Broken Paradise - Maze Runner AU

Broken Paradise

No place is a happy place when his best friend isn't there. Every night Thomas sees memories, bad memories, play themselves on repeat as the guilt eats away at his brain.
Almost like the Flare ate away at Newt's.
The thought alone of his cold, lifeless body just sitting out there to be dragged away by the Cranks made Thomas's stomach turn. Knowing that he'll never see that day-brightening smile ever again made his heart ache.

"Get up, shank. We got a busy day." Thomas was interrupted by the loud voice of Minho, the closest thing he had to a best friend.

"What are you on about?" He questioned, stretching his arms out beside him.

"Newt's still out there, and you expect me to just sit in 'paradise' and leave him to die?" The stern look on Minho's face made Thomas's heart beat at an unusual pace. Slowly standing up, he placed a shaking hand on Minho's shoulder, stopping him from packing his supply of food and water. Thomas couldn't bring himself to do it. He just couldn't bare to see the look on his friend's face when he finds out what he did back there.

"There's no point, Minho. Just stay h-"
"No! I'm sick and tired of everybody telling me to stay here when the only person that's ever kept us sane is going crazy! So don't you dare tell me there's no point in trying when you know nothing about half of the stuff that happened before YOU, Thomas, turned up and ruined everything." Watching Minho's eyes glaze over with tears had to be the worst part about this situation for Thomas. He couldn't let him go out there and get himself killed. He had no chance against all of those Cranks and what was he going to find? Nothing. Because Newt's gone, and he's never coming back.

"He's not out there. He's not." Thomas whispered, only just audible for Minho to hear him.

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning he's dead, Minho. Newt's dead and he's not, coming back." It was near to impossible for Thomas to look his friend in the eye. He swore he would never tell, he swore. But he promise Chuck he'd get him home, he promised.
Minho's eyebrows furrowed in anger, and Thomas knew he wasn't liking what he was hearing. But could you blame him? Imagine hearing that one of your friends shot the closest person you had left in the head.

"Stop messing around, Thomas. It's not funny."

"Do I LOOK like I'm being funny, Minho? He's dead. Gone. Not coming back." Thomas spoke sternly, it was the only way he could keep himself from breaking down.

"How would you know? Were you there? Did you see it, huh?"

"Because I did it." He mumbled, making the anger inside of Minho grow stronger by the second.

"What did you say?"

"I KILLED HIM, MINHO." Thomas shouted, and watched as Minho took a step back in shock. The anger turned into sorrow, betrayal, confusion. The room fell silent as the two stood and stared, tears in both pairs of eyes. "I killed him." He repeated. "I shot him right in the head, he asked me to." The memory wouldn't stop flashing in his mind and it killed him. It killed him like it killed Newt.

"Stop it, Thomas. Stop it."

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. He didn't want to turn into a Crank, he asked me to kill him and I said I couldn't, but that look in his eye. He was begging me, he was miserable, he hated it, hated it all in that last moment of sanity. He held the gun to his head and I did it. I...saved him by killing him."

"It's all your fault. YOUR FAULT." Minho cried out and threw his fist at Thomas's face. "You were meant to save him! You were meant to save them all!" He screamed, throwing punch after punch after punch.
But Thomas didn't fight back.
He let him punch, kick, scream, cry because, why should he stop him? He was broken, they were broken, and they always will be. He'd allow his face to be shattered and bruised, cut and scarred, for that's how he felt on the inside.
But then Minho stopped, and dragged Thomas to his feet, and he just hugged him. He hugged him tight, he cried, every now and again he'd punch him, but it didn't have the same force.

It was a broken hug.
A broken friendship.
A broken mind.
A broken person.
A broken world.

It was a broken Paradise.