centre | newtmas au

24

Newt

None of them were able to speak, their backs pressed firmly up against the wall, their breathing and heartbeats saying everything that they couldn't. The sound came and went in intervals, there would be big gaps, where they'd try to move between the knots in the ivy, hoping each time, that the next corner they turned would lead them to the welcoming expanse of grass that was home to them.

They hadn't heard the mechanical sound coming any closer in a few minutes, so Gally stepped out into the seemingly empty corridor of maze, and looked to his and left, and to his right.

"No need to be scared, shanks. I can't see anything here." he said in a hoarse whisper.

Newt nodded, and decided to check the other passageway on the other side. He stepped lightly out to the side, carefully trying to make no noise at all. He couldn't see much, but he could make out the vines that climbed the stone, and managed to spot another knot Minho had tied.

"There's a knot over there, it's not far." he said, turning his head towards Minho and Gally, who nodded in response. They jogged swiftly and silently over, holding tightly to their spears, in fear dropping one would provoke the source of the noise to move closer to them.

It was all okay, until Gally tripped on one of the uneven slabs of stone that made up the maze floor. He fell to his knees, while simultaneously dropping his spear. Newt and Minho watched and winced as it fell to the ground with a clatter, rolling a few feet to Gally's right. Even Gally held his breath as he watched it roll away.

It was silent for a brief moment. Then they watched as a mechanical arm jumped out of the shadows and snapped the spear in half, with what appeared to be very little effort. Gally gulped.

"Shit." Minho said, before grabbing Newt by the arm and shouting; "RUN you dumb shanks!"

Newt started to follow Minho as quickly as he could, checking behind him to see Gally was following close behind, with panicked eyes.

Minho abruptly turned a corner, indicating he had seen a knot in the vine. Newt followed  blindly, turning the corner violently and scratching his arm against an ivy branch on the wall. He winced, but didn't stop to dwell on it.

Once they had turned the next corner, Newt heard a slow, crunching sound behind him. He snapped his head back to see that the large stone walls had begun to move closer together. They were closing, and the maze itself was changing. "Minho?" he yelled, able to make out the lean build of the boy running in front of him, Minho glanced back, his eyes widening.

"Newt, where's Gally?"

Newt stopped running, and turned his entire body to face the blocks of stone that had moved half way to their closure. He could see Gally alright, but Gally was behind them.

"RUN GALLY!" he yelled, watching as the walls moved, inch by inch, closer together. Gally wasn't as slim as Newt was, his shoulders were wide and muscular, and Newt began to worry there wasn't enough space for him to make it through. Gally had visible fear for his life painted all over his face, and in that fleeting moment, Newt wanted nothing more than for Gally to live, despite the hatred he had always had for him.

Minho and Newt as Gally flipped his body to the side and slipped through the gap in the walls as quickly as he could, their hearts beating rapidly, reaching out their arms to grab him and pull him closer, watching as the laces on his shoes got caught under the stone, pulling him back suddenly. Gally shook his foot out of his boot and fell, in a breathless heap at their feet.

"Bloody hell, almost got yourself killed."

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, Newt." Gally said, with a weak laugh that resembled more of a cough.

"Hey, at least we lost that thing, whatever it was." Minho said, reaching out a hand to Gally, helping him to his feet. "Lets hope there aren't more."

Thomas

He walked hastily into Janson's office, heading straight for the screen on Janson's desk, which luckily for Thomas, he had left on. Thomas swiftly searched through everything open on the desktop, until he found the list of WCKD employees and associates. He knew who he was looking for, not by name, but by appearance.

He scrolled carefully through the list until he found her.

She had come to speak to him in the control room only two weeks ago. She had said she was about to lose her job doing something she should have done a long time ago, but she needed his help. Thomas, despite not knowing her name, knew he could trust her.

He clicked on her contact details, and copied them down on a piece of paper he had torn from a notepad in the control room earlier. He knew what he'd do with them, as soon as he was alone in the control room, tomorrow perhaps.

He took down the list of employees from Janson's screen, and removed himself from the room quickly, being careful to not move or touch anything unnecessarily.

He headed back past the control room, hoping Janson and Ms Paige would be gone. They weren't. He passed the door and pressed his ear against the glass. He heard Teresa first.

"I think that's enough, Janson. They've had their scare, they're not likely to go back now, are they?"

Janson sighed. "Teresa, you don't have to protect that Newt boy, you're better than Thomas, above him even. I know how much you are willing to put at risk for the cure."

"But don't tell me, Janson, that you feel no guilt and no remorse for what you're doing to these boys?."

"Ah Teresa, of course I do. But as we all know, this is for good. This is to save our world from the virus that envelops it."

Teresa turned her head to look down, to something Thomas couldn't see. He guessed it was the screens, the he was sure Newt would be on.

"Hold off, Janson. Just give them time, to get back safe." Teresa pleaded, blocking the main control panel with her body.

She was being persistent, and not allowing Janson anywhere near the controls. Ms Paige stood further back, unmoving. "Thank you, Teresa" Thomas said.
He watched her through the glass as she subtly tried to look for him, but he ducked before her eyes could find his.

"Step away, Teresa." Janson said, stepping slowly towards her, his hands lifted up in front of him, ready to set another griever on Newt, Thomas was sure.
Thomas didn't want to stay much longer, after all, there was nothing he could do.
He stuck his hand into his pocket and closed it around the crumpled bit of paper.
For now, anyway.

hi!!! thank u so much for 13k, i'm so grateful everyone is still reading - and hopefully enjoying - even 3 years after tdc came out.

i hope u liked this chapter & as always, i hope you're doing ok, and are happy and healthy.

the pace is gonna pick up a bit soon too, so see u in the next chapter.
lots of love :)

EDIT:
i created a narrative earlier in the book about newt potentially having a form of OCD, however i didn't execute it well or properly and have decided to take out any reference of it, as it only ever appears early in the book.
additionally, it hasn't become a part of 'my' newt that i've created in this book, nor has it become a defining feature of the plot. just wanted to clear that up, as it might've felt like an incomplete area of the story, and i felt bad leaving it so open ended. hope that's ok!!! (i've taken out what i've found but if you happen to have recently read the first few chapters n come across anything i've missed, comment on it or dm me please <3)