Newt felt himself on a hard and rough material, soft murmurs around him, and an excruciating pain on his leg. If this is what they call 'after life', it isn't that good. He tried to open his eyes, turn his head, raise an arm, even twitch a finger. Anything to see what was around him. He got tired after a while and slipped back into his black, isolated world.
A warm hand was on his leg, raising it occasionally while he felt a force tightening around it. That leg still stung badly, the pain almost sending him back to that void, but Newt was able to bear with it. He let out a groan, the act itself already making his throat painful. He heard someone calling his name. "Newt. Newt, can you hear me?" Alby.
Newt forced his eyes open, the sudden brightness around him stunning him momentarily. He shut his eyes tightly, before slowly opening them. "Oh thank you. Gosh, Newt you bugging scared me! I- I thought you were dead!" So I am not dead. Newt felt a deep sense of disappointment, like a heavy stone in his chest. But when he glanced to his left, he saw the muscular figure of his leader. He had his arms rested on his knees, head bent and staring blankly at Newt. Newt observed that Alby's eyes were puffy and red around the edges. The disappointment he originally felt was replaced with regret. Regret that he had hurt Alby so badly. He could only imagine how much more pain Alby was in when he first saw the state he was in.
"I'm sorry, Alby," Newt croaked out, he himself beginning to tear up, "I- I can't continue living like this. This whole maze. This running around, looking for a way to escape. It's driving me mad, Alby. Every day, I wake up thinking to myself that the whole burden of having to find a way out of this bloody Maze rests on me. That as a Runner, I am in charge of our entire bloody escape." Newt was already panting heavily, his face soaked with his tears. Alby sat forlornly beside the bed. He gently brought a hand up to run his fingers through Newt's blond hair, muttering soft words of comfort. It took some time for Newt to calm himself down, letting out occasional sobs.
"But... But how did you find me?" Newt finally asked, glancing at Alby's large figure. There was a moment of silence, before Alby answered, "You weren't back at 5. Minho told me, and I went into your Section to look for you. Minho helped too, but when I found you, you- your leg was bent awkwardly, and there was blood. Lots of blood. Even more than what Winston has in the Bloodhouse." Alby tried to lighten the mood, but could only manage a weak chuckle. "I quickly brought you back here. We barely managed to get you past the Doors before they closed, and Minho was flustered and panicking. The Medjacks fixed your leg. They said that it was badly fractured, shattered even."
"Why did you even save me? One less bloody person to take care of, one less bloody mouth to feed, one less bloody person to make everything around the Glade worse. Why would you even risk going into the Maze just before the Doors close? You could have died!" Newt was getting angry. He wanted to die. But Alby just had to take what he wanted away from him. Things around the Glade be the same, if not worse. With a shattered leg that would probably take a very long time to heal, there was no use Alby saving him from the Maze.
"I couldn't just abandon you there, Newt. You are my friend. I need you. Here as my Second-in-command. The Gladers need you around when I can't be. The Runners need you to help them with the escape. And I need you, Newt. Promise me you won't ever do such a shucking dumb thing again. I can't run the Glade without you."
Alby's tone was enough to make Newt forget about killing himself. He couldn't stand seeing the usually grumpy Alby in such a broken state, and he swore never to make him sad by killing himself. He wrapped his pinky around Alby's outstretched one, not knowing exactly what that action meant. But it seemed so natural to both of them, and it comforted Alby, knowing that he would never have to worry about suddenly losing Newt.
"Where is Minho?" Newt asked, not wanting to talk about this matter anymore. "He should be here soon. The Runners just got back. Go rest for a while, Newt." Alby gently replied. Newt let sleep overtake him, and when was about to fall into another dreamless sleep, when the door opened.
"Newt what the shuck was your shuck-brain thinking, huh? Trying to jump off the walls? Do you really think that is a good idea? A good way to escape from all this? You were the one who kept telling us to stay strong and to have hope. And look at you know. You almost died. On purpose, I must add." Standing by the corner of the bed was Minho, hot tears streaming down his face, obviously beyond livid. Alby quickly went over and muttered something to Minho. He sighed, then paused for a moment, leaning against the wall while pinching the bridge of his nose. Newt simply stared at his blanket while picking at it, waiting for Minho to calm down. There was a long pregnant silence, before Minho broke it.
"But are you alright?" The anger on Asian boy's face was replaced with worry and concern. "Yeah. My leg feels bad though," Newt replied, looking down at his heavily bandaged leg. "Do you think you are still able to run?" Minho breathed out. "I guess that is the end of being a Runner," Newt announced. "Now I would appreciate it if I could have some time to myself."