Then She Came

Newt 4

*edited*

My gaze fell over her once more only to see what I had already seen. Her stomach wrapped in bandages, drips of dried blood on her legs. 

She was sleeping, her breath coming out in small amounts. Her eyes were moving underneath her eyelids.

I half hoped for them to open, just to know she would be ok. Part of me knew she would be. The other part, not so much. When I woke up to her screams just a few hours ago, I never thought I would walk into the infirmary to see Jeff dabbing alcohol cloths to her wounds and Minho gripping her hand tightly. 

I wanted to cry. For her, for me, for Minho, for every bloody boy in this dreaded maze. 

No one here deserved this, not even Alex. Alex who had done all he could to be the best helper he could be. Alex who always cheered up everyone's moods with one smile. Alex who invaded a girl's bedroom and tried to rape her. Alex who nearly killed that same girl. Maybe he did deserve it.

But no one else did. 

"Newt." Her voice startled me and I sucked in a quick breath of cold air. I looked at her once more to see she had turned her head to face me. Her eyes were barely open as I reached forward to grab her hand, to offer as much comfort as I could. I felt her flinch slightly, but after a second, she relaxes again.

Not only did he physically scar her, but mentally too. I feel rage fill me once more and I swallowed, trying to keep it down.

"I hurt all over." 

"I'm sorry." Is all I could say to her. "I wish I could have been there to help." 

"You're here now." She responded, closing her eyes again. Her breathing fell quiet once more and I realized she had fallen asleep. 

"I am." 

~~~

When daylight started to filter in through the windows, Jeff walked back into the room, a tired look on his face as he chugged a bottle of water.

"Why don't you go get us both some food." He says, noticing how I just sit in a chair next to Maya's cot. Noticing how I want to help as much as I can.

"Sure." 

I stand, grabbing my crutches and begin my oh so graceful hobble out of the room. If I hadn't had enough time to think during the night, I certainly had enough time at that moment. 

The walk to the kitchens wasn't as long as it used to be. Now that I had gotten used to the crutches and the random roots that would somehow just appear out of nowhere, I could get there in a few minutes. 

"Ey, Newt." Fry Pan called as I pushed the kitchen doors open. "What do you want?" 

"Can I get some of those eggs? I'm gonna need plates for Jeff and Maya also if you don't mind." I responded, giving the tall boy a smile. 

"Of course." He paused then, looking up at me. "How is she doin'?" 

"I'm not exactly sure. A lot of stitches and bandaging." 

"Scariest moment of my life, waking up to her screams last night." He said, shaking his head while he finished off the plates. "Want some help getting them back to the infirmary?" 

"That would be great." I smiled, realizing that a boy on crutches couldn't carry his on plate on his own, mind three. 

~~~

The rest of the day comes and goes. Maya still hadn't woken up. I had busied myself in the garden, trying my best to tend to tomatoes on one leg. 

The entire Glade seemed to be in shock, the only sound coming from Alex's wails in the Slammer. My heart wrenched with every scream and yell. Alex had been such a good kid, just a year younger than me. 

But it wouldn't matter. He harmed another Glader. He broke the rules. He had to be banned. 

The Banishing that night would be awful, as they always were. We hadn't had to have one in nearly a year. Once Alby had set up a system, Gladers fell into line. Boys stopped dying. We realized that there was only one way out, and that was through the maze. 

When I saw Minho and Ben run through the West Door, I knew that Alex's time was coming. 

I carried my tools back to the shed and returned to the Homestead to meet up with Alby. The rest of the Keepers–except for Jeff–had already gathered. The sad eyes of every single one of them fell on me as I walked into the room.

No one here wanted to do this. 

"Minho, go get Alex, meet us by the East Door," Alby said grimly. Minho quickly exited and Alby began to pass out poles. "Let's get this over with before she wakes up." 

Maya would hate this. Even if it was the person who tried to kill her that was being banished. I grabbed my pole and shuddered at the familiar feeling of the cold wood. 

Gally and I exchanged glances and he nodded his head. We all knew what had to be done, even if we didn't want to do it. 

When we arrived at the West Doors, the entire Glade surrounded us and I frowned when I saw Maya in another boy's arms, her eyes open as she surveyed the scene. He had an arm around her waist and she leaned against him, mostly standing on her good leg. 

"She shouldn't be here," I said to Alby. "It will just upset her." 

"The stubborn girl made me get Andrew to carry her out here," Jeff said, trying to explain himself to Alby and me. "Wouldn't stop yapping about it." 

"We can't make Andrew carry her back, she'll throw a fit," Alby said, an annoyed tone in his voice. 

Barely a second later, Minho showed up, pushing a crying Alex in front of him. 

"Please!" He screamed, reaching out towards me. I stumbled out of his grasp quickly and Minho continued to push him forward until Alex fell to the ground. 

He turned his eyes on all of us in turn, making eye contact with every single one of us. Then his eyes fell on Maya and he lost it. 

"This is all your fault!" He screamed, scrambling towards her, causing Andrew to step backward and other boys to surround her. "Ask her!"

"Poles!" Alby called once the grounding sound of concrete filled the air. I dropped my crutches to the side and lowered my pole until a flat end was facing Alex. 

"No, please!" Tears ran down his cheeks as we backed him into the narrowing space between the concrete. His two choices were to either let the walls squish him or die in the Maze at a griever's hand. 

Alex found himself in the Maze then, making his final choice before the walls closed shut and all that could be heard was his blood-curdling scream.