Silver Lining (Newtmas)

13 - Beginnings and Endings

The next morning, I was roughly shaken awake. I rubbed my eyes, and as my vision cleared I could see Minho standing in front of me, impatiently tapping his foot. I looked up at the sky from a window near the ceiling; the moon was still shining brightly. 

"Go get ready. Be out there in 5," Minho said, then ran out to do whatever he had to do. I groaned. Quickly, I dragged my tired butt off the bed and changed, probably faster than any other time in my life. Before I left, a hand grabbed my shirt, and I almost shrieked in terror. God, I really needed to get used to surprises.

"Tommy, you need to work on being quieter. You're gonna bloody wake everyone up if you continue like that," Newt's sleepy voice filled the room. "Today's your first day as a runner. Good luck, and remember what you promised me."

I smiled, bending down to kiss his forehead. "I will," I whispered, then ran out of the room.

Minho took me in to the map room, then gave me supplies, talking like a tour guide the whole way. It was a lot of remember, to take in, but I managed. "If you see a Griever, run. Run like your life depends on it, because it does. Never stop running. And don't look back," he explained to me the basics of being a Runner - and somehow I had a feeling I wouldn't obey all the rules. What's new? And then we were off.

The Maze walls stretched high into the sky, leaving me wondering how long this thing took to build. I followed Minho blindly, trying more to make sure I didn't trip over my own feet than to remember any route or pattern. 

~TIMESKIP~

Tom, I triggered the ending. I don't know what it is, but I triggered it.

Teresa's voice in my head almost caused me to stumble, but I managed to right myself. My fret padded along the ground in heavy footsteps, falling just a step behind Minho. I was tired and panting, but my mind was racing. What did she mean, she triggered the Ending?

I barely had time to think as I stepped into the Glade, ambushed by Newt in a fierce embrace. As much as I loved him, I had to push him away, following Minho to guzzle down almost a litre of water. Luckily Newt knew, and didn't get upset.

The doors closed only a few minutes after we returned, the now familiar crunching sounds filling my ears. It was terrible, but along with the terror also came with a sense of safety, protecting the Gladers from the Maze.

For - now that I think about it - the first time since I came here, I had somewhat of a normal evening, chatting with the Gladers (Newt), and cuddling with the love of my life (also Newt). Not saying that Newt wasn't extrodinary, but for the first time I wasn't in any sort of trouble.

A small part of me wished we could stay like that forever, but a bigger part was determined to find a way out, live in peace rather than terror, bliss rather than fear.

I cuddled with Newt in our room in the Homestead, which we shared with Minho. It was fine because Minho already knew of us. This led me to another point - when will we tell the others?

But I didn't bring anything up that night; I didn't want Newt to have more things to worry about. After Minho fell asleep, briefly snoring, Newt and I continued talking quietly, leaning on each other's shoulders.

Finally, we were exhausted, and decided to go sleep. Newt pushed his mattress next to mine so that they formed a big mattress, then we went under the covers.

I rolled around, facing him, and even in the dim moonlight I could see his eyes looking at me, regarding me with curious, happy eyes. I realised with a start that the sadness in his eyes seemed to diminish a little, in its place genuine happiness and desire.

Desire that matched my own.

Slowly I leaned in, draping my arm over his body, pulling him closer to me. Our mouths met under the covers, and we kissed passionately. I wanted the moment to last forever.

And that's how I fell asleep, my head resting on Newt's arm, my own draped over his shoulders, our legs tangled under the blankets.

~

The next morning, when I woke up, Newt was already gone. It took me a minute to gather my thoughts before my ears registered the nose outside of the Homestead. Hastily, I got out of bed and changed, then walked outside to find everyone at unrest, staring at the sky.

"What's going on?" I found Newt and asked him.

"The sky's grey," Newt said, "it has always been blue and sunny. Now it's bloody grey."

I peered into the sky, and it was indeed gloomier than usual. But I didn't know what I could do about it, so I didn't.

"Come on, shank, we're already late," Minho came up beside me and tugged me away from Newt. I followed behind him, running into the Maze. The Maze seemed scarier than usual, too, the usual source of light, the sun and bright sky, diminished.

Minho seemed flustered too, even more so than me. He told me that the walls didn't move in the past 2 days - it was still the one of the seventh day in Minho's schedule. The seventh day was the one that lead to the Cliff, which as we'd seen the Grievers disappear under that night in the Maze. 

We ran the whole course, and I could vaguely recall the turns and routes having ran the same pattern 2 days in a row. It lead us right to the Cliff, ending off.

"Are you sure we can't go down? Have you tried?" I asked Minho for what seemed to be the 19th time that day. He shook his head.

"If you must, we'll throw some rocks down and you'll see for your own shucking self," Minho said, annoyed, picking up and rock at his feet and tossing it over the edge.

As if by a pure stroke of luck, the rock disappeared. It literally disappeared, not fell, just disappeared in thin air.

~TIMESKIP because as i said im sure you dont wanna see a retelling of the whole book~

Minho and I ran back into the Glade as fast as we could, bringing the news of the disappearing rocks to Newt. There seemed to be a square where the rocks disappeared into.

When we came back, however, we couldn't find Newt. I walked around searching while Minho went to update the map room, and finally I found him in the Glade's makeshift hospital, a hut with 3 beds. One of them sat Alby, with Newt standing beside him.

Alby's awake?!

I walked up to them curiously, tapping Newt on the shoulder. He nodded at me in greeting, then went back to quiet conversation with Alby.

Suddenly, Alby blurted out, his fear ridden eyes staring right at me. "He's the one," he said, his voice hoarse, "he's the one I saw. He's the one behind... Behind all this."

I stared back at him, wide eyed and confused. "What?"

"I can't say it. I can't tell it. But you, Greenie, are the one behind this... this trap."

I was just about to retort when Minho slammed open the door, panting heavily. He pulled Newt and I out, barely regarding Alby's presence. "Look," he said, in between pants, pointing at the wide doors of the Glade. "The doors didn't close."

A/N: This is SOMEWHAT shorter compared to my previous 2/3 chapters but heh 

Shoutout to my new followers heeycrazymofo, Shuckiest_shuck, pikokagamine, AidanB11, and Sebaselly!!! Thank you so much

Thank you guys for reading, and please vote if you like it and comment your feedback! C: