Single-Blind - Newt (TMR)

Chapter 7- Ben and Ten

Somehow, I think Fiona convinced the other Gladers that I didn't need to spend time being a Slicer on my first day of work. I was grateful for that but my time was a track hoe seemed never-ending. The more I spent with my thoughts the more questions I had. Newt was basically babysitting me for the day as I tried to learn my new job. I explored multitasking since he was nice enough to answer some of my questions, "Has anyone tried climbing to the top?"

"Tried it. The ivy doesn't go all the way to the top." He answered, blocking my hundredth idea of how to get out. "And besides, where are you gonna go from there?"

I nodded and continued with my next scenario, "And what about the Box? You know, next time it comes up-"

"-No, we tried that. The Box won't go back down with someone in it." He answered flatly.

"Okay, what if we-" I started but he cut me off, stopping his work to drill it into my head.

"No, we tried it, all right? Twice." He leaned against the pole that helped the crops grow. "Trust me. Anything you think of, we've already tried. The only way out of here is through the maze." I sighed and accepted defeat. I was sure that anything I thought of on the first day would not solve the problem they had been battling for three years. "Now, look, you wanna be helpful? Here. Go dig us up some more fertilizer."

I headed into the woods, stomping my whole way there with the basket he threw to me. I hated feeling useless. I was sent to do the crappy work while everyone else treated me like I was dense. I wanted to help, like the runners who are actually trying to solve this riddle. The reality of that kicked me in the teeth when I saw the branches that we strung up together. A rock statue sat on the ground with the name George carved into it. Flies swarmed as they were attracted by the smell of death. I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to hurl up my breakfast. I tried to escape the smell, charging deeper into the woods until I saw another body, making me jump. I screamed and she raised her dagger at me. Once she realized who it was she put it back on her waistband, trying to calm me down.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay. You're fine. What's wrong?"

I didn't have the words to answer her question so I just looked in the direction I had just come from. She closed her eyes and I sensed pain in her heart as well.

"George was kind, caring, and bold. He was one of the first in the glade, way back to the original few. He was killed my second month in." She helped me sit down, unsure if I was going to pass out or if she needed the stability herself.

"Was George the kid? You know, the one you fell for?"

"No. He was the first that I... He was the first we lost. That hurt me differently." She sat down in the damp soil next to me. "We had the bright idea to try and get someone down after the box lowered itself. We tied up some ivy and George volunteered. We lowered him into the hole and he didn't even have time to scream, we only felt the weight lift off. We pulled him back up as soon as it happened but when he got back to the top only half his body came with him. Something down there sliced his skinny body right in half."

"You really have tried everything." I sighed.

"We're still trying." She corrected me.

I suddenly felt selfish, "Why are you out here?"

"I needed to do a little reflecting. Had to remember that we're all doing this for." She gave me a soft smile.

"It's okay though, right?" I asked her hopefully, knowing she would be honest with me about our odds of survival.

She sighed, "We've been through worse."

A twig snapped to the left of us, taking all our attention. There a boy stood, panting like he had run a hundred miles. I noticed the vest he was wearing and recognized it as a runner's vest. Fi held her hands up with caution stepping towards him.

"Thomas. Go find help." She said making only the slightest movements.

"What? No, I'm not leaving you out here." I quickly denied it, seeing blood coming from the boy's mouth. His stare was locked on us. It was ice cold and showed nothing but an empty soul.

"That wasn't a request. Go now." She ordered, taking delicate and calculated steps to make sure she was only stepping on the ground that was cleared of branches. "Hey, Ben. It's Fi. Let's get you to Clint and Jeff, alright? You aren't looking too hot."

"He did this." Ben ticked as his anger started to flare. I noticed that his focus was never on Fiona at all, only on me. His breathing turned into a growl and that's when I finally took Fiona's orders.

I took off running as fast as I could in the direction I came from. Fi tried to hold him back but he threw her into a tree with raw strength. I heard her scream and cough just as Ben dove for my ankles. He sent me toppling over, clawing his way up my torso. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Fiona let out a deadly scream for Gally. Which made me even more scared of the situation. I tried to kick him off of me but when he got his hands around my neck my hands had no other focus than trying to unlock my airway.

"It's your fault! I saw you!" Ben spit in my face.

Fiona came from behind him and kicked him square between the legs. He fell over in pain as she called out for Newt this time. I heard the pain in her voice as she grabbed her ribs, I pulled one of my arms around her shoulder as I helped her. "Run!" She called out for help again and I began to see the clearing of the glade.

"Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hearing Ben's footsteps behind us grow closer. We came to the top of the hill as he caught up to us, violently pushing the both of us down the hill. We stumbled the whole way down. I hadn't stopped rolling for two seconds when Ben tried to jump on top of me again. I rolled out of his path as I felt Fiona's hands drag me off the ground. She grabbed a tree branch that was at our head and pulled it back, letting go of it as it leveled Ben. I pulled Fiona along this time, not letting her fall behind.

We screamed together this time as we ran into the grassy area of the glade. Everyone within a two-hundred-foot radius had to have heard us by now and ran as fast as they could.

Ben made his final jump, landing on both of us. I heard Fi gasp for air and the whimper of a scream as Ben straddled my torso and raised his arm to punch me in the face. I remember thinking that one more good punch would surely knock me out. 

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If you understand the title of this chapter, you're a G.

I'm reading Siege & Storm rn and its not really hooking me, mainly because I don't care if Mal lives or dies and that's like the whole plot rn. Sorry 

B