𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 - Maze Runner, Newt

Chapter thirty-five - Saving

'I feel better already, can I get dinner now?' I looked at the two Med-jacks.

'Okay.' Clint replied. 

'Be careful, though.' Jeff warned.

'Alright.' I chuckled and got up to get some food. My head wasn't aching anymore and I could easily walk. I looked around, but Frypan wasn't in the kitchen and no one was sitting at a picnic table. My eye caught multiple boys standing in front of the Doors. Immediately I rushed over to them and stood next to Chuck.

'What's happening?' I looked at all the boys with poles in their hands.

'They are banishing Ben.' Chuck replied.

My breath hitched. 'Banishing?' 

'Yes. He got stung by a Griever. He can't stay in the Glade.' Chuck explained. I thought about the time Adam was banished and hoped Chuck would never find out about that.

Thomas stood next to Chuck and I could see the horror in his eyes. Minho walked over to the doors, with Ben. He held a strong grip on the blonde boy and when they stood in front of the open doors, he cut the ropes off his wrists. Minho's face had no expression, but I knew Ben was one of his best friends. It hurt Minho and it was horrible.

'Poles!' Alby commanded. 

'Please..' Ben murmured. I felt bad for him but knew we had no other choice. Ben continued murmuring things. 

A cold breeze blew in my face, meaning the Doors would close.

'Let's go.' Chuck grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the horrific image. With my head to the ground, I followed Thomas and Chuck to the picnic tables. Newt didn't show up at dinner and the mood wasn't very cheerful.

~

The first thing that caught my eye the next day, was Alby and Minho going into the maze. 

Why would Alby go into the maze? I wondered.

I got some food and sat down next to Newt and across from Chuck. 'Why is Alby going into the maze?' I looked at Newt.

'He went to retrace Ben's footsteps.' Newt scratched the back of his neck. 'Nothin' to worry 'bout.' 

'Okay.' I nodded and started eating. After a while, I was done and walked off to the med-hut.

~

Nothing interesting happened the whole day, and it was almost time for dinner. Bored I leaned my head against my hand.

'You can go earlier.' Jeff said.

'Really?' My face lit up. 'Thanks.' I smiled and rushed out of the med-hut, towards the gardens to see Newt, but my attention drew to something else. I felt wet drops on my skin and looked up. It was raining. Weird, because it never rained in the Glade. Confused I walked over to Newt, who noticed the rain too.

'Why is it raining?' Newt mumbled and looked at me. 'Let's go to the Homestead.' Something about his face expression made me worried. Newt grabbed my hand and lead me to the Homestead.

Thomas was already standing there, looking at the maze Doors. 'They should be back by now.' He was talking about Minho and Alby. 'What happens if they don't make it?' He nervously tapped with his fingers.

'They're gonna make it.' Newt said. But his tone wasn't very sure and it seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than us.

'What happens if they don't'?' Thomas turned around.

'They're gonna make it.' Newt repeated, frowning. I bit my lip and started to get worried.

After a while, the rain stopped and we all stood in front of the maze Doors. Nervous and impatient I looked into the maze. It was very dark there.

Newt seemed even more worried. He rubbed his chin and I saw how anxious he was. I grabbed his hand and held it tight, but I noticed Newt didn't hold mine. I didn't blame him. His two best friends were out in the maze, who knew what happened and if they would come back? Newt was worried as hell and so was I.

'Come on guys, can't we send someone after them?' Thomas asked. 

'That's against the rules.' Gally answered. 'Either they make it back or they don't.'

'We can't risk losing anyone else.' Newt added. Thomas didn't seem to agree.

The wind blew in my face and I only got more worried. The Doors were about to close and the two boys were still not back. Something had happened. Nervously I looked into the maze, searching for any sign of life.

'Oh, no.' Chuck quietly said. The ground started to shake and I heard the loud noise of the Doors closing. Deeply worried I fidgeted with my fingers.

'There!' Thomas pointed in the maze. Immediately I looked up and watched the maze closely. Minho and Alby appeared around the corner, but something was wrong. Minho was carrying Alby.

'Something's wrong.' Newt seemed to read my thoughts. I heard Minho grunting while he carried Alby's lifeless body.

'Come on, Minho! You can do it!' Chuck shouted and others followed too. Soon everyone was shouting for Minho to keep going. 

Minho accidentally dropped Alby's heavy body when the doors almost closed. They were too far away from the doors.

'They're not gonna make it.' Newt quietly said.

'You gotta leave him!' Gally shouted at Minho. I wanted to try to save Minho and Alby. This was my chance to go into the maze. Just when I was about to run into the maze, Thomas did too. 

'Thomas, no!' Chuck screamed.

'Nora, no!' Newt shouted at the same time. He tried to grab my arm, but I pulled away and kept running, trying not to get crushed by the walls. I turned my head one last time and saw Newt's heartbroken face. His expression was mixed with worry and sadness. I was guilty about leaving him, but I felt like I had to do this.

I fell onto the ground and the doors closed.