Newt Imagines (The Maze Runner)

Rainstorm

There's a great clamoring around you, the tearing and shrieking of metal. You feel like your head is being pounded by an anvil, and you clap your hands to your skull, desperate to stop the pain. You realize you're moving, the floor beneath you swaying as it is dragged up by some unseen chain. There are boxes around you, crates of something that you can't see in the dark. The worst part isn't the echoing din, or the insufferable darkness lit by sporadic bursts of fluorescents. The worst part is that you have no idea how you got here.

After a couple of seconds, you force yourself to stand up straight and look around. There are boxes littering the ground, yes, but you're in a larger box yourself. Is that what this lurching, moving metal room is? There are four walls and a ceiling that seems to press in on you with every waking second. Just as you come to this conclusion, the room stops moving with a sudden jolt that sends you to the ground. Panic crests over you and you throw yourself to the edge of the room, hiding behind the stacks of boxes just as the ceiling is lifted away.

Bright, overwhelming sunlight flows into the room like a wave. You squint, careful not to make a sound even as your eyes water from the sudden light. You can see the dim silhouettes of a group of people standing over the room, looking in on you. They must not see you, because you can hear dim snatches of conversation being tossed back and forth in the space above you. "Shouldn't there be a greenie? Where's the new kid?" You have no idea what a greenie is, but you do have a sickening feeling that they're expecting someone, someone who will turn out to be you.

After another moment of indecision, a boy jumps down into the room, causing the floor to shake slightly from the impact. He peers between the crates. Your breath comes harsh in your chest as you realize he must be looking for you. Your hand closes around something in an open box, and as you pull it out slowly, you realize your fingers are clenched around the grip of a knife. It's not much, but at least you have a weapon.

The boy calls out to you now. "Hey, we know you're there. There's always someone in the Box. You can come out now, we're not going to hurt you." He takes a couple of steps closer, and you realize there's no getting out of this. Might as well use the advantage of surprise while it's still in your court. You stand up suddenly, stepping away from the shelter of the boxes. You point your knife towards the boy's throat. For a second, the two of you stand there- you with your blade, him with a look of surprise coating his eyes.

Now that you're both standing in the sunlight, you can see more of him. This boy has light dirty blond hair and warm brown eyes. His hands rise by his sides the second he sees your knife. "Hey, there's no need for that. We're not trying to hurt you." Then his brow furrows and he takes a step forward, surprise overwhelming his previous hesitation. "Wait. You're a girl." You raise an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be a girl?" The boy glances up at the silhouettes of the others still standing over the box. "Back off, guys. She'll be fine."

He looks back at you. "Let's start this over. My name is Newt. You're in the Glade now, with a few other shanks. I'm just surprised because they've never sent a girl up before, that's it. Now, can you please put down the knife? What would you do with it, anyway?" You keep the blade up, feeling slightly defensive. "I could use it." Newt lowers his hands, humor outweighing any sense of self-preservation. "For what?" You gesture with the blade. "To, I don't know, stab someone. It's a knife, what else would I do?"

Newt grins. "Maybe not stab me? We're going to be here for a while, I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill me immediately." You lower the blade at last, reaching over to put it back in a nearby box. "I'll consider it." Newt offers you a hand to help you out of the Box. "Can I help you up? You can trust me, you know." You consider him for a second, taking in everything you know about the boy. He looks at you encouragingly, smiling with all the peaceful freedom of a dove, and you relent. After a second, you stand blinking in the sunlight, turning in a slow circle to stare at the massive walls surrounding you. "What is that?" Newt comes to stand beside you. "That's the Maze. Keeps us all stuck in here. Once a month, the Box sends up some new sap. This time it's you."