A Way Back - The Maze Runner (♡Newt)

Chapter 51

Cally's pov

For once, Frypan didn't mind that I had taken food from the fridge. I didn't even have to ask. He offered it to me when he saw me walking into the kitchen.
The moment Thomas and I walked outside, I looked around, hoping to see my favorite Glader. But I couldn't spot her anywhere. "Hey Thomas, you don't happen to see a dog around here somewhere, right?"
The Newbie looked around but then shook his head. "No, but yesterday she was at the hole for most of the day."
From where we were standing, I could see the hole, but Bark wasn't anywhere near it. "I wonder where she is," I mumbled more to myself than to Thomas. But that didn't stop him from answering.
"Should we go look for her?"
Again, I looked around me to check if she really wasn't there. "No, it's fine. She'll find me. She always does."
Most of the day, I was with Thomas. He wasn't that talkative, supposedly because of what happened with Ben earlier today. I tried to lighten the mood and make him laugh. It just didn't work that well. Until Chuck joined us. I was happy to see that Chuck had found another friend. Thomas still didn't say a lot, but I could feel the tension slide a little.
Chuck had started to tell me a very detailed story about what had happened in the time I was gone. Mostly on how the Gladers had reacted. Apparently, my twin didn't have the worst reaction, and neither was my chosen brother Minho. It was my best friend Newt.
When Chuck told me his reaction, I couldn't keep myself from bursting out laughing. "Wait a moment," I said between laughs, "so he actually yelled at you?" I asked the Greenie.
He nodded in response, "he did, but he apologized for it."
"Good, if he hadn't done that already, I would've made him apologize to you."
"It's fine," Thomas said, his tone still a bit distracted. "He's still nicer than most of those... Shanks... he's just protective of you, I guess."
I laughed at the way Thomas said shanks, it sounded weird coming from him. "Yeah, Newton has been like that since I got here. I think it's because I'm a girl. He even got me kicked out of the Runner squad because of it."
The moment I mentioned the Runners, Thomas's interest in the conversation peaked. He leaned forward, and for the first time, I had his full attention. "You were a Runner?"
I nodded, "Yes. Is that such a big surprise for you?"
"No-" Thomas started, but Chuck continued for him.
"The Greenie here wants to he a Runner, stupid, right?"
I eyed him up and down. He had the right build for it, at least. "Why do you want to be a Runner? You know what's out there, right?"
Thomas nodded, "I don't know why... I just know."
Chuck chuckled, "The Shank's already gone crazy, right Cally?"
I smiled at Chuck's command but shook my head. "No, he's not. Not yet, at least. I had the same feeling when I first got here. I wanted to be a Runner as well, and I made it. I was one for a month."
"What happened?" Thomas asked.
"I got stung. Then I freaked out, like Ben, just worse. I ran off into the Maze, should be happy to still be alive."
Thomas didn't seem entirely pleased with my answer, "So, when you get stung, you can't go out there again?"
I shook my head, "No, Shank. That's not how it works. The reason I got kicked out was because Newt wanted to protect me. He made something up and convinced the Keepers that I wasn't capable of being a Runner anymore. They bought it, and now I'm a Med-jack."
"Do you think I could make it? Being a Runner, I mean." The Greenie asked while leaning closer to me.
I sighed, "I don't know. I've never seen you run, and I don't really know you at all. Besides, what I think isn't important. You'll have to convince the Keepers you're capable, and that's not gonna be easy for a Greenbean like yourself."
When Thomas started protesting, I didn't listen because my eyes fell on a troubled, looking Newt. He came walking from the back of the Homestead with Alby, Clint, and Jeff. There was blood all over the two Med-jacks, and there were some traces on Alby and Newt as well, making me worry even more. Alby, Clint, and Jeff walked back inside, but Newt sat down on a table alone, where he started biting his nails. What's going on?
"Cally? Are you listening?" Chuck asked.
"What? Yeah, very interesting, Chuckster." I said while getting up, "I'll be back. Give me a minute."
I left Chuck and the Newbie and sat down beside Newt. He recognized my presence with a forced smile, "Hey Cals, how ya holdin' up?"
I smiled genuinely back at him, "I'm fine. Small headache, but that's about it. How about you?"
Newt shot me another fake smile, "I'm fine, why ya askin'?"
I chuckled while gently taking his hand away from his mouth, "Well, first of all, you're fake smiling. Second, you're sitting alone, and third, you're biting your nails. Which is actually bad for you. Oh yeah, and you're looking like you guys just beat a man to death behind the Homestead." I could feel the blood draining from my face, "you guys didn't-"
"No, no. Ben's alive," Newt cut me short, clearly shocked by my suspicion. "For now, at least..."
That last part, he mumbled, "How do you mean? Is he dying? Where is he anyway?" I was getting really worried now, I didn't like Ben that much, but that didn't mean I wanted him dead.
Newt's voice got softer, so others around us couldn't hear it. "He's in the Slammer. When Minho gets back, we're gonna decide what to do with him."
"You don't mean.... you're gonna banish him?" My voice had also dropped to a whisper, but during the last four words the octave of my voice started raising.
"Depends on what the others will say, but the Shank did break the rules. He attacked the Newbie, tried to bloody kill the guy. It ain't lookin' good for him."
I could see the conflict he had with this. He and the others had to decide over the life of somebody, a friend. I knew he didn't really want to banish Ben, but I could also understand that he had to follow the rules to keep everything in order. I really didn't want to be in Newt's position right now. Or any of the Keepers for that matter.
I took his hand closest to me in my hand and squeezed it gently, "It's going to be okay. Eventually, at least. How's Ben doing anyway?"
"There isn't an arrow sticking out his face anymore, if that's what ya meant. Clint and Jeff did their best, he's all patched up. The arrow didn't hit anything... fatal." While he said that, he turned his hand and entangled our fingers.
I nodded, "And, how about the Changing..... is he still going through that?"
Newt shook his head in response, "he's knocked out right now, but the sudden attack shows he's not goin' through that anymore. We are afraid, though, that he would attack again, so that's why he's in the bloody Slammer instead of the Med-room."
Newt looked at our hands for a moment before looking back up at me, "I'm happy you're back, Cals, I... I missed you."
A wide smile grew on my lips, "I know. Chuck and the Newbie told me."
He tensed a little. "What exactly did they tell ya?"
The smile on my face transformed into a small laugh, "Things."
Newt's face became a mix of confused embarrassment, his expression just making me laugh. "You know what, Newton?" I started a little more serious as I softly rubbed my thump over the back of his hand. Not really capable of looking him in the eye as I talked. "If it's any comfort to you. I don't remember being gone, but if I did, I would've missed you too."