From The WICKED Start | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

4. Goodbye

Thomas was already waiting for us. When I opened the door to the corridor, he turned around, saw that I had Newt with me and nodded as if he had already expected it.
In silence we crept down the dark corridors, to the memory chambers where Gally was accommodated in an adjoining room. For a moment I thought about what would happen if we were caught, but then I suppressed my thoughts because I had completely different things on my mind.
When Thomas stopped in front of an unimposing door, I bit my lower lip. I was nervous, afraid of Gally's reaction and especially of leaving. But I had to get through that now. I had to see my best friend one last time and take him in my arms.
"Ready?" Thomas asked me and I nodded.
When he looked at me examining me one last time, I said: "Open up, Tommy."
And then there was a click and the door opened. In the next moment I saw something or much more of someone throwing themselves against it and, with a battle cry, toring Thomas, who had been standing behind it, to the ground.
He started to beat on him and screamed: "Where is she, you wanker? Where is she? I must see her again, let me see her!"
Newt rushed towards the two boys and tried in vain to get Gally off Thomas, which earned him a blow to the chest.
"I am here! Gally, I'm here!" I shouted and he stopped abruptly.
He looked up, saw me and immediately let go of Thomas. He quickly jumped up and for the last two metres he literally rushed towards me to close me in a stormy embrace. I pressed him against me and briefly forgot everything around us.
But then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Come on, we have to get off the corridor, quick, into the room," hissed Thomas right next to me and together we quickly went into the room and closed the door behind us.
Thomas sat down on the little bed in the corner and rubbed his chin. His lip was chapped and he didn't look too good. I looked at him worried.
"Are you all right, Tommy?" I asked.
He nodded. "It's okay, I can understand him. Probably would have reacted the same way."
Then Newt came to my mind. I looked at him, leaning in a corner. He waved. Everything seemed to be fine with him. So I turned back to Gally.
"Gally! I'm so sorry, Janson told me a few days ago, but I didn't want to mess up our last days. I just couldn't tell you! Thomas helped me to see you again, so we could say goodbye. And Newt..." I didn't know how to explain it now.
Gally looked from me, who was still in his arms, to Thomas and then to Newt, who hadn't said anything yet. Then he nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry I hit you. It's my way. Besides, I was pretty mad."
"It's all right, nothing happened," Newt replied, Gally's gaze caught on.
"So you're this new guy? I hope you're not gonna give my little girl any trouble."
Thomas cleared his throat. "I really don't want to interrupt you, but you should know that what we're doing here right now is anything but allowed. We shouldn't risk staying here too long after all this shouting. I'm really sorry, Anna."
I nodded. I understood what he meant. Still - I found this goodbye so difficult.
"Okay, listen, lil' one. You have to take care of yourself. Don't let them get you down. Try not to attract attention like I did" - he laughed a wry laugh - "and stay here where it's safe. Try not to get into the maze! And you, Einstein, promise me that you'll do everything you can to make sure she's not sent into any of those mazes, understand?"
He now looked at Thomas. He nodded. He wouldn't be able to promise, but I knew he would do everything he could.
"And you," now he looked at Newt and suddenly his voice changed, became softer, almost fragile. "Take care of her, okay? Watch out they don't hurt her."
Newt nodded. "I promise," he said and his eyes met mine.
Again I felt that tingling in my stomach. Thomas got up and walked towards the door to see if the corridor was clear.
"All right, say goodbye, we have to get out of here. Won't be long before the night watch comes."
I looked at Gally again, tried to imprint his face so I wouldn't forget him. But that was the least of my worries, whether I forgot what his nose looked like or what shade of green his eyes were. Because I would not forget him. He would forget me.
"Gally, I...," I started, wiped away a few tears and then started again. "I know you'll forget me... but please take care of yourself. Just please try not to die or get hurt, yeah? Just take it easy for a while and the others will get along with you. You're a great person. And you're my best friend. I'll always think of you. You're in here" - I pointed to my heart - "and I'll always be with you - in here." With these words I pointed to his heart.
He swallowed and I saw that his face was distorted in pain. He nodded, wiped a tear from his cheek as well and then kissed me on the forehead.
Then he took me in a last, firm embrace and whispered: "I love you, lil' one. And I will never forget you. Maybe the way you look or smell, but never that you exist."
With these last words, which I would never forget for sure, he gently pushed me out the door and then let me go for good.
"I love you too," I whispered and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.
Before Thomas closed the door I was able to catch one last glimpse of Gally and saw nothing but endless pain and sadness on his face. My heart felt like it was going to break and I had to hold on to the wall to keep from falling over. Completely blind with tears I sank to the floor and sobbed up. I didn't hear footsteps coming in our direction, nor did I hear Thomas cursing and saying that we had to leave immediately. I hardly noticed how someone gently lifted me up and carried me away quickly. I felt the warmth of my wearer and smelled that he smelled good, but I did not understand all this. Through the veil of tears that lay over my eyes, I did not understand that we were running to our rooms on a diversion, fleeing from a night watch that had almost caught us.
It was only when I was dropped off on my bed that I realised that it was Newt who had carried me there and that we had already separated from Thomas a few corridors before. Now Newt stood indecisively in the middle of the small room and looked from my bed to Gallys - to his. He didn't seem to know whether he should lie down with me again, as he had just done, or whether I would rather be alone and he should lie down on his new bed.
"Newt?" I asked.
He looked up and our eyes met. The veil of mourning that had just been over my field of vision was suddenly blown away and I could see clearly again, saw his dark eyes and felt my heart involuntarily jump and this feeling of a thousand butterflies was once again in me. What was happening to me?
"Yes?" he asked after I had remained silent.
"Would you perhaps lie down with me? I don't want to be alone..." I felt my cheeks turn red without meaning to.
What the...?
I saw Newt's eyes begin to glow and wondered if he felt like me. I was completely overwhelmed, I had never felt like I felt with him before. And I had grown up with so many boys, had spent so many nights with Gally in this room, often in one bed, because we talked until late at night, or we just didn't want to be alone with our quiet thoughts. And yet I had never felt such a feeling before.
He came over to me, stripped off his shoes, lay down next to me and pulled my blanket over us. I felt his warmth and felt much better as soon as he put an arm around me. Carefully I laid my head against his chest, closed my eyes and listened to his heart.
I felt myself drifting away, reassured by his closeness, but suddenly a thought woke me up again.
"Newt?" I asked again.
"Hmm?"
"Where do you come from? How did you get here?"
It had occurred to me that I knew nothing about him. Yet I felt so close to him.
He hesitated for a moment, but then he began to speak. "I lived with my parents and my little sister in our basement to hide from the sick. A few days ago strange men came and wanted to take my sister with them. Supposedly wanted to save her. They were wearing this WICKED logo and looked anything but trustworthy. My dad didn't want them to take her, he was uncomfortable that they only wanted to take her and not the two of us. So they shot Mum and Dad... and took us with them." He faltered and I heard him swallow.
"Oh, Newt, I'm so sorry!"
I didn't know what else to say. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed him against me. He returned the hug and none of us said anything anymore. We just held each other in our arms until we fell asleep, both tears in our eyes.
Two broken people in a broken world, holding each other so as not to break completely.
That was the last thing I thought before falling into a restless sleep.