Disclaimer:

As you know by now, I do not own The Maze Runner. What I do own is all of the disappointment in myself that I feel for not updating sooner.

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I watched the group of four leave with a rock lodged between my ribs. The feeling I had wasn't good; it was like an impending danger was hovering over us. We were merely bugs that W.I.C.K.E.D could easily squash underfoot. And with our group reduced so much, it made things that much harder.

Thomas was the last person I said goodbye to. Our hug seemed to last forever, with my face nuzzled into his chest so firmly I could hardly breathe. I didn't mind in the slightest. His chin rested on top of my head, a gesture simple yet heartwarming.

"Be safe," I told him as I pulled back. He nodded solemnly. I could see it in his eyes that he was nervous, so I decided to ease his anxiety as best as I could. "Hey, I know that I'm clearly the stealthier one out of the two of us, but the least you can do is try not to blow your cover."

To my relief, he cracked a tiny smile. "I'll do my best."

"Alright, amigos," Jorge said. He was standing by the main door, finger hovering over the button to open it and extend the ramp. "We'd better get moving."

Minho patted Newt on the arm. We locked gazes accidentally; he gave me a small nod. Things were still slightly iffy between us, but at that point I could hardly remember why. All I knew was that every time I looked at him, I felt a small flare of hostility. But why? Why?

"See you later," Brenda piped up. I blinked. The door was open, ramp extended to the ground. Jorge must've already left, because he was nowhere to be seen. "Remember, stay mellow and nothing should happen. There's food in the fridge."

I nodded. "Thanks, Brenda."

She turned and headed out into the seemingly blinding sunlight. Minho and Thomas were the only ones left, both appearing like they couldn't wait to leave but wanted to stay at the same time.

"Go," Newt urged. His eyes were on the floor. "I shouldn't keep you. Go."

Minho's eyes were filled with sadness as he looked at his friend. I couldn't blame him; I felt it, too. He ultimately left, dragging Thomas behind him. I walked almost robotically toward the door, staying hidden in the shadows as Jorge pressed the remote that would lock us inside. He gave me a thumbs up before firmly pressing a button on the rectangular device. The ramp began to fold in on itself with a quiet hiss, darkness extending as it closed.

There were a few seconds of silence until I spoke. "I shouldn't keep you."

"What?" Newt asked. He had still been staring at the ground, but now he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"That's what you said," I elaborated. "You said, 'I shouldn't keep you.' Not 'we.'"

He shook his head. "I didn't mean to. I've been kinda spacey lately."

Though he tried his best to sound sincere, I knew he was bluffing. A stab of hurt went through me. Usually, there was nothing but honesty in our relationship. Lying was a foreign concept between the two of us. So why on earth did he feel the need to do it now?"

"Newt." My voice came out gentle yet firm, my eyes locking on his. "You know you can tell me anything. Whatever it is that's bugging you, I'll listen."

"Nothing is bugging me."

I wasn't about to push it lest he have another outburst like at the Gathering. If he didn't want to tell me, I might as well have accepted it. Maybe he would inform me of what he really meant later on.

There was no way to communicate with Jorge and the others once they were in the city. We were parked outside of Denver's massive gates, looming before us almost menacingly. When I looked out of a window, I saw what looked like blocks of concrete separating us from the healthy town. It sure did make a point. Healthy people zone. Rabid Cranks not allowed.

I turned away from the glass to see Newt staring at the floor again, not having moved a muscle. It caused a knot in my stomach that just didn't feel right. So many things had changed in so little time.

"So it's not affecting you, huh?"

I blinked. He was now looking right at me, head still slightly inclined toward the floor. It made the gaze seem almost daunting.

"What isn't affecting me?" I asked.

"The Flare," he replied as if it were obvious. "I can tell by the way you're acting that it's not treating us the same way. For me...it's eating me up."

The air tensed, making me swallow. We were entering dangerous waters, and I knew I'd have to tread lightly so I wouldn't pull us both under. "Is that what was troubling you?"

He paused, then shook his head. "No. No, you don't get it. You don't know what they -- what W.I.C.K.E.D did to me. Phase Three was total klunk. If anything it proved they don't give a damn what happens to us."

His voice was like the edge of a blade, sharp and threatening. What he said made the knot tighten almost painfully. I took a step closer to him.

"What did they do?"

"They made me think you were there with me. That we were stuck in the Maze, facing Grievers. You seemed so real, but when I saw you again in the auditorium, I knew it had all been fake. After all, they made me think you were trapped on the other side of the Maze."

Newt squeezed his eyes shut. I could tell that he was facing flashbacks behind his eyelids, haunting memories tormenting his already fragile mind. His face was tensed in a grimace that ignited a spark of concern in me.

I crossed the floor to him in several quick strides, my eyebrows pinching from the unsettling expression on his face. My hand came up to cup his cheek gently; the effect was immediate. Slowly, the tension left his shoulders and his body relaxed as he leaned slightly into my touch. His eyes gradually blinked open to meet mine.

"I'm here," I whispered with all of the sincerity I could muster.

But there was a storm in his eyes as he merely replied, "For how much longer?"

-/-

The hours ticked by, stretching into long lapses of worry and boredom. There was absolutely nothing to do on the Berg other than sit around and wait for the others to return.

The possibility hit me many times- what if they didn't come back? What if something were to happen and they'd never return? The thought was terrifying, and even though I tried my hardest to push it away, it kept crawling under my skin.

Newt and I were sitting in the slouchy recliners, covered in blankets. Nothing had been spoken between the two of us in a while. I didn't know what to say, and he didn't seem to be very up for talking as it was, so I left the silence alone. It pained me. I wanted to talk to him, but he had shut himself out and I didn't know if I could get him to open up again.

I found the words coming out before I could stop them. "The vents. Do you remember?"

Silence.

"We would escape through them at night and meet in a little storage room. Sometimes Thomas, Teresa, Minho, and Gally would join us."

"I remember."

I turned to look at him. There was no emotion on his face, but it was a start.

"Minho would sneak snacks from the cafeteria and bring them. We'd talk about our pasts, about our lives at W.I.C.K.E.D. They kept Thomas and Teresa separate for some reason, so they liked hearing our stories—"

"It must be nice."

That startled me. My voice died a bit, then came back. "What?"

"Having your memories. Mine aren't that extensive. I remember vague things, but only bits with you in them. Everyone else's faces are blurry. But yours have so much clarity and detail. Thomas has been getting the same things. Why is it, that when it comes down to it, you two are always the ones that are special?"

I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. "They want to keep us locked away, Newt. You think that's special?"

"At least they want you alive." He chuckled bitterly. "Me? The others? We're disposable."

The tension was growing again. My mouth tasted bitter. Why were things so rocky between us all of a sudden? We never used to speak to one another like this, and I didn't want another repeat of our feud in the Glade. That had been hell.

"Newt, I'm not going to argue with you," I said as calmly as I could.

"Why?" he demanded. "Because you know it's true?"

"I don't know," I replied with a little more edge in my tone. "I don't know what their motives are any more than you do. We are in the same boat."

"Us? In the same boat?" Newt raised his eyebrows. A flush was creeping up his neck, jaw tense. "We haven't been in a long time."

I stood abruptly, feeling a fire ignite in my chest. I knew that I had to leave before I said something I'd regret. If he wasn't going to respond with something civil, there wasn't a way to work this out via communication.

He stood as well. When he spoke, his voice wasn't harsh but curious. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere I can think," I answered with my back turned to him. My steps were hesitant even as I walked toward the doorway.

"You mean somewhere you can get away from me?"

Why in the world was he being as difficult as he could be?

I turned on my heel so I was facing him. "Well, you aren't being very friendly right now."

"Maybe I'm done being friendly!"

"Why are you pushing me away?"

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because I love you!"

Silence again. It rang in my ears and carved a hole into my chest once I realized what I had said. That was never how I intended for it to come out.

We stared at each other for a seemingly long moment. My shoulders relaxed only to shrug up when I felt the tears sting my eyes.

Newt's face was blank. "You shouldn't."

My mouth puckered as if I'd eaten something sour. Then, just before he could see the first tear fall, I fled the room.

-/-

I awoke from my slumber abruptly, my nerves swarming inside of me. It was a feeling similar to warning signs. Alarms were going off in my head, blaring loudly in such a manner that I couldn't ignore them.

I sat up in the cot I had been sleeping in. Slowly, I slid from the edge and made my way to the main room of the Berg. My feet padded on the tile floor as quietly as I could make them. Hovering in the back of the room, I squinted at the door in suspicion.

"Newt," I called out toward the doorway I had entered through.

A series of footsteps from outside. My heart climbed into my throat.

"Newt!"

Seconds later, the door burst open and in flooded a team of adults. Some carried guns, others had strange scanners, and one was empty-handed.

"Hands where I can see them!" a young woman ordered sharply. Obeying, I slowly raised my hands above my head. One of the people came up behind me with the scanning device in hand.

And that was when I struck.

I bent my left arm at the elbow and nailed the man in the throat. He dropped the device and grasped his neck, trying to get air back into his lungs. I kicked his shins and swiped his feet out from underneath him before he could do something else.

A click. I froze in place, knowing what that sound meant. Sure enough, when I raised my head, I was met with the woman aiming a handgun at me. My veins went cold; I raised my hands again.

"You attack anyone again, I shoot you," she threatened. Her pale skin made her appear washed out in the poor lighting the Berg offered. The dark green jumpsuit she wore offered an even greater contrast.

Another gun clicked. A young Asian man was aiming at the doorway, and when my eyes flickered to there, I wasn't surprised when I saw Newt.  His brown eyes filled with alarm as he surveyed what was going on.

"Test them," the woman barked, jerking her head toward two others flanking either side of her. She continued to keep a steady aim at my head. My breath felt shallow in my lungs.

Another woman approached me and grabbed the scanner from the ground. She pressed a button on one side of it, causing a needle to pop out of the other end. I sucked in a sharp breath. Her hand turned over my arm and injected the point into the underside of my elbow.

"We've got a Crank," a man announced, staring at the device in his hand. "Pretty far along."

I swallowed nervously. My mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. The woman pulled the needle out after a short beep, then glanced at an unfamiliar symbol on a small screen.

"We've got ourselves a Munie," she declared with a devious grin.

"Take 'em both," the main woman ordered. "We haven't found an Immune so young in ages."

The second after she finished, there was a sickening thud. Newt had somehow knocked the man near him out, grabbed the needle from his hand, and threw it into the neck of the man aiming the gun at him. I grabbed the device from the woman's hands and hit her hard over the head with it. She crumpled to the ground. Then, I launched the thing at the gun pointed at me and successfully knocked it from the woman's hands.

"I have a condition," Newt announced darkly. His face was twisted with anger and some other emotion I couldn't place that made him appear sinister. "You take me and leave her, or I kill you all."

The woman in charge glanced down at her unconscious comrades as well as the man with the needle in his neck. He, for some reason, had begun to convulse. She began to realize that she could be taken down by two teenagers with hardly a problem.

Her ice-blue eyes met mine. There was something lurking behind the defeat in them, almost as if she knew she really had the upper hand. As if that wasn't the last time I'd see her. As if she'd come back for me anyway.

"Fine," she agreed shortly. "Take him, but leave her. Our next stop is the Crank Palace."

Immediately, the two people left got to work. One of them headed toward Newt, while the other tended to the woman at my feet.

"Wait," Newt said. "I have friends coming. At least let me write them a note."

The woman didn't look up from dragging the Asian man out. "Go ahead."

She sounded bored, as if she couldn't care less about what was happening. The deal had gotten a lot less interesting to her now that an Immune would no longer be hers.

"Newt," I hissed as I walked toward him. He had already located a piece of paper and a pen from inside of a desk. His hand was scrawling letters as fast as he could. "Don't do this."

"It's better that you stay alive," he replied. "You have a much better chance at survival than I do." He finished the message and folded it in four before tucking it into my hand. "Give this to them."

"Newt." I couldn't say anything else. My throat was closing up, eyes stinging with tears again.

The man grabbed him and forced his hands behind his back. My body was rendered immobile as I watched him being led out of the Berg. I felt like my entire world was crashing down upon me and I could do nothing but watch.

"Newt!"

We locked eyes just before he was taken through the door. "I love you, too."

gif is newt talking

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this chapter took me so long to write and it's less than satisfactory but what else is new??

happy 2017! i hope this year will be so much better than the last. and maybe i can finish this before the end!

questions:

-is newt's anger justified, in your opinion?

-how do you feel about there being a year until the death cure movie?

-will the woman come back for dylan?

i hope all of you had great holidays and that 2017 will be a good year for you!

-kristyn