Quiet is Violent {Newt | The Maze Runner}

1. Fight or Flight

"What a way to meet." He chuckled, his voice heavily accented. She made a move to squirm out from beneath him, but he had already stepped back and taken a firm hold of her upper arm, pulling her back through the forest in the direction of camp. He was tall and blonde and he said his name was Newt. She didn't mind him, and let herself be lead, having snapped from fleeing to passive within a very short space of time.

"Alby! I found her!" He crowed, triumphantly, entering the largest clearing where they had began. The girl saw all of the boys there, talking and laughing and she flinched. However, Newt's hand was steady on her bicep and instead of running, she edged closer to him.

"Did she outrun you, Newt?" Snorted one of the other boys, before Alby, the dark-skinned boy, turned on the girl, she almost froze up, not understanding if he was mad or considering her potential.

"Well? Did you?" He asked. The girl looked at him, her gaze once again shallow, and remained silent. Newt hadn't let go of her and she was glad almost, her fingers were twitched and she wanted to leave so badly, but she stayed, almost pressing herself to his side. He seemed to catch on.

"One of the fastest runners I've ever seen. Could probably take on Minho if she wanted." The girl felt pride flare in her heart, despite the fact she didn't know who Minho was.

"So how did ya' catch her?" Another one asked. The girl opened her mouth, though could not utter a sound, but Newt just laughed.

"We ran into a bit of wall." He said, a knowing little note in his voice. The girl looked on silently as Alby evaluated her. He nodded slightly, almost approvingly, and she straightened her back.

"Take her on the tour then. If you want her to be a runner, you run with her tomorrow." He told Newt, who grinned and nodded. This, of course, lead to a round of jeering and whooping from the gathered boys, including a shout of 'Yeah! Get it, Newt!' The girl paused, witty barb on the tip of her tongue with her mouth refusing to cooperate with her, but Newt tugged her away.

"Don't listen to them. They've never seen a girl before." He murmured to her, and the girl turned to him, raising one eyebrow, breaking the emotional silence she had created, conveying her skepticism at his statement. "Well, I haven't either," he admitted, "but anyone who runs that fast earns my respect." He's silent for the next few minutes and he didn't let go of her arm. She feels like she should be struggling, but doesn't. She either shuts down or bolts and she just can't bolt. They arrive at a small building, the most structurally sound, seeming to be built from a pre-made structure, full of different rooms and hammocks. Newt showed her where her room would be, letting go and sliding his hand down her back, in what would be a reassuring gesture, if it didn't end with him pulling the gun from where she had it tucked into her waistband.

"Where the shuck did you get this?" He hissed, his demeanour changing rapidly. He didn't seem mad, he seemed... afraid, almost. The girl froze and pressed a hand to where the gun was just a moment ago, mind still going over the situation in her head after such a mood whiplash. The girl, her hand shaking, pointed out towards the cage, once she had a bearing on her thoughts, and Newt's jaw clenched. "I'm handing this straight to Alby. Do you know how dangerous this is?" He asked. The girl struggled for a moment, trying to make her mind work with her mouth, as he turned on his heel and headed towards the door, before managing to find her voice for the first time since arriving.

"No!" She shouted, and covered her mouth with both of her hands, her mind flashing to the harsh face of Gally hauling supplies, roughly, his words harsh and uncaring. Newt turned back to her, frown creasing his forehead. "I mean, yes, but only to Alby." She blurted. Newt sighed, a small, almost weary smile on his face. He told Alby that the girl had found it with the other supplies but didn't realise what it was, and Alby huffed out 'fine' and the girl wasn't punished. They kept on with the tour, Newt reverting back to his non-gun-panicky state, and the girl remaining silent.

"Three rules," he told her as they stood facing an opening in the walls, "one, do your part. Help out around here, whatever your job is." The girl nodded and looked to the opening of in the wall, a long, concrete corridor before her. "Two, never harm another glader," at her confused expression, Newt gestured to the two of them, and the others around the glade, "anyone from here, part of the glade. And three," his attention was turned back to the opening in the walls, "is never go into the maze; this." He pointed to it, before turning to her, "but we're going in tomorrow."

The girl nodded once and waited patiently for Newt to lead the way to the next destination. When he didn't, the girl looked at him, only to see him looking back at her with a curious expression. "Do you remember your name or anything?" He asked, looking over her. Her chocolate coloured eyes dropped to the ground and she froze for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Really? That fast? I suppose you did get hit pretty hard by that wall." There was another moment of silence and Newt asked, quietly. "What is your name, then?"

The girl waited, with her name on her tongue, trying to calm her mind that was urging her to run fast and far. Her voice was quiet and she managed one word.

"Tasha."