ᵒⁿᵉ 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐖𝐍 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

Sympathy For The Devil

NEWT POV

Thomas is in the Pit and I sit by him. He's unconscious. Teresa and Chuck sit outside the Pit. I feel him stir.

"Thomas?" I ask, heart jumping. "Are you okay?"

He moans.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I ask, throwing my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me, wincing slightly as my broken wrist hits his shoulder. 

"Mmm...Newt." he mumbles. "What happened?" He still doesn't open his eyes.

"Gally's taken control." I say, helping him sit up. "He said we had a choice. Either join him or get banished at sundown with you." 

He lays his head in my lap and my heart starts beating faster. 

"The others agreed to that?" He mumbles.

I start running my hand through his hair. Then, I freeze, realizing what I'm doing. But he doesn't seem to mind so I continue.

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this happened." Teresa explains.

"Well, he's been right so far." He mutters.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"This place..." He says, breathing heavy. "Isn't what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's test." He swallows hard, his chest heaving. "It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. Then people started disappearing." He sighs. "Every month, one after another, like clockwork."

"They were sending them up into the Maze." I say, realization dawning.

"Yes, but not all of us." He says.

"What do you mean?" Teresa asks.

"Guys, I'm one of them." He says, a tear falling out of his eye. "The people who put you here, I worked with them. I watched you guys for years. The entire you've been here, I was on the other side. And so was Teresa." He explains.

"What?" She asks.

"Teresa, we did this to them." He says.

"No, that can't be true." Teresa says.

"It is. I saw it." Thomas says, tears falling out his eyes rapidly now.

"Why would they send us up if we were with them?" She asks.

"It doesn't matter." Thomas says.

"He's right." I say. "It doesn't matter. Any of it." I wipe away his tears. What the hell am I doing? "Because the people we were before the Maze don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are and what we do right now." I go back to playing with his hair. "You went into the maze and you found a way out."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive." He says regretfully. 

"Maybe. But I know if he were here, he'd be telling you the exact same thing." I say forcefully. "Pick your ass up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing...then that means Alby died for nothing and I can't have that."

"Okay." He says. "Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first."

A few hours before sundown, I sit with Thomas. 

"Are we going to die, Tommy?" I ask, resting my head in his lap, legs across his hammock. 

"No." He says. "I promise. I'll keep us safe."

"You promise promise?" I ask.

"I promise." He says. Then, he kisses my forehead.

I stiffen. "Tommy, why did you do that?" I ask.

"Oh, god!" He says. "I'm sorry! I don't know, it just kind of came over me! I'm sorry, Newt, I'm sorry!"

"Tommy, you bloody shank!" I say, hitting his shoulder. 

I sit up and hug him, but fall back wincing when my wrist touches him.

"You okay?" He asks, slightly red.

"I'm fine." I stand. "Come on, it's almost sunset." I pull him up after me and we walk together, shoulders bumping against each other. 

We stand with Chuck and Teresa at the front of the Maze. 

"This is such a waste." Someone says. 

"Gally...it doesn't feel right, man." Someone else says. 

"Yeah, what if Thomas is right?" Winston says. 

"Maybe he can lead us home!" 

"We are home." Gally says. "Okay? I don't want to have to cross anymore names off that wall."

"Do you really think banishing us is going to solve that problem?" I ask.

"No." He says. "But this isn't a banishing. It's an offering."

Someone starts to tie up Teresa. 

"What!" I cry. "NO!"

"You really think I'm going to let Thomas back into the Maze after what he's done?" Gally asks. "Look around you! Look at our Glade! This is the only way!" Gally sighs. "And when the Grievers get what they came for, everything will go back to the way it was."

"Are you listening to this?" I ask. "Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!"

"You shut up!" He hisses.

"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back!" Teresa cries. "They are going to keep coming back until you are all dead!"

"Shut up!" He shouts. "Tie him up!"

They reach for Thomas and he jumps up and attacks them, knocking them out.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Gally says as I cut Teresa free and Chuck runs over with supplies.

"You don't have to come with us but we are leaving." Thomas says. "Anyone else who wants to come, this is your last chance."

"Don't listen to him he's trying to scare you!" Gally cries.

"No, I'm not trying to scare you. You're already scared." Thomas sighs. "I'm scared. But I'd rather risk my life out there than spend the rest of it in here." He steps forward. "We don't belong here. This place isn't our home." He says. "We were put here, we were trapped here. At least out there, we have a chance. We can make it out of here. I know it."

Most of the people move to stand next to us. 

"I'm sorry, Gally, it's over." Thomas says. "Just come with us."

"Good luck against the Grievers." He says as the doors shut, standing, watching us leave, a frown on his face.