Maze Runner One-Shots

We Stick Together, Good That?

Everything was so, so loud. It seemed to be raining fire, explosions were coming from all sides, gunfire was deafeningly close as well as distant and far away.

But the worst was the screaming-Both human and not human. It was guttural, animalistic, horrifying, making Newt feel so much pain and fear and grief that he felt sick. His back was pressed up hard against a wall, one of the few around the WICKED compound still standing. Though by the sounds of it, it wouldn't be standing for much longer. He had to move. He had to get out, had to get away.

Had to get to Tommy.

But he couldn't move. His leg was shucked. He hadn't realized when it happened, but now sitting there useless, breathing ragged, wheezing, sorry excuses for breaths, it hurt. It hurt a lot. Tears burned in his eyes as he looked down. He tried to search for any signs of blood, gashes, or wounds. Or breaks.

He tore his eyes away as his memory flashed the way his leg had looked that day in the Maze. His chest spasmed and twisted as he tried to breathe. He wanted to scream. He wanted to call out for Thomas. But his voice wouldn't work, and he doubted anyone would be able to hear him anyway. Everything was chaos around him. Building were crumbling, guns were firing all around him, people were screaming, bodies were dropping.

He needed to get away, but still he couldn't force his body to move. He was frozen in place, paralyzed with fear. He heaved sporadic breaths in and out, clutching his chest. His fist curled around his shirt tightly as tears finally began to fall. He was scared. Everything hurt, every inch of his body burned with pain. Another explosion erupted from just behind him, making him jump hard. His sobs hitched as he shot his hands up to cover his ears. It did nothing to block out the chaos.

Suddenly, Newt felt hands crash down on his shoulders, and his view of the fires and destruction before him was blocked by a figure kneeling in front of him.

"No!! No-no!" He struggled to get away, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't want to see the Launcher being pointed at him. He didn't want to see the pristine white lab coats with the word WICKED written across one side. He didn't want to see Rat Man's smug grin.

"Newt! Newt, hey, hey open your eyes! Open your eyes, man, come on. Come on, it's okay. It's okay."

The voice belonging to the hands sounded familiar. It wasn't Jansen, it wasn't Teresa, or anyone else belonging to WICKED that he knew of. Newt opened his eyes, and his sobs hitched when they focused in and made out the face of Thomas.

"Tommy..." He sobbed harder. "Where's...where's...Minho? And-the others? We have...have to get out!" He struggled more and more for air.

"It's okay, buddy. It's okay, we're okay." Thomas repeated. Newt shook his head, blinking hard. "Hey, hey, keep your eyes on me. Keep your eyes on me, Newt. It's gonna be okay." Thomas squeezed his shoulder, and Newt looked back at him.

"That's it." Thomas nodded.

"I can't...can't move. I can't breathe...Tommy..." Newt gasped out.

"I know, I know, it's okay. It's gonna be okay, Newt." Thomas said. Newt frowned at him. Why did he seem so calm? How could he be acting so calm when the literal world around them was coming apart all at once.

"We have...have to get out." Newt repeated. He tried again to push himself up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey. Hey, take it easy. Take it easy, Newt. Just breathe for me, okay? Just breathe, everything's okay." Thomas held him back gently. Newt dropped his head, more choking, wracking sobs pouring out of him uncontrollably. He couldn't move. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't strong enough. He couldn't breathe well enough. He forced himself to inhale through his nose as slow as possible before looking back up at Thomas.