Chapter two
The Last Greenie
Newt sighed to himself, as he looked around the group that had gathered at the shack. Alby was still out, and probably wouldn't be able to guide the glade for at least a week. At times such as these, he regretted being the second in command, though it was obvious the others had enough to deal with already.
''So, what do we do now?'' Leave it up to Gally to be straight to the point. He gave Newt an arrogant look, as if questioning him being up for the task. ''We start at what happened. There is no way of avoiding this, but Ben was most likely stung.'' Newt said, causing some rumour. ''What does that mean for the runners?'' Fry pan asked. ''Nothing yet. We're still continuing, right?'' Thomas asked, getting a stern look from Minho.
''We're missing Ben, and Thomas is still learning. We can't afford to go if we get stung during the day. And we never noticed, which means it could be something different from a griever.'' he explained. Even more noise, Newt stopped them, as he simply shouted, ''Shut up! We assume he was stung, for all we know, something was up. Gally, you saw him last. Were there any signs he was stung?'' he asked.
''Jeez, Newt, sorry to break it to you, but I didn't exactly have the time to check, you know. But if you ask me, it did seem he was stung. It can't be something else.'' ''How can you be sure?'' Minho asked. ''I'm not.'' Gally said, before looking at Newt. ''Maybe Minho has a point, we can't afford any casualities.'' he added.
Newt bit his lip, both Gally and Minho had a point. Remaining in the glade without doing anything never caused them any harm, then again, remaining here would mean they'd go insane eventually. ''I think we should continue doing what we did.'' Thomas said. ''You've no say in the matter, greenie.'' Gally hissed, but Newt stood up, ''Why is that, Tommy?'' he asked.
''Really? Asking a newbie? That's a new low.'' Gally said, but Thomas ignored that as he spoke, ''We can't stay here, and do nothing. I'm confident that we're headed somewhere, and I don't think Ben's work was for nothing. We can run in packs, bring makeshift weapons if we must and make the rounds shorter, but we can't stop.'' ''Great, you got us bloody inspired.'' Newt joked, but really, it made sense to him.
''I think we could handle that.'' Minho said, but Gally stood there in disbelief. ''Newt, he's been here for about two weeks. He doesn't know how the glade works, and you allow him to make that call?!'' ''As a matter of fact, I am. I'm still in charge, and Minho agrees. They know the maze best, and know the risks.'' Newt said. ''Let me guess, this isn't you mind speaking, is it? It's your feelings.'' Gally asked. ''Maybe an instinct. Why are you so dead against this?'' Thomas asked, preparing to argue with Gally. Fighting it out was an option, so he braced himself.
''Surely, you're not doing this, right?'' Gally asked, but before he could complain some more, Chuck ran in, before wheezing, ''I'm sorry to interrupt, but the box came up! There is a person in it!'' Newt raised one eyebrow as he said, ''That doesn't make any sense.'' Thomas arrived barely two weeks ago, and usually once a month it came up, with either a person or suplies.
''I know. Here is the craziest part, there something different about this one.'' Chuck sounded nervous. ''What do you mean?'' Newt asked, they couldn't use a geezer, or even worse, an infant. ''Now, I can't be sure, but I think it's a girl.'' Chuck said. There was a short silence in the room, before most of the gladers rushed outside, leaving only five persons in there. ''A girl?'' Gally asked in disbelief, and Chuck shrugged, as he said, ''I think so.''
''Why do you think so?'' Minho asked. ''Well, she had long hair, and seemed more slender. And then there were these weird things on her chest, around this size.'' He held up cupped hands in front of his chest to show what he meant. ''That sounds like a girl, alright.'' Minho said, sounding interested. ''Sounds great. Seeing we're resuming things like normal, you should show her around, Newt.'' Thomas said.
''Hold on, we're not done yet.'' Gally grumbled, but Chuck interjected, ''Well, it's kinda urgent that you go and see her right now, Newt, before she goes entirely berserk.'' ''Why is that?'' Newt asked somewhat concerned. Chuck swallowed, before saying, ''Last time I saw her, she climbed the tower and started throwing stuff. She was concious when she came up, and instantly attacked the first person that greeted her. I'm telling ya, girls are hostile.''
''What?!'' the group exclaimed before both Newt and Thomas bolted towards the tower. ''You could have mentioned that first.'' Minho said, before jogging after them. Gally rolled his eyes, before looking at Chuck. ''What? I'm not headed back there.'' he said, and Gally kind of understood why, but went after the others anyway.
''Go away. Leave me alone.'' the high pitched voice on top of the tower indeed suggested there was a girl up there. Only now Newt had come to the realisation that stocking stones on top of the tower hadn't been their brightest idea so far, as the girl used them to throw at the gladers. Most of the gladers had been smart enough to grab the wooden shields Gally had made, but aside from protecting their heads against the rocks, they couldn't realy do anything back.
''I know that voice.'' Thomas said, more to himself then to anyone else. ''That's great, hope she remembers you too. Can you stop her?'' Newt asked. ''I could get on the tower, from the other side and hope she doesn't hear me, and try to calm her down.'' Thomas opted. ''That doesn't sound too bad. Want me to distract her, so she won't hit your head should she hear you?'' Newt asked.
''I'd like that, but won't she hurt you then?'' Thomas asked, concerned. ''She'll hurt everyone if we don't do anything.'' Newt reasoned, and Thomas couldn't exactly argue with that logic. So he went there, as Newt started shouting, ''Everyone go away. Leave her alone, and go mind your own business, you shanks.'' The boys shared a confused look, but Newt seemed pretty serious, and he was the second in charge, so most of them complied.
''Okay, they are gone. Please ease up, we aren't going to harm you.'' Newt shouted, making her look down. ''How about those two?'' she asked, seemingly distrusting Minho and Gally, who maintained their positions. ''I'm not leaving.'' Gally said, making the girl upset. ''Leave, I can handle this.'' Newt said.
Both Gally and Minho wanted to shake their heads, but Newt seemed to be sure. ''What if she throws something at you?'' Minho asked, and looked at the girl, who seemed wary of them. To the point of hostility. ''We've got it under control, go.'' Newt hissed, trying to keep his voice down. ''We?'' Minho mouthed, before he saw Thomas climbing up. ''Okay, we're going.'' Minho said out loud, causing the girl to frown. He dragged Gally with him, before the slinthead could complain.
''Who are you? Where am I?'' The girl demanded to know. 'At least she seems to trust me enough not to attack right away. ''This is the glade, we're surrounded by a maze. We don't know why we are here either, and why the box brought you in here. My name is Newt. Do you remember yours?'' Newt asked. The girl looked thoughtfull, though she kept her arm with a rock up, ready to throw at any time. ''I don't. Why can't I remember anything?'' she demanded to know.
'Come on, Tommy, anytime now would be nice.' Newt thought as he heard the panicked tone the girl had in her voice. ''It's normal. Well, not really, but it happened to all of us. You'll remember things eventually.'' Newt told her, and this seemed to throw her off. For a second that was, because her arm clearly made the movement to throw the rock, and Newt already braced himself for the impact, but the rock never made it.
Newt heard a loud thump, a feminine roar, and then nothing. He looked up to see the girl, being held by Thomas, as she struggled. ''I've got her.'' Thomas said, as Newt nodded. ''I can see that. Now what?'' Newt asked, and Thomas seemed to think, he hadn't actually thought it trough. ''Now..., we talk? Go and see the others. We'll head your way.'' Thomas said.
Newt was a little unsure, but up until now, Tommy had proven himself time and again, and he seemed to have it under control, albeit unsure of what he was doing, but that just seemed like him. That's how he did everything. ''Call us when needed.'' he said, and Thomas nodded, before speaking to the girl. Newt slowly backed of, eventually turning his back to the tower, and heading to the glade.
There he found everyone resuming their everyday business. Frypan was cooking, Winston was tending to the vegetables, and Gally, well, he was frowning, which he did everyday. He clearly was waiting for Newt, most likely to nag about what happened, and him being naive to make the call he did before. What was new, was that Minho was waiting for him as well. ''How is he doing?'' Minho asked. ''They are talking, I think. I was instructed to leave, and I think it's for the better, because she doesn't need a crowd. It's annoying to have a crowd around you when you don't know what's going on.'' Newt replied.
''Good that.'' Minho nodded, before looking at the agitated Gally. ''Something wrong?'' Newt asked. ''Not really.'' Minho replied, and Gally gave him a stern look. ''I think we should talk.'' ''You mean, you've something you want to nag about, and want me to listen to it, seeing Alby isn't around. Could you please, please, try and get along like the others for one single day?'' Newt said, getting a bit fed up with Gally's charade.
''Actually, I meant to talk about you. I think you're getting stressed out, seeing you're in charge, and under pressure, one can make the wrong calls. I think you need someone to help you out, someone you can trust, until Alby returns.'' Gally said. ''And by someone, I assume you mean yourself, right?'' Newt asked, suspicious of Gally's concern for him. ''I would nominate myself, but you clearly don't trust me. It's only temporary though, someone to support you, not leading the glade. It's a big task, Newt, think it over.'' he said, before walking off.
''You really don't like him, do you?'' Newt heard Minho ask, as he watched Gally walk away. ''Not really...'' he answered, Gally was a good person, probably. But his gruff personality made it so that Newt wasn't particularly fond of him. And giving him constant reminders neither Minho nor Thomas did like him, didn't make it any better. '' I do think he's concerned for your well-being. As much as I dislike him, I can see where he's coming from.'' Minho said.
''Min, he's just saying he thinks I'm not up for the task. I don't call that taking care of my well-being, I call that being selfish. Cause, ultimately, he wants to be in charge, and you know that.'' Newt argued. ''I'm concerned too.'' Minho admitted, making Newt blush. ''I know why you don't trust Gally, to be fair, in your position, I wouldn't either, but I want to support his point if it means helping you out. Can I do anything to help?'' Minho asked.
''But, Alby... I should be able to...'' Newt started. ''Newt, I care for you. And I know it seems like Alby can do everything, but don't forget he relies on you for plenty of things. He would understand if you'd ask for help too. Surely, you don't think he wants you to do it on your own. If anyone is about teamwork, it's that guy.'' Newt snorted, Minho did have a point there.
Minho leaned closer, before he whispered teasingly, ''You could also turn this into an excuse to spend time with your precious Tommy, you know.'' Newt's cheeks became scarlet as he pushed the Asian away. ''Sodding idiot.'' he grumbled, making Minho laugh, before he thought, more seriously. 'Should I put myself forward? It's a bit egoistic, but then again, maybe I should be egoistic for once...'
''Something wrong, Min?'' Newt asked, as he saw his friend thinking deeply. ''No... I mean, we could spend some more time, if I were to assist you. If you don't mind. I mean, we haven't spend that much time together after... And Thomas could help, but...'' Minho wasn't sure how to form sentences any longer, because all he wanted to achieve was spending more time together with Newt. Newt smiled, as he said, ''I don't mind. But both of you are runners, that's kind of a huge task, and I'm not sure if you've got the energy for that too, or worse, whether it makes you too tired to run the next day. I can manage, really. But when I do need your help, I'll ask for it.''
''You are really stubborn.'' Minho told him. ''Says the most stubborn of them all.'' Newt grinned. ''I think you mean the most handsome of them all.'' Minho joked. ''I suppose you do have some kind of charm.'' Newt said, feeling very awkward. Minho smiled, ''Did you just give me a compliment?'' he asked, before ruffling trough Newt's hair. ''Ah my mistake, I just increased your ego.'' Newt said.
Minho chuckled, knowing Newt didn't actually mean it, but yet, his way with words was what made Newt so... Newt. 'I can't do this to Thomas. It's not fair, but... I want to stand a chance too. Should I perhaps make some kind of move, at the very least tell him?' Minho wondered, and before he knew it, he had opened his mouth already. ''Can we talk?'' Newt blinked a few times, before saying, ''Sure. Something about Ben, or the maze?''
''No... not really. It's about-'' but before he could finish that sentence they heard someone shout, ''Newt, Minho!'' They turned to see Thomas heading their way, with the girl, who had her hand clasped around Thomas' arm, still seeming a bit untrusting of her surroundings. ''I see you've come down.'' Newt said, more to Thomas then the girl. ''I di- I mean, we did. Guys, I want you to meet Theresa. Somehow, someway, I remember her, kinda vaguely though. Theresa, these are my best friends, Newt and Minho.'' Thomas replied.
Theresa offered a small wave, as she bit her lip, before she asked, ''Which of them is Newt?'' Newt raised his hand curiously, wondering what she wanted from him. ''I've got a message. Someone told me to give it to either someone called Alby or Newt. I don't know more, sorry.'' she said. ''It's fine. You remember more then I did when I arrived here.'' Newt said, taking the note that Theresa handed him.
''That's odd, this says you are the last one. Ever. Do they perhaps mean last girl, or last person? Wicked has never been straight to the point, but this is vague, even for them.'' Newt said. Theresa shrugged, she didn't even know anything about herself, let alone who had written that message. She was surprised that she had remembered even that. Though she was grateful that Thomas had remembered her name.
''Guess we'll have to wait and see.'' Minho said. ''Or we ask.'' Newt said. ''How do you ask anything of anyone out there? We don't have any way to contact them and if we did, why wouldn't we use that to escape?'' Thomas asked. ''Our contact doesn't work like that. Sometimes, when we need equipment, or something we think we need, but don't know the word for, we make a letter. Or, at least Alby did, I've assisted him few times. And, though we never receive an answer, that what we did need came up with the box. The letter, of course, went down with the box. So, we wait for the box, place the letter, and wait.'' Newt said.
''Great thinking, except, we don't need equipment, but an answer. Do you really think they'd give an answer back?'' Minho asked. ''Don't know for sure, but it's at least worth a try. We already know nothing, so they can't come back with less, right?'' Newt asked. Minho and Thomas shared a look before shrugging, Newt kinda had a point there. ''It's at least worth a try.'' Theresa added.
Later that evening, Newt found himself seated next to Alby, guarding the sleeping leader. ''A girl at the glade, can you imagine? What are the creators thinking? She also had this note that she'd be the last, what do you think they meant?'' Of course, Alby in his current situation wouldn't reply. Newt snorted, he knew that talking to Alby wasn't a solution, not right now, but talking it out did help. ''I miss you around mate. If you can hear me, do come back soon. With Ben gone, and you like this, I'm going to end up with one hell of a different glade, and I don't think it would be a change for the better.'' Newt said.
''And to think all you need to do is ask for help.'' Another voice added. Newt turned to see Gally standing in the dooropening. ''It's not your duty to be here right now.'' Newt said, as he stood up, and crossed his arms. Gally smirked, as he replied, ''It's not, maybe I'm just here to keep you company while you watch someone sleep. Seeing how you are currently talking with someone who won't answer back, you clearly need it.''
''Well, maybe, but it's also possible I want some peace and quiet, and want to think out loud. And if I want company, I would've asked someone I like.'' Newt said. ''Now we both know that even though you want that, you'd never ask. But I can get them if you want. You can tell them both what you really think of them, and see how that goes.'' Gally offered. Newt remained silent, as he gave Gally an annoyed look. ''Heh, thought as much. So, instead of talking about something you won't do, let's talk about my suggestion for help.'' Gally said, as he walked up to Newt.
''Fine. If I want help, I'll ask. Seeing Alby is out, Ben is gone, and both Thomas and Minho are busy, I don't want any.'' Newt told him, uncomfortable with how close Gally was, so he took a step back. ''You don't want it, but you do need it.'' Gally pressed, as he took a step closer. ''If any of us do need professional help, it's you.'' Newt replied, taking a few more steps back, ending up hitting the wall with his back.
''Newt, one day. It's all I need to prove I really do mean well.'' Gally said. ''You mean, one day to change whatever you need to change.'' Newt said. ''Changes are bound to happen, Newt. I want to do my part to ensure they are good ones, rather then mistakes. I don't want Wic- Ouch!'' he yelled, as he suddenly reached for his own head to rub his temples. ''Headache?'' Newt asked in concern, momentarily forgetting their argument.
Gally only groaned, as Newt instinctively stepped to the nightstand next to Alby, grabbed the glass of water he had brought in case Alby would wake up, and handed it to Gally. ''Drink this.'' he said. ''Thanks.'' Gally said, before drinking it. ''Maybe you should sit down for a moment.'' Newt said, as he felt Gally's forehead. ''Fever mabye?'' he asked, but somehow, that didn't make sense. ''Not really, no.'' Gally said, as the headache was already slightly fading. But Newt didn't need to know that yet, besides, this felt kinda nice.
''Didn't you drink enough today, or are you really tired?'' Newt wondered. ''Bit of both I guess. Little dizzy, maybe.'' Gally took Newt's hand, as he said, ''Can you take me to the shack, not sure whether I can trust my own head if I head back.'' Just as Newt wanted to nod, they both heard a groan, and turned to see Alby waking up. The leader blinked a few times, before looking at them, and squinted his eyes. ''Okay, what the hell happened when I was out?'' he asked.