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

- LOSS OF A SUN -

I squeeze my eyes shut. Because if I look at her any longer, I'll say something I can't take back.

"She's right." Doctor Ava Paige says it like it's a closing argument in a courtroom. "This is all just a means to an end." Her voice doesn't shake. It never does. But there's something under it - a kind of belief so firm it sounds like religion. And in a way, it is. WICKED is her church. This virus is her sin. And we're all just pieces on the altar. I glance at the transport, the soldiers, the chaos around us. Somewhere in my body is the urge to run. To try something. Anything. But it fizzles as fast as it sparks. It's impossible. We're outnumbered, unarmed, surrounded by soldiers who won't blink before pulling the trigger. I've seen what happens when you disobey. We all have. Paige turns to Thomas and me, her eyes strangely gentle. Calculating. "And you two," she says, "used to understand that." Used to. The words sting - just the thought that we were ever remotely on her side. "No matter what you think of me," she continues, "I'm not a monster. I'm a doctor. I swore an oath to find a cure."

I don't think before I speak. "No matter the cost," I mutter, voice low, bitter. A lash of sarcasm.

She smiles. "Exactly, (Y/n)." Like I've proven her point for her. "I just need more time."

"You mean more blood!" Someone snaps. The shout cuts across the clearing like a blade. It's sharp and hoarse and entirely my mother's. She's standing now, wrists still bound, but her gag is torn from her mouth, dangling useless at her collar. There are guns trained on her, yet she takes a bold step forward - like a person who has nothing left to lose.

Dr. Paige turns slowly, that same placid expression in place. But I see her eyes flick toward Janson. Measuring. Making sure her second-in-command is still firmly at heel. "Ah, Mary," she says with some mock affection. "I hoped we'd meet again." She tilts her head. "I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

"I'm sorry about a lot of things, too," my mother says. Her eyes shift to me. And in them, I see love. I see remorse. I see a goodbye she isn't saying out loud. "But not this." Her voice doesn't crack. "Because at least my conscience is somewhat clear."

"So is mine," Dr. Paige bites. And then I catch it. Movement. Just behind Ava. It's Janson.

He raises that damned pistol.

The same pistol he held on Thomas.

The same pistol he would use on me if given the chance.

"NO!" I scream.

The gun goes off.

A sound that rips the world in half. I spin. My mother is standing. For one more second. Just one. She blinks at me. Her mouth parts. There's a red bloom on her chest, blossoming outwards like sunlight drawn in blood. Her knees buckle. "Mom!" I cry, too loud, too late.

She falls but she doesn't hit the ground. Vince catches her, even as he fights off the guards. "Mary- Mary, please-" His voice is broken. The stoic man I've seen is crumbling before my sight. "No- no, not now-"

I stare at her face. Her eyes. There's no light in them now.

It's not like Chuck. Not like when we watched him fade. This was faster. Too fast. She was there, then she was gone. My knees don't give out. I don't scream in grief. I don't collapse over her body or beg her to wake up. Something inside me goes silent. Cold.

And then it explodes.

"YOU-!?" I scream. The words pour out of me like venom, a string of curses so violent I don't even know what I'm saying. Every cell in my body points to Janson. That man. That thing. That supposed father. He just killed his wife. The mother of his children. And didn't even blink. I lunge. I don't think. I just move. But a hand grabs me mid-sprint, hauls me back with force. Newt. "Let go of me!" I scream.