fragmentary → scorch trials | newt

chapter seventeen

"Ow." Elodie's ankle began to bother more and more. 

"That ankle of yours is really buggin'you." Newt led the group to a nearby bench where they sat around Elodie, Teresa had walked off following Jorge to where they had taken Brenda.

Newt gently pulled up her pant leg and it revealed an extremely large purple lump, the size of a fist. A few people gasped but Elodie had checked the lump every night before she went to bed. Minho poked his finger right in the middle. Elodie tries to hold it in, but the pain too much and she lets out a wince.

"Ok, you need to bandage that shit." Minho said.

"I'm fine, it's really not that bad." Elodie tried standing up, but she toppled, the only reason she didn't fall completely to the ground was everyone's arms.

"Els, that ankle is not pretty, you have to get it fixed." Luke shook his head. Elodie scoffed at her big brother's use of the word 'fixed'. 

"There's a medic in the medical emergency tent, over there." Sonya pointed to a tent in the far outer area.

"But it's really not an emergency..." She hesitated.

"Go!"

****

After a short but needed trip to the medic's tent, Elodie had a bandaged ankle. An ointment had been rubbed in that helped the pain a little but she still had a small limp.

She found Aris, Luke, Sonya and Harriet waiting at a table where she joined them. 

"I missed you guys." Aris said, "It's down to three from our maze."

"Two for our one." Luke spoke up.

"Guys, don't be such downers geez." Harriet laughed. "We're all here now."

The rest of their conversation was filled with reminiscing about the limited days they spent together in the WCKD facility, where they were excited to be taken to a 'safer place'. Before they knew what WCKD was really up to. They talked about their memories in their 'glades' or 'clears'  when they were mere kids in a frickin maze and they didn't know any better. 

"...Yeah our Clear was super functional, Els and I led it. Alex was second in chief.." Elodie heard Luke ramble on about their 'incredibly organised maze life'. He was always extremely proud of it and found a way to somehow slip into every conversation.

"Those other kids you brought with you, they stink of trouble. I have a bad feeling about them." Sonya looked up at the Gladers, who sat atop the canyon looking over the camp. 

"Hey guys!" Aris waved.

"Hey!" Frypan waved back. Aris smiled, content with his new friends. 

"I like them." 

Everyone giggled. Elodie still looked up at the four boys when she caught Newt's eye who just smiled at her, he got up and began walking to the other side of the canyon and Elodie knew she was to follow.

****

He stood at the edge looking over the valley and the plain desert below it. His blonde hair rustled in the breeze.

"You walk like me now." He looked at her.

"I don't know how you can do it, it bothers me so much." Elodie waddled over to him.

"You get used to it." He sat on one of the stones and Elodie sat beside him. They stared into the far distance. "There's so much out there..."

"If it's anything like what we've seen, I don't think what's out there is pretty." Elodie added, she stared deeply at the purple to pink gradient that the sky had painted.

"I bloody hope not." They shared a laugh.

The sun had begin to fall into the horizon and the pair watched. They inched closer.

"How do you think we knew each other before the maze?" Newt turned to Elodie, his head mere centimetres away, their hands barely touching.

"You really think we knew each other before the trials?" Elodie's heart quickened, Newt took a deep breath.

"Elodie, don't deny that we haven't had some type of connection since we met eyes at wicked. I've felt it from the moment we first spoke, I shared things with you I kept from people I've known for years. There's always been something inside me pushing me towards you and its been so hard to hold in." 

Elodie was speechless, it was as if he said everything she had been thinking for the past few weeks. His eyes were intense, his breaths were deep.

"We have something special Newt, something that I didn't experience with Link, something that makes me feel safe and as though the world isn't ending. I convinced myself I was crazy, that you had no feelings whatsoever, I couldn't risk being hurt again-" 

Newt wasted no more time, his lips met hers gently but she still felt the passion and affection in that one kiss. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck, she smiled in between and didn't care if the whole world watched, her surroundings had melted away. It was just them.

They slowly pulled away, almost never wanting to stop. The moment was perfect, they were finally happy. 

"Wow." Newt said, still not taking his eyes away from her gaze. 

"You have no idea how long I've waited for that." Elodie glowed. He pecked her cheek.

"I feel like we've probably done that before." He snickered, Elodie joined him. 

They went back to looking over the view, now not able to contain their happiness, smiles wide on their faces.

"What happens now?" She asked, leaning head against the crook of his neck, he welcomed this action gladly.

"I guess we see where we go." Newt took her hand and they sat in a comfortable silence taking in what had just happened. 

That's when they spotted the small dots of light that appeared along the far mountains in the horizon.

"What are those?" Elodie squinted her eyes to see what the bright specks where, a whirring sound confirmed that they were helicopters and they moved quickly towards the camp.

"This can't be good." Newt said. He grabbed Elodie's arm and they quickly got up and ran to the camp as the helicopter approached overhead.

 "Come on!"

The pair turned and watched as an explosion had erupted and fire blasted everywhere. A missile had been shot.

That meant only one thing: WICKD had found them.