Sacrifice

Chapter Fifty-Four

A/N: Trigger warning for suicide in this chapter. 

Four Years Ago 

For six months Claire had been dying to get out of her room, staring at the same four walls was starting to drive her mad. But when Teresa came to get her, she also felt a sense of dread. 

It had been three months since Newt was put into the Maze. Yesterday it was Winston. All her friends who she had tried to escape with were in the Maze. In about a year in a half she would join them, but she would have no idea who they were. 

Today Claire was finally allowed to rejoin her peers, she could eat meals with them and attend classes. When she and Teresa made it to the cafeteria the boys were in the middle of eating their breakfast. Thomas was sitting at a table alone. 

Claire barely touched her food, she kept looking around the room. Even though the cafeteria had plenty of people occupying it, she felt a big hole where Newt, Alby and Minho should be. Being locked in her room and knowing they were gone was one thing, but actually seeing their absence was completely different. It felt so much more real. 

That day Thomas and Teresa were allowed to bring a friend into the observation room, so they of course brought Claire. They got there early, just in time to watch the Doors to the Maze open. Thomas had already brought Claire up to speed on what had been going on in the Maze in the past months. Alby had been put in charge of everyone, with Nick as his second-in-command. Frypan volunteered to be their cook. Gally and Winston did work around the Glade like growing food and taking care of the livestock. 

Minho and Newt were what the Gladers called Runners. Their job was to go out into the Maze and try to find a way out. Sometimes Nick or Alby would go out to give them a break since there were so few of them to actually navigate the Maze. Alby didn't want anyone else going into the Maze, after what happened with George, he wanted to protect as many people as he could. 

Sometimes Thomas was able to get information on Group B, Sonya in particular. Both he and Claire felt some comfort staying informed on Newt's sister, as a way to honor their friend since he could no longer remember that he had a sister. 

As soon as Claire saw Newt on the screen she knew something was wrong. The camera wasn't directly facing him, but she felt a deep sense of dread as she watched him bolt into the Maze all alone as soon as the Doors opened. 

"What's he doing?" she asked. 

"Maybe it's Minho's day off," Thomas said, trying to keep his own worry hidden. 

"I thought you said Alby or Nick would go with him if Minho was taking a day off," Claire said. "And why doesn't he have a pack or any supplies? Did he even eat breakfast?" 

Thomas racked his brain for an explanation, anything he could say that could put Claire at ease, but he couldn't think of anything. He glanced at Teresa and could tell that she was just as worried as he and Claire were. Newt wasn't running through the Maze with the same focus he normally had, taking in the passages around him so he could memorize the path. Instead he seemed to be running aimlessly through the winding corridors, just going far away from the Glade and deeper into the Maze. When the cameras caught a glimpse of his face, he didn't look good. He looked like he was crying as he ran. 

What happened? How long has he been like this? Claire wondered. Did anyone notice? 

Eventually Newt came to a stop. He didn't seem to have a reason, he probably just got tired from all the running and needed to stop. He looked up at the wall near him and used the ivy to climb as high as he could. 

Teresa clung to Thomas's arm. 

 Claire's heartbeat increased, and she could feel her chest tightening. This wasn't real, this wasn't happening. 

Newt, what are you doing? Stop! 

Newt looked up and happened to look directly into one of the cameras. His expression was one of pure anger and agony. 

"I don't know who you people are," Newt said. "I have no bloody clue why you're doing any of this. But this...this is on you." 

Newt let go. 

Claire screamed. 

************** 

Thomas and Teresa were able to act surprisingly quickly. After seeing Newt push himself off the wall, they quickly got Claire out of the observation room, wanting to spare her, and themselves, from seeing Newt's broken body laying on the ground. 

Claire had been so hysterical that the doctors had to give her meds in order to calm down. The dose must have been strong because she started falling asleep as soon as they were forced into her system and she had to be taken back to her room. 

Later Thomas found Teresa in her room staring at the wall. 

"Is Newt gonna be alright?" he asked as he sat down on the bed next to her. 

"He's alive. Minho found him, took him back to the Glade. He'll survive but his leg will never be the same." 

They both laid down on Teresa's bed and stared up at the ceiling. 

"How's Claire?" Teresa asked. 

"Not great. The drugs knocked her out, but before that..." 

"What is it?" Teresa asked. 

"She told me it was our fault that they didn't escape. That if they had, they would still have their memories and Newt wouldn't have tried to..." 

"Hey, we did everything we could for them, remember?" Teresa assured. "How long do you think they would have lasted out there?" 

"I  know but...I don't know if Claire will forgive us." 

"She'll come around. And as harsh as it sounds, we didn't make Newt jump. That was his choice alone." 

Thomas knew that Teresa was right. But if WCKD hand't built the Maze in the first place, then Newt's wouldn't have jumped. 

"A new group was brought in today," Teresa said. "This one kid couldn't stop crying, so I stopped to talk to him." 

"What was his name?" 

"Chuck, he's only nine-years-old." 

Thomas was initially shocked, he couldn't believe that WCKD had brought in someone so young. Then again, he had been five when he was brought in. 

Teresa leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Just...promise me one thing." 

"What is it?" 

"Don't do anything stupid. Don't make them send you somewhere I can't follow," Teresa said, holding his hand. 

"I promise."  

A/N: How is it that I'm only three weeks into the semester but I feel like it's midterms? To anyone else who's in school right now, I hope you're having an easier time than me. 

So last night I saw It Chapter Two and I really liked it. I thought it was creepy and the performances were fantastic. It'll be cool once it comes out on DVD to watch Chapters One and Two back to back. Also, I'm not sure why, but I started imagining an AU fic where the Gladers live in Darry and are being attacked by Pennywise, basically taking the place of the Loser's Club. Does that sound interesting to anyone else, or is it just me? 

Anyway, enjoy your day, everyone!