Mysteries of the Maze » Newt {1}

Ten

Just a disclaimer, all these characters and ideas belong to James Dashner. I only own Maya!

Newt

Ben was put into the maze. We weren't proud of it and many may have called us bloody shanks but, we had to.

Maya was fine. She suffered a lot of blood loss, but it was scary to see how afraid Jeff and Clint were as they treated her. They switched on and off with their shifted to watch Maya in case anything changed, but she slept for days.

She had to be okay. Maybe it was just lust and the fact that she was the only bit of estrogen we had in the Glade, but I cared for her. I fancied her.

It was a relaxed night, a few days later. No bonfire. No fights. Just... calm. I laid in my hammock, playing with the knife Maya made. It was covered in her blood and I knew I had to wash it but for some reason, I couldn't.

"Hey Newt," Chuck said as he walked in. "Maya is awake."

"Thanks, Chuck." I nodded and sat up to leave, but I wasn't ready. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Chuck sat beside me and waited patiently for me to say something.

"Maya... she's not like other girls." I said.

"How do you know?" Chuck asked.

"I just do." I shrugged. "If I like her, would it be considered lust or an actual affection considering she's the only girl?"

"Depends. I mean... we have no memories of girls or feelings for them, but... I guess if you want to protect her more than kiss her... that's affection."

I nodded. "Thanks, Chuck. You're one smart, Shank."

Chuck laughed and I smiled. Nudging Chuck lightly, I got up and walked out, knowing the youngest kid in the Glade was following me.

Maya winced as she stepped out of the infirmary. Chuck hugged her gently and she hugged back with a smile. He whispered something to her and she nodded. Chuck let her go and walked away towards the Homestead.

"Hey." I said quietly, walking up to her.

"Hi." She smiled, softly.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Well everything seems to hurt except for my wound. So Clint and Jeff suck big time at their jobs." Maya explained.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Here." I held out her knife for her to take.

Maya nodded and gently took it from me. Inspecting the blade, she noticed the blood stain.

"Did Gally scratch off Ben's name at the wall?" She asked quietly, keeping her eyes down on the knife.

"Yeah," I nodded even though I know she wasn't looking at me. "but I also noticed, your name isn't there."

"So?" Maya shrugged and started walking towards the maze wall. "I'm not a Glader."

"Why?" I asked, following her. "Because you're not a boy?"

"Exactly." Maya said.

"No. You're not a boy. You're a girl. Some may say you're the weakest of us all. But bloody hell Maya... you're definitely not like the rest of us Shanks." I told her.

By then, we had reached the wall. A torch was lit to show all the names, faintly. Maya looked at me, tears flooding her eyes.

"I'm not strong. I'm defensive, there's a difference." She said, her voice quivering.

"You're both. And it's served you well so far. "

Maya shook her head and held out the knife for me to take back. "I'm not strong, and I'm not a Glader. I'm just a girl who ruined your peaceful life here."

"What? No, you didn't ruin anything." I closed her hand back around the handle of the knife and pushed it back to her. "It's Thomas."

"It's both of us. Ben and that other guy, both stung in broad daylight. Anybody could be next, Newt." Maya explained.

"Listen, you can't blame yourself. Whoever put us here... it's their fault. You couldn't have actually known."

"Newt I-" She started.

"No," I interrupted. "you are a Glader. Let's make it official."

Maya hesitated as I moved her hand with the knife in it, towards the wall under my name. The sound of metal chipping stone made me smile. Maya pulled down on the knife and started carving her name. It took only about a minute, and when she was done, she gave me a smile.

"Gally may have a fit." I joked.

"Well," Maya shrugged. "he'll have to get over it."

"That's my girl." The words came from my mouth before I could catch them.

"Your girl?" Maya frowned and smiled.

"Oh... y-yeah," I stammered. "that just came out."

"Don't. It's okay." Maya nodded and handed me her knife. "I want you to have this."

"Why?"

"Because. You could use it." Maya smirked.

"You need it more than I do." I handed it back and gave her a smile.

Maya nodded and started making her way back to the Homestead. Looking at her name, a bunch of thoughts suddenly hit me.

What if it is Maya's fault? I mean everything went wrong when she got here. She may not be meaning to do it... but what if it was her?