A Battle With Hope (Newtmas)

Chapter 5

An hour had passed since the new Glader had come up in the box and Newt watched from the opposite side of the crackling bonfire as the boy shot question after question at Alby and Alby did his best to answer them. 

'What are you looking at shuck-face?'
Minho snapped him out of his trance.
Newt turned and threw a piece of carrot at his friend, which Minho caught in his mouth and grinned. 'Nothing shank, just staring off into a distance, thinking about how pretty you are', Newt winked at his friend and Minho burst into a deep laughter that pierced the cool, night air.
As Newt joined in the laughter, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and looked back across the fire to see the new boy gazing at him through the flickering flames. Minho's loud laugh seemed to have caught his attention. Newt noticed Alby had moved on, leaving the boy alone, so he stood up and began to make his way over to him, leaving Minho behind chatting to fellow Gladers, Teddy and Kennedy. The boy watched as Newt made his way slowly towards him. Once reaching the boy, Newt sat down next to him, leaning against the log that the Greenie had made himself comfortable near.  
'Alright Greenie?' Newt asked, taking a swig of the water bottle that had been laying on the ground just to his right. He coughed as he swallowed... Not water. Some of Gally's home brewed grog. It went down with a burn.
'No.' the boy responded back, a hint of anger evident in his voice. 'I'm not alright. That other boy, Alby, wasn't really much help. How can you have been here two years and not found a way out!? How can you not know who put us here?!'
Newt held up his hands, 'Whoa, whoa! Calm yourself slinthead.' Newt said, placing a hand on the new boy's shoulder. 'We've been searching for a way out every single day for that two years. The maze, it moves every single night. But we keep looking. And as for who put us here... They never really make contact, apart from sending us supplies once a week. Of course we wouldn't know anything about them!' He gave the boy a quick squeeze on the shoulder and removed his hand.

The Greenie seemed to visibly relax, if only a little, returning Newt's smile. Newt was used to this. While the new boys were panicked and scared, after dealing with Alby, they began to relax when Newt became the first Glader to give them a smile and a friendly chat. 
'So, can I have a swig of that?' The boy asked.
Newt laughed, and the boy joined in, taking note of Newt's infectious smile. 'Sure. It's tough stuff, Gally's homemade drink. Good luck to ya!'
Newt passed the bottle along to the new boy, and he took a swig, barely flinching.
Newt raised his eyebrows at the boy. 'Wow, I'm impressed!' he exclaimed.
'So' the boy said, stretching his long legs out in front of him and placing his arms on the log behind them. 'Tell me about the job's in this place. Alby said I was going to be put to good use tomorrow, I have a feeling I want to be prepared.'
Newt noticed how close the boy was sitting to him, enjoying his close company. He took a deep breath, and began to explain to the boy the workings of the glade. He explained that the boy would try a different job each day, trying to find a good fit, somewhere his strengths could be best used. First, the Greenie would work for Winston in the bloodshed, the Gladers' nickname for the wooden structure where they slaughtered the animals for eating. It was tough work, but someone had to do it, and oddly enough Winston seemed to enjoy it. Then, hoping the Greenie could survive that day, he would move onto the gardens the next day, the very same gardens where Newt spent most of his time, even though he didn't have to (the perks of being second in command). Newt realised how hard his heart was beating when he thought about the day the Greenie worked in the gardens alongside him, but he ignored it and quickly moved on. After finishing explaining each of the jobs, the Greenie looked confused.
'What's that look for?' Newt asked.
'Well, what about the maze? Alby said there are people who explore the maze? Who are those people? Don't I get to try that too?'
Newt turned to give the new boy a sharp look. 'No. You don't get to try that.' He snapped.
A flash of hurt crossed the boy's face. 'Why not?' 
Newt sighed, taking pity on the boy. 'The maze Greenie... You don't want to go in there...' he explained, studying the boy's face, noticing the interest he was taking as Newt went on to explain what he meant. 'We only send our best in there. Our fastest, our smartest, our best thinkers. What's out there...' Newt shuddered. 'The creatures... they're horrific.'
'What do you mean?'
A flash of pain surged across Newt's face. 'The creatures... they're killers. So many of our own, dead. Missing. Simply gone. And for the life of me Greenie, I can't explain to you the horrors.'
'How do you know about them? Have you been in there?'
Newt turned away from the boy, snapping at him in a harsh tone. 'None of your shuckin' business Greenie. Just keep your head down and work hard.'
The new boy could see his question had upset Newt, surprised at his sudden change in manner, and that was the last thing he wanted to do- upset one of the only people who had gone out of their way to be kind to him. He placed his hand on Newt's shoulder, and briefly wondered if his sudden mood change had anything to do with the heavy limp that the boy had noticed as Newt made his way over to him.
A small smile crossed Newt's face, at the unexpected contact of the boy but he shook it off.
'Chuck!' he yelled across the Glade. The small, chubby boy he had snapped at before appeared.
'Yeah?' he answered, beaming at the new boy.
'Take the Greenie and show him where he's sleeping. And Greenie?'
'Yeah?'
'Stick with Chuck, he'll show you around a bit before your tour tomorrow with Alby'. And with that, Newt stood up and limped away, nodding at Minho on his way past and wandering off towards the gardens to find a soft patch of grass to rest on during the night.

Newt lay down, inhaling the sweet smell of the grass and the night air. He closed his eyes, and reflected on the nights events. The new boy, their talk... the contact. He began to drift off to sleep with a small smile on his face.