Disconnection • Newt • Maze Runner

5 - We Gotta Go

Aspen's heart pounded mercilessly in his chest. They were stuck in the Maze, they were all as good as dead.

Alby didn't look so good, he'd clearly been stung, Minho backed that up. Aspen felt bad for Minho, he'd had to knock out one of his best friends, and he felt bad for Alby too. If, on the off change, they survived the night, Alby would be in excruciating pain, and Aspen could only imagine what that would be like.

Thomas was against leaving Alby behind, and though Newt was too, he didn't voice it, as he knew what was best. But Thomas was persistent, so as they trekked along through the maze, Minho and Thomas held up Alby, and Newt and Aspen walked together and the sun began to set and the day came to a close. Which meant their lives would soon be doing the same thing.

Grievers could be heard from around them, they were coming.

"We gotta go, we gotta go!" Minho spoke frantically, scratching his brain for a plan.

"Wait, wait, wait, we gotta do something. We gotta hide him." Thomas said trying to think of something to do with Alby, to keep him safe.

"Thomas we are in the maze, where do you expect us to put him. He's going to die, we all are." Aspen said, having previously accepted his fate, but Thomas wasn't so keen to do so.

"You don't get it, Thomas. We're already dead."

Thomas had other plans. The four of them grunted as they pulled on a thick vine, using it to pull Alby up into the brush, relatively out of sight. That was, until, a Griever came into sight, growling as it spotted them.

"Thomas stop! We have to go!" Aspen yelled, Minho yelling something similar as him and Aspen ditched, running as fast as they could.

Newt stayed behind for a moment, "I'm sorry Tommy." Before he ran with the other two, leaving Thomas stranded and alone, only company being a Griever and Alby's body.

Aspen and the others ran as far as their legs could handle, dodging anything that came into sight.

Things were going alright, it was almost looking like they might possibly make it, at least until a Griever pounced out and secured Aspen in its grasp. Newt tried to go back for him, but Minho pushed on, regardless of his friend facing certain death behind him, as he ran.

Newt stood there, wracking his brain on what he could do before a yell was heard from afar, Thomas. It distracted the Griever, the creature dropping Aspen from its grip and allowing him to fall to the ground. The Griever retreated off towards the sound, Aspen panting on the concrete floor as Newt rushed over to him.

"Bloody hell! Are you okay?"

"No, not really, but we've gotta keep moving." Aspen said as they stalked off once more, in the directed Minho had gone.

Aspen was afraid to admit it, seeing as the guard he'd placed up, the walls around any ounce of vulnerability, were so strong. But he was in pain, physically and mentally, this whole thing was taking a rather extreme toll on him. The stabbing and burning pain in his gut was enough of an indicator of that, as the infection flowed up through his veins.

Minho finally came into view, him having just caught up with Thomas. Aspen and Newt rushed towards them, as the quartet ran for their lives, literally. The Maze seemed to be ever changing, as Minho, Aspen, and Newt ran through a part of the maze that was closing in. Thomas on the other hand, did the dumbass thing and tried to kill the Griever between the walls.

Surprisingly, that dumbass plan actually worked.

The boys stood restless, tapping their feet and twirling their hands together as they lie in waiting for the others to come back out of the Maze. As the doors began to open and no one was there, hope became fleeting, as most of them retreated from the opening, accepting that their friends were lost.

Only they weren't. Minho and Thomas pulled Alby through the gate, Aspen and Newt holding his feet. Alby, still unconscious, was hauled off with the Medjack's, as the rest of them headed off to a different end of the Glade, where Gally was holding a sort of meeting.

"Things are changing. There's no denying that. First Ben gets stung in broad daylight, and then Alby. And now our Greenies here, have taken it upon themselves, to go into the maze. And for some goddamn reason, Newt with them. Which is a clear violation of our rules here."

Winston spoke up, taking a clear stance with Thomas. "Yeah, but he saved Alby's life."

"Did he? For three years, we have coexisted with these things, and now, you've killed one of them. Who knows what that could mean for us?"

Newt shifted uncomfortably, Aspen perceiving that movement was less of physical discomfort, but of emotional. He was disappointed, in others, and in himself. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"They have to be punished, particularly Thomas."

Words of resentment and disagreement could be heard from around, as Aspen put a hand to his temple, the loud noise and arguing having spawned a rather awful headache.

"Minho. You were with him, what do you think?" Newt questioned gravely.

Minho sighed in discontent with Gally, yet thankfulness and sympathy for Thomas. "I think, in all the time we've been here, no one's ever killed a Griever before. When we turned tail and ran, this dumb shank stood behind to help Alby. Look, I don't know if he's brave, or stupid. But whatever it is we need more of it, and it seems we have a couple of them within our midst. I say we make Thomas a Runner."

Gally, fed up with being over thrown in this predicament, continued, yelling over everyone. "If you wanna throw the newbie a parade, that's fine."

Does Aspen not exist anymore? Sure, he didn't exactly want to be a Runner, but everyone was acting like Thomas was the only one who existed, who went into the Maze, who survived it.

"Go ahead. But if there is one thing that I know about the Maze, it is that you do not-"

Gally was interrupted by a very loud noise, a warning of sorts, an announcement. Everyone rushed out of the room and towards the box, everyone except Aspen. He stayed behind in the room, and lifted his shirt.

The virus had already begun to grow, coursing through his veins, visibly affecting him. He tried to stand up, but his body pushed him back down as pain flowed through his veins. He began panting, chest heaving as he struggled but managed to get up, trying to clutch his stomach subtly, as he walked towards the others, crowded around the box.

He stood closer, managing to peak through the crowd enough to spot Newt looking down at what was in the box.

"It's a girl."