A Way Back - The Maze Runner (♡Newt)

Chapter 13

Cally's pov

As I made my way to the Homestead, I hoped Ben couldn't see me anymore through the other Gladers. And it seemed like it was working.
     The kitchen was almost empty, everyone was outside except for Frypan and some other Cooks. I greeted them quickly and ran upstairs. When I opened the door to my little abode, I was surprised by what I found. Bark was lying on the ground by my bed, with beside her, Gally.
     "Uh... hey..." I said as I stood in the doorway, "Last time I checked, this was still my room? Unless there were some renovation plans I didn't know about?" I said jokingly after I recovered from the first tiny shock, what Gally didn't seem to get.
     "If you wouldn't have locked up the dog, it wouldn't have bothered me with the barking."
     "Calm down, Galls, I was joking. I actually didn't know I had locked Bark in here."
     "Cally?" I heard a voice from downstairs. It was Ben, quickly I shut the door behind me, ran to my bed, and hid behind it. Spilling some of Frypan's drink over the ground.
     "What the shuck are you doing?" Gally asked while twisting his body so he could look at me.
     "I'll explain later," I whispered. "But I'm not here. Good that?"
     Before Gally could answer, the door opened, in the doorway stood Ben.
     "Hey Gally, I didn't know you were here. Have you seen Cally? I've still got some of Frypan's for her."
     Gally hesitated for a moment as he glanced at me and I was convinced he would rat me out. "Haven't seen the shank. Maybe she went to the bathroom or something."
     "Okay, thanks, man." When I heard the door closing again, I jumped on my bed.
     "What was that about?"
     I went through my hair with my hand. "Ben has been... a bit.... clingy, tonight- let's just say it that way. And the only person I don't mind clingynus from is Bark." By the mention of her name, Bark looked up at me. I petted her head, and she lay her head back down.
     "Just tell the shank to back off." Gally said simple.
     I nodded, "I could... but why do that when I can just avoid him the rest of the night so I won't have to deal with it?"
     Gally looked a little confused, "that doesn't make sense."
     "Maybe not for you, but it does for me. Let's change the subject, how are you doing, Gal? Haven't seen you down there all night."
     "Didn't feel like going down." He made it sound like that was all, but I knew there was something else going on. It just didn't seem like a good idea to push someone I didn't know.
     "But you're feeling okay? I mean, physically?"
     Gally nodded, "I'm fine."
     I looked at the liquid in my hand, "You want some of Frypan's special whatever?" I asked Gally, who nodded and took the cup from me, took a sip, and handed it back. When I took it from him, his eyes fell on my wrist.
     "A watch? So you're a Runner now?"
     "Yep, since like, an hour and a half ago."
     "Good luck out there, Newbie. You're gonna need it."
     I smiled at him, "Thanks, Gally, but I think I'll be fine."
     "That's what I thought," I heard him mumble under his breath, clearly not meant for me to hear.
     "If you don't mind me asking. How did you even get stung in the first place? Builders don't go out in the Maze, right?"
     Gally turned his head away from me, I don't know if he was ashamed, annoyed, or just straight up angry. "That's none of your buissnes." He said, his voice making clear he was angry.
     I held my hands up in the air to show I did not mean to attack him, "Okay, I won't ask again." Realizing the conversation was over, I got up from my bed and looked out of my window. I could see Newt and Minho sitting by the tree trunk. After some time, I also spotted Ben again. He walked to the two guys, they talked some time and he walked away again.
     Gally left my room without saying anything. I stayed for some time with Bark for company.
     Why am I hiding for that guy? I started to think. I could just go down again, even though I wouldn't admit it to Minho, I really was having a good time. Maybe I should just go and ignore the shank.
     It was pretty late already when I went down again. A lot of Gladers were getting tired, most of them were either sitting/standing and talking or lying in the grass, slowly falling asleep.
     As I walked towards the still burning fire Minho passed me by. "So you decided to leave your hiding spot? I think your new boyfriend is already asleep somewhere."
     "Okay, Prettyboy. Two things, first: never, ever, call Ben my boyfriend again. Ever. And second: thank God."
     Minho laughed at the amount of relief in my voice as he walked to the Homestead. "See you tomorrow, don't be late, or I'll drag you out of your bed myself."
     "Good night, Minho."
     "You too, Greenie."
     I turned myself to Bark as I sat down against a tree trunk in front of the fire, "You know what, Barky? I think this place could be worse. I mean, synthetic happiness is a thing, right girl?" Bark just looked at me, eyes blank. "Yeah, you're right. It's a weird thing."
     "You know she can't talk, right?" I looked up and squinted my eyes against the bright light from the fire. Newt was still sitting where he had been for the past hours, but I hadn't noticed him when I had sat down.
     "That's where you're wrong, my friend. She can talk, you just can't understand her."
     Newt raised his eyebrows. "Ow, and let me guess, you can?"
     "For a matter of fact, yes. I speak dog." I said with as much seriousness as I could manage
     Newt laughed slightly, "Of course you do, Cals."
     "I really do!" I tried to look with a straight face, but I didn't last longer than a few seconds before I started to laugh. "Okay, there is a slight possibility that I don't."
     "Just a slight?"
     "Okay, maybe more." I offered him the cub, which I still hadn't finished. "You want some?"
     Newt took it from me and drank from it, "didn't think I would get some from ya."
     "Well, I took yours. Twice. So I still owed you some. Now drink before I change my mind, Newton." His eyes smiled at me over the cub while he drank some more.
     "You know what," I started, "let's find out what's inside of it. I wanne know, and I'm sure you want to too." Newt thought about his answer, but I was impatient. "Come on, Newt! You can't deny that you're at least curious."
     "I may be, but a lot of shanks already tried it, and Frypan wouldn't say a single thin'."
     "Well, maybe Frypan isn't the only one that knows. Maybe Gid knows. Or Mickey or Fred. Someone who is a little more loose lipped."
     "I don't think any of them would say a thin' that would make Frypan smash their heads in with a pan."
     "I can try, I mean, I am friends with some of them. Maybe I can get them to talk."
     "Yeah, good luck with that." The boy said through an amused scoff. "It's not gonna work, maybe Fred would tell you, but I don't think so."
     This peeked my interest. "Fred? Why specifically Fred? Does he know something?" Maybe he was close enough to Frypan to know and easier to convince, but I did need more information for that. Only Newt's expression changed for a moment, as if he had just realized he had said something wrong.
     "I don't know, not specifically him, I meant -"
     "Nonono, no backing out. You started it, now finish it. Why Fred?"
     Newt seemed to think before he answered in a softer voice, "'cause he has a crush on you."
     Rolling my eyes, I let myself fall back against the trunk. "Ha, ha, very funny, Newt. Now tell me the truth."
     "I did. I'm not lying, he really does. Everyone here knows it. You really didn't notice?"
     "People don't have crushes on me."
     "Fred does. I think Ben does, and it wouldn't surprise me if Jeff does, too."
     "Okay, Newton, first, I'm pretty sure Jeff is not interested in the opposite sex, if you know what I mean. Second, if those Shanks really do, it's because I'm the only girl they've ever seen, so it doesn't count."
     Newt laughed while shaking his head, "Anyway, you should try Fred, maybe he would tell you if you flirt with him."
     "O my god. Hell no, I'm not flirting with him to get something, that's just wrong. Besides, I wouldn't be able to, I'm really bad at it."
     "Really? You can't be that bad." There was a genuine curiosity in the Runner's voice, mixed with a teasing tone I couldn't ignore.
     "Shut up, Newt. I'm awful at it, and I'm not doing it. Lilly could have, she's good at that sort of thing. But we are very different people." The moment I had finished talking about my sister, I slapped my hands in front of my mouth. I shouldn't have said that....
     Newt's expression changed entirely this time. His smile was gone, and he turned his whole body to me. His normally calm, hazel eyes now held an intimidating urgentie that made a shiver run down my spine. "Who's Lilly?"
     "Lilly?" I managed to get out in a high-pitched voice. Not doing a great job at hiding my internal panic. "I don't know-" I cleared my throat to make my voice come back down to its normal frequentie. "I don't know a Lilly. I mean, I know the flower, but a person named Lilly? Nope. Besides, I didn't say Lilly, I... uh... I said Billy. You know him? He's a real flirt. Wait, was his name Billy? Maybe not. Is there a Billy here?" Mentally, I screamed at myself for being so obviously lying. This couldn't have gone worse. And Newt clearly didn't believe me. Still looking at me with those intimidating eyes, he stood up.
     "Come."
     It was just one word, but it held the authority that showed he really was the second-in-command. "I don't think I want to..." I managed to say.
     Newt wouldn't have it, took me by the wrist and pulled me up. "You need to come with me."
     Seeing I had no other choice, I swallowed nervously. "...okay..." I said, my voice a bit shaky.
     I thought Newt would take me to Alby and make me explain myself. But he didn't take me to Alby. Instead, he took me to the graveyard in the Deadheads. When we reached it, he looked around before letting go of my wrist.
     "Shoot." He said. I looked at him and didn't say anything. Shoot? He means tell him? I can't do that...
     "Com'n, Cally. You need to tell me now, or I'll drag your ass straight to Alby, and he would make you talk. What's your secret? Who is Lilly?" With every word, his tone seemed to get harder and more urgent. He was desperate for answers, who wouldn't be after so long being locked up with no idea why. Scared his frustration would turn into anger, I gave it.
     "Okay! Okay, I'll tell you. Just calm down, okay?" I wrapped my arms protectively around my stomach, hugging myself as if it would soothe the tension in my body or the rightness on my chest.
     When Newt noticed my distressed reaction to him, his eyes softened a little, and he relaxed his muscles. When I saw him nodding his head encouragingly, I leaned against a tree and let myself slide down it until I was sitting on the ground. Trying to relax and get my thoughts straight, I took a deep breath before I started talking.
     "Okay, so, I may have lied about some things... the first thing. I didn't lose my memories. At least, long term. I don't remember how I got here, I just remember where I came from. My past." I stopped talking, I had to breathe slowly because if I would rush trough this, I would definitely start crying.
     Newt sat down in front of me and gestured me to continue, so I did. "To answer your second question, Lilly... she... she's my sister."
     "You've got a sister?"
     I nodded, tears already pricking behind my eyes. "Yeah, and two brothers. Ezra, my twin and our little brother Darren." I smiled when I thought of my siblings, it was a sad smile, and I really had to try hard not to start crying right there and then.
     "You remember more? About your family? What about your parents?"
     I couldn't look up to him, I pulled up my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "Yeah," I said, my voice started to shake again. "My father's called John and my mom Jennifer. Just like my best friend, her name's Jennifer too." Now the tears started to come, I hid my face in my arms, god I miss them so much... I stopped talking, wanting to get control over my voice and tears first.
     "Cals..." I heard Newt's voice, but I didn't want to react. "Cally..." he lay his hand on my shoulder, startling me a little and making me look up. I expected Newt to be angry, but he wasn't. When I looked in his eyes, I only saw sympathy.
     "You... you're not angry?" I asked, my voice was soft and still shaking. Bark pressed her head against my leg and tried to lick my fase in her attempt to calm me down, but I pushed her away.
     Newt shook his head slowly, all the intimidation from before had left his features. "I'm not angry. But why didn't ya just tell us? You could give us the answers we need."
     I looked away again while shaking my head viciously. "No... no, you don't understand. I'm not- I can't-" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm down again. "I didn't tell you because when I told you guys my last name, you wanted to banish me. I- I just..."
     Newt came closer to me, "it's okay, Cals... half of the Shanks here would've done the bloody same. Hell, I would've done the bloody same."
     "Really?"
     Newt smiled at me, "Yes, really." I relaxed a little. It was nice to get it off my chest, and it was nice that someone understood. Or at least acted like he understood, but either way was good enough for me.
     "But," Newt started again. "I think we should tell Alby."
     My tension came back, and I grabbed Newt's arm. "No. Please, don't tell him. Don't tell anyone. Please, I'm literally begging you."
     The boy's expression changed again, a frown on his face and a hint of worry in his eyes as he took my hand from his arm, holding it instead. "It's okay, Cally. He wouldn't hurt ya because you lied to protect y'self, he will understand."
     I pulled my hand away again. "No, he won't. He would make me tell everything, and he wouldn't believe what I told him."
     "Then tell me. Tell me everything."
     "You will think I'm crazy. And I won't blame you."
     "I won't. Well, not more than before." He made a joke, and I forced a laugh.
     "Promise me that you won't tell anyone. Not Alby, not Minho, no one."
     Newt took my hand in his again, this time the gesture helped me relax slightly. "I promise, you know ya can trust me, right?" His tone of voice was so calm and reassuring that it made me want to trust him.
     I nodded slowly, "Okay, well... this is me trusting you.... I... um... okay. This is going to sound crazy. But, I, I'm not from this... place."
     "That's not crazy, we've all been put in he-"
     I pulled my hand away from him again, rougher than before. "That's not what I mean. I mean, I'm not from this world."
     Newt stared at me for a moment, "You mean, you're like an alien?"
     I rolled my eyes. "No! I'm not an ali- I am human. I mean.... UGH!" I slapped my hand against my head, "I don't even know how to explain it properly."
     "Okay, let's slow down." The boy carefully pulled my arms away from my face to make me look at him. "When you first came here, you said you were dreaming. Why did you think that?"
     "I... Because where I'm from, this. The Glade, the Maze, you, Minho, Alby, Gally. You're a story. You're fiction. There are five books and three movies about you. I have seen the first two movies, but I can't remember the details. And I hate myself for it, if I could just remember shit, then we could get out of here."
     Newt was quiet, clearly thinking about what I said. Clearly considering the possibility that I had completely lost my mind and probably was better off in the Slammer. Or that was what I thought. Ashamed of everything, I looked down. "You think I lost it, don't you?"
     "I think that if you could proof it, it would be easier." The Runner said in a careful voice.
     My face lit up after I realized what was inside my bag. "I can! At least. I've got something..." I opened my bag and took out my phone. I had turned it off to spare the battery. "Look." I said while opening my gallery and searched for the picture from me and Jenny besides the movie promo photo. "Here it is." I handed him the phone, the picture where Jenny and me, before the first Maze Runner poster.
     Newt looked at it, clearly confused that I just handed him a mobile phone. A thing he probably had never seen before as long as he could remember. "Who's that girl beside you?" He asked, pointing the my blonde haired friend.
     "That's Jenny. But that's not important right now. You see what we're standing for? It's the promo from the first movie. The first movie about you guys."
     I could see him taking a better look at the photo. "Who are those people on the photo?"
     I took my phone back, "you guys. That's Minho, that's you, that's Alby."
     "Is that you?" Newt pointed at the only girl on the poster, but I shook my head.
     "What? No. I'm not in the movie, nor the books."
     "But, you're here, you're in the story."
     "No! That's the point! I'm not. This, this isn't supposed to happen. Everything is different from the movie. It shouldn't be like this."
     "You're right. This does sound crazy."
     My heartbeat started razing again, "you... you believe me? Right?" I didn't try to hide the desperation in my voice.
     Newt looked at me, considering his words. "You know what? All of this, us being put in here. Those Grievers out there, the walls moving. All of that shouldn't be possible, but it's still bloody happening."
     "So?"
     "So, I think you're not lying."
     I let out a relieved sigh. "Ow God, thank you."
     "God? Maybe you are going crazy." Newt joked, making me smile a little.
     "You know what I meant, Newton."
     He smiled at me, making me relax completely. "Of course I do, Greenbean."

~.~.~

Edited: 23/05/2020