𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐦𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐭¹

24, not if but when

BEING AWAKEN BY NEWT shaking her gently, Daphne opened her eyes and lifted her head up from Newt's chest. She stayed up all night monitoring Thomas, who stabbed himself with a Griever stinger and then received the antidote.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes to see her on the ground, near the slammer. Trinity, Minho, and Chuck stood nearby, all of them looking down at Thomas and Teresa in the slammer. Newt looked down at her, brushing some hair out of her face, whispering, "Hey my love, you okay?"

Nodding, Daphne mumbled, "What happened?"

"Looks like both of you decided to join us." Minho smirked, gesturing to Thomas who just woke up as well.

"Gally has taken control. He said we had a choice. Either join him... or get banished at sundown with you." Newt explained.

"And the others agreed to that?" Thomas questioned.

"There's no way." Daphne shook her head.

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened." Trinity replied. "Daph, he said you're not keeper anymore."

Newt gave her a look, eyes wide and Trinity looked at him. "What? Were you planning on not telling her?"

"I'm not keeper?" Daphne mumbled and Newt shook his head.

"Gally was right about me. This place... it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges." Thomas explained, glancing at Daphne. "You would solve every single one, even though you weren't supposed to be there."

Daphne smiled slightly. "Not surprised."

"They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork." Thomas sighed.

"They were sending them up into the maze." Newt assumed.

"Yeah, but not all of us." Thomas mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Daphne questioned.

"Guys, I'm one of them. The people who put you here, I worked with them." Thomas admitted and Daphne's eyes widened. "I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here... I was on the other side of it. So were you."

He looked at Teresa, who's eyes were filled with tears. "What?"

"Teresa, we did this to them." Thomas said.

"No. That can't be true." Teresa shook her head.

"It is. I saw it." Thomas repeated.

"Why would they send us up if we were with them?" Teresa asked.

"It doesn't matter." Thomas mumbled.

"He's right. It doesn't matter. Any of it. Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore." Newt explained.

Daphne looked down at that, biting her lip slightly. Maybe she was the same. She had the same smarts, the same mind. All the things in her head that had to do with numbers and chemicals, they were still there.

But she doesn't have the favorite flower. Or a favorite food. Favorite song, bucket list, places she wants to visit— None of that. But she did have her intelligence, but was that enough for her?

Lilacs, those were her favorite flower now. They grew on a patch of grass near the river in the Glade. She loved mashed potatoes that Frypan made. Her favorite song was the little tune that Newt would hum whenever she was having trouble falling asleep. As far as places she wanted to visit, she would say anything outside the four walls she was currently confide in.

She was a different person now.

"But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do... right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out." Newt continued.

"Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive." Thomas reminded.

"Maybe. But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing... then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that." Newt shook his head.

"Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first." Thomas sighed.

Trinity smirked, looking at her sister, "I'm sure we can come up with something."

"I just watched Thomas to make sure he didn't die for eight hours straight, I'm running on an hour of sleep, I really don't think—" Daphne rambled, shaking her head before she paused, smiling at Trin. "Okay, I have a plan."

-

Daphne sighed, running her hands over her face as she shoved her notebook in her bag. She looked around the Med-Jack hut.

"Nene," She turned around to see Newt standing in the doorway, holding a bag in his hand and his other hand behind his back. "You almost ready?"

"Yeah," Daphne nodded, smiling slightly before letting out another sigh.

"You alright?" Newt questioned.

"Yeah, just feeling a little sick, it's probably dehydration." She shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'm better now that I see you. Just seeing your face makes my serotonin levels go flying."

Newt shook his head, smiling, "You act like I know what that means, darling."

"It means you make me happy." Daphne whispered.   "Can you believe it? Two years here, three for you, and we're finally gonna get out."

"I can't exactly." Newt admitted, walking over to her. "All so soon too. And here I was hoping we would get one last night to watch the stars together."

"The starettes?" Daphne questioned and Newt smiled, shaking his head slightly.

"Constellations." Newt corrected and Daphne walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Correct." Daphne giggled.

"But I can do this one last time." He whispered, holding out a purple carnation.

Daphne smiled, taking the flower gently. "What if we don't make it?"

"Don't think like that." He shook his head, cupping her face. "I'm gonna protect you."

"You always have." Daphne smiled. "I love you."

"I love you more." Newt whispered, leaning down to kiss her lips. Smiling again, Daphne connected their lips. He pulled her in closer as they backed up, hitting the edge of a desk. "We will continue you this when we get out of here."

Smiling at his words, Daphne nodded, agreeing.

Not if they got out, when.