When The Storm Comes (When We're Older alternative ending)

star in the night

knock knock, is that a protective Newt I hear?

Newt

I awoke with a startle.

I inhaled sharply as I sprung up, a grunt of fear leaving my lips. My eyes snapped open, then shut again in pain due to the blazing sun poking through the cracks of the ceiling. Trying to adjust to the light, I lifted my fists to my eyes, beginning to rub them harshly while blinking rapidly. It must've been the middle of the day—the sun wasn't usually this bright in the morning or during twilight. When my eyes finally adapted to the shine, I was able to inspect the room I was in.

The walls weren't a dirty, grey, concrete like I was used to living in the Maze or in the temporary Safe Haven. Was it bamboo? I'd always wondered what bamboo looked like, the only thing we had to work with in the Maze was wood from the trees we cut down, or the materials that were brought in the Box. But I stared at the caramel walls and the caramel ceiling, beginning to hear a few whispers from outside.

"What do we tell him when he wakes up?" A familiar voice whisper-shouted to another person.

"I don't freaking know, why would I know!" I quickly recognized this person as Minho, for I'd heard his distressed voice one too many times that I could pick it out of a room full of people. He sighed loudly, which turned into a groan, which turned into a scream. "This is so bad. He's gonna be pissed. We should've never let her leave, what were we thinking!"

I furrowed my eyebrows as I listened to the conversation, both Thomas and Minho sounding bloody awful.

"He's only been out for a couple days, which means that Mae's only been gone a couple days, right? Nothing too terrible could've happened to her. Right?" He sounded so hopeful.

At the sentence he spoke and the word gone, I sprung to my feet, ignoring the pins and needles that stung my heels as I was sent into an immediate panic. I practically ran to the bamboo door, throwing it open with no mercy. Thomas and Minho immediately froze. At the noise and my sudden presence, both of their heads whipped towards me, their faces sinking.

Minho had his hands on his head, his arms falling to his side when I began to walk hurriedly down the wooden stairs, white-knuckling the railing, depending on it to hold my weight. Thomas had turned pale, the color draining from his face as I looked at both of them with more seriousness than I'd ever looked at anyone with before.

"Where is she?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Thomas swallowed. "You're up..."

"Where is she, Thomas?" I repeated.

Minho cleared his throat in an attempt to diffuse the tension in the hot air. "Awoken from your slumber, I see! Let's just get you to one of our doctors and then we can—"

He reached out for my shoulder, and I immediately swatted his hand away. I didn't want to be touched. I felt itchy all over, my heart pounding with severe anxiety. I was confused on what had happened while I was asleep. How did I get here? Where am I? Wasn't I infected? Am I better now? Where's Mae? Is she okay? Why is she gone? I knew of only one person who would be able to answer all of my questions without trying to get me to do something else or to calm down. I didn't want to calm down. I couldn't calm down.

"Where's Vince?" I asked both of them, my eyes burning into theirs.

Thomas's face sunk, his eyes closing momentarily before opening. He cocked his head to the right, motioning toward a small tent a few meters away from where we stood now. I followed his direction, wasting no time to step forward and push myself past both of my friends in pursuit of the small tent.