Serendipity || Newt TMR || Book 1

Matutine

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Matutine
(adj.) just before the dawn
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I felt someone gently shake me, I stirred awake and opened my eyes to be met with the tired face of Newt, "Hey, baby..." He breathed; I saw the dark circles underneath his eyes; it was obvious that he hadn't slept. "Thinking of simpler things worked, didn't it?"

A soft smile graced both of our faces as I nodded, "Yeah..." I breathe, then I only just realised that it was every early in the morning, the Glade was a blue haze, with smoke rising off the burnt grass; the memories from last night flooded back. "What time is it?"

"Early," He said quietly, "Thomas he-"

"Is he okay?" I cut him off, then realised what I did, "Sorry..."

Newt nodded as he spoke, "Yeah he's fine, the syringe worked, but Aves," He paused, "He wants to see you, he said he has to tell you something." Newt finally finished while offering me his hand and pulling me up, together he walked me around the Homestead and over to the Slammer. It was still very early morning, I'm surprised people haven't fallen asleep from exhaustion, but contrary to my belief, there was still small groups huddle around the Glade. The group I was more focused on was the small group of Minho and Chuck crouched down at the Slammer, I'm guessing looking down at Thomas and Teresa. "She's here." Newt says softly as we arrive, Thomas visually has a mixture of happiness and confusion.

"A-Avery." He stutters while turning around and standing up to face me, "I don't know how to explain..." He breathes while scratching the back of his head, "When I stung myself, I remembered things, and, and you know how we were talking before? About how we felt connected in some way?" Thomas asks while I hum, remembering the conversation, "Well, I know the reason..."

My eyebrows furrowed, and I tilted my head slightly, "Why..." I ask while crouching down.

He looked down to his feet before looking up at me and swallowing, "You- You're my... sister."

The words he said hit me like a ton of bricks, it almost reminded me of when I ran into the tree on my first day; it felt like everything - my memories - was closed off and I was scared until finally something happened that helped me remember. My brother. Thomas. It felt like it was so obvious, and that I just wasn't paying enough attention to realise. Hell, we even look alike.

"You're my brother..." I breathe softly while changing from my crouched position to sit on the ground, "I- I- remember, not fully but, I remember..."

"Well, now you have two brothers," Chuck piped in from his place next to me, while resting his hand on my shoulder, "You can't forget about me." He laughed causing me to let out a soft laugh at our previous conversation.

"So... What's happening?" I ask, trying to get over the fact that Thomas, my brother, was in the Slammer and trying to get information.

"Gally's taking control," Newt explained to the group, "He said we had a choice, we could join him or get banished at sundown with you." He pointed the latter at the two in the Slammer."

I took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm gonna kill him..." But nobody really noticed.

Thomas let out a groan while sitting back down, "And the others agreed to that?"

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason this has all happened." Teresa explained.

"Well, he's been right so far..." Thomas breathed, causing everyone's eyebrows to furrow and for Minho to ask, 'what are you talking about?' Thomas took a deep breath before speaking, "This place. It's not what we thought it was." Thomas kept his eyes on the four of us that at the top of the slammer, "It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids, t-they'd give us these challenges, they were experimenting on us. And then people starting disappearing..."

"Connor..." I breath softly, causing the group to look at me, I shook them off, allowing Thomas to continue. That name, it wouldn't stop bouncing around my head... Who was he?

"Every month, one after the other... like clockwork" Thomas finished his sentence while looking around the group.

"Sending them up into the Maze." Newt concluded.

"Yeah, but not all of us."

"What do you mean?"

Thomas paused, thinking about if he should say what he was about to say, "Guys, I'm one of them..." He finally says, "The people who put you here... I worked with them. Wel- I - I watched you guys for years, the entire time you've been here, I- ... I was on the other side of it." He then paused looking at Teresa, "So were you." Leaving Teresa to let out a soft 'what?' Then he changed his view to me, "You were also there for a few years..."

"B-But- they sent me in...." I stutter, "Why would they send me in if- if-" I couldn't come up with the right words.

"They never told me..." Thomas answered, though it wasn't much on an answer. "Teresa, Avery... we did this to them..."

"No.." Teresa rasped - most likely from lack of water, "No, that can't be true."

"It is." Thomas said as I look up to Newt, to see him thinking, his hand was covering his mouth, contemplating if he should speak. He probably hates me. "I saw it."

Teresa looked almost distressed, "Wh- Why would they send us up if we were with them?"

"It doesn't matter." Thomas said, as I realised that Teresa has tear tracks leading down her cheeks.

"He's right." Newt's voice said softly, causing me to look up at him, he looked almost nervous, "It doesn't matter," He said, making a subtle point to look at me, to try assure its fine, then he shook his head while looking back into the Slammer, "Any of it, because the people we were before the maze, they don't even exist anymore, these creators took care of that." He then paused, allowing us to take in what he's saying, "What does matter, is who we are now and what we do, now. You went into the maze, and you found a way out."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive." Thomas counters.

There was second of silence, a sort of dread for the loss of our friend, "Maybe..." Newt said softly, breaking the silence. "But I know, that if he were here, he'd be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your arse up and finish what you started, because if we do nothing... that means that Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that..."

"Okay..." Thomas said softly, realising how much we really needed to do something, to avenge our friends that had died, "Okay, well we gotta get pass Gally first."

I sit a little straighter as I speak, "Allow me..." I say while looking at the group.

"No way." Minho says straight away, "Have you seen yourself with that boy? One minute you want to kill each other the next you are fine and friends."

"Well, right now... I wanna kill him." I say softly while looking around and over the Glade.

"No, Avery." Newt said grabbing my attention, "We are going to make a plan, and by those words, you're staying as far away from Gally as you can. You let your emotions take over, Love. We can't let that happen." He finishes, leaving me no room to protest.

And after many hours, it was finally time to put the plan in action.

Words: 1275