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

Chapter 45

Ryan and I stare open-mouthed at the grey sky above us, the scream that just shot through the air burning in our ears.

"You could NEVER understand! NEVER!!"

It had been Newt. I know it had been; there's no way I could mistake his lilting British accent. The words, and the way he said them, tear at my heart, but what really worries me is the sky. Its cracked, sharp lines of black spider-webbing across the dull grey.

It's not a natural grey either. Once Ryan and I had noticed the infection in my side, the Dream Glade had started to lose its colour, fading little by little until now it's flat and desaturated, devoid of colour and life.

It's connected with Newt; somehow, I know it has to be. The Dream Glade formed because this is where I have my memories of Newt, and now it's breaking as he falls further into a pit of grief.

My heart aches for him, as I know I'm dying, breaking the promise I made that I'll never leave him. Ryan doesn't want to accept it, but I know its true, the world is fading because I'm fading. The infection that's battling to take over my body and snuff out the light that is me, is winning.

"You're not dying," he insists again and again, his pale blue eyes searching mine for any sliver of reassurance that what he says is true. "You said the Med-jacks are your friends; they'll help you!"

And each time I smile sadly, knowing that Clint and Jeff, -however good they are- are only delaying the inevitable. I can tell by my heartbeat. It's slower, more erratic; and the infection has spread, reaching its long red fingers towards the large muscle in my chest that desperately tries to keep me alive.

I pull my gaze away from the fractured sky and glance at Ryan, sadness filling me as I see his transparency. Just like everything else around me, he's faded even more, slowly becoming less solid, so that sometimes, when I go to touch him, my hand passes through him like mist.

He meets my gaze. "What was that?" He asks, but I recognise the real question he's asking, 'Who was that?'.

"That was Newt," I answer sadly, then wince as a fresh wave of heat floods over me from my side. I feel myself weaken, my heart fluttering like a tiny bird in my chest before steadying, although working slower than before.

There are a few minutes of silence where I turn over the facts in my mind. I need to say it. Hating myself, I take a deep breath and turn to Ryan. "Ryan..." I begin hesitantly, not sure how he'll react to my words, and he looks at me expectantly.

"I think... We should be ready for when this world disappears," I say tentatively, and he narrows his eyes slightly in wariness. "How so?" He asks, making an effort to keep his voice steady. I close my eyes briefly, then open them again, my resolve hardened.

"We need to say goodbye," I say firmly, and instantly he shakes his head. "No," he refuses flatly, and I throw my hands up in exasperation, sudden anger flaring out of my worry. I had expected this answer, but I thought he might actually hear me out first.

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off with a sharp jerk of his hand. "Don't say it," he warns. "Don't you dare say goodbye to me. We'll be fine."

I glare at him. "We won't be fine, Rys. I'm dying. You're dead. Do you really call that fine?"

He flinches, and instantly I regret my harsh words, and soften my tone, "Sorry." I gesture to the world around us, pointing out the large holes in the fabric of the Dream Glade, then at the cracks in the sky above us, still determined to make him see sense.

"This place is already fading, Rys. You're fading. And I don't want to leave you without having said goodbye." He hesitates, then shakes his head again resolutely. "We still have time," he persists, and I swallow a groan of frustration.