The Defective Soldier || Newt

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟑

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕙𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕗𝕥 𝕌𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕

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"Mae?"

The voice snapped Mae's attention back to reality. Thomas was right in front of her, hands carefully caressing her shoulders as he tried to get her to concentrate on him. Although Mae's thoughts could only focus on her surroundings at the moment. She couldn't remember how or when she had made it to the rooftop. Only a minute ago, or what felt like such, she was talking with her friends, planning their betrayal. And now she was in front of a highly worried Thomas, while Newt sat at the edge of the roof, looking back at them with an expression she couldn't quite understand—something between delight and melancholy.

"Hmm?" was all the reply she could muster.

"Are you OK?" asked Thomas, lowering his hands from her shoulders to her wrists, which twitched, as if surprised at the sudden touch.

Her eyes didn't budge from his own. They were their usual brown colour, but that didn't mean they were any less concerning. Her expression was completely blank, like any thoughts that she had been going over had vanished from her mind. Not even the soft pressure around her hands distracted her, much less made her look anywhere else that wasn't his eyes.

"Mm-hmm," again, that was her only reply, which didn't relieve Thomas in the slightest.

"Come here." Thomas took a light hold of her hands, not having to do much to pull her along to the edge of the roof. "Sit with us. You look like you need some fresh air."

Mae's unfocused eyes landed on Newt's uncovered arm as they sat down, Thomas in between her and Newt. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

A soft chuckle left Newt's lips as he rolled his right sleeve further up, letting her have a good look at the purple veins that were starting to eat up his arm all the way to his shoulder. "No pep talk?"

Like her mind had cleared, or she had finally managed to focus completely on her friends, Mae shrugged her shoulders. "I'm pretty sure Thomas already gave you one."

"He did." Newt nodded.

"As much as it pains me to say it, he was probably right, too." Mae squeezed Thomas's hand without realising, an action Thomas copied unintentionally. "I'm guessing it was along the lines, 'we can do something about it', right? Well, he's right... um, maybe not us, but Teresa can."

"Teresa?" Newt repeated. "You really think it's a good idea to trust Teresa after what she did?"

"Well, we have to trust her regardless," replied Mae. "And even if we don't, she's the closest person we have to a doctor that can make a Bliss for you." Her hand left Thomas's to scratch under her ear. "That's what William would—"

"Liam's dead!" Newt snapped, turning his head to meet his friends. "He jumped off the bloody wall, alright? He's dead," he repeated, this time calmer. "If only I could've... If only it hadn't been the buggin' wall."

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas, more concerned about Newt than any potential explanation behind his words.

"Did I ever tell you about when I broke my leg?" Newt shook his head slightly before either Thomas or Mae could answer. "No, I don't think I did." He took in a deep breath and continued. "Way back in the Maze, I had just appeared with the first batch in the middle of the Glade. Didn't know where I was, didn't know who I was, you know?"

"Hmm," Thomas replied simply, while Mae could only nod.

"Even though all my memories were gone, I could still feel... that something was missing... You know? I felt empty. And I—I just couldn't handle that. Couldn't take it." The frown that had overtaken Newt's expression for a while disappeared as soon as he looked away, staring at the sunset like there was something he was searching for in it. "So one morning, during my round in the maze, when I knew all the other Runners were far away from me, I went and found the tallest wall I could... I climbed up there and... I jumped off it."