Different | The Maze Runner / Newt ¹ ✓

{1.0}

"Two." Alby's voice had more warning to it now.

"Ben," Thomas said shakingly. "We're not...I don't even know what-"

Ben screamed, a strangled sound filled with complete madness, and leaped into the air, slashing out with a knife he didn't have until now.

"Three!" Alby shouted, and it all seemed to happen in slow motion.

He let go of the arrow. It sent a whooshing sound through the air and left a thunk when it lodged into its home. Ben's head snapped violently to the left. His whole body twisted until he landed on his stomach, his feet pointed away from us. He didn't make a sound.

It was like someone had pressed the play button on my body and I stumbled forward, my legs feeling like jelly. The arrow stuck out from Ben's cheek, buried in there quite deeply. Blood poured from the wound and seeped onto the forest ground. I fought the urge to puke. But with the head injury, it was likely that I would.

"Come on," Alby urged extremely nonchalantly considering what had just happened. "Baggers'll take care of him tomorrow."

When I started to walk, my legs gave out and I and nearly fell on top of Ben's lifeless body. Thankfully, Thomas caught me, but my head spun and hurt so badly I didn't think I could walk on my own.

"She's bleeding from her head," Thomas observed loud enough for Alby to hear. "Ben slammed her against a tree pretty hard."

Alby sighed and walked over, slinging one of my arms around his shoulders. Thomas did the same with my other arm, and together they carried me out of the woods.

-/-

Once we finally stepped back into the open area of the Glade, I sighed in relief. The Glade was blanketed by a thin sheet of clouds, making the evening sky slightly darker. The open atmosphere calmed the fierce beating of my heart.

Suddenly, Thomas stumbled, falling to his knees. I would've gone down with him due to the lack of balance had Alby not grabbed me.

I turned away in disgust right as Thomas emptied the contents of his stomach onto the grass. Alby crinkled his nose and lifted me back onto my feet.

"Think you can walk with me to the Homestead?" he asked. I nodded and with Alby's help, managed to get there. All eyes were on us, it seemed, but I kept staring straight and didn't look at anyone.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Newt asked frantically as he came jogging over. Without another word, he slung my other arm across his shoulders and helped Alby carry me, putting his hand on my waist.

"I'll explain later," Alby responded. "We've gotta get her back to the Med-jacks first."

They carried me inside the Homestead, managed to get me up the stairs, and brought me down the hallway until eventually we reached the room I was in before.

"Alby!" the other Med-jack of whom I did not know exclaimed the moment we walked in. "We don't know where Ben went-"

"Ben's dead," Alby deadpanned. Newt's jaw dropped open in shock.

"Alby?" he said. "Whaddya mean, Ben's dead?"

"He attacked the Newbies," Alby explained simply. "Thomas just puked his guts out at the edge of the forest. Dylan here's bleeding from her head."

"Yeah, but you said he's...dead," the Med-jack reminded him in a confused tone.

"Yep," Alby confirmed.

"But how?"

"I killed him."

Newt almost dropped me in shock. "You bloody did what?!"