Live ➳ Newt

17 | at hell's gate

I gagged at the sight, "That's disgusting."

Thomas squinted as he grew closer, "There's something in there." He whispered, kneeling down to get a better look.

"You mean besides your griever pancake?" I retorted.

The tall glader rolled his eyes as he neared the leg. He reached his arm in between the stone, moving around and feeling out the metal parts.
The long limb suddenly swung upwards as it tried to attack him. We both jumped back in surprise. "I thought you said it was dead!" I shouted, pointing at the large heap of metal.

"Maybe it was just a reflex?" Thomas assumed, taking a couple steps closer.

"You shucking hope." I growled, crossing my arms across my chest.

The boy returned to the leg's side, as he gave it a quick look over, "Come on, help me get it out."

My eyes widened in shock, "No way! I'm not touching that thing."

He glanced over his shoulder at me, "Please?"

My eyes narrowed as I walked over. We wrapped our hands around the limb and pulled. The leg eventually popped off with a loud crack, which sent me stumbling backwards.
Thomas' eyes slowly moved across it's surface as he studied the parts. He reached his arm in between the walls once more and grabbed something. Once he pulled it out, I could finally get a better look at what he was taking about. It was cylinder shaped, most likely made out of the same metal. There was a little screen in the corner which was lit with a small red 7, and a large cord that hung out from the opposite side. "What the hell is that?" I asked, taking a step closer to him.

He shrugged, "I don't know but, it's interesting."

I scoffed in return, "Can we go back, now? I really don't want to meet his friends," I snickered, "and I bet they won't be too happy when we tell them you killed their buddy."

He laughed, "Yea, we can go now."

➳

Thomas and I entered the homestead slowly as we returned. Newt stood in the center of the tent with Gally and Minho, while Frypan and Zart sat off to the side. The five boys glared at us as we walked in. Thomas and I sighed in unison, already knowing what was about to happen.

"Where the bloody hell have you two been?" Newt growled.

I put my hands into the pockets of my shorts, "We went into the maze." I stated firmly.

The gears in Newt's head turned silently as he tried to process what I had just said, "Excuse me?"

Thomas wrapped his arm over my shoulders, which didn't help the situation. Newt's glare hardened. "It's not her fault, I convinced her to lie to you and help me." He replied calmly.

"That doesn't mean she didn't break the rules too." Newt snarled.
I had never seen him so upset before.

"I know, Newt. I'm sorry." Thomas said sadly, letting his arm fall to his side.

Newt sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to calm himself down. "What did you find?" He asked, pointing to the metal cylinder in Thomas's hand.

I watched quietly as Thomas handed it to him, "We found this inside the griever."

Newt squinted at the small writing, "These are the same letters we get on our supplies."

The Greenie nodded in agreement, "Yea, whoever put us here obviously made the grievers." He paused, looking over at the asian boy, "plus, this is the first thing you've found in over three years, right Minho?"

Minho nodded, "Right."

I sighed and grabbed Newt's free hand, giving him a small smile, "We gotta go back out there, Newt."

Gally grimaced, throwing his arms up in anger, "You see what they're trying to do right? First they break our rules, then they try to convince us to abandon them totally, and finally all the doors are open! That doesn't worry anybody? The rules are the only thing that have ever held us together, why now are we questioning that? They need to be punished." He shouted.

The second in command sighed calmly, "You're right. They broke the rules. One night in the pit, no food."

The tan glader scoffed, "Oh come on Newt! One night in the pit? You think that's going to stop them from running into the maze?"

"No, and we can't have non-runners running into the maze whenever they feel like it." Newt paused, frowning a little before he spoke again, "So Thomas, let's just make this official. Starting tomorrow, you're a runner."