Losing Game - Newt [The Maze Runner]

01:05 - THE FIASCO BEGINS

Ben was banished that night at sundown. He started directly into both Thomas and Alice's eyes while the doors shut, sending a shiver down both of their spines.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The mood was sombre after Ben had been banished, as it always was whenever they had to push someone who had been stung into the Maze. Dinner was a quiet affair, and everyone retreated to their hammocks without much of the usual complaining.

Alice had spent the night in Newt's hammock with him, they had never done that before, but the girl couldn't bear to let another one of her dear boys out of her sight – for fear of losing him too. Newt's hand carded gently through her slightly curled hair which eventually lulled into a relaxed state.

"Are you okay now?" Newt whispered to her softly while he gazed at her slack figure fondly, "as okay as you can be?" Only when Alice's body tensed slightly did Newt resume stroking through her hair.

It took her a long moment to find her voice, "better now, just going to miss him."

"Me too." Newt moved his hand from her hair and instead brought her body closer to his, Alice's head was tucked into Newt's neck from where she was facing him.

The next morning, Alice awoke much later into the day than she usually did, it was much lighter than usual, and she shot up in the hammock with a curse. Newt was not in bed with her so Alice stumbled up and shoved her feet into her shoes before she tied her hair back. Just as she was walking out of the homestead with her running harness in her hand, Chuck came up to her and said that Alby and Minho had already headed out to run the Maze that day.

"They left me behind?" Alice questioned as she walked back through the homestead and threw her running harness back into her room, "the cheek."

Chuck laughed, "Minho knew you wouldn't be pleased."

"Yeah, I'm going to shank him when he gets back." Alice said while she walked over to the kitchen to get some breakfast which she hoped Frypan had saved for her.

Frypan grinned at her when she arrived, "morning, sleepyhead." He handed her a bowl of his stew and she thanked him with a wink. She decided not to wander off too far and chatted with Fry while she ate her breakfast, once she was done, he gave her a few tasks to do in the kitchen to help him as she usually went wherever she was needed on her days off. Time seemed to slip and slip until the rain was pouring down and the time for the doors closing was approaching.

Due to the rain, a lot of duties had been side-tracked as everyone ran for the homestead, which was the driest place in the whole Glade, Alice and Frypan were no exception and the two of them covered their heads as their feet slipped over the sodden ground, Alice howled with laughter when Fry slipped and nearly fell onto his face.

Newt's unimpressed face met hers when he saw that she had allowed herself to basically be drenched completely through, the rain was falling rather heavily upon them at that point, "blimey could you gave gotten any more drenched?"

Alice grinned as she wrung her hair out, "like you don't like when my shirt goes see-through, you aren't slick." Newt's cheeks coloured slightly, and Alice knew she had caught him in the act, he looked away from her vehemently and that just fuelled the manic smile on her face.

This smile faded quickly when she heard whispers that it was past the time that Minho and Alby should be back, "how long ago should they have been back?" Alice whispered to Newt just after she grabbed his wrist to get his attention, her teasing nature all but dried up completely due to the concern she had for her two of her closest friends.

Newt's voice lowered to a whisper too, they couldn't let the boys know that they were even slightly worried as it would make them panic, "they should have been back an hour ago."