Promise Me ➵ Newt [3]

TWENTY THREE | the end

Slowly, I tore myself away from Newt's grave and started hiking up the rocky hill, my shoes slipping every now and then from the moss that seemed to litter every damp crack and crevice. Finally, I reached the cliff, the dull crashing of the waves below me resonating through the chilly air. Even though I knew I should be more careful, especially since it was nighttime, I went right over to the cliff edge and plopped down, legs dangling over nothingness.

I watched the horizon for a while, the faint but noticeable streaks of orange and grey where the sun was a few minutes prior, the stars coming out to say hello as darkness set in. I remembered in the old Right Arm base, how Newt told me he wanted to watch more sunsets with me. Now that will never happen.

I heard the crunch of boots against pebbles behind me, and without needing to look up, I already knew who it was. A dark-haired boy sat down beside me, his legs dangling off the cliff's edge along with mine. We sat together in silence for a long moment, gazing out over the sea horizon, watching as the very last traces of sunlight vanished and were replaced with the night gloom.

"Newt wanted to give you this," Thomas said finally, breaking the silence. 

He rummaged into his coat pocket and pulled out something. I glanced down and found myself looking down at his uncurling fist, where a familiar-looking keychain sat in his palm.

It had been a long time since I had saw it, but even if WICKED erased my memories a second round, I don't think they would have suceeded in wiping the ukulele keychain's memory from me. I still remember how Newt had found it in the abandoned mall in the Scorch after we escaped from WICKED, how he had shown it to me and I gave it back to him, requesting him to keep it instead. 

Except this time, there was something attached to the metal ring. Eyebrows furrowed, I took the ukulele keychain from Thomas and examined the small glass vial hanging from it. 

"What is it?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "All Newt said to me when he handed me that was to make sure I give it to you."

Slowly, I uncorked the vial and something came pouring out onto my palm - it was a rolled up note tied together with a thin string. I felt my breath hitch in my throat when I realized what Newt wanted to give me.

"Oh, and uh..." Thomas brought out something - it was a jacket, its red fabric almost black in the dark, its sleeves and collar slightly torn. "This was Newt's. Minho took it off him when we were flying here from the Right Arm. He thought you'd want this."

With tears brimming in my eyes, I took the jacket from Thomas, too overwhelmed with emotions to even thank him. He patted my shoulder and got up, heading back down the cliff and to the beach, where our friends were gathered around the campfire with the rest of the Safe Haven residents. 

I pulled Newt's jacket over myself, the warmth from the fabric hugging me comfortingly. I could almost smell the strange scent of fresh shampoo and smoke as I buried my face into the collar. I then pulled at the string and smoothed down the roll of paper, and holding it up in the air so the light from the campfire down at the beach glowed against the paper, I begun to read the letter that Newt had written for me:

Dear Rose,
I honestly don't know what to write now that I'm starting this letter, and that may sound really klunky of me, but... it may be because I just have too much I want to say to you. Anyway, I want you to know that I don't regret every single moment I spent with you, even the ones where we argued. I've only ever wanted you to be safe. And happy. And I feel like I could have done so much more to protect you. If you're reading this, it probably means I'm not there with you, that I've left this world for good. Despite that, I want you to know that I love you, that I wouldn't change anything if it meant I couldn't get to be with you. I still remember the way my eyes caught yours when we first met in the Glade, how you were so quiet and I was so scared. And how you rescued me when I jumped from the Maze wall, how you wouldn't leave my side no matter how hard I tried to make you. How you saved my life even though you didn't owe me anything. How you brighten up my day whenever you smiled or laughed. How you make me feel like I'm safe and at home whenever you sing and play that charming little ukulele of yours. I know you may feel like life isn't worth living anymore now that I'm gone, but I want you to be happy. You deserve it. Without a doubt. Thank you for always being for me even when I felt life wasn't worth living anymore. Goodbye, and I love you.
Newt.



And it was only after I finished reading the entire letter that I realized I was crying. 

-

The next morning, everyone each grabbed a knife and went over to the large pillar of stone towering on the beach, and started carving in names that meant a lot to them, names of their loved ones and friends and family who couldn't make it. 

Aris, Sonya and Harriet carved the names of everyone from their Maze, including Rachel, gathering around a corner of the stone pillar while tears glistened in their eyes. Brenda and Jorge carved in the names of their family members that lost their lives to the sun flares and virus, until they found each other. Vince carved in Mary's name, along with everyone in the Right Arm who had died when WICKED blew up our last base. Minho and Frypan carved in the names of everyone in our Maze, including Alby, Chuck, Jeff, Clint, Winston - everyone. And finally, it was time for me to add Newt's name. 

Minho handed me the knife and there was a moment's hesitation where I stood in front of the stone, as still as a statue. Then I lifted the blade to the rocky surface and carved the letters one by one, not caring if my fingers were aching after a while and my palm had a bright red mark where the knife handle cut into my skin. 

N E W T

It was done. I passed the knife to Thomas, who carved in Teresa's name. And when he was done, we stepped back and admired the stone pillar, our eyes scanning over the names. It was beautiful.

[ THE END OF "COUNT ON ME" SERIES ]

well... the end of this series is finally here. this series was written by fifteen year old me and i honestly am not proud of how i wrote this series. but what's done is done, and im glad that people read and enjoyed my stories even though it wasn't that good haha. whoever you are, if you managed to read this far, i want to say a big thank you to you. the maze runner is and will always be one of my favourite series, and im glad i could show my love for it through writing this series :) anyway, i will keep this short, all i want to say is thank you for reading, hope you have a good day.