T R U S T [The Maze Runner || Newt || Book 2]

Chapter 11

Newt POV

Thomas woke everyone up the next morning, the sun hadn't set but it wasn't completely dark either and they set off again. Walking. For hours, and hours turned into days, trudging through the seemingly endless desert, stopping every night to sleep for a few hours before going off again. It seemed like the mountains were getting further instead of closer, like every step Newt took was sending him backwards instead of forwards. His leg burned, getting worse and worse with each day, his limp growing more noticeable, so much so that Teresa had begun to check up on him, making sure he didn't need to stop and rest.

He tried desperately not to focus on the thoughts of Clara that were flashing in and out of his mind, his eyes trained on her as she walked ahead of him, actively avoiding him. He regretted what he'd said the night before, a lot. He didn't stop to realize what Wicked might've done to Clara after they'd taken her out of the maze, or what had been going through her mind when she sacrificed herself. But he couldn't stop himself from feeling anger about her decision, he couldn't quite figure out why.

A small voice in the back of his head reminded him that he probably wasn't angry so much that he was scared, scared that she would happily risk her own life again to save someone else, and he'd come to realize she wasn't reckless, she was brave, braver than all of them. Braver than him.

Eventually, after a few days, they made it to a much flatter section of land and the mountains actually looked like they were slightly closer to them, giving Newt the smallest bit of hope. That night they all grouped together, sleeping close to one another under the open sky. Newt lay next to Thomas, his body curled up uncomfortably on the rocky ground, small stones digging into his skin. But despite the conditions, his body was tired enough to relax, and he fell asleep quickly.

"Hey. Get up. Newt, get up!" Newt heard Thomas muttering and felt a slap on his leg, he sat up, his body screaming in pain, every single muscle aching with a stiffness he'd never felt before.

"Come on, let's go! Get up! Frypan! Aris!" Thomas called, waking up the rest of the group as Newt stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder and pulling Teresa to her feet. He looked over at Clara, who seemed to be staring right back at him but she quickly averted her gaze, turning away from him. He shook his head before moving towards Thomas,

"What is it, Tommy?"

"I see something. Look!" Thomas pointed at something in the distance and hope flared inside Newt. "It's lights."

"We made it." Aris said, a smile growing on his face. Suddenly a loud crack of thunder came from behind them, causing Newt to jump slightly as he turned around. His eyes grew wide as he saw the storm approaching them, flashes of lightning in the clouds and low rumbles of thunder getting closer to them. A huge bolt of lightning struck the ground by the storm, sending a loud crack echoing toward the group.

"Okay, we gotta go. Let's go." Thomas muttered, grabbing his bag before pushing Newt forward. They all began to run towards the lights, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them, desperately trying to avoid the storm that was quickly catching up to them. Newt felt the hair on his head rise up, static energy rushing through his body and he pushed his legs to move faster as lightning struck the ground around them.

"COME ON! GO, GO, GO" Minho yelled as the group got closer and closer to the structure ahead of them. Newt's heart raced as he ran forward, feeling the familiar ache in his leg starting to act up again but he pushed it down, desperately trying to keep up with the rest of the group. Suddenly a deafening crack sounded from behind him and he whipped his head around just as Minho and Clara were sent flying to the side by a bolt of lightning. His stomach flipped and he scrambled towards them. He crouched down by Clara, picking up one of her arms and wrapping it around his shoulder as Teddy grabbed the other, carrying her with them as Aris and Thomas carried Minho behind them.