DYSTOPIA

AWAKENING (NEWT POV)

My eyes slowly open. My chest hurts. I feel a crackling in my lungs with each painful inhale. Sonya. That was my sister. I miss Sonya. I'm scared. Thomas. My best friend. Where is he? I'm tired. Please tell me he didn't leave me like this. Minho. Like my brother. I'm confused. Did he get me the cure in time? I'm alive, surely. I can't be dead, can I? A bright light shone down on my face. I'm on a berg, like the one Jorge flies. Jorge is flying us all out. We're going back to the Right Arm. A feeling of relief and hope washes over my body, loosening my aching joints and almost freeing the knots in my shoulders.  If I wasn't so tired I'd probably find the strength to smile. I took another shaky breath, my lungs still hurt from the infectious black mucus that filled them. I wonder if I'll ever be the same again. Apparently, I'm supposed to need a shot of that magic serum stuff every month or so to keep me alive. I think of Lawrence, almost a shell of his former self, stuck on a drip of the blue liquid keeping his sanity together, and his body was still decaying with him still inside it. I don't think the serum does much, just slows it down in the brain while it runs ramped all through the rest of the body. Maybe I don't want to be saved. Maybe death is easier. No. I can't think like that. I need to stay alive for the others. I can't let them live with that guilt.

Then, agony. Like fire coursing through my blood as memory after memory flooded my wary and barely awake brain, images of my sister and I play fighting in the dirt of our backyard, tackling against the ground that once would've been lush, green grass. I didn't have the strength to scream, but tears fell from my eyes, and I could feel them dripping down my temples, the only indicator that yes, I was still alive. The pain lasted a few more seconds, I wanted to shout or kick or try to move the wriggle the pain to somewhere more manageable like a foot or a hand, but I found myself paralyzed. No, not paralyzed, strapped down. I guess I couldn't blame them, I did try to kill Thomas after all, but I didn't feel violent at all, and the fact they didn't completely trust me stung a small bit.

The relief I had felt before was suddenly washed away as a large, gloved hand was placed on my forearm, squeezing slightly as I tried to escape the restraints trapping me to the stretcher. Their face hovered above mine, blocking the brilliance of the light in the ceiling of the berg, a redheaded bearded man with an angry scowl and a bulletproof vest with the words 'PROPERTY OF WCKD' written in big, bold letters on the front. If I didn't think death was a mercy before, I sure did now. After seeing the state Minho was in after they broke him out, I could hardly imagine the things they'd put him through. "Quit squirming. Hold still so we don't have to knock you out again." The bearded man huffed. I hawked up a wad of phlegm and tuah'd it in his right eye, my eyebrows knitting together in anger. The man stumbled backwards, wiping his eye and shouting something about contamination. 'So, I'm not completely cured. Good to know.'  I let my head fall back before I promptly passed out again.

I opened my eyes a second time, this time in a small room, all the walls grey except the one on the far left, a giant window peering into the concrete cell. I looked around. I was laying on a bed with a thin mattress, white sheets and a black iron frame. in the corner was a small steel toilet with a wall next to it for privacy. Gee, thanks for that, WCKD. As I stood up, I noticed the pain in my joints was gone and the crackling in my lungs had ceased. I subconsciously brought a hand to my chest to feel if anything had changed, pulling it back to my side quickly as a woman in a white coat entered the room on the other side of the glass. "Hey, lady, where the fuck am I?" I inquired, not bothering for formalities. The woman's eyes widened, as if she'd never heard a bloody pom speak before. I spoke again, my voice raising in frustration as I hit the glass with a fist. I didn't know if it was fear, anger, or the Flare that made me behave like that and honestly, I was a bit afraid to know the answer. I looked and my hand, noticing the absence of the dark veins that'd been there just the last time I'd been awake. I stumbled on my words as the realization hit me. "Wha- how did I- Where. . ." I paused, taking a breath to stop my incredibly humiliating stuttering. I let out a smooth exhale, somehow calmer than I would've expected, given the situation, but I settled on a question to ask, looking back at the woman. "How long have I been passed out for?" I questioned. 

The woman looked me up and down, writing down notes on a clipboard. I looked her up and down too, taking in her appearance. She obviously wasn't young, but she wasn't exactly old either. Despite her professional seeming attire, her hair was a strange shape, like a bunch of wasp nests glued together and made into a wig. And she wore the strangest colourful powder on her eyelids, purple in colour that made it appear as if she had a set of black eyes, and bright yellow lips that were so saturated in colour it made me wonder if her mouth was even real. "You've been asleep for 2 weeks." The woman spoke, snapping me from my thoughts. I looked at her with wide eyes. "2 weeks? Bloody hell, how've you people been keeping me alive that whole time? worst coma I've ever seen was some shank girl rocking up and sleeping for a day and a half." I said with shock. I could almost hear the scowl in my voice. I wanted to break this glass and make a run for it, but the glass was like a thick, strong plastic. I stared at her, my head tilted down so I was glaring through my eyebrows. "And where am I?" I asked, probably should've led with that question but I just couldn't help but wonder how great my nap was. The woman looked at me for a few more seconds and I swear, if she gave me one more judgmental look, she'd be the first person I went after once I escaped this place. Jesus, where are all these thoughts coming from?

"You're in the Capitol."

Author's note: OMG Hi!! This is the first story I've ever written for the Maze Runner fandom so please do be kind!! I'm so excited to share this AU idea because I came up with it in the shower and it feeds my delusions that Newt lived and combines 2 of the most popular dystopian teen franchises in the world so I hope you enjoy and if you think I can improve or you'd like to leave a suggestion I'd love to hear it in the comments!! Have a fun read!!