A Battle With Hope (Newtmas)

Chapter 7

Newt worked in the gardens all morning, looking forward to another chance to chat with the Greenie at lunch. He also found himself glancing to the maze doors every so often, waiting for Minho and Alby to appear. He assumed today they would be back early, given that they were going in to find the dead Griever, and then heading back into the Glade, not bothering to map the maze for the day. After several hours with no sign of either of them, Newt paused his weeding to take a swig of water and wipe his sweaty brow, and noticed that the rest of the Gladers were beginning to make their way to the grassy field to eat lunch. Perfect. He called to Zart, leader of the Track-Hoes, who signalled to the rest of them to begin heading over to grab some food. 

As the Track-Hoes approached the rest of the group, they noticed the crowd had gathered into a circle, all the Gladers yelling and arguing. Newt, being left in command while Alby was in the maze, pushed himself to the middle, closely followed by Zart. Newt could feel his blood boiling as soon as he lay his eyes on the scene before him. In the middle of the circle, Gally stood, hands balled into fists, fury etched across his face. Facing him, was the new boy, the Greenie, looking mildly confused, but equally as furious. Newt ran to stand between the two.

'One of you shanks better bloody explain what's going on here!' He yelled, silencing the crowd.
'I'll tell you what's going on!' Gally yelled, turning his furious gaze to Newt. 'This shank turns up last night, when we NEVER get a Greenie at night, not to mention a day early, and no one here bloody questions it! It must mean something! I don't trust this shank and I think he needs to be questioned, so I'm going to do it!'
The Greenie stepped past Newt, before he could reach out and stop him, and stepped right up close to Gally, pressing his face close to his.
'Listen here. I have no idea who you are, and no idea who I am.' The Greenie spat, while the whole crowd of Gladers stood with awed expressions on their faces. It wasn't very often they got a Greenie who wasn't a pathetic mess for their first week in the Glade. The boy continued, 'I turned up here, in this friggin' place with all you guys, with no idea who I am or why I'm here. I don't need you questioning me like I've got something to hide. I. Know. Nothing' spitting out those last words slowly, as if trying to force it through Gally's mind. Before Newt could respond to either boy, Gally shoved the Greenie, unable to contain his anger. The new boy flew backwards, landing hard on the ground, his head falling back onto the earth with an almighty crack. A shocked gasp murmured through the crowd and both Zart and Chuck ran to the boy. Zart shook his shoulder roughly, and the boys eyes flew open. He pushed past both boys hovering over him, sitting up, eyes wide. 'Thomas!' he croaked. Newt raised his eyebrow at him, questioning the statement.
'Thomas! My names Thomas!' He shouted.
Newt broke out into a smile and turned to the crowd. 'The Greenie's name is Thomas!' he announced. A roar went up in the crowd as they welcomed the new Greenie by name. This was a tradition amongst Gladers, once the Greenie remembered his name, the boys felt as though he was officially apart of their group. While Chuck and Zart helped Thomas up, Newt turned on Gally. 'And you' he snarled, shoving his finger against Gally's chest. 'You shove off, leave the boy alone. We'll discuss this when Alby makes it back.'
Gally swiped at Newt's hand, pushing his finger off his chest, turned on his heel and stormed off without a word.

After watching Gally storm off towards the Deadheads, Newt turned back around to find that the Gladers had settled down and were beginning to dispand. Newt went to grab some food, and returned, sitting down next to Thomas. He raised his eyebrow at him for the second time today. 'So, Thomas? Nice name.' Thomas laughed, 'Yeah I guess it's just good not to be Greenie anymore', Newt laughed along with him, while scanning the maze doors for any sign of Minho and Alby. Thomas noticed the crease between Newt's eyes, signalling his worry. 'What's up?' he asked. Newt turned his gaze back to Thomas and sighed. 'Oh nothing. Just worried about those shanks in the maze. They should have been back by now.' Thomas looked over at the maze, 'I'm sure they'll be back soon. You said Minho was the best runner of everyone here, if anyone can take care of Alby, it's him.'
Newt was thankful to Thomas for trying to make him feel better, giving him a small smile. 'You really care about those two, don't you?' Thomas asked. Newt's smile widened. 'Yeah. We've been here together, all three of us, since the very first day. Those shuck-faces are my best friends'. Thomas didn't answer, and both boys continued to eat their lunch.

'I want to be a runner' Thomas announced, breaking the silence. Newt began to choke on his food, only stopping once Thomas clapped him hard on the back. 'No bloody way.' Newt managed to get out, before taking a large gulp from his water. Thomas brow furrowed, as he challenged Newt. 'Why not?' Fury flashed across Newt's face. 'Like I told you last night, it's bloody dangerous in there. End of discussion'. With one look at the anger residing in Newt's eyes, Thomas decided not to question it, but inside his mind, the matter wasn't settled.

Newt turned away from Thomas' gaze, furious. Thomas just didn't get it, he just didn't understand how dangerous life was out there in the maze. There was no way that he was agreeing, or even considering sending Thomas out into the maze. He was surprised at himself, unsure where this fierce protectiveness had come from. He'd know the boy all of 24 hours, but he had such a desire to protect him, to make him laugh, to become his friend. He brushed away his thoughts, as usual, and finished off his lunch. 

'Well Tommy, I'm back off to work.' Newt said as he clapped Thomas on the shoulder, limping away to the gardens once again, his haven. Being second in command meant Newt got to choose what he spent his time on, and more often than not, it was weeding, planting, hoeing and wood chopping. He found it one of the more therapeutic aspects of the maze. Newt was a hard worker, always happy to do his bit and keep his mind occupied. While he worked that afternoon, he thought about Thomas and his determination to be a runner. The thought scared him. While he'd never admit it, whenever Minho and the other runners went out into the maze, Newt worried about them. They knew the maze, they were the most likely of all the Glader's to survive out there, but it didn't matter. Somehow, Gladers kept dying out there, and Newt was always afraid of losing something else. 

By the time Newt set down his shovel, he noticed a group gathering around the door. 'Of course', he thought to himself, dread filling him. 'The doors are closing soon... Alby... Minho... They aren't back.' Newt ran to join the rest of the group, not quite ready to face the fact that his two best friends might just be lost to the maze forever...