Him (Newt x Reader)

Chapter 7: The Council Hall

"OVER HERE! COME ON HURRY!" Chuck yells from the Council Hall, and the group picks up their pace for the final stretch. Racing inside, Thomas and Winston barricade the door while the rest of us gather in the middle with the other Gladers. Newt pushes Teresa and I behind him, feeling a cold handle touch my hand as Teresa hands me a machete for my own protection. "Thanks." I whisper to her, "You're gonna need it." She replies as if I didn't already know that.

The room finds silence as we listen to the grievers, their mechanical legs and vile growling being the only thing we can comprehend, circling the round building. Suddenly, the roof shakes as a griever jumps onto it, letting out its screech and sending some dirt through the roof. Half of us seem to scream and the other seems to be frozen in fear.

"Hey, stay down, okay? Stay low." I hear Thomas warn, and I look to him in the dark to see Chuck crouching down in front of him. I can't imagine the fear going through the little boy's mind. From what I've learned, Chuck is just as new as me.

We all focus on the griever above us, trying our best to silently move opposite of its direction. Then without warning, the griever penetrates the center of the roof and knocks down the middle pole, resulting in part of the roof collapsing right above us. Before I'm even able to move, I'm suddenly pulled into someone's chest and taken to the ground.

Screams and groans amongst the boys seem to fill my ears, I can't see anything if I even tried and all I can feel is the warmth of the person with me. Luckily, Minho's voice comes as a miracle, "It's okay! We got you guys." This person and I are pulled out the rubble and are guided back to our feet. I'm finally able to lay eyes on this person and only react with a skip of my heart, Newt.

Teresa moves to my side as I grip my machete, except I can't help but think if I really need this. After what happened outside and with the voice, I'm starting to consider if all this fighting is pointless or not. But what if these grievers are different? What if the one outside was already close to dead or just malfunctioning? 

"HELP! HELP!" A boy suddenly screams in unison with a griever's screech. My thoughts are whisked away as Minho, Newt, and Thomas pull away from the crowd in attempt to rescue the boy being pulled through the broken roof by a griever's tail. They're too late.

Suddenly, another griever finds a weak spot in the roof and scopes its tail for their next victim, and that's when I see Chuck. "NO!" I scream and run forward, but I appear too late as well when he's quickly taken from the ground. I've only known Chuck for a day and yet I look at him like the little brother I've never had, maybe that's how we all see Chuck. But I know that if anyone is dying tonight, it is not him.

Thomas runs next to me and grabs Chuck's right arm while I grab his left, most of the boys coming up behind us and trying to pull him down or hit at the griever's tail.

"HELP!" Chuck screams, and Thomas yells back, "CHUCK! DON'T LET GO!"

"NO SHIT!"

"WE GOT YOU CHUCK! HOLD ON!" I yell over the noise, and during all this commotion I finally connect with Chuck's eyes. Fear, terror, sadness, desperation, and hope. That's all I can pull from his teary eyes, my heart beginning to shatter as I grip onto him harder and use any strength I have left to save him.

Out of nowhere, Alby runs up screaming and I'm afraid that he's lost his mind again, in the worst possible scenario. But I quickly realize that he's actually saving Chuck, repeatedly hitting the griever's tail with a piece of scrap.

Chuck finally comes collapsing down onto Thomas and I, his tears spilling out. I waste no time in wrapping my arms around him, doing my best to make him feel safe and assured that we are never letting him go. "Chuck, you okay?" Thomas asks him, "Yeah. I'm fine." He manages to say through coughs.

Alby walks over and Chuck hands him the piece of scrap, which I'm now realizing is the stinger itself, straight from a griever. "Thank you." Chuck tells Alby, his voice almost masking the whirring coming from behind Alby, closer and closer.

In the blink of an eye, another tail breaks through the roof and snatches Alby right before our eyes. "ALBY!" We scream as we scramble to our feet, but we are far too late.

The grievers know what to expect now, this one grasping Alby and whipping him away from us before taking him through the hole. Luckily, Alby grabs onto the side of the Council Hall as Thomas comes running up to him

But from what I can see, Alby doesn't want to be saved. As Thomas holds onto Alby's arm, he puts no effort into saving himself, but instead he only speaks to Thomas. If only the rest of us could understand his words, because in less than a second, Alby's gone.