Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

NINE | my punishment

▬After I had woken up, I went into the room Newt was in to check up on him. Clint and Jeff told me that they did everything they could to heal his injured leg, but I was still paranoid. I could still hear his painful cries and screams as he cradled his leg in the maze.

I didn't know how long I sat next to his bed. The only thing I could remember was thinking over every possible reason as to why Newt would jump off the Maze wall like that.

When dusk fell and the sky darkened, someone came into the room and I looked up. It was Minho.

"Hey," he said. "I'm sorry, but we need you to attend the Gathering. It's about... you know."

He nodded towards Newt, who was still lying in bed, sleeping. I nodded, then got up and followed him out the door.

Everyone was staring at me when I walked into the meeting. Alby gestured to a chair up front and I sat down tentatively, hands clasped together on my lap.

"So as we all know," Alby said, "we're here because of Newt and Rosalind. The two were seen coming out of the Maze earlier today, with Newt injured. Now I know we all have questions, so I'm going to cut straight to the point - Rosalind, what were you and Newt doing in the maze?"

I realized what this was about. It wasn't just about Newt's injuries - it was about hearing my side of the story and passing off judgement as well.

"I..." I wiped my sweaty palms against my pants. "I saw Newt go into the Maze, so I followed him since no one else stopped him. I wanted to see what he was up to."

"What was he doing inside the maze?" Zart asked.

I hesitated. Should I tell them?

"I don't think it's my place to say, sorry," I said after a moment, and the other Keepers started shouting and arguing, their voices overlapping each other's and rising up to a crescendo. Alby waited until they'd all calmed down and turned to me.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked. "It ain't that hard to just spill the beans."

"Like I said, it's not my place to tell," I said, starting to get irritated now. "If Newt wants to reveal that information then he'll tell you. If he doesn't then I suggest you respect his decision."

"Fine," Alby said, before the room erupted into shouts again. "We'll ask Newt when he wakes up. For now though we need to decide your punishment."

"Wait, what?" I said, incredulous.

"You broke our most important rule," Alby said. "And though you saved Newt's life, we can't let the other Gladers think they can just run into the Maze and go unpunished."

I opened my mouth to argue but then stopped, realizing that he had a valid point. I had run into the maze without alerting anybody, and also without a solid reason. And though my intention was honourable, I had broken the most important rule in the Glade in the process.

"Let's start with you first, Gally," Alby said, turning away from me. "What do you think Rosalind's punishment should be?"

"One week in the Slammer," Gally answered.

"One week?" Minho burst out, livid. "She saved Newt's shucking life, dude!"

"And broke our order and rules in this place!" Gally shot back. "At least be thankful I didn't recommend a month in the Slammer!"

"Enough, you two!" Alby ordered. "Frypan, what about you?"

"Two days."

Gally looked like he wanted to object but Alby shot him a murderous look and he quietened down.