Disconnection • Newt • Maze Runner

16 - Weak but Capable

CW: Mild sexual content

"Where is he? Where the hell is he?" The British accent blared through the room as the group of boys along with Teresa rushed into the room.

Aspen barely managed to open his eyes before he was suddenly being rushed over glass coated floors into a large hallway.

Newt held onto the boy as they dragged through the building, Aspen's mind foggy and still blissfully unaware of the situation at hand.

They finally reached a door, a moment for Aspen to stop and actually try and get a grip on reality as Thomas failed to open the door.

His eyes shot every which way until they landed on Janson and a group of workers surrounding him.

"Thomas! Aspen..."

Thomas cocked his gun and walked took a few steps forward. "Open this door, Janson!"

Aspen cowered into Newt's arms, still being slightly out of it. Newt wrapped his arms around the boy, holding him securely as he rested his head on the boys shoulder, chest heaving from running.

"You really don't want me to."

"Open the damn door!"

"Listen to me! I'm trying to save your life." Aspen scoffed. "The Maze is one thing but you kids wouldn't last one day out in the Scorch. If the elements don't kill you, the Cranks will." Thomas took a few more steps forward, growing closer to Janson and farther from his fellow Gladers. "Thomas, you have to believe me. I only want what's best for you."

"No, you want what's best for W.C.K.D." Aspen shot back, his voice weak but loud enough for Janson to hear.

"Yeah, lemme guess. W.C.K.D. is good? We know, Janson."

Janson's shoulders squared up, his eyes narrowing on the boy, flickering between him and Aspen. "You're not getting through that door, Thomas."

Irony, a funny little thing, isn't it?

The door opened with a small beep, Aris and Winston standing behind. The Gladers rushed through the door as Thomas began firing and then running. He ran as fast as his legs could muster as the doors began to close, coming down right before him.

"He's not gonna make it." Aspen whispered as the rest of the group cheered him on.

To Aspen's reluctant relief, the boy actually did. Sliding right under the closing door, separating the group from Janson, from W.C.K.D.

The Scorch, an intimidating place. But particularly so, at night, when your being chased by a bunch of crazy scientists and their guards, and you are in the middle of a wind storm.

They managed to make it to a rather large building partially engulfed in sand, when Teresa rushed into the building and out of sight, the rest following in tow.

Newt gripped Aspen's hand as they slid down the sand and into the building.

They glanced around at what seemed to be an old mall.

Thomas rushed them all to keep moving, but Teresa had other plans, questions.

"Tell me what's going on."

Thomas sighed as he walked towards the bewildered girl. "It's W.C.K.D. It's W.C.K.D. they lied to us. We never escaped. Me and Aris, we found bodies." This was news to Aspen, his brows furrowed. "Too many to count."

Minho cocked his head as his heart began to race. "What do you mean? Dead bodies?"

"No, but they weren't alive either. They had them strung up, with tubes coming out of them. They were being... They were being drained. There's something inside of us that W.C.K.D. wants. Something in our blood. So we have to get as far away from them as possible."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Newt chimed in, hand still entangled with Aspen's. "You do have a plan right?"

"Yeah, I don't know."

"Well, we followed you out here, Thomas. And now your saying that you have no idea where we're going or what we're doing." His hand dropped Aspen's, who gripped the boys shoulder as he stared down Thomas.

"You have no fucking clue what your doing, do you, Thomas?"

"Wait, Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains." Aris' quiet and comforting voice shot out. "Some kind of resistance, or army."

"The Right Arm. If they're really against W.C.K.D. maybe they can help us."

Newt scoffed, sucking on his teeth. "People, in the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?"

"It's the only chance we have." A fat chance, at that.

Winston yelled towards the group. "Hey guys, check this out. Someone's been down here."

"I don't think we want to meet that someone." Aspen choked out as Newt rested a hand across his shoulders, looking towards the boy with a comforting yet weak smile.

They journeyed through the building, splitting up, looking for anything and everything they might need.

Aspen and Newt found themselves alone in an empty room as the other went their own ways.

Newt pushed him up againgst the wall the moment the others were out of sight. Aspen chest began to heave. "Well? do something already, I'm waiting."

"Fuck off"

A breath of a laugh escaped Aspen's lips before Newt's were intertwined with his own. Newt places a hand in the small of his back as Aspen placed his on Newts waist, clearly being a sweet spot seeing as Newt practically moaned into his lips.

Aspens other hand moved up to his neck, causing a breath to escape Newts soft lips before Aspen pulled on his neck, tilting his head up as Newt chuckle and bit his lip. "You're pathetic, Newt."

Newt merely laughed, as Aspen placed his lips to the boys neck, sucking on the skin. Newt's breathing quickened as the boy kissed his neck, softly, then aggressively, until a small mark was left and the skin had grown tender.

Aspen released his grip on his neck and stalked away, turning on a flashlight he'd had in his pocket and eyeing the place in front of him, oblivious to Newts gaze from behind him, as he licked his lips and shook his head, rubbing the spot on his neck.

Newt walked up behind the boy, placing both arms over him and kissing the top of his head softly. "I hate you."

"I love you too."

Newt's eyes widened but he said nothing in response. It was just a joke, right?

Aspen couldn't love Newt, no. It was a joke, wasn't it?

'Shit' was all Newt could think, not because he didn't want Aspen to love him, but because he loved the boy back. And that scared him.

But what scared him more than anything, was the thought that Aspen wouldn't love him back.