The Tributes from the Maze (Newt/OC)

The First Fit

"Newt! What the hell! You gave me a heart attack!" She whispered and thumped him on the shoulder.

"Bloody hell, you hit hard!" Newt replied and rubbed his shoulder. He made a show of screwing up his face in mock pain.

"I'm serious! This place is like a haunted asylum! It's horrifying!" Ariadne said, shaking. She quickly scanned the hallway, rubbing her hand up and down her forearms. Newt quickly wiped the grin off his face. He could recall now that she was traumatised into an intense fear of paranormal activity.

"Are you cold?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Ariadne shook her head.

"No, it's just so creepy here it gives me the shivers. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Why were you pointing at the window?" She asked.

"We're going to have to sneak out through it. We'll find another way back in before daylight. It might be a little tough to climb up..." Newt began and looked around for something to stack up. Ariadne pulled herself up and through the window swiftly. There was a slight thump as her boots landed on the grass outside.

"...So do you need a leg up." Newt finished when he turned around. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that Ariadne had already climbed through. He climbed up and reached the other side as well with a grin plastered to his face. As he made his way over to a log under a tree he tripped on raised roots and fell.

"Buggin' tree." He muttered. Ariadne laughed.

"It's hardly the trees fault that you face-planted." She told him. Newt rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't a face plant. It was falling with style." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well then, Buzz Lightyear, are you going to tell me what was so important that you had to come out here to tell me?" Ariadne smirked.

"Who said I wanted to tell you anything?" Newt asked casually, getting up and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the lake.

"Oh, I just assumed...never mind." Ariadne sighed, clearly disappointed. Newt wanted to tell her so many things but he couldn't bring himself to say any of them.

"Where do you think we are?" He asked her, walking to the edge of the lake.

"I don't know, but anywhere has got to be better than back home." She said grimly and leaned over to have a look at her reflection in the water.

"This is our home now. We left everything else behind." Newt came close behind her and looked over her shoulder into the water as well. "We would have died if we didn't leave it all."

"Yeah, we would have. But would it have been that bad if we'd died?" She seemed deep in thought. This comment sent a spike of panic through Newt.

"What do you mean?" He asked her warily. He remembered what the doctor had said about her...history, making a mental note to ask Teresa about it.

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to be dead. Then no one could hurt us anymore." She said. Newt pulled her to face him.

"Don't you dare say that. Think of everyone who has died to get us here. Alby, Chuck, Winston, Ben, our families, your parents especially. Every single one of those people has sacrificed everything they had for us. We can't abuse that." Newt told her. She tugged her long sleeves over her hands and nodded.

"I know. You're right. I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain. Now I feel awful." She said guiltily, casting her eyes to the ground.

"Don't, it's okay. Just take time to remember the people we knew, and then remember the people we have left." Newt said. He watched her face and how her fringe fell over her eyes and how she bit her bottom lip when she was nervous or upset or holding something in. He noticed the little things that made the bigger picture.

"I...I know. Newt, I think there's something wrong with me. Something wrong with my brain. I feel like tearing my hair out and scratching my eyes and ripping my skin. I don't know what it is! It makes my heart hurt. Newt, I can't take much of it any more!" She wailed and broke out in sobs. The tears fell like rain as Ariadne fell to her knees, shaking.

"Ari, you have to listen to me. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just the after-effects of the disease. It was stronger than the flare. Ari? Ariadne, are you listening to me?" Newt panicked. It didn't seem like she could hear a single thing he was saying.

She was just uncontrollably crying and it was as if...as if he wasn't even there. The fits. She must be having a fit, Newt realised. Knowing there was nothing he could do he sat down next to her on the grass and pulled her closer to him. After minutes of crying Ariadne's eyes had glassed over and she had stopped sobbing. Tears were still streaming down her face but she was quiet. Newt tugged her to lay her head in his lap. He put his arms around her and she curled up to him. He caressed her hair as she wept, careful to not trigger anything. He took off his jacket and covered her with it. Ariadne started mumbling things that Newt couldn't understand until her chant got bolder and more fierce.

"No! No! You can't! Please! There are ghosts here! Please, Uncle, please! No! Don't leave me here alone! Don't! Please! Somebody help me!" She shrieked. Newt knew what memory she was revisiting. It was the reason why she had been so scared alone in the corridor of the hospital. The old mill.