Silver Lining (Newtmas)

14 - Belief

"Look, the doors didn't close," Minho panted, pointing to the great doors protecting the Glade from the Maze.

A moment of silence passed between us as we took the information in.

"The Grievers come out at night," Newt said, pure terror in his eyes as he looked at the doors. "What if they come into the Glade?"

Then the reality of the situation sunk in, and I doubled over, panting. Images of the night in the Maze, the close encounters with the Grievers flashed in my mind, their weapons protruding and their mouths agape, ready to swallow me. Suddenly I was gasping for air, knelt on the ground.

I found a hand rested on my back, and another helping to pull me up as I calmed down slightly. I blinked choking tears out of my eyes and raised my head. My gaze met Newt's and immediately I felt reassured. Despite the fear and terror, I felt kindness and genuine concern shining in his eyes. I smiled, the corner of my mouth twitching up, and managed to stand up with Newt's hand on my arm.

Minho looked at us, I imagined he would be smiling if not for the dire situation. "We need to barricade the bloody doors, call the builders. Get everyone into the Homestead." Newt said to Minho, and he ran off to tell whoever who was in charge. He walked off with Newt, leaving me to stare idly at their backs.

Within a few minutes, the sound of hammering and shouting filled the Glade. At times like these, I still marvelled over the Gladers’ cooperativeness. The builders were fast, too, and in less than half an hour they had finished barricading the doors. Newt and Minho hoarded everyone into the Homestead, and I stayed behind with them. Before I went in, I glanced at the wooden planks struggling to even stay put, much less prevent giant-ass spider slugs from coming in. I sighed - oh well. It was the best we had, and it’ll have to do.

Minho went in first, when we made sure all the Gladers had gone in, safe. I was about to walk in after him when Newt pulled me aside, out of sight from the other Gladers in the Homestead. Carefully, he held my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. A cold breeze blew past and I shivered, pulling him closer to me. 

"Tommy," Newt said to me, his eyes focused on our hands. "I've been in the Glade for 3 bloody years, but never has anything like that happened. If anything happens today, if-" he paused as his voice cracked, shifting our position so his head was against my chest. My other arm automatically went around his back. "If I don't make it through, I just want you to know that you're the greatest thing to have happened to me. Thank you, Tommy, for everything. You may not know just how much you've helped me, but just know that- that you did."

I closed my eyes, a bittersweet feeling in my heart. For a moment, time seemed to stop. It was just me and Newt, his body against mine, fragile hearts beating together against the world. And at that moment, I vowed to myself that no matter what, I would get us out. Out of this nightmare.

But quickly that moment was up and the cold wind pierced my skin with quick, icy needles. I exhaled, pushing Newt off me. I smiled at him, gesturing for him to enter the door of the Homestead, my hand still clasped in his. The corner of his mouth twitched up. He walked in, pulling me after him.

A few hours later, the Homestead was a mess of shouts, cries and panic. Newt was right - with the open doors, the Grievers were able to get into the Glade, destroying everything in sight. They were indestructable, stepping through fire and crushing our pathetic wooden huts within seconds. 

A claw hit the side of the Homestead, inches above my head. I screamed as the whole building shuddered. A few more thumps later, the wood gave way, and a thick metal claw stuck through the hole.

I screamed, even louder this time, as the claw swayed, hitting random targets and people inside the small crammed room. As it reached for me, Newt pulled me away, and we scrambled to get as far away as possible from the claw.

And as my heart thudded aginst my chest in the most painful way, I watched in slow motion as the claw went straight for Newt.

"NO! NEWT!" I shouted, my voice raspy from the strain. The claw started dragging Newt towards the hole in the wall. He was trashing and kicking but the claw was strong. I ran towards it, pulling Newt by his arms, my feet digging into the wall. It was me against the Griever.

Suddenly I had an idea. With one hand, I grabbed Newt's machete by my feet, and started hacking at the metal of the claw. It barely made a scratch - still I hacked at it, unleashing my inner most anger and strength at the venomous monster sent by the Creators. I pictured me hitting whoever who had sent us here, whoever who was sadistic enough to watch innocent teenage boys fumble through their lives, helpless against such hideous beasts...

With a huge thunk, the metal hit the side of the wall and the claw released Newt. He tumbled to the ground, blood staining his head. Relief filled my heart. I ran towards Newt, hugging him, tears of relief flowing down my cheeks. It worked. I saved him.

IT WORKED!!!

I was just about to kiss him when I remembered the presence of about 40 other people around me. Oh shit. Awkwardly, I pulled him up, the grin on my face bigger than ever.

Normal people would want their boyfriends to be in perfect conditions.

Me? I just want him to be alive.

And for the rest of the night, I sat with Newt huddled at a corner of the room; both of us needed some peace and quiet after he nearly died.

~TIMESKIP ugh~

One by one, they were taken. Day after day. One each night, no less. Our numbers dwindled, and our fear multiplied.

We were making progress - I hoped. As Minho and I ran the Maze each day, dettaching ourselves from the emotional stress and emptiness of losing our friends, Teresa, Newt and the others were comparing each day's maps. We had found a clue - sort of. The maps, when overlayed, formed a word. That was our first step to getting out of this shucking place.

After days of running, Minho and I had come to a conclusion - that the hole in the Cliff that the Grievers had disappeared through was the only possible way out. Especially since now, only that section was open. It had to mean something. 

And as for Newt and I... Well, we're better than ever. With all the death and things going on, we haven't had a chance to reveal our relationship to the other Gladers. However, we both promised each other that we would tell them once we got out of this place.

With the progressions, the hope in us was relit. We could get out of this place as long as we believed. Because sometimes, belief is all you need.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! This is a really delayed update OOOPS but yeah I'm currently sick so I had time to write this... ugh my throat hurts and I can't talk ><

BTW, THANK YOU FOR 3K+ READS AND 200 VOTES!!! OMG :') I'm so glad you like my story!

Anyways, hope you liked this chapter! Please vote if you did :) and comment your feedback!! <3