If you've ever been my friend, love me.

Chapter 3

"Okay then greenie... Out there? That's a whole different kinda hell" newt glared out at what lied beyond the walls.
"Hell?"
"Quiet. I said no questions" his voice was harsh but newt still had a small smile on his face
"It's called the maze"
"But-"
He held up a hand to silence the boy next to him "no. I'm telling. Your listening. Questions later or tomorrow for Alby" newt chuckled, obviously liking bossing the new kid around.
"Okay. Fine" despite being completely lost and insanely confused the new boy smiled.
"The maze. An intricate web of stone walls" he gestured around "all the way around here. We - us shanks - are in the middle, yeah? All you need to know is that you do not. Enter. The. Maze. You get that?"
"Why? I-"
"Do. You. Get that?!" Newts eyebrows were raised as he looked at the boy. He leaned forward and poked him in the chest.
"You. Don't wanna get your pretty, question lovin', face stuck in the maze. You understand?"
Stuck? How you someone get stuck?
As if in answer, the floor rumbled beneath their feet like and earth below them was walking up from a long slumber.
"What the -" the boy stumbled as the ground shook and an enormous booming noise sunk into his ears and rattled in his brain.
He clenched his eyes closed and pressed his hands to his ears - desperatly trying to stay balanced as he block out the sounds.
Finally, he felt the ground grow stil beneath him. He opened his eyes to see newt, staring straight at him, only a foot away from his face.
"That, my friend, is why you don't mess with the buggin' maze" he smirked and pointed to the gap in the walls. It was gone. Completely disappeared. The boys stomach dropped a se realised.
Doors. Not gaps.
"What-"
"They close. Every night. Same time. Every single night. if you drag your butt out there - get lost - and don't come back - your trapped out there for the night."
Newt paused and tore his eyes away from the walls.
"No one survives a night in the maze. Only one of us has. But he ain't gonna tell about it."
The boy wondered why not.
The greenie thought about how the huge walls could possibly shut.
The new kid wondered who had put them here and why.
Thomas wondered if he would ever go into the maze.
Thomas.
Thomas.
The name exploded in his thoughts, seeped into his brain, leaked into his blood stream as it finally hit his heart.
"My name" he whispered.
Newt looked over at him, a huge grin on his face, his arms folded across his chest.
"My name. It's Thomas" he felt like a part of him had returned and for the first time since he could ever remember - he felt a part of him, locked in his brain.
Newt looked at him for a moment then unfolded his arms and clapped once.
"Well that's buggin' brilliant" if it was possible - his smile grew. "Let's go, tommy" he patted him on the back once then with that he turned into the darkening sky and walked towards a small bundle of light in the distance. Not waiting for Thomas to follow.
Because he already knew that he would.
What else could he possibly do?

***

A fire. An enormous fire. It's flames licking at the night air as all of the boys crowded around it, laughing and drinking a strange liquid out of thick glass jars.
Newt had shown him around, pointing to people and muttering names
A lean, strongly built, fit guy named Minho - he didn't seem very chatty.
Two guys who's names Thomas had forgotten but he had remembered their title "medjacks"
Another lean boy called Ben.
A muscular guy with almost a full beard called Frypan.
A small, plump boy with ringlets of brown hair called chuck.
By the end of the night Thomas' brain was bursting with names and faces and loud music from several boys who were thrashing objects somewhere behind the fire.
Thomas say down with newt after a while - newt clutched a jar of drink as he sat down. Newt grunted in effort and he stretched out his leg to sit down - Thomas had noticed a slight limp in it earlier.
"What happened?"
"That's a might big question tommy" newt looked around at him and his shoulders shook as he chuckled at the boy.
"To your leg. What happened to your leg"
"Your in this whole new place. No idea about anything. And you wanna know what's wrong with my buggin' leg?"
Thomas shrugged "just wondering"
Newt took a swig from his glass and set it down in the grass beside him
"I fell" he whispered "I fell. And there ain't no use trying to make me tell ya more. Next question."
Thomas smirked "fine. Tomorrow. Will Alby really tell me everything? Where the hell I am? How the hell everything works?"
"That's right tommy. Anything ya need to know"
"Alright then" Thomas gaze fell back to the distant maze. His heart rate quickened as he imagine what was out there. What the maze could hold.
"You said one guy survived a night in the maze. Who was that?" Thomas looked back to the group of boys by the fire - still laughing and eating. But newt was silent next to him.
"Newt?"
"I ain't gonna tell ya greenie. But let me tell you this - the glader that did - won't tell you much. He survived one night by pure chance cause he found a thing to help him. But now, he ain't allowed in the maze anymore. And he saw things that no person ever should. But we don't speak of it, alright tommy?"
Thomas nodded but his eyes still flicked over the gladers trying to figure out who it could possibly be.
"Tommy?"
"Yeah" he turned to newt, the boys face illuminated in the orange light of the fire. The darkness made his eyes glow as the fire barley caught half of his face.
"You really love those questions don't ya?" Thomas saw that darkness in newt eyes again - he knew that it didn't come from the night air around them.
"Uh... Well. I don't know newt. I just. Want to... Know."
"Fair enough" newt whispered despite the loud rage of the other boys.
"You will learn more. Trust me. You may even like it here. But one day. One day, we will get out. The runners will solve the maze. Just don't.... Think to much. Okay tommy? I know that's a hard thing to ask but... It helps sometimes. It helped me on my first day"
Thomas wondered how long newt had been in the maze. He wondered about Alby tomorrow and where he would sleep that night and what there was to possibly do in this place..
But he stopped.
He stopped and he tried not to think.
He focused on newt and the music and the fire as he spoke
"I might... Sleep now. Sorry. I'm really tired"
Newt nodded and stood up slowly.
"Chuck set up a hammock" he leadedThomas over to a spot in the trees and pointed to a hammock "that one there on the left. Next to chucks one. I'm right over there" he gestured to another clearing in the trees with a pile of sleeping bags jumbled up with pillows and blankets "if you uh... Need anything. But sleep now. Big day tomorrow. G'night greenie"
"Goodnight newt. Thanks"
"Ain't no problem tommy" he turned and walked away, leaving Thomas alone to watch as the other boys slowly parted ways and got ready to sleep themselves.