When The Darkness Comes // Newt

Part twenty-six, "We can't go back out there"

When Alby and Gally leave, the Gladers shut the door and you and Newt go to examine Minho's deformed face.

"Hey, bud, you okay there?" you ask softly.

Minho groans. "Will be if you never call me that, ever again."

You chuckle through tears you didn't know were there. Now that Minho is injured, he might not stand as much of a chance at surviving the Maze as you and Newt will. You rip a piece off the hem of your shirt to dab a patch of blood on his forehead. Newt watches with a look on his face which is somehow fear, seriousness, and anger. He stares and stares until it bugs you so much you have to blurt out the question.

"What is it, Newt?"

"We can't go back out there," he says in a strained voice, "We won't make it this time."

"Maybe we won't have to," you murmur, swiping the last bit of blood off Minho's face. He slumps into the rickety chair and closes his eyes.

"You're always looking on the bright side, Y/n," says Newt, almost as if he's annoyed.

"What's wrong with that?" you ask in surprise.

"Nothing."

"It certainly seems like it. Just tell me and I can try to fix it."

"Why would you do that?"

You sigh and frown. "Because I don't want you mad at me since we're probably only gonna be alive for several more hours."

"He's not mad at you, Y/n," Minho grumbles. "Just stressed."

"Just stressed, always just stressed. We get that! We're all stressed, but you don't see me going around telling people to change things about their natural personality!" You raise your voice.

There's a long pause before Newt speaks up. "He's right. You're right. Sorry. Shouldn't have said that."

Nobody says anything until Gally unlocks the door. The three of you jump to your feet, eager to find out the news.

"What is it, Gally?"

"Are we still gonna be Banished?"

"No," he replies. "But you need to be punished. That, I agree with Alby about. The others need to see an example of what happens to those who break the rules. So you three are stayin' in here for a week, food and water once a day." He glances at Newt. "I made a point about telling him how he couldn't lose his second in command. You owe me, shank." With that, he slams the door shut.

You can't help but feel disappointed about staying in the Slammer for a week, especially with Minho's sarcasm to put up with, but that's nothing compared to being Banished. A small grin forms on your lips. You turn to your two friends.

"Well," you say. "We aren't dying. And a week from now, that's when the next Greenie arrives. Which means a bonfire. Lots of food. Shuck it, what I wouldn't give for a bowl of Fry's stew right now." You groan dramatically and slump to the floor. "Give me a nice funeral at the end of the week, okay?"

You find, however, that it's quite possible to survive a week in the Slammer. It would have been less boring if Minho hadn't gone and gotten himself stuck in there too. He could have brought you and Newt extra food and marbles. Marbles were the Glader's trademark game, as you had previously learned. It was like bowling, you supposed, only a miniature version. It hurt that you could remember bowling, but not where you had done it, or who you did it with. The way they played marbles was by sticking several tiny sticks in the ground and rolling the round glass balls hard enough to knock the sticks over.