INNOVATION -
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

⚘ WHEN RED MEETS YELLOW ⚘

Getting into the Weapons Room was easy. All the Gladers were distracted in other sections of the Glade, preparing for the night by building defence, gathering supplies, and boosting each other morals.

They were failing at the last bit though. Most boys looked depressed and hopeless as they moved about the Glade, only doing what needed to be done before closing themselves off from others.

Kalisa could only hope that Alby would be back on his feet soon, with a solid explanation and urge to lead once more.

"Theres a hidden storage compartment back here." Minho said, flicking a dim light on overhead. The Weapons Room was less than impressive. Kalisa had been expecting something more... grand, though she wasn't shocked to see the dust covered floor and unorganied boxes.

Minho moved across the room to grab one of many boxes. "I put each trunks worth in its own box, eight boxes total. They're all in here."

Thomas knelt down beside one of the boxes, leaning forward in anticipation. "Which one is this?"

"Just open it and see. Each page is marked remember?"

Kalisa watched beside Teresa as Thomas pulled the box open and lifted several pages from within. They were confusing to the unknowing eye. Even now Kalisa got a migrain trying to understand the hastily drawn lines on the parchment, but they must've made sense to Minho and Thomas, because their eyes lit up in recognition.

"Section 2." Thomas muttered.

    The three watched in silence as Thomas continued shuffling through the pages. Each one was marked differently. From the way the lines curved, to the footnotes scribbled down beside them, no Map was the same, until, of course, it repeated.

    "Alright, thats enough." Kalisa spoke, stopping Thomas from pulling out more paper. "You said you guys have a theory, let's see it."

    Thomas stood upright, now holding the parchment pieces close to his chest. He eyed Kalisa warily, obviously worried he would be wrong. His dark eyes flickered to Teresa, who had stayed quiet this entire time. She crossed her arms, still begrudging towards the people who locked her up, but when she caught him staring she gave a small smile of support.

    "Okay," Thomas started. "The Runners have always compared these day to day, looking to see if there was a pattern that would somehow help figure out a way to an exit. You even said you didn't really know what you were looking for, but you kept studying them, right?"

    Minho gave a short nod, clearly having high hopes for the revelation.

    "Well, what if the wall movements had nothing to do with a map or a maze or anything like that? Some kind of clue that could help us escape." Thomas continued.

    "A clue- like... words?" Kalisa thought hard.

    "Exactly." Thomas snapped his head to her, beginning to grow excited.

    Minho shook his head, deflating into himself. "Do you have any idea how much we've studied these things? Don't you think we would've noticed if it were spelling out freakin' words?"

    "Maybe it's too hard to see with the plain eye, just comparing one day to the next. And maybe you weren't supposed to compare one day to the next, but look at it one day at a time?" Thomas was on a roll now, ideas firing out from him, passion lacing his tone.

    Kalisa sighed, "Look, I might've only been here for a few months, but even I know how crazy that sounds."

    Thomas shook his head, looking dazed. "Okay, okay. You've always had one Runner assigned to one section, right?"

    "Right," Minho nodded, desperate to understand what the boy was getting at.

    "And that Runner makes a Map everyday, then compares it to Maps from previous days, for that section." Thomas had begun to pace. "What if, instead, you were supposed to compare the eight sections to each other everyday? Each day being a separate code or clue? Did you ever compare sections to other sections?"

    Minho rubbed his chin, nodding. "Yeah, kind of. We tried to see if they made something when put together- of course we did that. We've tried everything."

    Now Thomas had Kalisa thinking. There were so many possibilities, so many ways the Maps could fit together, and yet all of them had failed. There had to be something they hadn't tried. A piece of the puzzle they had missed when examining the papers.

    "I need wax paper. And scissors. Along with every black marker and pencil you can find. I have an idea." Thomas stopped his pacing and looked to the others.

    It took little convincing to get the others on board with his plan. Minho set off to steal markers and pencils from the Gladers, Teresa and Thomas went to ask Fry for his wax paper, which Kalisa assumed he wouldn't be too pleased about.

    That meant she was tasked with locating a pair of scissors.

    However after looking for a short amount of time, she got restless and decided that her Slicer knifes would just have to do.

    When the four met back in the Weapons room, Thomas collected their supplies and leaned over a pile of Maps. "This better be good." Minho grumbled, though his eyes showed interest.

    "Okay," Thomas faced Kalisa and the Keeper. "Start cutting rectangles, about the size of the Maps. Teresa, you can help me grab the first ten or so Maps from each section box."

    Minho took one of Kalisa's knifes and frowned. "What is this, kiddie craft time? Why don't you just tell us what the Klunk we're doin' this for?"

    "I'm done explaining. It'll be easier to show you. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. And we can go back to running around the Maze like mice." Thomas said, but he quickly busied himself with the Maps.

    "Shuckin' crazy." Minho mumbled as he and Kalisa began slicing the wax paper as Thomas had said.

    "Maybe. But it's kinda exciting." Kalisa almost smiled despite herself. It relieved her for some reason to know that even if this break was a bust, they wouldn't give up. Even if it meant running for the rest of their lives.

    They worked quickly and quietly, eventually stopping after cutting about 40 sheets of the paper. Thomas marched over, Teresa right behind him holding piles of Maps.

    "Alright, everyone trace the last ten or so days onto a piece of this stuff. Make sure you write the info on top so we can keep track of whats what." Thomas instructed, grabbing one of the markers. "When we're done, I think we might see something."

    "What,"- Minho was cut off by Kalisa elbowing him. "Just keep going. I think I know what he's doing."

    Thomas looked thankful that someone understood.

    Kalisa set to work instantly. She grabbed a stack of Maps, Section 6, and began tracing the wax paper with a marker. It was a slow process, especially since she moved slowly, line by line, fearing that one tiny mistake would ruin everything.

    Time passed, and Kalisa realized they had been working so hard that they now had over a dozen Maps traced. Her fingers ached, and her eyes were blurred from concentration, but none of that mattered. They were about to find out whether it was all for nothing, or if there really was an escape.

    It all came down to this moment. All her restless nights spent listening to the music of the Maze. All the fears and questions that came as she learned how to live again. Every Greenie and Glader was counting on this moment.

    Thomas collected all the papers and began to lay them out in the order of their Section, stacking them as he went. The room held its breath as Thomas double check to see if the dates aligned, then he stepped back.

    From beside her, Teresa let out a gasp as an image was revealed in the tracings. The lines on the outside were overlapping, fading to gray as they chaotically made their way around the paper. But in the middle were darker lines that appeared more than once. At first they seemed like normal old markings, but now that the papers were stacked, it was crystal clear.

    It was an F.

"Damn." Kalisa exhaled, staring at the letter as if it weren't real. As if she were afraid it would disappear from her sight.

"It could be a coincidence, do more quick." Teresa said, grasping more papers and stacking them by section.

Even Minho obliged the order, clearly too hopeful to even care that it had come from Teresa.

As they continued stacking the papers more letters came into view, until finally Thomas stood back in satisfaction. They now had F, L, O, A, T, C, A, and T.

"Float Cat? The hell does that mean?" Kalisa scrunched her face up in confusion, though she couldn't deny being overjoyed at the letters.

"We just need to keep working." Thomas said in determination. Another few minutes passed until they had a new word.

"It's not Cat, it's Catch." Teresa realized.

"Definitely not a coincidence." Minho stated in disbelief.

Teresa made a move towards the storage closet where the rest of the Maps were. "We need to go through all of them."

"Yeah," Thomas didn't hesitate. "Let's do it."

"We can't help." Minho interjected before Thomas could go any further.

"Wow thanks guys." Kalisa rolled her eyes, wondering what was so important that called Minho and Thomas away at a time like this.

Minho ignored her. "We need to get the  Runners out in the Maze."

"What? But this is way more important!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Maybe. But we can't miss a day out there. Not now." Minho said calmly.

Thomas looked more than disappointed. "Why Minho? You said the patterns basically been repeating itself for months- one more day won't mean a thing."

Minho slammed his hand on the table, causing Kalisa to flinch at the sudden noise. "Thats bullcrap Thomas! Of all days, this might be the most important to get out there. Something might've changed, something might've opened up. In fact, with the freakin' walls not closing anymore, I think we should try your idea- stay out there overnight and do some deeper exploring."

Now Thomas looked conflicted. "But what about this code? What about,"-

"Thomas, Minho's right." Kalisa admitted. "You guys go run. I'll round up some Gladers we can trust and get workin' on this."

"Me too. I'll stay and help Kalisa." Teresa added.

Thomas looked at her closely, "You sure?"

Teresa smirked and stood closer to Kalisa. "If you're gonna decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different mazes, I'm pretty sure you'll need the girls brains running the show."

"If you say so," Thomas folded his arms and grinned at the girl.

"Good that, alls fine and dandy, now come on." Minho started for the door, stopping and facing Kalisa. "You're in charge while Alby's out. Don't burn the place down."

Kalisa scoffed, "In case you missed it, someone already tried."

Minho just laughed, "Kiss Newtie goodbye for me would ya? We might not be back for a while."

Kalisa forced herself not to blush and instead gave the muscular boy a light shove, "Have fun with the Grievers."

When Thomas didn't follow after the Runner, Kalisa sighed and faced him. "Don't worry Thomas. I'll keep a close eye on her for you."

Thomas looked embarrassed and turned away quickly, leaving without saying goodbye.

Teresa shared a look with Kalisa. "Boys."

༻✧༺

In the end, Kalisa ended up recruiting Henry, Winston, Fry, Tyler, and Zart to help them trace the Maps.

Minho, Thomas, and all the other Runners had left about 2 hours ago, and in that same amount of time they had made decent progress on the Maps.

Float, Catch, Bleed, Death.

That was that they had uncovered so far. While the words didn't make much sense together, they were still words, and it was the biggest clue they had found yet.

She wondered what Newt would think of all this. Clint and Jeff and whisked him off to get some rest in the Med Room so he could be prepared for tonight. More than anything Kalisa just wanted to go see him. She felt awful about leaving him alone on his bedrest, but she had to believe that he would understand.

From across the table Teresa looked up, a small smile playing on her lips like she knew exactly what Kalisa was thinking about.

"So, wheres blondie? I thought you two were attached at the hip." She said casually.

Kalisa cleared her throat and focused back down on the Maps before her, but it was hopeless. She had been sitting there for so long, another second of writing would end in a lost limb.

"He's healing." She said shortly, not wanting to ignore Teresa.

The girls mischevious look fell into something more grim. "He got hurt?"

Tyler was listening in on their conversation, not even trying to be discreet, but everyone else seemed to engrossed in their own word to care.

"Yeah." Kalisa said. "Gally got a little too passionate and clobbered him over the head."

"Oh." Teresa fell silent and looked back down at her Maps. "You really like him, huh?"

Now Fry was listening as well. He and Tyler shared a triumpant look and focused back in. Kalisa felt her cheeks heat up, but didn't deny it.

Unable to stay quiet any longer Tyler butt in. "Then what are you still doin' here?"

Kalisa blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Go find him if he means that much to you!" Tyler exclaimed. Now all eyes were on them.

"B-but- the Maps," Kalisa stuttered, nervous under all the attention.

"We'll be fine on our own." Teresa smiled. "You've been a great help, but seriously... you never know what could happen."

Kalisa didn't like the way she said the last part. It sounded too eerie and mournful, not romantic at all.

For the first time Kalisa thought about what it would be like to lose Newt. What if he wasn't protected this time? What if the Grievers took him?

If he died, and Kalisa was forced to go on alone, she would always be stuck wondering what she could've done to fix it. But the truth is, there is no way to change whats coming. You can only take strives to be prepared.

Kalisa had so many feelings for Newt. And if she never got to tell him... she would live the rest of her life in regret.

Kalisa set down the marker and stood from the table, ignoring the cramping in her joints. "I- I'll be back," She trailed off, mind still a whirlwind of revelations.

"No you won't." Henry smirked causing a few of the boys to laugh. But Kalisa didn't notice, she just strolled out the Weapons Room and hurried off for the Med Room, butterflies bombarding her stomach.

There was no time to worry about what he would say. There were so many ways this could go wrong, and yet Kalisa could only focus on the ways it could go right.

When she arrived, Kalisa saw Clint and Jeff tending to Alby along with a couple other bruised up Gladers. But no Newt.

"You just missed him." Jeff said, noticing her in the doorway. "He went off to find you as soon as we released him."

Kalisa didn't stick around much longer. She ducked out of the Homestead and started across the Glade, wondering where Newt might've roamed off to.

Just as she was about to start her search over by the shelter, a flash of blonde hair caught her eye from the Gardens.

And there he was, still as etheral as ever. He hadn't seen her yet because he was on his knees, digging for something in the soil. His head looked perfectly fine now, except for a purple and blue bruise that marked his forehead. Seeing him made Kalisa doubt herself suddenly. Maybe this was a bad idea. In the chaos of everything, Newt wouldn't be concerned with her pathetic crush. She would just waste his time and loose a friend.

She forced herself to remember the why she was here. She didn't want to live in regret, Newt was the one who told her how brave she was. Now wasn't the time to back down.

"How's your head?" Kalisa asked, walking closer to him. Newt stood suddenly, clearly startled, but when he realized who the voice belonged to, his shoulders relaxed.

"Better now. But if I move around too fast I get kinda dizzy. Clint said it should wear off in about a day or two though." Newt said, absentmindedly rubbing his fingers over the mark left.

Now that she was closer, Kalisa could see it better. It was large, running from his right temple, across his hairline, and ending somewhere beneath his golden hair. Without really thinking, Kalisa lightly ran her fingers across the mark, carefully brushing his hair back so she could see the full damage.

It didn't seem too bad, in fact the purple was fading into a light blue already, and soon enough that would fade as well. Somehow the mark did no damage to his features.

When Kalisa removed her eyes from the wound, she realized Newt was flushed, and quickly removed her hand, worried he was uncomfortable.

"I can't believe Gally did that." Kalisa shook her head at the memory.

"I can." Newt said distastfully. "He never liked me. The shank didn't even bother to pretend. Honestly I think he was jealous that I got appointed to Second in Command."

Kalisa gave half a smile, "Well better you than him."

Newt only grunted, face falling slightly as if he had just remembered something.

"What is it?" Kalisa frowned.

"It's nothin', just thinkin'." Newt shook his head, fiddling with something behind his back.

Kalisa didn't want to press, but she could tell Newt was bothered. "You can talk to me y'know. I can help you."

Newt looked at her carefully before sighing. "I've just been considering what Gally said about me. About my embarrassing inability to lead our group."

    Kalisa's face fell, but she let him continue. "I think he's right sometimes. Alby never talked about how hard it was. Having everyone look to you for the answers when you've got no bloody idea whats goin' on."

    Newt paused, glaring off at the walls now. "Sometimes I get scared so badly I can't even sleep. If I make a decision that results in someones death... how can I forgive myself for that?"

    He breathed heavily for a moment, clearly releived to have the burden off his chest.

    "Whatever ends up happening isn't your fault. Its Wickeds, alright? They're the ones who put us in here, they're the people who've taken our friends, our memories, our families, our entire lives. We can't control that. You're the only person in this entire Glade I would trust to call the shots, I mean it. You aren't rash, you're fair, you think everything through, not just for yourself but for others." Kalisa chose her words carefully.

    "Don't hold yourself accountable for things we can't control. We just... have to remember who the enemy is."

    Newt thought her words over, guilt melting into his familiar calm facade.

    "And for what its worth, I think you're a great leader." Kalisa added.

    Newt smiled brightly, "Really?"

    "Yeah. I'd follow you anywhere." Kalisa realized her mistake only seconds too late. "I mean we. Not just me, everyone,"

    But Newt was already smirking in satisfaction, the statement clearly fueling his ego.

    After a moment of silence Newt spoke back up. "Thank you Kali. You're right about Wicked... they take everything,"

    He was looking at the walls again. "I've been thinking a lot about where I might go once all this is over."

    "I told you a while ago that it didn't matter to me, as long as I was with my friends." Newt said, looking at her again, something softer in his eyes. "But in all honesty its you. I wanna be with you, wherever you go, even if it's off the edge of the Earth."

    Kalisa's mouth went dry. She wanted to play it cool, but her limbs seemed frozen in place.

    Newt pulled his hand out from behind his back nervously. A red tulip was within his fingers.

    "I- really care about you. And you don't have to feel the same way. You don't even have to say anything. I just... needed to tell you." Newt breathed, hesitantly holding the flower out for her to take.

    Kalisa took it slowly, staring at it as if it were the most precious thing she'd ever held.

    "It's red." She stated obviously, a large smile carving way onto her face.

    "Yeah. It is." Newt scrached the nape of his neck.

    "It's beautiful." Kalisa said honestly, unable to wipe away her dazed grin. "Really. You're the only person here who I feel like I can talk to... and- I really care about you too. I have since we worked as Track-Hoes together when I first showed up here."

"Really?" Newt said, sounding like he couldn't believe his own ears.

"Really." She confirmed. "I feel bad I don't have something to give you." She muttered under her breath.

"I don't need anything, you're enough. Always." He said with a soft smile.

Still, Kalisa thought fast and removed the cylindar necklace from around her neck. She took the note out and tucked it in her pocket before taking a step closer to Newt.

She had to stand on her toes in order to tie the lether strands around his neck. For a moment Newt was stiff, then he relaxed and placed his hands on her waist as she pulled away, satisfied with her knot.

Kalisa's eyebrows rose in surprise, and she was sure her cheeks very closely resembled the color of a tomato, but she didn't protest as Newt pulled her back in and pressed his lips against hers.

The feel of Newt's lips on hers made her knees weak. It somehow broke her down and built her back up. For a minute the Glade didn't exist. The Grievers weren't coming for them, the Gladers weren't in danger, Wicked wasn't there to control them.

For a minute Kalisa and Newt were just two regular teenagers. Nothing else in the world mattered as long as they had each other. The only thing Kalisa could focus on was the feel of Newt's hands on her hips and her everlasting heartbeat.

When they pulled apart Kalisa was breathless. Her hands had travled up his chest and tangled themselves into his soft hair. Their noses were inches apart, eyes staring into each other, both grinning like dopey idiots.

Newt was everything Kalisa needed. He was everything the Creators took away, filling her empty chest with affection. Wicked might be able to control the Grievers. They might be able to invade their home and take their friends, but Kalisa knew they couldn't take this.

She wouldn't let them.

YAY it happened! Only took a 29 chapters, jeez. This now wins the award for longest part by far, let me know what you guys thought. I'm super behind in school and should probably be doing homework right now, but thats no fun so I'm updating instead! I'll try to get another chapter out soon! Happy reading!

2/3/24

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