Every Heart a Maze | Newt & Thomas

Chapter 16

   Looking for distraction, Newt had decided that a little physical work would probably do him good. He'd set about chopping logs, but he wasn't really into it. The wood already was too dry, and splintered in all directions when Newt brought the hatchet down on it, making it quite hard to split into usable parts. After underestimating his own strength for the third time, and nearly hurting himself because of the excessive swing, he dropped it all together.

Zart gave him a reproachful look, but Newt was too engrossed in his own thoughts to register. No one seemed to have noticed Tommy and Minho missing, yet. But Newt, of course, was aware of the risk they were taking. If the wrong people would find out that Tommy had gone back into the Maze, even worse, that he was deliberately accompanied by Minho, and Newt knowing about it, there would be consequences.

Newt was also concerned that something might happen to them out there, that they again wouldn't make it in time of closing. But he was comforted by the thought of Tommy and Minho already having survived a whole night in the Maze; today's trip should be a simple stroll compared to that.

And maybe the dead Griever would indeed bring them some insights, making it all worth it.


Shortly before lunch time, Newt went to check on the girl again. When he entered the room she seemed to be peacefully asleep, looking like she'd wake up at any minute. Her chest rose and fell with even breaths; her skin was full of colour. Clint was with her, dropping water into her mouth a few drips a time.

"Hey, Clint," Newt said. "She surviving?"

"Yeah," Clint answered. "She's fine, though she started talking in her sleep."

"Have you been writin' down every word she says?"

Clint nodded in confirmation. "Most of it's impossible to understand. But, uh..." The Med-Jack looked around, apparently feeling quite uneasy.

"What is it?" Newt frowned at the boy.

"Well... I can't make it all out, but..." Clint scratched the back of his neck before meeting Newt's piercing gaze. "She keeps saying his name over and over."

"Whose name?" Newt inquired, even though he already knew the answer.

"The Greenie's name."

Newt sighed.

"Thanks, Clint," he said, hoping the Med-jack would catch on the obvious dismissal. "Get me a report of all that, okay?"

"Will do." Giving a curt nod, Clint hurried away.

Newt paused in front of the stretcher, looking down at the comatose girl, once again wondering what it all meant.

He'd been so sure of his and Tommy's shared past and now this girl showed up – obviously having some dubious connection with the Greenie – messing with everything he thought he knew; How did she fit into all of this?

There'd been a lot of uncertainty those past years, Newt had gotten used to the feeling of it. But that didn't mean that he hated in any less to be reminded of the fact he knew nothing about his past. That all memories of his family and life before the Maze had been taken away from him. It sucked to be kept in the dark about the circumstances of your own existence.


The door was pushed open with exuberance and Chuck came stumbling into the room. He was breathing heavily, likely having run all the way and up the stairs. Now he stood in the doorway, staring at the sleeping girl as if he'd forgotten why he'd come here in the first place.

"Chuck? You're alright?" Newt worriedly asked.

"No, not all right," the boy yapped, catching breath between each word. "Gally found out-"
Newt needed no elaboration on what exactly Gally had found out. Not waiting for Chuck to continue, he stormed past the boy and out into the hallway.

"Newt, wait!" Chuck went after him, still gasping for breath. "He's called a Gathering. Sent me to get your butt down in the Council Hall. Are we in trouble?"

"Oh yeah. We bloody are," Newt said cursing as he rushed down the stairs, taking two steps at a time and stubbornly ignoring the pain this caused in his bad leg. "Chuck, I need you to wait at the East Door, when Tommy and Minho return, send them to the Council Hall asap, understood?"

"Will do," Chuck said, making an awkward gesture of salutation.

Turning to the Council Hall, Newt found himself pretty pissed. For the second time this day, Gally dared to defy him in his position as appointed leader, and this wasn't just about Tommy anymore, it was about Gally doubting his leadership. What was he thinking calling a Gathering without checking with Newt first?

He paused in front of the door, overcome by a familiar dizziness. At first he thought it maybe was because he hadn't eaten anything yet, but then he felt his throat tighten and his breathing became erratic.

Cursing, again, he braced himself with one hand on the wall, resting his forehead against the rough material, grounding himself while trying to suppress the rising panic. There was no way he could face Gally and the others like that, no, he wasn't going to show any weakness now. He focused on his breathing, like he had done when he'd still been running the Maze, trying for a steady rhythm; breathe in deeply, breathe out slowly. But it wasn't working. Newt could feel his heart race, and it wasn't the comfortable kind of flutter he always felt when Tommy was around.

Tommy.

Images of the Greenie flooded Newt's mind. His laugh. His eyes. His hands. During the hours spent together Newt had had enough time to memorize all of him. And now he recalled how Thomas' eyes had glowed in the rising sun that first morning, how peaceful he'd looked asleep in Newt's bed, and how the veins on his arms had stood out from all the hard work in the Gardens. While his heart was still racing, his breathing was gradually returning to a normal rate.

Then another memory hit, no, not a memory, just some kind of snapshot, fading as quickly as it had appeared; Tommy sitting cross-legged on a bed, a wide grin on his face. He appeared much younger and his hair was longer, but it had definitely been Tommy-

An unbearable ache in his head made Newt black out. Only for a few seconds, but as his surroundings re-formed, he felt disoriented. What was he doing here? Why was he standing in the foyer of the Homestead, forehead pressed firmly against a wall? Dazed, he tried to remember the last few minutes, his last clear memory being of Chuck telling him that Gally had called a Gathering.

Now that he was aware of his surroundings again, Newt heard the voices coming from the Council Hall. Determined, he opened the wooden door and entered the room.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" he said and Gally actually shrunk under the fierce look which he let roam over those present. It made Newt's confidence grow as he stepped in the middle of the Hall, aware of the nine pairs of eyes following his every move. "Since when do we call Gatherings without discussing it with the appointed leader or his second in command first?"

Gally cleared his throat.

"In fact, we were hoping you could tell us what the bloody hell is going on," he said, and to Newt's astonishment, there wasn't much of the Builder's usual belligerence in his voice. "Besides, I'm virtually your deputy, so this call-up by me is appropriately legitimate."

Newt stared at Gally. "What are ya bloody talkin' about?"

"Remember yesterday morning, when you asked me to hold the fort here because you so badly wanted to search the Maze for those supposedly dead shanks?"

"Those declared dead actually live longer," Frypan sniggered and Newt gave him an irritated look before turning his attention back to Gally.

"You made me second in command, maybe not officially, not yet, but you didn't take that role away from me either, so I'm using my entitlement by doing what I think is the only right thing to do," the boy continued. "Aside from that, this isn't a new Gathering I called, it's just the continuation of this morning's since we were interrupted."

"How do ya go about holdin' a bloody Gathering when the person in question isn't even there?" Newt asked, raising an eyebrow. "You can't just pass judgment on people unless they're there to defend themselves."

"Oh, yeah? And where was Ben when we were voting on his fate?" Gally replied, voice oozing with bitterness.

"That was different," said Newt, avoiding Gally's reproachful gaze. "Ben was a danger to himself. Tommy didn't harm anyone, on the contrary he-"

"Yeah, right, he hasn't physically hurt anyone, yet" Gally said. "But he's still out in the Maze right now, harming us as a society by deliberately invalidating our rules. I think that's just enough justification for denying him any right to a defense. And as second in command I say it's time we finally talk proper consequences."

"Do you agree with that?" Newt turned to the other Keepers.

"If you put him in charge then own up, man," Frypan said, shrugging. "We don't know when Alby will wake up or if he'll be the same, and you can't take care of everything by yourself. I'd say we should get this proxy thing sorted out before we talk about Thomas."

"Let's just get it over with then, I give my vote to Gally," Zart said, seemingly bored with the formalities.

Winston raised his right hand. "I'm voting that shank, too."

"We can't vote, Minho isn't there and without him the election would be invalid," Clint interjected.

"Oh, really? What thoughtful observation," said Gally. "That would bring us straight to the next item on the agenda. Minho's brazen ignorance..."

"I say fuck it. If Minho isn't there, we'll vote without him," Billy said, mimicking Winston's gesture. "Raise your hand if you believe that ugly shank would make some capable second in command."

Everyone raised their hand; Clint hesitated, looking at Newt before gingerly following the example of the others.

"You vote against it?" Gally looked at Newt, who was standing against a wooden post, not making any effort to participate in the current event. "You want to suggest someone else?"

"A bit late to put up another candidate, don't you think?" Newt replied, frowning. The Council had voted unanimously, and even if Minho had been there and he'd voted against Gally – which, knowing Minho, he'd probably have – it wouldn't have changed anything.

"You sure you don't want to field Minho? I wouldn't have been surprised if you suggested that shucking Greenie either," the Builder's Keeper teased.

"You're lucky I thought 'em both dead when I approached you that mornin', Shuck-face. Otherwise your odds would have been slim indeed."

That elicited a humorless laugh from Gally. "Good that. Anyway, back to the main topic of this Gathering. Your new favorite, Thomas. What are we going to do with him?"

"I sent him into the Maze with Minho. They're taking a closer look at that dead Griever," Newt said, looking steadily at Gally. "They left on my behalf and therefore did not break any rules."

"I don't believe a word you say," Gally snorted. "You'd never send a Newbie into the Maze. You once were a Runner yourself, you're the one who instituted the rule forbidding non-Runners from entering the Maze, because it would be too dangerous. And now you wanna fool us into thinking that this was your idea?"

"It was, no need for foolin' anyone," Newt lied. "Thomas already survived a night out there. And I was thinking, maybe he could actually find a way out of here." It was the first time he'd voiced his faith in Thomas out loud, and although he stood by his words a hundred percent, he immediately felt regret. He'd just made himself vulnerable. "Listen, it's-"

"Newt, sorry to interrupt, but I'm asking you to consider this before you say another shuck word. This slinthead comes up in the Box, acting all confused and scared. A few days later he's running around the Maze with Grievers, acting like he owns the place." Gally looked around to make sure everyone would follow his next words. "I think it was all an act. How could he have done what he did out there after just a few days? I ain't buying it."

"What're you tryin' to say, Gally?" Newt asked. " How 'bout having a bloody point?"

"I think he's a spy from the people who put us here."

These words did not fail to have their effect, an uproar exploded in the room as everyone talked over each other. Newt couldn't tell though, if the overlaid voices were advocating or declining Gally's conspiracy.

"No, listen, let me finish," Gally made himself heard again. "We can't trust that shank. There's too many weird things going on, and it all started when this shuck-face Greenie showed up. And he just happens to be the first person to survive a night out in the Maze. Something ain't right, and until we figure it out, I officially recommend that we lock his butt in the Slammer – for a month, and then have another review."

"Finished, Captain Gally?"

"Quit being such a smart aleck, Newt. You know perfectly well that I'm right and you can't argue against it any longer."

"Gally does have a point," Frypan agreed, scraping his stubble. "There are weird things happening. And now that girl..."

"We're kept in a buggin' Maze," Newt tried to gain control of the situation, "try tellin' me something that ain't weird around here."

"Hey Newt, I'm on your side, man. I'm also not keen on locking the Greenie in the Slammer. But you can't deny that something's fishy 'bout that girl knowing his name. Or showing up in the first place."

"Honestly I don't know why we're still talking about this," Gally said, sitting down. Newt thought he sounded tired, somehow resigned. "It's not like we got a choice."

The next moment, Minho came bursting into the Council Hall, causing Gally to jump to his feet again.

"How nice of you to join us," he said, accusingly crossing his arms over his chest, and as he stared at Minho, Newt caught a dark glint in his eyes. "You boys enjoyed your field trip?"

"What the hell, Gally?" said Minho, menacingly stepping closer to the other boy. Behind him, Thomas entered the room, making Newt's heart leap at the sight of him. "You think you can call a Keeper Meeting without us?"

"Last time I checked, the Greenie wasn't a Keeper," Gally countered, before addressing Thomas directly. "You mind waiting outside?"

"He stays," Minho said and his tone allowed no argument. Silence descended on the Council Hall as everyone looked back and forth between the two of them. Minho and Gally were staring at each other, silently wrestling to see who'd give in first.

"We found something," Thomas mumbled at some point, likely being fed up with that tensed silence.

"You say something, Newbie?" Gally broke Minho's gaze to look at Tommy, incredulous about him having dared to speak up.

Thomas grabbed an undefinable object from Minho's hand that had previously escaped their notice, then he stepped closer and held it out for Newt to take. "Here, we found this on our field trip."

It was a cylindrical thing made of metal with several cables sticking out on one side, cold to the touch and covered with an already dried slimy substance.

"It was inside a Griever," Thomas confirmed what Newt had already suspected.

Studying the object closely, he turned it in his hands, running his thumb over an inscription.

W|C|K|D

"These are the same letters we get in our supplies," he stated in surprise and looked up at Thomas, who expectantly returned his gaze.

"Yeah, whoever put us here obviously made the Grievers!" The obvious excitement in Thomas' voice, gave Newt ha hard time controlling himself and not getting carried away with him. "This is the first real clue, the first anything, you've found in over three years. Right, Minho?"

"Right," the Korean boy confirmed.

"Newt, we gotta go back out there," Thomas continued, voice urgent. "Who knows where this might lead us."

Newt was silent, contemplating his next words. He'd prefer to discuss all of this with Thomas in private; in front of the others he couldn't admit how impressed he was with the boy. With his unrelenting drive. His courage.

He could feel Gally's eyes on him and knew that anything he'd come up with to say at this moment would be the wrong thing. If he were to side with Tommy any more, he would ultimately lose the backing of the Council. If he didn't, however, he was jeopardizing the trust the Greenie was placing in him. He was stuck between what he should be doing and what he wanted to do and once again cursed Alby for putting him into this position.

"You see what he's trying to do, right?" Gally said on the verge of raising his voice. "First he breaks our rules, and then he tries to convince us to abandon them totally, what-" he paused, sorting himself out before continuing. "The rules are the only thing that have ever held us together. Why now are we questioning that? If Alby was here, you know he'd agree with me."

It was a nasty move, dragging Alby into this, but Newt knew Gally was right. Alby would probably smack Newt's head for letting his emotions guide him instead of reason.

"This shank needs to be punished."

Newt looked appraisingly at Thomas, wondering what was going on in his mind at that moment. The other boy met his gaze, as if not caring about anyone catching him openly staring at Newt. There was a plea in his eyes that Newt would only be too happy to oblige. And there again was this familiarity, a feeling of trust and understanding, and Newt suddenly knew that Thomas sensed it too.

Not taking his eyes off Tommy, Newt handed the Griever's part back to Minho. He had made a decision, it was a compromise in Thomas's favor that wouldn't resonate with everyone, but Newt wasn't going to argue about it.

"You're right," he eventually said, giving Gally credit. "Thomas broke the rules. One night in the pit and no food."

"Oh, come on, Newt," Gally said in disbelief. As expected, he wasn't fond of a gracious verdict like the one Newt had just uttered. "One night in the pit? Do you think that's gonna stop him from going into the Maze?"

"No," Newt said matter-of-factly. "And we can't have non-Runners running into the Maze whenever they feel like it" He paused to give meaning to his next words, as he continued looking Thomas in the eyes. "So let's just make it official. Starting from tomorrow, you're a Runner."

A stunned expression spread across the boy's face, but Newt wasn't granted time to properly appreciate it. Of course everyone in the room had an opinion they'd wanted to voice at once, making it impossible to understand anything that was said. Newt raised his hand to silence the Council.

"Anybody have any objections?" he asked, glancing around the semicircle of Keepers. Nobody spoke up, there were only occasional head-shakes.

"Wow," Gally said next to him, his body trembling with rage. "You know what? You should be Banished for your embarrassing inability to lead this group."

"Gally-" Frypan tried to calm his friend down.

"No, Fry," the Builder blocked, pushing the Cook's arm aside, as he continued heading for the exit. Frypan sighed, then went after him.

Newt was glad Gally had someone who cared about him. He just hoped that over time he would cool down and come to terms with today's decisions. After all, they had stuck to the rules here. Minho's already had suggested making Thomas a Runner before, and as the Runner's Keeper, he was free to appoint aspirants whether Gally liked it or not. Newt had merely given his approval and no one – except Gally himself – had spoken against it. So the matter was settled.

As the meeting apparently was over, the others rushed outside and since it was time for lunch, Newt couldn't really blame them. His own stomach was also demanding food. Thomas, however, stayed.

"Thanks, Newt," he said, and though they stood several yards apart, Newt felt closer to him than ever. Looking at each other, none of the two moved.

"Hungry, Tommy?" Newt asked as his stomach audibly growled.

"Not really, no."

"Well, I am, ya shank. Let's go and look for some leftovers from lunch. We need to talk."

"Somehow I knew you were going to say something like that," Thomas said, cocking his head. Newt only grinned at him.

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Authors note:
   I'm so, so sorry it took me so long to do this! This chapter is literally all over the place... and I don't know how to fix it. >.<

   While writing this chapter it felt like some kind of filler, while it's actually supposed to be one of the key scenes of the entire series.
   Due to the divergence of movies and books I got to even out some more minor plottholes, at the same time I've rewritten this so many times now, that I'm afraid I may have added more discrepancies myself. So if you noticed something, please let me know so I can fix it :)
   I think my frustration with this chapter may also have something to do with the fact that I was already thinking about the next two scenes and not living in the current one. There's some more Newtmas interaction coming your way, also some deep talk between Minho and Newt. Can't wait to get back into writing now!
   Thanks for sticking with me :)