Atomic [Newt || Maze Runner]

[Chapter 4] ✙ The Glade and The Glen

It ran from his chest to his abdomen, cut in jagged lines as his skin flared open with black blood and rotting flesh. She didn't even need to guess to know what would happen if someone were scratched or bitten by one of those things. But if they were immune as Ava Paige had claimed, Winston should be able to withstand this virus, right?

Wasting no time, she leaned forward to press the dampened towel onto the boy's stomach, wincing as he let out a cry in pain.

With his sudden yelp, everyone jolted awake.

Gently rubbing his eyes, Thomas was the first to rise to his feet.

"Are they gone?" Newt asked groggily, pushing himself up on his elbows.

"Yeah," Thomas said as he scanned the perimeter. "I think we're safe for now."

As the rest of the group slowly stirred, stretching out their rigid bodies, Eden folded the towel over onto a cleaner side, causing Winston to groan again.

"Hey!" Minho snapped his head around in alarm. "What the shuck are you doing?!" He shouted angrily, clearly getting the wrong idea about her intentions.

"N-Nothing! I'm just cleaning his wounds!" Eden shrank, though she never stopped applying pressure to the towel. "I just thought that even if we are immune, we still need to take proper precautions. It'll be really bad if he gets an infection because we didn't treat it properly," She hurried to explain herself, recoiling slightly under Minho's searing gaze.

Eyes shifting between Eden, the bloody towel and Winston, Minho's unsteady breath slowly began to even out as he approached Thomas. "Aris, I get, but you sure we can trust this one?" He said, nudging his chin towards the raven-haired girl.

Thomas pressed his lips together, not knowing what to say. "I-..."

"You can trust her." Aris intervened, stepping forth to shield his friend from the group's skeptical looks. "I can vouch for that."

"Aris...?" Eden peered up, eyes round.

"Actually, there's no one better than her for the job." He then added, stiffening up when he felt their questioning gazes fall to him.

"What do you mean?" Teresa asked.

"Back in the Glen, Eden was the Leader of our Medics," Aris said, standing a little taller as if he were attempting to boost his confidence as he spoke.

"The Glen?" Frypan raised an eyebrow. "The hell is that?"

"It's what they called their Glade," Newt elaborated. "And I'm guessin' their 'Medics' were like our 'Med-jacks,' yeah?" He glanced at Aris, who nodded.

Though he was a little confused by how Newt would know something like that, Aris kept talking. "Back when we were in the maze, Rachel was the one who led the charge out," He explained, eyes glazing over at the mention of her. "She found an exit after finding a Shade hole."

"Hold on," Frypan interrupted again. "A Shade? The shuck is that?" He looked to Newt, who this time, shrugged in response.

"A Shade," Eden squeaked, quietly repeating Aris's words as she set the bloody towel down and reached for a roll of gauze dressing. "It's what we called the giant monsters in the maze."

"So the Grievers?" Minho raised an eyebrow.

"We found a Shade hole, but we also got into a fight with one," Aris continued. "Rachel climbed up one of the walls to buy me some time to escape, but a Shade ended up knocking her off," He described, brows drawing closer as if the memories of the incident were replaying through his mind. "She fell and broke her leg."