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He won't be.

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

"Hey, Frog-face," I say lightly the next day, walking over to Newt, who's leaning on the walls of the Homestead, his eyes glued to the Maze. He's covered in dirt again, which makes me smile as I approach him. He's been working in the gardens again. It's all he ever does now, apparently.

"Alright, Greenbean?" he says, his voice tight with concern, not even looking at me. I follow his gaze to the wall. They should be closing by now, shouldn't they? I glance around the Glade, picking up on the tension radiating off of Newt and scanning the gladers for familiar faces. Where are Ben and Minho?

"Shouldn't Minho be back by now?" I ask him. Over the past week, Minho and I haven't talked much, bar maybe one or two sarcastic conversations — which always seemed to brighten my day, no matter how infrequent they were. Every time I talked to him, I tried to get more information about becoming a Runner out of him, but I think he knows my game by now. I'm not exactly the most discreet person in the world. 

Newt's eyes don't stray from the wall, his breath catching. "He's just running late s'all."

"What do we do if he's too late?"

Newt squints at the wall. "He won't be."

"But if he is?"

"He won't be," he repeats.

We stand there in silence, pondering over the possibility of Ben and Minho's return. I can tell that Newt has just as much as faith as I do... none. He's just a lot better at hiding it than I am. I stare at Newt, who remains oblivious to my gaze, tracing his soft features with my eyes. The strange thing is about Newt, is that his face is a mixture of harsh and gentle features; his strong jaw contrasting with his tranquil eyes. Underneath the splotches of mud on his face, some of his freckles were still noticeable, which was more charming than offputting. I nudge him and chuckle. "In the gardens again today?"

"How could ya tell?" he says sarcastically, a ghost of a smile edging onto his face.

"Might have been the massive dirt splotches on your face, but that's just a hunch," I say lightly. Newt rolls his eyes and wipes his face with a sleeve, however only makes it worse. I stifle a laugh, throwing all the seriousness into my voice as possible. "You didn't get it."

"Oh, shove off, Greenbean," he says, a small smirk on his face. He rips his eyes from the wall, meeting mine, the concern that he's trying to hide so very evident on his face.

"Come on," I say, offering a reassuring smile. "We'll go wait for Minho."

It's strange how much my personality changes when someone else is worried.

Newt nods firmly and we both jog towards the doors of the Maze, keeping in time with the others paces. The thought of Minho and Ben stuck overnight plagues my mind, and the possibility of their deaths the most frightening thought of all.

"Minho!" Newt calls, snapping me out of the burdens in my mind. My eyes find Minho, running through the opening of the Maze, panting heavily, sweat dripping from him as he catches his breath. We both sprint over to him, who's now doubled over and holding his stomach. Minho. No Ben. Where's Ben?

"Where is he?" I say, scanning the Maze behind Minho. This is the first time I've had a proper look at it, and it terrifies me. It's dim, stone corridors are foreboding: dark green vines swing from the walls; rubble and pebbles carpeting the floor, making it uneven and jagged and a menacing scraping can be heard when the birds fall silent and the laughter hushes.

"He's not back yet?" Minho says between pants.

"No," Newt says, shaking his head and frowning down at Minho. "I thought he was with you."

"No. We never partner today."

"You always partner today," Newt says, eyebrows raised. We exchange a worried look before dashing towards the wall, Minho hot on our heels. A thousand thoughts are flying through my head right now... will Ben be okay? Where is he? Will he make it back in time? My face pales as I remember what Newt said to me on my first night.

No one survives a night in the Maze.

As we approach, more and more Gladers abandon their jobs to crowd around the entrance, waiting for Ben. "He should be back by now!" one calls.

"Where's the shank gone?" Gally growls, searching the Maze for a sign of Ben. We get as close to the Maze as we dare, raking the entrance for Ben's figure.

There.

Staggering towards the doors is Ben, hobbling and holding his chest. I gasp. "Ben, come on!"

"He's hurt," Newt says in a whisper.

"No shit," Gally snaps.

The doors jolt with a disturbing lurch, threatening the end of Ben's life. The shouts and encouragement of the Gladers are deafening now, and I'm screaming with them, desperate for an injured Ben to push through and get out. Ben screams in pain as he falls to the floor, clutching his stomach.

Zart's voice is hoarse, "Get up!"

Ben doesn't move. The doors are closing, moving closer and closer together, but there's still time to save him if I made a break for it right this second. That's it. I cant take it anymore. Ben's not going to die. Not when I can do something to help him.

Abruptly, I jolt to a start, sprinting full speed through the opening, still wide, and race to Ben's side, the cold air whipping my face, leaving a stinging sensation clinging to it.

"Alethea!" Fry's strained voice echos down the corridor. I ignore it. I gasp when I see Ben's hands, covered in blood, soaking his torso. Immediately, I shove my arm around his back, yanking him up so he's leaning on me, ignoring his grunts of protest.

"Ben, come on you shank," I grumble as I walk forwards, practically dragging the Runner along with me, his limp head resting on my shoulder.

"Come on, hurry up, hurry up!" Chuck calls.

Alby screams, "Move!"

I push forwards, lugging Minho as the doors opening becomes thinner and thinner... we're both not going to make it. I have a choice.

I make it without hesitation.

"Ben, I'm going to throw you forwards and you're going to have to go," I say to him. "Understand?"

I get a soft nod of the head in response.

With that, I push Ben forwards with all my might, not thinking about hurting him, only getting him through. Ben stumbles through the closing gap, almost getting stuck at the end, and then falling in a heap on the floor.

"Thea!" Newt yells, struggling against Alby and Gally, who are restraining him, holding his arms behind his back while Winston blocks the wall. Gally's face is emotionless, while Newt's is warped with fear.

The last thing I see before I'm plunged into darkness is Newt's face. The last thing I hear is his voice, replaying over and over in my head, now replaced with the shrieks and whirrs of Grievers.

That's it.

No one survives a night in the Maze.
_

That was cheery :/

And also very short lmao.

I've run out of things to say at the end of the chapters but I hope you drink and eat something today. You deserve it! <3