Silence

Chapter 18

Third person P.O.V

"No" Newt stopped crying as Emily's once sky blue eyes got dim. "No" He repeated as Emily's last breath left her lips, her chest becoming still. "No, no, no" Newt gently shook Emily's shoulders. "Wake up Em. Please wake up" Tears started to fall from his eyes again. "Please Em"

"Newt" Alby placed his hand on Newt's shoulder, making him stop shaking Emily's body. Alby crouched down next to Emily's body. "We can still save her" Newt said, "She's still warm". "Newt, she's gone" Alby looked at the heartbroken boy. "She's gone" His voice cracked as he placed his fingers on Emily's forehead, slowly letting them fall down her face to close her eyelids.

"Now it looks like she is sleeping" Alby rose and looked at the group. Minho stood crying, Gally's arm around him as Gally had silent tears rolling down his face. The newbies seemed quite shocked, two deaths in one day.

"Okay" Alby's voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "Okay" He said again, the group now looking at him. "I know it's hard. We just lost two of our own. We lost a brother" Alby looked at Nick, Nick's eyes leaving George's dead body and facing Alby. "George hadn't been here long, but he bonded with us. He ran the maze and tried to find a way out. He won't be forgotten"

"We also lost a sister" Alby's focus shifted to Minho and Gally. "A running buddy. A protector" He looked at Newt, still holding onto Emily's body. "A lover" Alby said, Newt looking up at him.

"She'd been here almost three months. She ran the maze in order to find a way out, she stood up for herself and made friends with everyone. She will never be forgotten". Alby walked over to Newt and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"There is nothing we can do for her now". "No, no we can still save her" Newt sobbed and gripped Emily's body tighter. Alby waved over Gally and they grabbed Newt under his arms. "No" Newt fought as Alby and Gally dragged him away from Emily. Her head landed softly on the ground, her brown hair framing her pale face.

*******

Since it was the first death cases in the Glade, no one knew what to do with the bodies. The idea of placing them in the maze surfaced but was quickly shut down. No one, not even in death, should have their bodies demolished like that.

Gally decided to build two coffins in wood, one for each Glader. They coffins were lowered into the ground and covered with dirt. Minho placed a few flowers on Emily's grave. "I'll bring you new ones every week" He smiled sadly at the ground, "I promise".

Before placing the bodies in the chest, Gally and Frypan had changed Emily's shirt. She still wore her black tank top, but they had removed the white and bloody hooded shirt Newt had lent her. They had washed the blood away from it, a small tear from the knife still visible.

Newt would wear the shirt everyday as a constant reminder of Emily. Her hammock had been taken down from the sleeping area, the evidence of her existence slowly fading away. The only thing left was her chalkboard and her box of chalks. Newt kept them by his bedside, he didn't want to lose what he had left of her.

*******

Newt stood by the wall in the maze. He hadn't talked much the last few weeks, Emily's last moments still playing in his mind every time he closed his eyes. He looked up at the wall. The ivy from the top flowed over the wall and he could reach some of the pieces. He snatched one and started climbing.

Newt got higher and looked out from the wall. "I'll soon see you again Emily" He whispered as he let go.

Newt fell to the ground. He spread his arms wider and prepared himself for the impact. Suddenly, his foot got caught in a crack in the wall, a snap could be heard and he screamed in pain before everything went black.

*******

Newt woke up in a bed, Minho and Alby looking down at him. "You slinthead" Alby said as he saw Newt waking up. "What were you thinking?" Newt didn't look Alby in the eyes. Alby left the room, leaving Minho and Newt alone.

"Why?" Minho asked from the wall he was leaning against. "I heard a scream and got to you just as Alby. Why did you do it?" Newt looked at Minho. "We're stuck here" He said. "There's no way out and we're stuck here. Em is dead because of this place" A tear escaped from Newt's eye and he angrily wiped it away. "I wanted it all to end. To just stop"

Minho shook his head. "Don't. Do you understand how scared I was when I found you? When I saw the blood by you? I already lost Em, I can't lose my other best friend" Minho walked over to the leave the door, but stopped by the door frame. "I promised Em I'd keep you safe. Keep you alive" Minho turned to face Newt. "I don't intend to break my promise to her"

*******

Years had now passed. New Gladers had appeared every month, one at a time. Because of the many boys in the Glade, Alby had appointed Keepers to every job. Minho was made Keeper of the Runners, in charge of finding a way out. Zart was made Keeper of the Gardeners, Frypan of the Cooks, Winston of the Slicers, Clint of the Med-Jacks and Gally of the Builders.

Every Greenie tested the Glade's different jobs before a Keeper took them in. Newt had gotten the position as second in command, walking in Emily's footsteps. Alby stood steady as the leader, doing his best to keep everything at bay.

They had tried to escape the Glade without going through the maze. Nick had insisted on going down the Box hole and Alby had allowed it. They had tied a rope around his waist and lowered him down. Screams had been heard and they had pulled him up. Something had sliced him in half, the rope barely holding on to Nick's upper body. No one could escape through the Box hole.

As the Greenies had entered through the Box, Newt would give them the tour. He would show them the window to the maze at night, remembering Emily everytime the scared Greenie jumped back at the appearance of a Griever.

As the Greenies carved their names into the wall, questions would rise about the crossed out names. "Who is George? Nick? Em?" The names would make Newt walk away, leaving the confused Greenies behind until someone explained that crossed out meant dead, and no one mentioned the dead.

As Thomas came with the Box, he too asked the question to Newt. "Who's Em?" He asked as he carved his own name onto the wall. "Is that a real name or just a nickname?" Newt took a deep breath and left Thomas. "What's that about?"He asked Chuck, the boy that had arrived before him. "Newt doesn't like to talk about the dead, especially Em" He answered and looked up at Thomas. "I've asked the others, it seems Em was a Glader a long time ago. Few people know who Em is and the ones who know won't talk"

*******

As Thomas got chased by the stung Ben, Newt heard the shouts. Flashbacks of Emily made him run, despite his limp. He made it to Ben and slammed him in the head with his shovel. When the situation got under control, he turned to Minho who had been running with Ben. "I couldn't save Em" He said, a tear escaping from his eye. "I couldn't save her, but this slinthead got to make it" He threw the shovel at the ground as Minho gently patted his shoulder.

*******

They were at the Cliff. Alby had died, along with Zart and Jeff. Gally had ran and sacrificed himself to the Grievers, he was probably dead as well.

As the button in the Griever Hole was pushed, the Grievers all collapsed. The Gladers went over the Cliff into the Grievers hidden hideout. A door opened by the back. "For Em" Newt whispered as he followed the others through.