It was early evening, with Minho and Alby having still not returned from the Maze.
Everyone had gathered at the doors, waiting anxiously.
A rumbling groan, a gear-like clicking reverberated through the glade.
The maze doors were going to close soon.
"Come on, guys, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas spoke finally, breaking the tense silence.
"That's against the rules." Gally spoke from where he knelt in a crouching position to the left of him, staring intently into the maze. "Either they make it back or they don't."
"We can't risk losing anyone else," Newt explained reluctantly, rubbing his arm, tossing a concerned glance in Emma's direction.
Her eyes were focused on the maze, and she couldn't shake this awful, horrifying fear that something terrible was about to happen. Heart pounding painfully against her ribcage, Emma's breathing was unsteady, but controlled.
Suddenly she felt someone's hand slip into her own, a comforting gesture.
Green eyes flickered briefly downwards, and she realized that Newt was holding her hand.
Feeling her worry ease some, her heartbeat began to level out.
A resounding thunder, then the howling gusts blew through the maze entrance, making them all tense up again.
The doors had begun to close. "Oh, no," Chuck gasped.
Emma's heart was pounding with terror, they had to make it. They had to.
"Look!" Thomas pointed into the maze.
"Wait, no, something's wrong," Newt spoke.
It was Minho, pulling along an unconscious Alby, supporting him on his shoulders, yelling with excursion.
Instantly the group exploded with shouting.
"Come on, Minho, you can do it!" Chuck cried.
"Come on!"
"Go!"
"Come on, you can make it!" Zart yelled.
"Minho, you gotta leave him!" Gally was screaming.
"They're not gonna make it," Newt said in horrified realization, Emma gripping his hand, both of them wearing similar expressions of alarm.
"You gotta leave him!" Gally kept yelling.
"Minho!" Emma shouted to him, eyes wide. "Run!"
A sudden gleam appeared in Thomas's eyes, Emma not really even having time to react.
Her fingers barely brushed the back of his shirt as she reached for Thomas, before he charged into the maze, dodging, then slipping in between the walls just as they were going to close.
"Thomas no!"
"No!" Emma screamed, the doors sealing themselves with a foreboding boom.
Nobody could have predicted it when she suddenly lunged forward, punching the gray wall as if she was going to try and break it apart by sheer force alone, an anguished cry tearing herself from her throat.
Newt was immediately shaken out of his own daze by her reaction, going forward, pulling her into his arms.
He knew everyone was looking, but he didn't care.
A small corner of his brain observed with some shock that her blows had actually managed to make pretty decent sized cracks in the concrete.
"Come on Emmy, let's go get your hands checked," he said, lowkey glaring at the boys who stood there in shocked and sad silence, watching the scene.
They moved aside for the pair as Newt and Emma walked by, embarrassment in some of their faces.
Eventually the two made their way to the Medhut, where Newt had her sit down on one of the cots.
Delicately turning over her hands, he observed the bloodied knuckles with a critical eye.
Emma sat there in total silence during the whole procedure, not looking at him, and not even flinching when Newt was gently cleaning her injuries with alcohol.
After he finished bandaging her hands, Newt sat next to her on the small cot, not saying anything.
Instead, he wrapped Emma in a hug, his head on top of hers.
"I'm sorry," Emma finally whispered.
Newt leaned away a few inches, looking at her face.
"Why are you apologizing love? You'd have to have a heart of stone to not react the way you did. And I bet none of those boys out there don't think any less of you for it. We're all grieving in our own way."
"What are we going to do now though?" She asked in a quiet voice, pressing her lips together like she was trying not to cry, but a rebel tear traced its way down her cheek. Emma felt ashamed. Twice in two days, and they were the only times she'd ever cried during her entire time in the Glade.
She was embarrassed.
Newt hesitated a moment before he spoke.
"Whatever happens, we'll do it together, just like we always have. And that's a promise."
They stayed together rest of the evening, side by side working on figuring out how they would be keeping things going now that Alby, Minho and Thomas were gone.
Gone.
Emma almost couldn't--and didn't want to believe it, but no one had yet to survive a night in the maze.
The odds were definitely not in their favor for that.
However, a few of the others, including Chuck and Zart, decided to sleep by the maze doors, hoping that in the morning, by a miracle, Minho, Thomas and Alby would somehow appear, alive and relatively unharmed.
Newt had taken Chuck aside at dinner (of which barely anyone ate anything) and tried to explain how they couldn't possibly have survived, but the younger glader was unwavering in his determined faith.
"Thomas ran in to help them. They'll come out." He'd said stubbornly, not budging.
With a sad look exchanged between them, Emma and Newt agreed to stay the night with Chuck and the others.
Which wasn't a problem, as it was a fairly warm night, but maybe....
No. She couldn't allow herself to hope. That would just make things harder when the truth of it really hit.
Understandably, Emma had a difficult time falling asleep.
But when she did, all her dreams were just a repeat, over and over, of the horrible events of the day, though almost ten times worse then they had been.
She saw Minho, tired and scraped up, pulling an unconscious Alby, blood staining the older boys shirt.
Thomas, bolting through the sliver of opening in the maze, getting himself trapped in the maze in the process.
Then suddenly, Emma was awake, Newt leaning over her.
He had a hand on her shoulder concern in his eyes. "You alright love?"
Emma shook her head a little. "I don't know," she whispered honestly. It was still dark out, stars scattered across the pitch black sky.
"Nightmare?" Newt shifted himself so he was laying on his side, head propped up with an elbow.
Emma scooted herself up a little, meeting his eyes.
"Yeah."
"Same one?"
"No. Today....Minho and..." she trailed off.
"I'm sorry Emmy." Newt brushed some of her hair from her face, and she closed her eyes slightly at his touch.
A gentle breeze blew through the glade, rustling the grasses, Emma shivering a bit.
"Cold?"
"A little," she admitted.
Newt seemed to hesitate before sort of moving over, opening his arms a little.
Emma's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Wha--you mean---"
Newt rubbed his neck, eyes sort of avoiding her gaze.
"Well, I don't think we could really leave without waking up the others, and we did promise Chuck...."
Emma managed a soft chuckle. "You're babbling," she said, scooting over, her back fitting against his chest, she closing her eyes.
Newt was kind of frozen for a moment, until he heard her snicker quietly, eyes still closed.
"You can put your arms around me you know. You don't have to be a stiff board the rest of the night."
Newt chuckled at Emma's comment.
Weaving his arms through hers, he held her against him in a gentle embrace.
The two of them were soon fast asleep, peaceful sighs coming from the both of them.
Ha ha HA! What do y'all think about THAT chapter?!
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