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

- ONLY GETTING WORSE -

And something clicks between us.

The fourth guard moves. But not toward us. He turns sharply - his gun swings toward the others. A burst of shots echo across the courtyard. Three guards drop in an instant, convulsing midair as if yanked by wires. Sparks dance along their armor. One of them gurgles through his teeth, muscles spasming. "You son of a bitch-" he manages to grunt through his electrocution before collapsing.

Silence.

Then, the fourth guard strides forward, lowering his weapon. With slow, practiced hands, he pulls off his helmet.

It's Gally.

My jaw drops, but Minho speaks first. "Gally?"

Right. He doesn't know. Gally's eyes flick to Minho. "Hey," he says casually, as if they'd bumped into each other on the street and not in the middle of a blood-soaked, city-wide escape mission. He tilts his chin up, glancing at the shattered window stories above us. A sharp whistle escapes his teeth. "You guys are nuts," he comments. There's no argument from any of us.

Minho blinks, dumbfounded. I step forward slightly, the ache in my chest blooming sharper now that the adrenaline is ebbing out. "We can explain that later," I promise Minho, glancing toward Gally's retreating back. "Is everyone alright to walk?"

A chorus of quiet nods and grunts answers me. Thomas is rubbing his shoulder. Minho flexes his arm slowly, and Newt- Newt places a hand on my arm. It's firm, grounding. I glance at him. He gives me a small nod. We're okay.

We start after Gally, the city around us pulsing in shadow. Neon signs flicker. Sirens cry in the far distance. The streets are wet and cold beneath our feet. But Minho doesn't move. He's still standing where Gally revealed himself, drenched and stunned. I don't blame him. The last time he saw Gally, he was dead - he had killed him. And now here we are, crawling through another miracle. "Come on, Minho!" Thomas calls back, urgency threading into his voice.

Minho finally blinks. Swallows. Then moves.

The night air bites into our skin, sharp and unforgiving. Every drop of water clinging to us feels like ice, and my soaked clothes cling heavy against my body. Each breath comes out as a visible puff, swirling into the dark around us. My ribs ache, and the cold seeps deep into my muscles, making every step heavier. Newt's shivers are barely masked by the grit in his jaw, and I can see Minho pulling his jacket tighter around his frame, even though it's futile in this damp chill.

The city around us hums with restless energy, far from the sterile, claustrophobic labs we just escaped.

"Wait- the serum?" I ask Gally, the thought popping into my mind.

He glances over his shoulder. "I left it with Brenda and the kids," he admits, somewhat guiltily to me. I look away. I can't blame him, but I do. "When I left them, they were all safely on the bus," Gally continues and a brief relief washes over me. Brenda must have been right on time, just as we hoped. "But when you guys didn't show up to the meeting point, I knew something must've gone wrong," Gally continues, his tone grim.

"That's an understatement," Newt mutters, coughing harshly in the back of his throat. I turn and catch his eye - worry etches deep lines across my face. He tries to hide the pain, but it's there, lingering just beneath the surface.

Gally nods, humming thoughtfully. "The whole building was searching for you. I ran into Janson a couple of times while looking, he was shouting and grumbling like a man possessed." His eyes narrow at the memory. "I know him from outside the city, through the group I work with... But I didn't know he was your father," Gally says, looking directly at me.