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And yet they’d never found an exit And despite that, despite the utter hopelessness of the situation, they still hadn’t given up

At dinner Minho had told his he remembered from before--about a woht hand off the walls of theso, she was forced to turn right at every turn, and the sieometry ensured that eventually she found the exit It made sense

But not here Here, all paths led back to the Glade They had to be in To soet all the weird stuff Forget all the bad things Forget it all He wouldn’t quit until he’d solved the puzzle and found a way home

Tomorrow The word floated in his mind until he finally fell asleep

CHAPTER 32

Minho woke Thoht to follow hirogginess, excited to begin his training He crawled out fro his way through the crowd of Gladers who slept on the lawn, their snores the only sign they weren’t dead The slightest glow of earlydark blue and shadowed Thomas had never seen the place look so peaceful A cock crowed in the Blood House

Finally, in a crooked cranny near a back corner of the Homestead, Minho pulled out a key and opened up a shabby door leading to a se closet Tho as inside He caught glimpses of ropes and chains and other odds and ends as Minho’s flashlight crisscrossed the closet Eventually, it fell on an open box full of running shoes Thoht there’s the nuet," Minho announced "At least for us They send new ones in the Box every so often If we had bad shoes, we’d have feet that look like freaking Mars" He bent over and ruh the pile "What size you wear?"

"Size?" Thoht for a second "I … don’t know" It was so odd sometimes what he could and couldn’t remember He reached down and pulled off a shoe he’d worn since co to the Glade and took a look inside "Eleven"

"Geez, shank, you got big feet" Minho stood up holding a pair of sleek silver ones "But looks like I’ve got sos"

"Those are fancy" Thoround, eager to try the out to join hiet these," Minho said Before Tho his shoes, a plastic atch dropped into his lap It was black and very siital display of the tiht depend on it"

Thoh the sun and the shadows had seehly what ti a Runner probably required more precision He buckled the watch onto his wrist and then returned to fitting on his shoes

Minho continued talking "Here’s a backpack, water bottles, lunch pack, soed Tho out a couple of pairs of tightly cut underwear, made from a shiny white material "These bad boys’re e call Runnie-undies Keeps you, um, nice and coot it" Thouys really have this all thought out, don’t you?"

"Couple of years runnin’ your butt off every day, you figure out what you need and ask for it" He started stuffing things into his own backpack

Thomas was surprised "You mean, you can make requests? Supplies you want?" Why would the people who’d sent them there help so much?

"Of course we can Just drop a note in the Box, and there she goes Doesn’t et ant from the Creators Sometimes we do, sohed "Yeah, tried that one Asked for a TV, too, but no luck I guess those shuck-faces don’t want us seeing hoonderful life is when you don’t live in a freaking reat back home--what kind of world allowed people to ht surprised him, as if its source had been founded in actual ht in the darkness of hishis head, he finished lacing up his shoes, then stood up and jogged around in circles, juood I guess I’m ready"

Minho was still crouched over his backpack on the ground; he glanced up at Thoust "You look like an idiot, prancin’ around like a shuck ballerina Good luck out there with no breakfast, no packed lunch, no weapons"

Tho, felt an icy chill "Weapons?"

"Weapons" Minho stood and walked back to the closet "Come here, I’ll show ya"

Thomas followed Minho into the small room and watched as he pulled a few boxes away from the back wall Underneath lay a small trapdoor Minho lifted it to reveal a set of wooden stairs leading into blackness "Keep ’eet to them Come on"

Minho went first The stairs creaked with every shift of weight as they descended the dozen or so steps The cool air was refreshing, despite the dust and the strong scent ofuntil Minho turned on a single lightbulb by pulling a string

The rooer than Thomas had expected, at least thirty square feet Shelves lined the walls, and there were several blocky wooden tables; everything in sight was covered with all ave hie pieces of mesh--like what covers a chicken coop--rolls of barbed wire, saws, knives, swords One entire as dedicated to archery: wooden bows, arrows, spare strings The sight of it i shot by Alby in the Deadheads

"Wow," Thomas murmured, his voice a dull thump in the enclosed place At first he was terrified that they needed so many weapons, but he was relieved to see that the vast majority of it was covered with a thick layer of dust

"Don’t use most of it," Minho said "But ya never know All we usually take with us is a couple of sharp knives"

He nodded toward a large wooden trunk in the corner, its top open and leaning against the wall Knives of all shapes and sizes were stacked haphazardly all the way to the top

Thomas just hoped the room was kept secret froerous to have all this stuff," he said "What if Ben had gotten down here right before he went nuts and attacked led them with a clickety-clank "Only a few lucky toads have a set of these"