"Don't do it, Tommy! Don't you bloody do it!" I screamed, limping as well as I could to reach him in time, while cursing my stupid leg.
Thomas' entire body was tense in preparation to take flight and he turned to look at me with apologetic but determined eyes. I reached my arm out to grab him, my leg throbbing with pain but it was overpowered by a feeling of complete desperation. My fingers skimmed the back of his shirt and for a split second my heart calmed with relief that Tommy was finally within my arms reach. However, relief quickly switched to panic as the fabric of his shirt slipped through my fingers. I watched with disbelief as his figure disappeared through the rapidly closing doors of the maze. With a final deafening crack, the doors were shut and Thomas was gone.
I don't know how long I stood in that spot, staring at those stone walls in shock. My body refused to move and my mind was numb. Three Gladers in one night. Alby, my first friend in the Glade, who taught me that the only possible way to survive this nightmare is to keep busy, look out for one another and remember that we are all in this together. Minho, whose sarcastic comments could pick me up on even one of my lowest days. And Thomas, whose damned curiosity and inquisitive nature, which was once so annoying had grown to be endearing and renewed a sense of hope in me that had diminished so long ago.
When I first laid eyes on the new Greenie, I knew there was something different about him. The way his eyes glistened with a sense of wonder at his new surroundings amidst the obvious anxiety was peculiar. Unlike the other Greenies, he didn't break down; he was determined and eager to learn which I admired him for. The more time I spent with him, the more I found his presence to be comforting and I found myself seeking him out more and more regularly. I couldn't believe that he was gone, if I had only been faster he would be safe. My heart ached at losing Alby and Minho but to lose Tommy as well all but broke me.
Suddenly I was jolted out of my paralysed state by Gally's booming voice. "Come on shanks, get to bed. We may have lost two Gladers tonight, but there's nothing we can do now. We may as well get some sleep: we have work to do tomorrow."
The Gladers began to shuffle away when Chuck's voice piped up from behind me. "Three Gladers. There are three Gladers in there, Gally."
Gally huffed before replying. "Greenie broke the rules. It was his stupid decision that got himself killed. Besides he was never one of us anyway."
I felt my blood boil as I whipped round to face Gally, my eyes burning with fury. "What did you just say?" I said, with a frosty tone to my voice that visibly unnerved the surrounding Gladers.
"I'm just saying what we're all thinking, Newt. Greenie was gonna get himself killed from day one."
"His name is Thomas," I snarled.
"His name was Thomas."
The Gladers had formed a circle around us, watching with a mixture of curiosity and uneasiness.
"Take that back," I growled, stepping towards Gally menacingly. "Take that back, right now."
"What do you care anyway? He was just getting in everybody's way. Good riddance, I say."
My body reacted before my mind, as I launched myself towards Gally, my fist flying into his face. A sickening crunch sounded as his nose broke first, but I refused to stop as anger blinded my reason and all I could think of was to hurt this bloody shank who had bad-mouthed my Tommy.
A pair of arms wrapped around my waist as a Glader, probably Frypan, pulled me off Gally's whimpering body but I kicked out, landing one last hit to his abdomen. With a groan, Gally scrambled to his feet, backing away. Blood was squirting from his freshly broken nose and his lip was split. Once he was a safe distance away from me he called out: "You're wasting your time caring about one Greenie, Newt. One dead Greenie."
His words halted the fury-fuelled adrenaline rushing through my body and once again I went numb, tiredness and grief combined causing me to collapse to the floor the moment I was released from Frypan's arms. Gradually the remaining Gladers seemed to disperse one by one, seemingly thinking it would be best to leave me alone. I felt a body lower themselves beside me and I didn't need to look to know it was Chuck. For a moment we sat quietly until he tentatively broke the silence.
"They're gonna make it."
I said nothing, so he continued to talk, gaining confidence.
"They're gonna make it. Minho knows the maze better than anyone and they're strong, smart and quick. And Thomas... Thomas will make it on determination alone. He'll make it, he has to."
"No one has ever made it out the maze, Chuck." I replied in an emotionless voice. I felt as though both my mind and body had shut down, not able to handle the pressing feelings of despair.
"Thomas will. You wait and see, he'll come back to us, to you, because he cares and he would never leave us behind."
I felt him place a comforting hand on my shoulder and seeming to know that he wouldn't get a response, he stood and made towards the Homestead to wait out till the morning. His words continued to repeat through my mind, the way he had said Thomas would come back for me: it felt like he knew something I didn't. Nevertheless his certainty created a flicker of hope that I latched on to, praying for truth in his words, that they would all return, that Tommy would return safe because he wouldn't leave me alone in this hell hole.
I found myself wondering why a Greenie who I barely knew affected me this way. The thought of re-entering the maze terrified me but the thought of Tommy being hurt made me wish I had run into the maze after him. Screw the rules. I vowed to myself that if by some miracle Thomas survived the night, I would grab him and never let him out of my sight again. Eventually, morning began to arrive and the sky was starting to brighten but my mood was only turning gloomier. Images of Thomas flashed through my mind, wounded, afraid and without anyone to protect or help him. The mere thought caused my heart to throb and tears to blur my vision.
A giant boom sounded in front of me, shocking me out of my inner turmoil as the doors rumbled open. With a desperate plea for their return, I scrambled to my feet, my eyes frantically searching the entrance to the maze. My remaining hope was instantly extinguished and a sense of grief coursed through me, so strong that I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn't stay here, I couldn't, I couldn't stand to be in the glade another minute. They're gone. Tommy's gone. In a daze I turned stumbling past Chuck who stood gazing at the entrance. I felt empty.
All of a sudden, Chuck's voice screaming my name pierced through my trance like state and brought me back to the here and now. "Newt! Newt wait look! They made it! They shucking made it!"
Not daring to believe my own ears, I slowly turned around preparing my heart to face another blow of disappointment. But there they were, all three of them. Minho and Thomas supporting a wounded but seemingly alive Alby between them. I found myself shaking my head and rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn't just seeing things, but at that moment Thomas looked up his determined but tired eyes meeting my own. Once again my body took over and suddenly I was running, running faster than I had ever ran before. My limp seemed to vanish as my feet pounded the ground. Minho, evidently predicting what was about to happen, took all of Alby's weight with a knowing smirk, as I threw my arms around Tommy clutching him tightly to me. Not even half a second later I felt Tommy's arms wrap round my waist in return squeezing me to him, apparently finding just as much comfort in our embrace as I was.
"I thought… I thought..." I whispered, my voice breaking.
"You don't know how glad I am to see you Newt." He breathed into my neck as I released a shaky laugh of relief.
Suddenly I felt another pair of arms wrap around me in a tight bear hug and I heard Minho's voice scream in my ear. "GROUP HUG!"
I gasped for air as Minho's arms tightened even more around my stomach before he finally released me and I could breathe again. Minho grinned deviously at me. "Can you two shuckfaces break of from your love fest and help me get Alby to the Med-Jacks before Chuck collapses there."
Both blushing we quickly pulled apart and hurried to lift Alby from Chuck's struggling arms. After delivering him safely to the Med-Jacks, all the Gladers gathered in the Homestead to hear from Minho what happened in the maze.
I listened in amazement as Minho described the horrors and near death experiences that the three of them had endured that night. Every few minutes, I stole a glance at Thomas to check that he was still there, only to find that he was already looking back at me. By the time Minho had finished recounting the tale, the sky was starting to get dark. Deciding that it was too late to hold a Gathering, I used my status as second in command to postpone it to tomorrow morning.
The Gladers gradually filtered out of the room and headed to dinner. Gally seemed to be about to protest however I sent him a glare to which he instantly backed down. At last, it was just the two of us. I made eye contact with Thomas and tried to work out what he was thinking as he walked over to join me in the middle of the room. We stood for a moment in silence not sure where to begin until finally Thomas worked up the courage to speak.
"Newt, when I was in that maze I was scared. I thought I was going to die but that wasn't the scariest thing. It wasn't being chased by the Grievers, or nearly being crushed by the walls. What scared me was the thought of never seeing you again and never getting the chance to tell you."
"Tell me what?" I asked.
Thomas reached over and took my hand in his.
"Ever since I woke up in that box I've hated the Glade and constantly thought about how I would escape. But if I never came here I would never have met you. I would rather live the rest of my life trapped here in this nightmare with you than live another day out there without you."
He squeezed my hand and a feeling of warmth spread through my chest.
"Tommy, I don't know what I would have done if you'd died in that maze," I said. "I was so bloody scared."
He raised a hand to affectionately brush the hair out of my eyes. "I won't leave you again, Newt," he promised.
I smiled, taking a step forwards so that I was close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his skin. "Good that."
I brought my arms up and slowly linked them around Tommy's neck, drawing his face in closer towards my own. The pupils of his eyes had grown so large that only a tiny ring of golden brown could be seen around each one. Feeling his arms snake around my waist, I tentatively leaned in to press my lips to his.
The kiss was soft, sensual, and seemed to stop time itself. We could have stood there for anything from a few seconds to an hour, I couldn't be sure. My heart was beating so hard against my ribcage that it was a wonder Thomas couldn't hear it. Every now and again, one of us would smile and the kiss would break, but only for a second. The tenderness with which Thomas' lips grazed mine weakened my knees and I was grateful for his strong arms holding me up.
The thunderous crack of the maze doors shutting snapped us back into reality and we jumped apart in shock. I looked at Thomas and grinned at his blazing eyes and cheeks flushed pink. We walked over to our sleeping quarters hand in hand, stealing furtive glances at each other in the darkness. A slice of moonlight illuminated Gally's face and he scowled at the two of us but said nothing. Once we had walked past him, Thomas turned to me, the corners of his mouth curved up in a curious smirk.
"Newt, how did Gally get that black eye?"