IT STARTED WITH A MAZE - Newt x Reader (F)

- THE RIGHT ARM -

He's going to do something loud.

I nod at Aris. "Get ready." He nods back, crouching lower. I brace myself. Fingers twitch at my sides, coiled like springs. But instead of an explosion, I hear a different sound.

A voice. Sharp. Female. Dangerous. "Drop it! Now! I said drop it!"

It's coming from just ahead - where I think Jorge and Brenda are pinned down.

I inch forward again, slowly, this time careful not to rise too high. Through the shattered glass, I glimpse movement. Shadows against the bright gray daylight. Then I see them. Two figures on this same cliffside road. Armed. Both of them raise their weapons at Jorge and Brenda, their faces half-covered by scarfs. "On your feet! Let's go!" The first one barks.

Her voice is tight with command, but I catch the quiver underneath. She's not just posturing. She's serious - and maybe scared, too. More movement. Both girls now stand in the open, weapons raised. "Move! All of you, get up!"

I see Thomas rise slowly from behind this truck, hands raised. Minho stands a beat later, hands lifted, brows drawn tight with confusion. Teresa follows. Newt's cautious. One by one, we all show ourselves, emerging from behind burnt-out metal and boulders, lifting our hands. The girl in front moves forward, still aiming her weapon - but then her eyes catch something.

No, someone.

She stares, not at me, but through me. "Aris?" She says suddenly.

I turn, confused, to find Aris rising beside me, his eyes wide with disbelief. The girl yanks her scarf down with one swift tug. Dark skin. Dark dreadlocks. Fierce brown eyes softening in an instant. "Oh my god. Harriet?" Aris breathes. She laughs once, breathless, then rushes him. They collide in a tight hug, guns forgotten for a moment as her arms wrap around him like she never wants to let go. Behind her, the blonde lowers her weapon slightly, watching with wary interest. She pulls down her mask too, and Thomas stares. "Sonya," Aris says. Voice cracking.

The blonde smiles - small, almost reluctant - but her eyes are shining.

I stand there, stunned. My first thought is that this girl - Sonya - looks exactly like Newt. Same eyes. Same hair. Even the same nose. I glance over my shoulder, wondering if anything has sparked in his mind. But his face is the usual mask infront of these strangers. She doesn't even give Newt a second look. I must be wrong.

The tension drains from the air in slow waves. Guns lower. Shoulders drop. Someone - Minho, maybe - lets out a low exhale. I glance around. Jorge keeps his weapon in hand but lowered, his face twitching somewhere between suspicion and relief.

"Aris, you're lucky we didn't shoot your dumb ass," Sonya says with a crooked grin.

He laughs - relieved, overwhelmed -
and throws his arms around her in a sudden, tight hug. She stumbles back half a step from the impact, then holds him just as tightly. It's not a polished reunion. It's raw, messy, emotional. Real. Harriet beside them, silent. She reaches for Aris' face like she still can't believe it's him. Her fingers brush his jaw, eyes glossy. "We thought you were dead," she whispers.

He just shakes his head and leans into her touch. "You almost made sure of that."

I glance at Newt beside me. He's watching the scene unfold, unreadable. Our eyes meet for a second and there's something in the look, soft and brief. We've seen too many reunions like this that never happened. Too many that ended in blood instead of relief. "What's happening?" Minho asks, eyes darting to the cliffs.

"We were in the Maze together," Aris explains, voice still hoarse from the tension.

"Group B," I murmur, watching Harriet. She doesn't react to the name. Just lifts her chin. Thomas immediately glances at me like I've just ordered his death.