BACK OUTSIDE THE MAZE
Thomas rummaged through a box, and his eyes caught on something that he hadn't known was there. He pulled it out, and a flood of emotions rushed him as he recalled the events in the picture.
It was a framed picture of Brenda in a hospital bed, smiling, cradling a newborn child with wispy blond hair in her arms.
Newt.
Thomas's eyes welled up with tears, and soon he broke down sobbing. Brenda ran into the room, worried.
"Thomas? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
Thomas took a few deep breaths, willing his tears to stop streaming down his face. He looked down at the picture, then back up at Brenda. Then, in a quivering voice, he asked her the question that has been burning inside him for over five years.
"Brenda?"
"Yeah?" Brenda moved to sit beside Thomas.
"The day Newt was taken... why didn't you fight back?"
Brenda's face softened. "I wanted to. I really did. But that fat lard who took him said that he would kill him if I tried anything. I had no choice."
Fat Lard. Brenda always had the words to cheer Thomas up.
Suddenly, Thomas had an image of that man having a pig's snout for a nose. He let out a small snicker, and soon he was on the ground laughing hysterically. Brenda still sat on the couch, a look of horrid shock on her face.
"What's so funny?" she asked, perplexed.
"You... called... mustached... man... fat... lard," Thomas said in between breaths. After calmimg down a bit, he moved back up onto the couch, next to Brenda, dropping a peck onto her cheek as he did so. "This is why I love you."
Brenda shoved Thomas playfully. "It wasn't even that funny!"
Thomas laughed again. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. But his giddiness was short lived as his gaze dropped back to the picture, now lying on the ground. He got up and walked over to it, bending down to pick it up. He turned back towards Brenda, and kneeled in front of her, holding the picture out to her. He noticed that tears started to fill her eyes at the sight of baby Newt. He gave her the picture, then wrapped his hands around hers, staring intently into her eyes.
"Look, Brenda, I'm glad you didn't fight back. That means he's still alive. He's still out there."
Brenda nods once, but doesn't say anything.
"I lost Newt once, and I'm not going to lose him again. I say we go out and find him." He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze, and her eyes fell to the picture.
"But... Thomas," she choked out, "it's been five years. We don't know where he is anymore. He could be..." At this, she squeezed her eyes shut, a tear trickling out of the corner of her left eye. She opened them again, taking a deep breath, and finished her sentence. "He could be dead."
Thomas knew what she was going to say, but the words still sent a jolt through his bones. He vigorously shook his head. "No. There's no way. I believe in him. He's a strong-willed person. He's alive, Brenda, and I know it, and I promise that we will find him. We will bring him home."
Brenda nodded, hiccuping once. Thomas gave her hands another squeeze and let go. He got up and went outside, sitting on the porch for some fresh air. The sun was setting and the streets were bare and empty, except for Minho, why was walking on the streets. He shot Thomas as a quick "Hey," and Thomas nodded back, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about what he said to Brenda. Even though he said those words with a certain confidence, deep down he knew that Brenda could possibly be right. Because even the strongest people have to die eventually.
~
After the sun set completely, Thomas went back inside, where Brenda was still sitting on the couch, looking at the picture.
After a moment of silence, Brenda spoke up. "You know, he is a lot like Newt," she said.
Thomas knew exactly what she meant, but he decided to play it dumb. "He is Newt."
"No, stupid, I mean our son is a lot like the Newt we used to know." She smiled. "Maybe he's still alive. Newt was strong."
"Yeah. I just hope..." Thomas's voice trailed away into silence.
"What?"
"Nothing." Thomas said quickly. He wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
"No, seriously. What is it?" Brenda insisted.
Thomas was silent for a moment. Then, he sighed and sat down. "I just hope he doesn't have the Flare like Newt did."
"Aw, come on. He's our child. Our immune genes probably got passed down to him. He should be fine."
"Well, you're quite the scientist. How do these genes get passed down again?" He wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously.
"Like this." Brenda leaned over and kissed Thomas, hard. Thomas kissed her back, but then his eyes snapped open and his eyes flitted to the window.
Minho was peering inside, cat-calling and whistling. Thomas glared at him, and still kissing Brenda, picked her up and walked over to the bedroom in three strides. Brenda still didn't notice Minho. Her eyes were closed.
Thomas slammed the bedroom door shut and locked it, so that he and Brenda could have some quality alone time.
