!!DISCONTINUED!! Into The Maze - The First Girl - Newt x Reader x Minho

Chapter 6

I help Frypan in the Kitchen for the rest of the day; sorting supplies and preparing dinner for the boys.

My radio plays in the background, and I sing along to some of the songs I recognise, and listening to the ones I don't, noting down the lyrics in my mind.

Suddenly I hear a rumbling, crashing sound, and I rush out of the Kitchen to see what it is. I watch, open mouthed as the huge doors in the walls slide slowly shut.

"Wow..."

"Pretty cool, huh?" I look around and see Minho standing next to me.

"Where were you all day?" I ask, "I never saw you around The Glade."

He looks at me before sighing. "I guess there's no point not telling you."

He gestures to the walls around us. "Every morning, at sunrise, the Doors to the Maze open, and the Runners go out to explore it."

I stare at him, "So we're in the middle of a giant maze?" He nods, "And the Runners are boys who go out every day and map how it changes."

"It changes?" I look again at the enormous walls, "And it's all this big?" He nods, "The walls of the Maze change every day, but there are patterns in it that repeat themselves."

I nod, then ask, "Are you a Runner?" He looks away, suddenly sad, "I'm the Keeper."

I whistle softly, "But you only just came up the month before me, how did you get to Keeper so fast?"

He glares at me and snaps, "That's none of your business/"

I look at him, hurt on my face, and abruptly turn and walk into the forest.

Once in the trees, I break into a sprint, and after a few seconds of running as fast as I can, I slow to a jog, looking for a tree I can climb. The run clears my head, and I spot a tree once I hunt around.

Grabbing onto the lowest branch I heave myself up, crouching on the branch, I eye my way to the top. After a few seconds of mapping out my route, I begin to climb.

Smoothly and swiftly, I ascend into the topmost branches that dip and sway under my weight: but I feel no fear.

Looking down, I see nothing but leaves and branches. I settle myself into a more comfortable position, and look out over The Glade.

The tree I'm in has to be one of the highest in the forest, and I can see the whole Glade set out before me.

As I watch, I sing a few lines of a song I heard on the radio while I was helping Frypan.

**Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey
I'm on top of the world, 'ey
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ey
Been holding it in for a while, 'ey
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child

And I know it's hard when you're falling down
And it's a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now**

I look down as I hear someone calling my name.

"Y/N? Y/N! I'm sorry ok? I just wanna talk to you!"

I recognise Minho's voice and frown, not feeling like talking to him just yet.

"Y/N! Please come out! I just want to apologise!"

I sigh and drop down a few branches. "Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you snapped at me!" I call down.

I hear hurried footsteps making their way to the base of my tree, and I drop down a few more branches so that he can see me.

Once he spots me, I see his face flood with relief. "Oh, thank the Creators. I was worried about you."

"Didn't seem like it before," I say coldly, and he winces. "I'm sorry ok? It's just a touchy subject."

"Uh huh," I say, not accepting or dismissing his apology. He looks at me, "Will you come down? I'll tell you the whole story, but dinner is soon, and I don't want you to go hungry just because I acted like a piece of cow klunk."

I crack a smile at that, looping my legs around the branch I'm on and letting myself fall so I swing upside down.

~Minho's POV~

Y/N loops her legs around the branch and falls forward. My breath hitches, but she catches herself, and swings upside down in the tree. Her y/h/l, y/h/c hair falls beneath her, catching in some of the lower branches.

She looks so at home in the forest, I think to myself. Her lightly tanned skin, flushed from the climb, messy y/h/c hair that has a few leaves in it, y/e/c eyes and freckles make her look like a dryad (A tree nymph from Greek Mythology).

"Well, that'll do for now; and I don't want to talk about the old Keeper if it makes you uncomfortable," she says, her eyes softening a little.

"Thank you." I say simply, and she lets herself down from the tree.

"Let's go then," she says, leading me out of the trees. "I helped make dinner so I know I don't want to miss it."

~Time Skip, Y/N's POV~

After a dinner of roast chicken and vegetables, I'm sitting with my back against one of the trees just inside the woods, when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hello, Minho," I say; not turning around.

He moves closer and sits down beside me. "How did you know it was me?" He asks, and I look at him.

"Because of how much noise you make," I say, and he chuckles, the sound a little forced.

I watch him out of the corner of my eye. I can tell something's up, but I don't push him, and after a few minutes of companionable silence, he says, "The Keeper before me was killed in the Maze."

I sit up straighter and look at him. "If you're not comfortable-" I begin, but he cuts me off. "No, I want to talk about it, need to talk about it." I nod, and he continues.

"The walls here don't just keep us in; they keep the Grievers out; especially at night. Grievers are monsters that live in the Maze. I'll show you one the next time they come close to the walls, and if they don't terrify you, I don't know what will.

Henry -he was the Keeper at the time- and I were out Running one day, and we found some words carved into the side of one of the walls. They said, 'World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department'.

We stayed and studied them, checking all over them for any clues to who put them there, but we couldn't find anything, so we started to run back."

He takes a deep, shuddering breath before continuing.

"Because we stayed to study the words, we were later than usual. The Doors had started to close when we turned the last corner and sprinted for them."

He shuts his eyes tight, as if to hold back tears, and his voice starts to shake.

"Henry was faster than me; he could have easily made it. But instead, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me along beside him, slowing himself down. We were still two meters away when he shoved me forward. I stumbled closer to the Doors and turned to see him running at me.

He was so close I could see the words he mouthed at me. 'You'll be a great Keeper'. Then he kicked me through the Doors just as they closed. We found his pack by the door the next morning... and what was left of his clothes."

I put my hand over my mouth, my eyes wide, as Minho lets the tears flow. I pull him to me and hug him tight.

Pressing my cheek to his chest, I rub his back as he buries his face in my hair, silent sobs wracking his body. "I'm so sorry Minho," I murmur, "I'm so so sorry."

The song is 'On Top of The World' by Imagine Dragons, even if I didn't use the whole song I'm going to put this here.