A11: The Fighter- A Maze Runner Fanfiction

Chapter 8- Newt and Y/N's POV

A/N- This one is quite a bit longer than usual, sorry!

Newt's POV:

As I stood there, plucking the fresh tomatoes from the soil, savouring the earthy smell I had become so accustomed to, my blood turned into ice as I heard a deafening, high-pitched scream commingled out of pure terror and fear. Y/N. I knew it was her. She was the only girl in this place, after all. Everyone else around me heard it as well, but I was the first to move. I sprinted at top speed towards the Deadheads as all the other shanks watched with their mouth agape. I tore through the trees, the branches scratching my skin, nearly tripping over the tree trunks, my limp dragging me behind. I could hear whimpers and heavy breathing, and the murmur of one voice. It was low and distinct, and I recognised it as Alby's. I relaxed a little at that. I trusted him, knew he wouldn't hurt her. A few minutes later I was there and it took me a few second to understand what had happened.

"-had to do this. He would've hurt you and me as well as the rest. Including you, Newt," He gestured to me in acknowledgement,

"Minho, Chuck and the rest. You've got to understand me, Y/N." Alby pleaded with her, but she was shaking her head ferverently.

"NO! You killed that guy! That innocent, poor guy!" She spat the words furiously, shaking with what I assumed was a mixture of rage and shock.

"Look, the guy was... well, he was stung." Alby muttered the words.

"Stung? By the... the Grievers?" She whispered the word as if it was a dirty swear word.

"Yeah. He was a danger to us all. Now you understand, right?"

"But you killed him! You took an innocent life! He couldn't control it!" She was stubborn, I'll grant her that.

"Newt, help me out here." Alby begged me.

"Y/N, I know it may seem harsh, almost animalistic. But you've got to listen to me." I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"He was a danger to us. Alby did what he had to do." I looked deep into her eyes. She glared back at me.

"Why didn't you just lock him up? Killing him is just too far!"

"Already tried it. Did more harm than good. He would be miserable anyway. Killing him is far more humane. The poor shank is at rest now. Beats living in this klunk-hole." I grimaced at her. She took a deep breath, steadied herself and calmed down. She began to walk away, but she turned back to look at us suddenly.

"Can you at least tell me his name?" She looked down at him sadly.

"George. His name was George."

Y/N's POV

Eventually the long, tiresome day drew to an end. The constant cycle of picking the vegetables, placing them in the basket and retrieving fertiliser proved easy enough, but I found it extremely tedious. It dragged out for what felt like days, but in reality it was only a few hours. Zart could see this in my expression, and Newt could too. Once Alby announced it was time to put tools down for the day, Zart turned to me.

"That's your trial finished. You were good today, Y/N. You show real promise." He smiled politely at me.

"I appreciate it Zart, really I do, it's just-" He held up a hand to cut me off.

"I know you don't like the job. Don't worry about it, okay? Even I find it boring sometimes, and I'm the Keeper of the shucking job!" He chuckled, and I laughed uneasily.

"There are plenty more jobs in the Glade to sample. I'll keep this one in reserve, just in case the rest don't work out or you find out that you wanted to work as a Trackhoe after all. Is that alright, then?" He questioned me, and I nodded my head gratefully.

"That sounds great! Thanks so much, Zart." I smiled graciously at him, and began to walk away to get some of Frypan's stew. I could hear someone running after me, and I turned to see Newt running over.

"Didn't like being a Trackhoe, eh?" He tilted his head at me curiously.

"Not really. I still have the feeling that I'm made for bigger things. I just don't feel like a life of farming is cut out for me. I mean, I can fight, I can run..." I trailed off when I saw his face.

"If you're thinking of becoming a Runner, you can forget it. There's no chance I'm letting that happen. The Maze is dangerous, far too dangerous for a Greenie like you." I was just about to retort, when I remembered Minho's request to keep his makeshift trial a secret from Newt.

"You're right. Maybe I'll find work as a Cook or something." I shrugged my shoulders.

"See, that's more like it! I'm just trying to keep you safe. Don't go all shucking sulky with me, you hear?" He squeezed my shoulder tentatively.

"C'mon, I can smell Frypan's stew from here! Let's go get some." He smiled, took my hand and led me over to the kitchens.

A few hours had passed, and most of the Gladers were either milling about aimlessly or were heading off to bed. That included Newt, who claimed that he was feeling especially tired and fancied an earlier night. Once he had departed, Minho made his way over to me with an urgent look plastered on his tanned face.

"Hey Princess, you ready for your little Runner trial?" He questioned me, and I nodded my head enthusiastically.

"But are you absolutely sure you want to do this? The Maze is dangerous, very dangerous." He emphasised those words.

"So everyone keeps telling me. But I know this is the right thing for me. Maybe even for you." He snorted at me.

"The right thing for me? How's that then, Princess?"

"One more Runner with high stamina couldn't hurt. Now, enough talking. Let's get this over and done with." I stood up with resolution, and Minho smirked a little. We made our way over to a large, empty field which was concealed from the eyes of any prying Gladers.

"On my count, we race. One, two... three!" Minho bolted off at top speed, and I sprinted after him. He held the lead for a little while, but that didn't surprise me. He was the Keeper of the Runners, after all. But I was conserving my energy and stamina. After a minute ot two, Minho began to slow down, clearly fatigued from running at top speed. Then, I had the advantage. I sped up suddenly, and then I was in the lead. I could hear his gasp of shock as I shot off in front of him, and then I won the race!

"Well would you look at that. You really can run, huh Princess?" He grinned at me, and I beamed happily at him.

"One more test. You need to be able to defend yourself. Grievers are larger than you, and a whole lot tougher than you. I'm gonna grab you, and you're gonna try and escape. Got it?" I nodded my head at him.

"Good. On the count of three. One, two... three!" Minho seized a hold of me, wrapped his very muscular arms around my waist. For a split second, I took in how dark his eyes were, practically black. Damn, he looked even more good-looking up close. But I didn't let that distract me. I thrust down my elbow harshly on his arms, until he was forced to let go out of pain.

"Shuck!" He yelped, grasping his arms. It didn't take long for him to recover, though. He whirled around and grabbed me by the neck, locking me in a choke hold. I struggled out of desperation for a moment, but then my thoughts straightened. I reared my leg up, kicked him where I knew it would hurt, thrust my elbow into his stomach and made a bolt for it. He chased after me intently, tackled me and we rolled over in the dirt, a tangle of limbs. I ended up on top of him, his hands clutching my hips.

"Woah, Greenbean. That was some real fighting back there. And running, too. Congratulations! You've earned yourself a official trial in The Maze tomorrow with yours truly." He beamed at me, and I laughed out of joy.

"Thank you so much, Min! I won't let you down, I promise." I kissed his cheek out of gratitude, and I could see a faint blush on his face. But then, it happened.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Minho?! I told you about letting her become a Runner! You're in for it, shuckface!" It was Newt.