Single-Blind - Newt (TMR)

Chapter 25 - Crazy, Stupid and Annoying

"Hey." Teresa shook Thomas's body in the slammer. They'd been in there all night, if we tried to break them out, Gally would just throw us in there with them and then out to the maze for Griever dinner. Thomas's eyes fluttered open and he shot up to a sitting position. "Are you okay?"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck was the first to ask and I saw a little bit of worry hidden in the little boy's anger.

Thomas looked around at his current situation, "What happened?"

"Gally has taken control. He said we had a choice. Either join him... or get banished at sundown with you." Minho explained, not excitement in his voice.

Thomas took instant offense, "And the others agreed to that? Fi agreed to that?"

I exhaled, "No one's seen Fi since last night. Either she locked herself in the maproom or Gally did."

Had I known Gally would go off the rails two years ago I wouldn't have allowed him to protect her. I would have put someone else in charge of making sure these shanks keep their hands off her. His idea of protection has gone into overkill.

Thomas shook his head in denial, "Please tell me she didn't take his side."

"Gally's her best friend, I don't know..." Fry said quietly, no one liking the reality of it.

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened," Minho explained, seeing the ridiculousness in it.

"Well, he's been right so far," Tommy answered, shocking all of us. We all glanced at each other, checking if the others heard what we thought he just said.

"What are you talking about?" Teresa questioned.

"This place... it's exactly what Fiona thought it was." He started, "It's not a prison, it's a test it all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting with us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork.

"Sending them up into the maze," I concluded.

"Yeah, but not all of us," Thomas answered loosely.

I narrowed my eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Guys, I'm one of them," Thomas admitted with shame. "The people who put you here, I worked with them. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here... I was on the other side of it." He glanced over at Theresa, "So were you."

"What?"

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

"No. That can't be true." She denied, looking up at us with pleading eyes to believe her.

"It is. I saw it."

"Why would they send us up if we were with them?" Teresa asked him, a small tear falling down her dirty cheek.

"It doesn't matter." He muttered.

I nodded, rethinking the whole situation into the drive we needed, "He's right. It doesn't matter. Any of it. 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 now, and what we do... right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out. "

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

"Maybe." Pain struck my heart, "But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. 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. I won't live with any of it, every sacrifice we have made has been for a reason. To get out of this hell hole."

"Okay-" Thomas agreed, "Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first."

"And I'm not leaving without her." I declared, unsheathing his machete as I stood up.

Wild hollers came from the boys, specifically Chuck as they grinned ear to ear.

"It's about time you grew a set." Fry patted my back. I glanced confusingly around for an answer but only saw Minho cracking up.

Thomas smirked, "I figured it out in less than a week. Do you really think everyone didn't already know?"

"You're good actors. But not convincing enough." Frypan added more dramatics. "Go get her Prince charming."

I rolled my eyes, cursing myself for smiling like an idiot, "I hate the lot of you."

I ran off in the opposite direction, heading into the woods so I could get to the maproom from the cover of the trees. If Gally knew we were after her, our plan to get out was as good as gone. And I wouldn't let her go without a fight.

I checked the maproom first, but nothing was left but ashes and charcoal branches. I mumbled profanities under my breath, I ran down the hall. Seeing the medjacks room destroyed like the rest of it.

I ran down the stairs, I pushed debris out of the way to open the door. I was locked from outside instead. She must have heard the commotion outside. Because she started screaming.

"Gally, piece of shit! Let me out! Please the grievers are coming back!

I slammed against it, breaking the door by putting my full weight into it. She covered her eyes, the sudden sunlight and the dust blinding her. "Newt?"

She had her legs and arms bound by what looked like athletic tape. And another piece hung from her cheek from where he got it off. "Ready to go, love?"

She smiled, seeing me in the doorframe. I knelt down, my knees sliding on the ground to get to her. As lightly as I could, I took the rest of the tape off her mouth. She didn't seem affected in the slightest.

"I'm sorry." I started, my hands focusing on the tape wrapped around her ankles.

"I'm fine, Newt." She answered quickly.

"No. I'm sorry about us." I swallowed hard, my hands were shaking trying to rip the tape off. "When I couldn't find you- when I thought you might be dead too. Everything in me went dark. All the words I didn't say were kicking me in the head. And I never want to go through that again. From here on out it's me and you. No more hiding, no more stupid maze. The truth is either of us could have died last night and I would have never forgiven myself if you died hating me."

"I don't hate you." I could feel her eyes traveling my face.

I finally got the bright idea to use a knife to cut the tape and I sliced through it easily on her ankles. She laughed at my idiocy as I rested my arm on my knee and looked up at her. A smile like that was enough to make me lose all ambition. I knew that once and for all I was permanently screwed. I would walk through fire for this girl. The more I tried to avoid it the more painful it became. If I died tonight it would all be worth it just to know a brown-eyed, curly-haired, smartass who's not afraid of life's black and blues. "Good because I am so crazy, stupid, annoyingly love with you."

She looped her tied-up hands over my head, pulling me forward with them pressed to the back of the neck. She kissed me like it was a sigh of relief, I kissed her back with the power of the thousands of kisses I've wanted to give her for the past three years. I circled my arms around her, eliminating and distance between us as I pulled her onto my lap. I felt her lips turn upwards slightly, making my heart race even more.

Her finger lips grazed my hair before her arms got caught in an awkward position with her lack of mobility from the bonds, I couldn't help but chuckle as she groaned. "Can you get these off?"

"I quite liked them on..." I suggested.

She rolled her eyes, before leaning down to my ear, whispering deviously, "Get us out of the maze and you can do whatever you want."

My jaw must have locked on the floor because I couldn't speak a word to respond. She laughed, tilting my chin up to kiss me again.