Sacrifice

Chapter Fifty-One

Present day 

Thomas found Newt sitting alone on the roof top, looking down at the once parking garage. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, Newt turned his head to see Thomas kneeling down next to him. 

"Sorry about that back there," he said. "I haven't really been feeling myself lately. I guess...I guess I can't hide this anymore." 

Newt rolled up his sleeve to reveal the veins and cracked skin covering his arm. Thomas had seen the marks on both Winston and Brenda, so there was no mistaking what he saw. Newt had caught the Flare. 

Once again, Thomas felt like his whole world was coming crashing down around him. Ever since he arrived in the Glade, Newt had stuck by him, supported him becoming a Runner, followed him through the Maze and Scorch, no matter how insane it was. Even when Thomas felt like he had hit rock bottom, he had always had Newt. Thomas didn't want to lose him. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Didn't think it would make any difference. All I know is that WCKD must have put me in that Maze for a reason. Maybe it was literally just so they could tell the difference between Immunes like you, and people like me." 

"You know we can still fix this, Newt," Thomas insisted. "Okay, we can." 

Newt was quiet before he spoke again. "Did I ever tell about when I broke my leg? It was way back in the Maze, I had just come up in the Box like all the other guys. Didn't know where I was, didn't know who I was. Even though all my memories were gone I could still feel that something was missing. I felt empty, and I just couldn't hack that. 

"So one morning I got up early, and I snuck out into the Maze. And I went out and found the tallest wall I could, climbed up it...and I jumped off." 

Ever since Thomas injected himself with the Griever serum, and learned that he had a hand in creating the Maze in the first place, he had collected more and more guilt over what happened to the Gladers for months. Every mistake, every injury, every death, it was all on him. Now that guilt multiplied. 

"Of course I got completely tangled up in all the ivy," Newt continued, somehow managing to crack a smile. "Snapped my leg in three different places, like a proper shank. Landed hard on the floor, and I though that was it. Then Minho found me, somehow. He picked me up and he took me back to the Glade, and we never told anyone the truth about what happened. I never even told Claire." 

There was another moment of silence. Thomas had no idea how he was supposed to follow up to something like that. 

"You said Gally helped Claire when it mattered most, what does that mean?" he asked. 

A dark look passed over Newt's face. Whatever it was, it clearly bothered him more than his own attempted suicide. 

"When Claire came up in the Box, I'm sure you can imagine is surprised the hell out of all of us. For the most part, everyone took it well. We did our best to welcome her, just like any other greenie. Gally didn't trust her at first, but even he eventually warmed up to her. 

"Then one night, a Glader named James decided he wanted to...have his way with her. He threatened her, and deceived us all, made us think Gally was actually the one attacking her. While we were all distracted with Gally, he took Claire into the woods. During that time, Gally broke out of the Pit, found her before James could do anything. He saved her, held James off long enough for the rest of us to get there." 

Thomas's guilt was now mixed with anger. He wasn't sure if he was more angry with WCKD or himself for sitting back and letting all these terrible things happen to Newt and Claire during the Maze Trials. Surely no cure was worth that. 

Then he looked at Newt's arm. 

"Listen to me, Tommy," Newt said, as if he were responding to Thomas's thoughts. "Minho's my oldest friend, he saved me when I didn't want to be saved, gave me a second chance. And Claire...well she reminds me why that second chance was worth it. And now they need us. So if there is even the slightest chance that we can save them, that we can get them out of there, then we have to take that. No matter what the cost." 

"Okay, I hear you." 

Thomas didn't like this. He wanted to help Newt, but he also had to accept his friend's wishes. He had to accept that Newt was putting Minho and Claire's lives before his own. After everything Newt had been through, Thomas owed him this. 

As both boys looked toward the city, thinking about the night ahead of them. Neither of them realized that Tony was just around the corner, and had heard the whole conversation.