The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials ~ Newt

3: Others

The group was released what felt like hours later, one and two at a time, their arms feeling like pincushions, their minds racing, their stomachs hungry.

Thomas was called away for some unknown reason, and no one was comfortable with it. Where could he have gone that didn't require all of them?

Anna was one of the last, though Winston and Teresa were still being tested as well. Newt had come and sat next to her nurse who was taking last notes, but he was politely told to leave. He had thrown her a concerned look, but she waved him off. Now, she wished he had stayed with her. The long hallways were empty and gray, and eerily quiet for such a large facility. She walked up to the door labeled "MESS" and assumed she was in the right place for the evening meal. Sure enough, the men stationed at the door slid their keycards and waved her through. Anna wondered distantly how the men knew to let her in, but any concern vanished as soon as she smelled pork and potatoes.

She was shocked at the amount of kids in the mess hall; there had to be at least fifty, just like her Maze before the Grievers attacked. She saw tables of boys, tables of girls, tables of both, and grew a bit self-conscious. There were so many strangers.

She immediately looked for her friends and saw Newt stand up and give her a nod. She made a beeline for him, but her attention was thrown by a slight blonde at the closest table, who stood up and laughed.

"Marie," Anna gasped. "Hi!"

The two girls caught up about the last few hours, and both were surprised by the similarities between their afternoons. Marie saw where her new friend was headed and offered if Anna wanted to sit with them, and Anna was touched by the gesture of friendship, but she saw Newt still standing at his table, looking over heads to see what was going on. She told Marie she would eat with her another time, who looked happy about the prospect.

"Sure," Marie said. "But you let me know if you are in desperate need of some girl time, okay? Boys can be impossible."

Anna laughed, nodded, and resumed her path to the center of the room.

Minho jumped from his seat when he saw who Newt was looking at. The slinthead turned into a pile of clunk around the girl who was mostly average in his eyes. Minho knew Newt was normally a pretty eloquent shank, diplomatic and quiet more often than not, but around her, Newt turned anxious, always moving his hands or tapping his heel on the ground. Anna was brave, sure, and plenty capable, but not more than himself. Hot enough, he supposed, but not a head-turner. She was one of the group. It felt weird to see her like that. He always supposed Newt had liked her because she was available. But now there were girls everywhere, many of them were super hot, and he barely even looked up.

Minho weaved through an oncoming crowd and threw an arm around Anna's shoulders. "Welcome to Paradise," he announced. "What shall you be eating this evening?"

Anna threw her arm around his waist in return. "Whatever they're serving," she said easily. "Their pork smells way better than Frypan's," she added loudly as Minho pulled her next to their table. The cook laughed good-naturedly, and Winston shoved him as he plunked down to join them, agreeing with the playfully dragging comment.

Newt looked her up and down as she stood next to him automatically. Minho knew he was checking to make sure she was okay. It was how he showed affection. If Newt hated someone, he couldn't care less about their well-being. He had shut down Gally pretty bluntly on more than one occasion, and had not hesitated to tell Thomas he was a freaking idiot, even refusing him food for a day, but he had checked in on Anna constantly, even when she had first come up in the Box, bringing her food, medicine, advice, et cetera. Normally he stayed in the back, refraining from making comments until he had formed an opinion about the person. The scary thing was, once made, that decision never changed. At least it hadn't in the three years Minho had known him.