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

- NO MORE MISSING -

Our relief doesn't last long.

It barely even begins.

There's a groan - a wet, animal kind of sound - and then Janson is up. Blood drips down from a gash on his temple, curling like a snake along his jawline. One of his eyes is already swelling shut. But the other? It's locked on Teresa with a feral gleam.

He lunges.

Before any of us can react, he grabs her by the collar and yanks her backward. She gasps, struggling against his grip, but he's already throwing her. "No!" The scream is a mixed sound, made by both Thomas and I as Janson hurls Teresa across the lab table like she weighs nothing. Her body crashes over equipment and scattered glass, thudding hard into the floor on the other side. Something in me snaps, but I'm still strapped down. I can't do anything- I can't move.

Thomas can't either. Not yet. But Teresa had the foresight. The key - slid into his lap before the bottle even shattered. His hands fumble with the cuffs, clicking open the locks in rapid succession. The moment he's free, he's on his feet, eyes wild, breath sharp.

Janson whirls, already stalking toward Teresa again. "Get back here," he snarls. But Thomas doesn't hesitate. He spots a heavy metal post - probably from a fallen IV stand - and grabs it. His feet pound across the lab floor.

"Hey!" I shout - not attempting to distract Thomas but rather gain Teresa's attention. "The ties!" I yell, tugging on my restraints. Teresa groans and stirs on the floor. She hears me and scrambles to her knees. Blood streaks the side of her cheek, glass glittering on her arm, but she gets to her feet with a limp and stumbles toward me.

Thomas swings.

The post slams against Janson's back with a clang of metal and a sickening crunch of impact. He stumbles forward, but doesn't fall. The man spins - furious now, teeth bared - so Thomas swings again. Janson catches the pole mid-air.

They crash into each other.

Fists flying. Grunts. Choking breaths.

Teresa is at my side, fingers shaking as she works on the buckles. "We have to go," she mutters. Her hands are slick with sweat and blood. "Come on, come on..." Another strap unclicks. I breathe harder. Every second feels like a lifetime.

I turn just in time to see Thomas and Janson locked in a violent blur - then Thomas shoves him with all his weight. They crash into the observation window. A second of stillness. Then the entire thing explodes outward in a chorus of glass and wind.

"Thomas!" Teresa worries, a raw shriek that slices through the lab. The glass disintegrates in a glimmering arc, pieces catching the lab light like tiny diamonds.

Teresa and I don't stop to think - we bolt straight out the shattered window and into the chaos beyond. The hallway opens up around us, metal and glass walls gleaming under flickering overhead lights, and there they are - Thomas and Janson, locked in another brutal fight, fists slamming. There's blood on the tile floor already, and the air reeks of copper, fire, and smoke.

I scan wildly - no gun. No weapon. Just a trail of debris from the shattered lab behind us. My eyes lock onto something glinting on the floor.

The pole.

The same metal post Thomas used earlier. I lunge, grab it, the cold steel biting into my hands, and I sprint. Janson has Thomas by the collar, slamming him against a console. "HEY!" I roar - and I swing. The pole crashes against his side with a sick thump. He stumbles back, growling, but it's not enough to take him down. Just a momentary distraction. Long enough for Thomas to suck in a breath and pull away. Teresa comes from the side then, yelling something as she joins in, shoving Janson with all her strength. But he spins and grabs her by the throat. "No!"