Just Smile (TMR Fanfic Minho x Reader x Newt)

Chapter 20

"I love you."

Why?

"I love you."

How could they love me? How could they say that to me? Couldn't they see that I'm in pain? Why did they say that as their final words?

Whirr-whirr click click

I was dragged out of my state of stupor at the sound of the grievers. I remembered what Minho had told me when I first became a runner.

"No one's ever survived a night in the maze."

Well, we'll just have to say I'm the no one now.

I turned to the opposite side of the noise of the grievers, running for now. I would fight until I got out of here and until I could see Newt and Minho, confronting them about the words they uttered.

*Newt's POV (this is set when Zia leaves the Glade)*

I watched as Zia turned the corner and left, leaving me with my uncomfortable feeling and the thought that something weird was going to happen today. I sighed and headed to the gardens to do what I had to do. Minho had talked to me about two weeks after Zia became a runner about weird words on the walls of the maze. Apparently, they said the same thing: "We are coming for her."

After that, Alby had the Keepers watch the girls in our Glade. It was easier said than done. Ren was easy to watch over since she was always in the medshack, doing her job. Harper always stuck by me, Minho, or Gally, trailing us everywhere we went, making it relatively simple. Vera, however, was at the Homestead and she'd disappear, only to reappear at the Map room. It wasn't easy, trying to keep a good eye on her. Zia was hell. She'd stick with Vera for about five minutes, go taunt Robbie for a while, play pranks on Minho, Alby, or me, and vanish into the woods. She would never stay in one place, she never had a specific routine, and she'd be out in the maze. Minho tried to assign her partner as himself, but when Vera was a runner, he had to stick with her and mentor her. For today, Zia was running with Robbie, who knew nothing about the message.

"Hey, Newt?" I turned around to face Chuck, who looked a little hesitant about something.

"Yes?"

"I found this in Zia's box," Chuck squirmed. "And I don't know how to work it."

"What is it, Chuck?" I asked, curious.

He took a deep breath and held it out to me. It was something strange, like a camera. I opened the screen and realized what it was: a camcorder. I raised an eyebrow at him and resisted the urge to look any further into it's memories due to a tiny note next to one of the buttons in Zia's handwriting:

DO NOT TOUCH UNLESS WE GIVE PERMISSION, OR ELSE.

-Z.M.A.N.T.-

"Zmant? What kinda shucking name is that?" Chuck squinted. "And who's we?"

"Beats me," I reply. Shrugging, I hand it to Chuck. "Don't touch it, if it's in Zia's box, then it's Zia's."

He looks disappointed and leaves with it in his hands, heading to Zia's room. Gally, the lazy shank, decided to not make Zia's separate room. So, she slept with Chuck, me, Minho, or Robbie until the other three girls appeared, causing Gally to persuade some shanks to sleep together and empty two rooms in Homestead. Even so, Zia would stick with Chuck for some unknown reason which got me a little frustrated until she mentioned how Chuck was like her younger brother, and Chuck mentioned Zia being like his older sister. I knew Chuck had nightmares sometimes because I'd shared a room with him the first few days and he'd wake me up with his whimpers. Sometimes he cried in his sleep without noticing, and I had to fuss over him. Don't blame me, blame my motherly instincts.

"Property of Z.M.A.N.T."

The name felt familiar and warm to me, causing me to ponder about it.

"Z-M-A-N-T... Zmant."

"Cement?" Alby asked, popping out of nowhere. "What about cement?"

"You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!" I exclaimed, trying to slow my heartbeat down.

"You always say that," Alby rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it's because you always do," I retorted.

He frowned and waved his hand dismissively. "Where's Zia? Is she in the maze already? Do you know when she's coming back?"

I raised a hand to stop his questions. "First off, stop bombarding me with questions and let me answer them. Second, I'm not Zia! I don't know when she's coming back, I'm not a bloody psychic!"

"Shuck. She's in the maze already, isn't she?" Alby frowned. I followed suit.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We got a message from the Creators," Alby spoke carefully.

"A note?" I frowned even more.

"Yeah, it's from the Creators, saying that they were coming for her," Aris sighed.

"Isn't that the message that was on the wall then suddenly disappeared?"

He nodded, and sighed again, looking down, and then at me.

"This time, it said who the "her" was," he explained. I widened my eyes in horror.

"It's Zia, isn't it?" I asked quietly. He nodded.

I felt panicked. She was in the maze and she didn't know about the greater danger she was facing. I slid my hand down my face, agitated, and fiddled with a bracelet I always kept with me, ever since I came up the Box. It was a brown leather bracelet with a small charm on it that had my initial on it. Minho had one too, making us assume that we knew each other before the maze. His was dark blue with the letter M for his initial on it. I felt Alby grip my shoulders gently, searching my eyes concernedly.

"You good?" Alby questioned.

I merely nodded, and headed into the woods. I walked deep inside until I met a stream and the wall of the maze. I absently followed the stream away from the wall, heading towards a small glint at a distance. I walked up to it, puzzled, and looked at the glint closely. There was a magnet lying on top of the dirt. I looked up and gawked. It was like a little tent, based on several trees. A large sheet was thrown over the trees, connecting them, and a hammock was hung near the side. In the middle was a table with little notes on it. I saw a variety of items on the floor or the wooden table. What caught my attention were the two instruments.

Some of us had little trinkets such as instruments to keep ourselves entertained. Minho had a drum set hidden in the storage room, I had an electric guitar, and Alby had a keyboard piano. We all hid them in the storage room so no one would touch them. Chuck had a kazoo that he wouldn't stop blowing for several months, Gally had a harmonica that he played whenever he was slightly happy, and Fry had a high-pitched whistle that he'd blow in our ears if we were caught raiding his kitchen. None of us had more than one, except for Zia. She had an acoustic guitar along with a violin.

Curious, I walked over to the guitar and touched the smooth and polished wood. There was a carving on the side:

"Z.M.A.N.T. Ad infinitum."

I wondered briefly about the carving before looking at the rustling papers. Curious, I stepped closer to the pile of papers and found several journal-like books. I sat against a tree with the books in my hands. I opened the cover for one of them, and found a writing on the bottom right.

"Property of Zia Y/N 'Lyell' W."