Into The WICKED Maze | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

21. The lake in moonlight

Someone touched me gently on the cheek and I looked up. I must have fallen asleep, because I was still leaning a bit crookedly against Gally, who was lying across the tree trunk, which made my back hurt. The fire had burned down by now and except for Gally, Minho, who was also sleeping, and I was left with no one except the person who had woken me - Newt.
He stood bent down before me and smiled at me.
"Hey," he whispered so as not to wake the other two.
"Hey," I replied, also quietly.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk," he asked, and held out a hand to help me up.
I reached for it and he pulled me up on my feet.
"I'd love to," I said and yawned.
We walked across the glade, past Fry Pan's kitchen, to the forest. Once there, he took my hand and led me through the trees, as if he knew exactly where he was going.
And he seemed to really know, because it didn't take long before I recognised the lake between the trees. It glittered - just like two days ago - in the moonlight and the sight of it almost took my breath away.
I was just thinking of the wonderful peace it radiated when Newt suddenly tore me from my feet and ran towards the lake. I didn't even have time to fight back, let alone make any noise, because only seconds later I dived into the cool water without having taken a breath and had to swim back to the surface.
I gasped for air out loud and looked around indignantly at Newt. It didn't take long before he appeared a few metres away from me and started laughing out loud when he saw the look on my face. That had probably been what he wanted to achieve.
Now laughing myself, I splashed as much water at him as I could and got a double charge back before he submerged. With a mixture of laughter and panic - because I knew that he was guaranteed to pull me under water right away - I looked around, but of course I couldn't spot him in the dark.
And then it happened - he pulled me under water at the waist. And instead of resisting, which I had actually wanted to do, I let him - still under water - pull me closer to him, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. We stayed like this for a few seconds until we both ran out of air and had to surface.
Again I gasped for air, but this time not as loud as the first time because I had filled my lungs before. I opened my eyes and saw in Newt's that looked darker in the moonlight than usual. He was only a few inches away from me and now he pulled me even closer until our bodies were completely touching and our faces were so close that the tips of our noses were touching.
So we swam in this beautiful lake, in this forest at the glade, surrounded by a huge maze and I forgot all about it. All I saw were these eyes that I immediately remembered and I was completely dazed by this sight.
Newt tore me out of my trance by covering the last distance and putting his lips on mine, closing his eyes and I did the same. Carefully, he drove over my back under water, his fingers causing a tingling sensation everywhere they touched me. I buried my hand in his wet hair while I held my other arm above the water.
After what felt like a beautiful eternity, we separated and he said: "Maybe we should get out of the water, what do you think?"
I nodded. It was really a little exhausting to keep myself afloat all the time.
We let go of each other and I started to swim towards the shore thinking that Newt would do the same, but there I had done the calculation without him. When I turned my back to him, he dived under again and pulled me under water once more, down to the bottom of the lake before he swam away quickly. Again I emerged and coughed because I had swallowed a load of water. Nevertheless I had to laugh and looked around for him.
At first I couldn't see him because he was still under water, but when he appeared I swam after him as fast as I could. He had a lead, but I was fast.
When he reached the shore he had to fight with his still injured leg first, so I caught up and managed to bring him down. Because of the momentum I had had, we rolled over together twice and in the end I was the one who was down. I had probably scored an own goal.
Newt grinned down at me and didn't seem to think of taking his weight off me.
"Gotcha - again."
I pressed against his chest, but he only made himself heavier and I gave up.
"Okay, you win. May I please get up now?" I asked, because I suddenly felt reminded of Stan's lifeless body.
Newt seemed to notice that I felt uncomfortable and leaned on his forearms, so the oppressive feeling immediately disappeared.
"Is that better?" he asked, but didn't wait for my answer, instead kissing me, this time more urgently.
Immediately memories came up in me, of a night on some roof, wherever. All I could remember was the hard ground beneath me, the sky above me, and Newt kissing me, just like he did now. And then there was another feeling that came up inside me, slow at first and then faster and faster. When I became aware of the origin of the feeling, I had to gasp for air, for which I turned my head to the right.
"Everything okay?" Newt asked confusedly and looked at me worried. "Have I done something wrong?" He leaned a little higher to give me enough room.
"No, no, you didn't," I gasped and immediately realised that I didn't sound very convincing.
"You sure?" Now he got down off me completely and sat down next to me, never letting me out of his sight for a second.
I sat up too. "Yes, I am quite sure. It was not your fault. I - just a very intense memory came up in me."
"Of me?"
"Of us," I tried to explain.
I hoped that he would understand quickly, because it was much too uncomfortable to explain it to him. But he just looked at me confused. I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed that it would occur to him after all, but as it looked he did not know at all what I was getting at.
"I don't quite follow you, I'm sorry..." He sounded really depressed.
"I'm just... I'm just a little uncomfortable right now, you know? I know it shouldn't, but it still seems like it's all so fresh between us... And then having memories like that just keeps knocking me out."
Now he seemed to finally understand. His eyes became bigger and it didn't take long before he shone at me. I felt my cheeks begin to glow and was thankful that it was dark and he could not see it.
The next second he was very close to me again and put his lips on mine, putting an arm around my shoulders.
"I know what you mean and I know how you feel. But you can be sure that we have all the time in the world now. Literally."
He kissed me again. My heart leapt at his words and I was overjoyed at that moment that things were as they were between us. Newt was not what I would have imagined Gally or any other boy to be in the same situation. He seemed really serious about us having time and that felt right. Because even though I knew what had happened between us before, I hadn't lied when I said that it still felt so fresh to me and I certainly wasn't ready yet.
We sat there for a while and nobody said anything when I yawned loudly.
"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked me and I nodded.
He wanted to get up, but I held him down.
"Can't we just sleep here?"
Newt just nodded and let himself sink into the grass, pulling me down with him. I laid my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, which warmed me wonderfully.
I felt my eyes close and the last thing I heard was: "I love you."
"And I love you," I mumbled.
Then I sank into a dreamless sleep.