They Don't Own Me

Chapter 9

"Morning, Ivy," Adam said as he walked up to his friend, who stood by the Maze walls.

"Morning, Adam," she greeted, smiling a little at him.

The two stood in silence for a little bit, neither really knowing what to say.

"Adam, listen," Ivy said, gaining the boy's attention. "I think we should run together today. A lot has happened out there the last few days and I rather not lose another Runner."

Adam nodded in understanding. He could faintly see the pain in Ivy's eyes but said nothing about it.

Once the Maze doors opened, the two ran into the corridors, Adam following Ivy's lead. She was glad he didn't say anything about her request. She had nearly lost three Gladers in the course of two days. She didn't want to lose anyone else to the Maze. If they stuck together, then she would be able to watch over Adam.

The rest of the run took place in silence, minus the sounds of their running feet and their heavy breathing. The only time they stopped was to eat lunch. After they had run as much as they could, recording a few new halls they found, Ivy suggested they start heading back. They wouldn't be back before their normal time but it was still before the doors closed.

When the entrance to the Glade appeared before them, the two slowed to a jog, their heartbeats racing. The pair started towards the Map Room, their eyes fixed on the woods.

"Ivy!" they suddenly heard.

The two stopped in find Minho racing towards them.

"Everything okay, Minho?" the girl asked.

"Alby wanted me to get you," he replied, barely out of breath from his sprint. "He's in your hut."

Ivy was about to send Minho back, to tell him that she would be there later, but Adam's voice stopped her.

"You go on ahead, Ivy," he said, causing her to look at him. "I can map out what we found."

Ivy nodded before heading off to the Homestead. When she got there, she found Alby waiting outside. The boy smiled when he saw her walking towards him.

"How was your run?" he asked, the same question he asked every day.

"Adam and I managed to come across a new set of halls," she told him in a quiet voice so none of the Gladers overheard. "We'll scope them out the next few days, see where they lead. Who knows, we might find a way out, we might hit a dead end."

"It's okay, Ivy," Alby told her. "We'll get out of here."

The girl nodded.

"So what was so important that you had to send Minho after me?" she inquired.

"Newt's up."

Ivy's eyes widened at the statement.

"How is he?"

"You should see for yourself. He wanted to talk to you, anyways."

Ivy nodded, walking passed her friend to head to the shelter. After making her way to her hut, she stopped outside her door, a little nervous about seeing Newt. Ivy quickly gathered her courage and knocked. A moment later, Clint answered the door. The moment he saw Ivy, he moved outside, nodding to her. Ivy nodded back before stepping into the hut, gently shutting the door behind her.

"Hey," she greeted in a soft voice.

Newt looked up at her, smiling a little.

"Hey," he replied.

Newt was sitting up a little on her bed, his back leaning against a pillow. Ivy glanced at his leg to find it wrapped up, two boards tied to either side of his leg to try and help it heal. The girl sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Newt.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better than when you found me," he replied quietly.

"Newt," Ivy said after several quiet minutes. The blond looked at her. "What happened out there? You had me worried sick when you didn't come back."

Newt looked down as if he was ashamed. Ivy placed her hand on his, trying to get him to look at her and encourage him to tell her what had happened in the Maze.

"I hate it here," the Glader started softly. "I shucking hate it here. We've been out searching that bloody Maze for months and we haven't found a way out yet. I was starting to lose hope of ever getting out. I figured... the only way to do that was by jumping off one of those shucking walls. I climbed halfway up then pushed myself off. I thought the fall would kill me but I caught in the ivy, hit the ground, and this happened." He gestured to his leg. Ivy said nothing, simply watching him. His body was shaking in anger and frustration and tears were rolling down his cheeks. He eventually looked up at Ivy, staring at her with a sorry expression. "I'm sorry, Ivy," he whispered. "I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to keep living like this and I wanted it to end. I'm so so sorry."

"Newt," Ivy said in a quiet voice. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

The boy looked at her, tears still in his shocked eyes.

"What?"

"You don't have to be sorry about what happened. I understand why you did what you did. It's hard to have hope when we're out there running everyday of our shucking lives just trying to escape this place. But even if we don't find anything for a while, we can't give up hope that one day, something will happen and we will get out of here. I don't know when it'll happen, but I have this feeling deep inside of me that it will."

"You're certain?" Newt asked, his voice sounding like he would cry again soon.

Ivy nodded, tears in her own eyes as she gave him a gentle smile. Newt returned the smile weakly, wrapping his arms around Ivy in a hug. The two held one another close, neither wanting to let go.

When Newt had come up in the Box four months back, he was terrified and didn't talk to anyone. Ivy had been one of the first people he befriended. Back then, she really didn't talk much with the other Gladers unless she had too. He had seen her sitting by herself during his first bonfire and went to talk to her. Since then, they grew closer to one another, especially when Newt became a Runner. Now, the two were as close as siblings.

"I'm sorry, Newt," Ivy whispered against his shoulder.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, pulling back to look at her. "You didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I didn't notice how much pain you were in. If I had seen it, maybe I could have stopped this from happening."

"It's not your fault, Ivy. I should have said something."

"Darn right." Ivy looked at him. "If you ever feel like you have to do something like that again, promise me you'll come talk to me first."

Newt nodded.

"I promise," he told her.

Ivy smiled a little at Newt. She shifted a little on the bed so she was sitting directly next to the boy. She moved an arm around his shoulders, pulling him towards her. Newt wrapped an arm around her waist, holding on to her. Ivy smiled at the action, gently pulling his head so it rested half on her shoulder, half on her chest, before moving her hand to gently play with his hair. Newt snuggled closer to Ivy, careful of his leg. The two smiled in content, happy that they had each other.