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Chapter Nine

"So what happened to him?" Thomas questioned Alby a short while later. Chuck and Eve we're both sat with them amongst the hammocks that hung outside the Homestead.

"It's called 'the Changing'," Alby answered a moment later after hesitating. "It's what happens when someone gets stung." Chuck and Eve shared a concerned look. Alby shifted where he was sitting so he was closer to Thomas and dropped his voice when he continued speaking. Eve and Chuck could still hear him but if anyone else was hanging around they would not be able to. "Listen, we haven't been able to get a clear word out of Ben since it happened. You know, he's not making any sense and it's only gonna get worse. The infection is spreading. He's dangerous. What did he say to you?"

Thomas frowned, staring down at his hands for a moment before he looked up at Alby. "Um….he- he said he saw me and that this is all my fault. How could this be my fault?" Thomas asked.

Alby looked away from Thomas for a moment weighing up his words before he turned back to him. "Alright, get some rest," he told him, patting him on the back before he walked away.

"Wha- Alby!" Thomas said before Alby could leave.

"Yeah?" Alby asked turning back to him.

"What's gonna happen to him?" Thomas questioned. Eve and Chuck looked up at Alby as well, wanting to know the answer to the question that they had all wanted to ask but that Thomas had been brave enough to.

Eve stood away from the group with Chuck, her eyes flickering around the scene before her. Newt was stood in the centre with Alby. A space left between them that Minho was dragging Ben towards heading straight for the Maze doors. Eve watched in horror as Minho led a tied up and pleading Ben through. Ben growled out Alby's name in a plea as he was pushed passed. Alby watched him go and it was clear on his face how much he was struggling with what he was about to do. Alby and Newt moved to stand side by side then closing the semi-circle around the Maze door.

Minho stopped in the middle with Ben, forcing the boy to his knees. He pulled his knife from his pack, cutting the ropes that bound Ben and releasing him. Ben dropped forward to his knees, his breath coming out in a high pitched gasp as he looked into the Maze. Thomas jogged across, coming to stand with Chuck and Eve as they all watched what was unfolding. Ben was curled over now, sobbing before he coughed, almost as if he was choking on the poison that was spreading inside him. Minho moved so he was in front of Ben, on the very edge of the Maze where the doors would soon shut.

"No, no, please, please don't, please don't do it!" Ben pleaded with Minho. Eve noticed a small bag hanging from his hand. Minho looked pained as he glanced up at Alby. Alby frowned but nodded at the Runner, looking slightly to the side unable to watch. Eve knew what was happening, Newt had told her what they had decided earlier but knowing it and seeing it were two entirely different things. Minho took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before he slung the bag into the Maze.

Ben sobbed again and as they Maze doors began to groan as they prepared to close he attempted to shift back away from them. "Pole," Alby yelled, already prepared. Eve couldn't help but understand that they had done this before and they already knew how Ben would react. The boys in the circle dropped the long wooden sticks they were holding, pointing them towards Ben. Newt, Gally, Alby and Winston all had ones with a stick tied across the end in the opposite direction. They would be last ones that would stop Ben escaping, they weren't designed to hurt him. The rest of them had poles that were sharpened, to keep Ben within the circle while the other herded him into the Maze.

Eve looked down at Chuck who was looking pale at the sight. "Come on, Chuck," she whispered. "There's no need to watch this." She put her arm around the boy and led him away towards the Homestead. Thomas had taken a few steps past them and remained frozen, his eyes fixed on what was unfolding. Ben looked around, as if trying to find a weak point. There was none.

"Move in," Alby ordered. The boys all pushed forward, the circle becoming tighter and smaller as they pushed Ben back. Ben protested, fighting against them but no with no success. Eve left Chuck hidden safely away in the room she shared with Newt. She jogged back across, standing beside Thomas she put a hand on his shoulder. She'd heard about banishments from Newt but this was awful. Thomas looked over at her, then reached up placing his hand on top of her taking the comfort she freely offered.

They all crowded in on Ben with force, driving him back into the Maze. Eve blinked back tears, her head bowed, as the last stick was raised and the Maze doors came to deafening close cutting Ben off mid scream. The silence was painful and felt like it last years as they all stood there letting the reality of what they had been forced to do settle in. Eve wiped away her tears on her sleeve and looked up her eyes seeking Newt. He was stood facing Alby but his eyes were fixed downwards.

Alby was the first one to walk away from the Maze doors. "He belongs to the Maze now," he said before he did. The boys all propped their sticks against the Maze door and began walking away.

Eve approached Newt, who right behind Alby and held out her hand to him. "Come with me," she gently ordered. Newt nodded, linking their fingers he let Eve lead him away from where all the others were heading and towards the Grove. Neither of them spoke as they walked.

Darkness had begun to fall as Newt sat with his back against tree, Eve curled into his chest with his arms around her. Nothing could really make him feel better about having to banish Ben but having Eve in his arms did take away the hallow feeling that had haunted him when they had banished people before. He knew despite everything that they were enduring he was extremely lucky to have her by his side.

Eve danced her fingers up and down Newt's hand as she sat safe in his arms. She had her eyes closed, her head turned into his chest and she took comfort in the fact that he was there. There was a contentedness she felt around Newt that only he could bring out in her. Eve watched as Chuck and Thomas crossed the glade and vanished in the direction of the homestead. She sighed and curled herself further into Newt's chest. "What's wrong, love?" Newt asked, tilting his head down and dropping a kiss to her hair.

"What do you think is waiting for us when we get out of here? What are our lives gonna be like, Newt?" Eve questioned.

Newt's eyes scanned the Glade that they called home. He knew he didn't have any answer for her that would help. The Glade was all that any of them had ever known. There was no way of knowing what was waiting for them outside the walls. Newt tightened his arms around her before he answered. "I don't know, Eve. None of us do, but what I do know is that whatever is waiting for us we all have each other. And you will most certainly always have me. So no matter what we'll face when we get out, we'll do it together.

Eve felt her chest swell as he spoke. While he hadn't silenced her fears he had made them feel manageable. She twisted out of his hold and turned so she was facing him, her legs fell either side of his as she sat on his knee. "I like the sound of that," she told him with a smile. Newt returned it, taking her in. He knew he was biased but she was undeniably beautiful and he felt beyond lucky she was his. Eve bit her lip, resisting the urge to squirm under his intense gaze and they both felt the atmosphere around them shift. Newt raised his hands to her hips and leaned away from the tree, his lips meeting hers. Eve melted in the kiss with a sigh, her hands sliding over his shoulders and around his neck. Newt's hands travelled up to her back pulling her closer to him. He shifted Eve's whole body closer to him and it brought her lower body into tight contact with his. Eve pulled away from the kiss, a cry wretched from her lips as sensation spike through her body.

She clung to Newt stunned. Newt was barely holding back a smirk. "Newt," she breathed his name against his neck. "Do that again." Newt pulled her towards him but raised his hips up as well this time. Eve threw her head back, his name escaping her lips in a cry.

"You need to keep it down, love. Don't want to attract attention from the others," Newt told her gently. Eve nodded, her eyes not entirely focused and Newt preened a little knowing he'd done that. She buried her face in his neck as he moved against her. He brought his hands back to her hips and encouraged her to move with him. Her hands found his hair, weaving her finger into the blonde strands. She leaned back, looking at him as she continued moving with him. "You are so beautiful."

Eve grinned before throwing her head back, her mouth open in a silent scream as she approached a metaphorical cliff edge. She had no idea how she was staying quiet, she wanted to scream the name of the boy beneath her until she her throat hurt. "Newt," his name slipped from her lips as barely more than a whimper, sensation swirling through her whole body with enough force to make her legs shake. When the feeling subsided she dropped against him, her head nestled into his neck. Newt wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

"That was the most exquisite thing I've ever seen," Newt told her, not releasing his hold on her. She grinned into his neck and sighed in contentment. "We are definitely doing that again." Eve chuckled and dropped a kiss to the skin of his neck. "But right now, it's getting quite late so we should definitely be heading back."

Eve nodded in acceptance and stood, holding her hand out for Newt. He took it and clamoured to his feet, keeping hold of her hand once he had. They made their way slowly back to Homestead, pausing to steal kisses from each other often enough to make the journey take considerably longer than it needed to. They finally turned the corner, neither of them noticing Alby and Minho, who were sat quietly in the shadows. They had been quietly discussing the events of the day until they'd heard Newt and Eve approaching. Newt spun Eve, pressing her against the wall next to the door of the Homestead. His hands on the wall on either side of her head. "We'll get our own place when we get out of here. Just me and you," he told her. Eve grinned, looking down as her hand played with the buttons at the top of his shirt.

"You just want privacy so you can continue to debauch me without risking anyone walking in on us," Eve stated, her tone teasing. Minho caught Alby's eyes and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Alby barely managed to stifle a snicker at their friend's expense.

"Well obviously," he agreed, dropping his head to kiss her neck in a way that had her shuddering against him. "But there's also the fact that I don't want to spend a single day away from you now that I have you."

Eve's chest swelled in a way it was doing increasingly around Newt and she grinned widely at that. "Well, okay then," she accepted. Newt closed in her, his whole body pressed against her as he kissed her long and hard. Minho and Alby both looked away, knowing they were intruding on a private moment between the pair. A few minutes later Newt released Eve from where he'd pinned her against the wall and they disappeared into the Homestead.

"She's good for him," Alby said quietly once they were sure Eve and Newt were well out of ear shot.

"She is. He'll make it out with her by his side," Minho agreed. Alby nodded gravely, thinking about the day they'd found Newt after he'd attempted to jump from the Maze walls. Newt was tough, he could make it through this but Eve gave him something to fight for which made all the difference.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated any of my stories in a while but I am back writing now. For the minute I am just focusing on this story but I will pick back up with the others at some point.