Afflicted↠ Newt [1]

Chapter 13

An angry scream echoed off the stone walls of the Glade. One that was sure to wake everyone up. I sat on a branch of a tree, staring out over the dark field, waiting for Minho to appear from the showers. I had waken up extremely early, something that I didn't do often, and stole Minho's clothes and towel when he was in the shower.
A laugh escaped my lips as he appeared around the corner of the Homestead, completely naked. His hand being the only thing saving me from seeing something that I did not want to see. It was dark, but I could see the annoyance on his face very clearly. I brought my feet up on to the branch with me, held on to the trunk for support.
Newt appeared from behind Minho, his hands covering his eyes. They exchanged a few words, which were inaudible to me from that distance, though I knew what- who- they were talking about. Me.
A cool breeze blew, causing goosebumps to rise on my bare arms. I felt bad for Minho- being all naked and wet... But, then again, he did steal my pants. This was only payback. A few more boys joined Newt and Minho, one of them being Alby, all of them snickering.
"Emily, this isn't funny!" Minho's voice called out from beneath me, though seemed oblivious to the girl sitting in the tree directly above him. I didn't dare look at him, as I wasn't in the mood to get scarred for life by seeing my best friend naked.
"Em, come on! The Doors are opening soon!"
"Okay! I'm coming down!" I called to him with a snicker.
"Coming down? From where-"
But it was too late. I had already jumped from the tree, landing on top of him. We fell to the ground, Minho letting out a scream of surprise. I threw the towel at him, covering my eyes to shield myself from seeing anything.
"I hate you so much, you know that, right?" Minho muttered as he stood up, wrapping the towel around his waist.
"Payback's a bitch, isn''t it?" I patted him on the back before heading towards the kitchen "Have fun in the Maze!" I called back.
The sun was only just beginning to shine. Not visible over the walls yet, but turning the dark sky a fiery orange color. I yawned as I grabbed a plate of eggs from Frypan, who was not exactly happy about getting food stolen from him before wake-up.
The rest of the boys had gone back to sleep, Newt included, so I was stuck alone to eat breakfast. Not that I didn't mind. I liked the peace and quiet.
The all-too familiar sound of stone grinding against stone filled my ears. The Doors were opening. I watched from the picnic table as Minho and another Runner ran off into the Maze.
I was sad that Minho was going back to running. Believe it or not, I was going to miss him. It was going to be odd not hearing some type of sarcastic remark after everything you said.
I felt a sudden longing to go into the Maze. To chase after the Runners until I was running beside them. Running the paths of the Maze.
"Go into the Maze, Emily."
A sudden pain shot through my skull, causing me to gasp in pain. Though it was gone as quickly as it came on, as if it was never there in the first place. I began to feel a sudden rush of panic as the voice of the man spoke once more.
"Run the Maze, Emily. Run it and never look back."
And then it was gone. Only a dull ringing in my ears to replace it. I shook my head, trying to clear my jumble of thoughts. I knew I was going insane. That it was only a matter of time before I completely lost it.
Newt joined me soon after the Doors opened, his hair ruffled and his eyes glazed with sleep. He seemed half-asleep on his feet, which only made me laugh. He barely spoke, and almost missed his mouth several times while eating his eggs.
"Why are you so tired?" I asked him, poking his cheek.
Newt barely seemed to hear me, and took a moment to process my words before speaking.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was because I- along with every other bloody Glader- was woken up by Minho screaming because somebody stole his clothes."
"I had to get payback somehow," I said with a shrug.
A voice, barely more than a whisper in the back of my mind, caused me to jump.
"You have to run, Emily. Or else you'll die."
I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath, as the voice repeated those two sentences over and over again, a dull ringing in my head. I felt an arm snake around my shoulder, and Newt pull me into his chest. I buried my face into the fabric of his shirt, groaning in pain as a sharp, gnawing ache shot through my head. It felt as if a dagger was being stabbed into my skull, twisting and turning in its position.
There was only one thought going through my mind as the pain slowly eased off:
What was wrong with me?