."

This piqued Thomas' interest--he'd always wanted to do it.With conflicting feelings, he asked: "But what about the code? But—" "Tommy," Newt reassured him, "Minho was right, you guys go out and keep running. I'm going to gather some trusty Gladers and get on with the job." Newt's tone was more of a leader than before. up. "I think so, too," Teresa agreed. "I'll stay and help Newt." Thomas looked at her. "Are you sure?" He longed for the chance to break the code himself, but he also felt that Minho and Newt had a point.

She smiled and crossed her arms. "If you're going to crack the hidden codes from a complicated maze, I believe you'll need a girl's brain to take control." Her smile became a little smug. "Whatever you say." He also looked at her with a smile, and suddenly couldn't bear to leave. "Okay," Minho nodded, turned to leave, "everything is perfect." He walked towards the door, and stopped again when he realized that Thomas wasn't following him. "Don't worry, Tommy," Newt said, "your girlfriend will be fine." Thomas felt a thousand thoughts running through his head at the same time—the desire to crack the code, the embarrassment of Newt's thoughts about him and Theresa, the secrets they might discover in the maze, and the fear.However, he put all this aside for the time being.Without even saying goodbye, he followed Minho up the stairs.

Thomas helps Minho gather the walkers, informs everyone of the new news, and organizes them to embark on the journey.To his surprise, everyone readily agreed.Time to go deeper into the maze and spend the night outside.Although he was nervous and scared, he told Minho that he could take charge of a district independently, but the guardian refused his request.They had eight experienced practitioners to do the job.Thomas was relieved that he would still follow Minho, but at the same time he was ashamed of himself for thinking such a thing. He and Minho packed more supplies than usual into their backpacks - no one knew how long they'd be out there.Despite the fear, Thomas couldn't contain the excitement in his heart—maybe this time they will find the exit.He and Minho were warming up by the west gate when Chuck came over to say goodbye to him. "I'd love to go with you," said the boy, in an overly cheerful tone, "but I don't want to die a miserable death."

Unexpectedly, Thomas smiled to himself. "thanks for your encouragement." "You've got to be careful," Chuck said, and his tone quickly turned into genuine concern. "I hope I can help you." Thomas was a little moved - he believed that if that was the case, Chuck would definitely walk out. "Thank you, Chuck, we'll be extra careful." Minho snorted. "What's the use of being careful? It's time for all or nothing, baby." "We have to go." Thomas seemed to have countless butterflies flying in his heart, and he only wanted to act immediately, without thinking about anything.In any case, going into a maze isn't necessarily any more dangerous than staying in a glade with an open door.However, the thought didn't make him feel any better.

"Yeah," Minho replied calmly, "Let's go." "Okay," Chuck looked down at his feet before meeting Thomas's gaze, "good luck. If your girlfriend feels lonely, I'll give her my love." Thomas gave him a blank look. "She's not my girlfriend, Stinkface." "Whoa," said Chuck, "you're going to be swearing at Alby." He was clearly trying to hide his horror at the recent change, but his eyes said it all, "Really, wish you good luck." "Thank you, that's very important to me." Minho also rolled his eyes at him, "Goodbye."

"Yeah, goodbye." Chuck muttered, turned and walked away. Thomas felt a tinge of sadness—maybe he'd never see Chuck, Teresa, and the others again—and a sudden urge came over him. "Don't forget my promise!" he yelled, "I will definitely take you home!" Chuck turned around and gave him a thumbs up, tears in his eyes.Thomas gave two thumbs up, put on the backpacks with Minho, and walked into the maze.