We Didn't Start the Fire - Book 1 (Newt x OC) (Maze Runner)

Chapter 15 - Changing of the Guard

Plune watched over the boys as they finally fell asleep. The hammocks had been destroyed, so they all gathered together outside of the Homestead and slept on the ground.

"You should get some sleep," Newt said, making Plune look away from the boys. "You need it."

"I can't sleep," she admitted.

"You haven't gotten a good night's sleep in days, Plune," he said, the concern clear in his voice as he sat next to her.

"Newt... I..." She sighed. "I'm not going to be able to sleep. You should though. Get some rest."

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep without you," he said, placing a hand on her thigh.

"Newt-"

"If you're staying up, so am I." She only sighed before relenting. "Good that." He hesitated. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," she admitted. "Do you?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes before he quietly started to speak. "I was worried about you the entire time. I lost you and when I heard people scream, I kept waiting to hear yours. Then the Homestead caved in and a Griever grabbed Chuck and Alby saved him just to be pulled away... I thought we all would die. The amount of Gladers still here... I didn't think this many would survive."

"I didn't think this many would die. I didn't think Alby would." She looked down at their hands that had unconsciously interlaced. "Gally saved my life. Pulled me down into the box and I panicked the entire time. Then I saw the Griever take Alby and everything hit me." She started to shake her head. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what we're going to do."

"Whatever it is, we're gonna do it together." He leant his head down, leaning his forehead against hers and she closed her eyes, relishing and focusing on the feeling of him with her.

"I'm glad you're okay. I don't think I could do this without you."

"You'd figured it out. I'm glad we're both here though too."

***

"We'll stick to the two leader positions we already have," Gally explained to the boys in the morning. "You can nominate and vote for anyone. The two people with the most votes will be in charge. Any objections?" No one said anything and paper and pencils were passed out, everyone thinking and writing down their votes.

"What are you gonna decide to do?" Newt whispered to her as they watched Frypan go around and collect the slips of paper.

"What are you talking about?"

"When you get voted back in, what's you plan going to be?"

She gave him a confused look. "I'm not gonna get voted back in."

"What are you talking about?"

"Newt, I was in charge when all of this happened. No one would vote for me." She folded her slip of paper and handed it to Frypan.

Newt handed his in too. "I would. And I did."

"I didn't. I voted for you." They all waited in silence, staring at Frypan as he counted the votes. Frypan stopped as he reached the last paper.

"Who won, Fry?" Gally asked.

"Based on our votes, Gally and Plune are in charge." Plune looked up in surprise, finding most of the boys looking at her with a smile.

"I don't understand," she managed to get out.

"None of this was your fault," Winston told her. "You did the best you could and we all know that. We still want you." She managed to give a small smile back, looking out over all of them.

***

"Gardens are a mess. It's gonna take a while to get food production back up," Gally said, going through the reports the Keepers had given them.

"Fry said there was enough food left to last a week, especially with... less people to feed."

"What about shelter? Almost everything is destroyed."

"Maybe we could fix some of the hammocks and attach them to trees in the forest until we can rebuild."

"What's the point of rebuilding if the Grievers are just going to come back every night?"

"We don't know that."

"The maze doors still haven't closed, Plune. We need to think about this."

"Between the slammer and the box, everyone should be able to hide."

"What if the Grievers don't leave?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What if they don't leave without taking some of us."

"Do you think they're that intelligent?" she asked him.

"Why else would they have left?" She stayed quiet. "We have to give them something to take."

"You mean someone." He nodded. "And how are you going to pick who that is? How long until we get down to one person left?"

"I don't know!" he admitted, sighing as he ran a hand over his face. "I don't know. But we only have two hours until sundown and that's when the Grievers came last night. We give them someone tonight and give ourselves more time to plan."

"We're not giving someone up to the Grievers," she refused.

"What do you propose we do?"

"Try hiding everyone for one night."

"And what if they take more instead?"

"What if they don't take anyone?" They stared at each other, neither relenting. "We don't even have to stay. We have time to go. We have a way out."

"You don't know that!"

"We don't know anything, Gally! That's the problem. We might be able to get out of here."

"This place has kept us safe for three years, Plune."

"And it's not doing that anymore," she said sadly, trying to get through to him. "Gally, please. The old way isn't working anymore."

"You're right. So why don't we try a sacrifice? Maybe Thomas will still be unconscious when we tie him up."

"Thomas? So this is just about getting rid of him?"

"You heard what Alby said, Plune. He did this to us. Ben said the same thing when he was stung. They both remembered and they both remembered him."

"That doesn't matter. The people we were before the maze are dreams. They don't exist anymore."

"I've made my decision."

She nodded, licking her lips. "And what if mine is different from yours?"

"Then we vote. This affects everyone, let's let everyone decide."

"You're gonna cause chaos," she told him quietly.

"No. I'm gonna save us."

So what did you guys think? I really liked this chapter and the quiet moment between Newt and Plune. They don't get a lot of those and I love when I can add them in!