Those Lost to the Maze

"Hey, you."

"Huh?" While the girl was talking with Chuck, a shadow abruptly moved over her and a familiar voice was heard by her ears. She looked up to see that the shadow had a handsome face and a blade on its back. "N-Newt…?"

"Come with me," Newt said with his hands on his hips. "It's time for your tour. And, Chuck, it's time for you to get workin'."

"Ah, man… Sorry, but I gotta go do my job now," Chuck huffed as he stood up. But before he walked away, Chuck snatched the girl's empty plate from her hands and showed her a smile. "Thanks for talking with me. It was fun."

"O-Oh, Chuck! You don't need to… take… my plate." However, the girl trailed off after seeing the young boy walk away without looking back. "Thank you."

"Pfft, he likes you," Newt chuckled. "You make friends quickly, Greenbean."

"If anything, you all are super nice," the girl stated, standing up and facing Newt. "What's Chuck's job, anyway?"

Newt snorted. "You really wanna know?"

"Y-Yeah…?"

"He's a Slopper," Newt said matter-of-factly. "They're the ones who aren't really good at any of the main tasks, so they clean the kitchen, clean the showers, clean the toilets. Y'know, the stuff that no one wants to do."

"Oh, uhm…" The girl couldn't stop herself from cringing. She felt bad for the poor boy, but was also quite confused. Chuck always seemed so happy; he didn't even complain when Newt told him to go do his "job." Moreover, despite the predicament that that boy had found himself in, the girl always saw Chuck with a smile on his face. It was honestly inspiring how cheerful he was. "Hey, Newt…"

"Don't worry," Newt smiled, "the probability of you getting that job is slim."

"N-No, I… I wasn't going to ask about that," the girl acknowledged. "I was going to ask," the girl's eyes found Newt's curious ones, "how long Chuck has been here for."

"...Almost a year now," Newt replied without looking away from her. "He's the little brother of the lot, but… he's been here longer than most. Why're you asking?"

"I don't know, I just…" The girl shook her head. "I just gotta respect how strong he is. It's amazing yet sad to see such a young boy so… accepting of… this."

When Newt saw the girl look around her at the maze's walls, he felt a sense of dread rush through him. He had been there for a long time - three years to be precise - and had met many Greenies in his time. Newt remembered how they cried when they found out; he remembered their sobs and the way their bodies would shake. Chuck was no different: he had to stay in the pit for three days before anyone could even touch him. Every single time, it hurt to see a body come up in that box. It pained Newt to have to force this way-of-life onto someone, because if he didn't, those Greenies would live trapped forever. Trapped in a cage much smaller than the stone cage around them.

Although, if a Greenie accepted this stone cage, they accepted it because they were told that there might still be a way out. However, that was what hurt Newt the most. It made him feel guilty, since he knew the truth. He knew… that there wasn't a way out.

"None of that matters now," Newt said before he could feel any worse. "C'mon, I got a lot to show you."

"O-Of course," the girl quickly agreed. "Sorry if I made things depressing, though.'

"It's fine," Newt insisted while turning away. "Let's just go."

Nonetheless, the girl didn't miss the depressed look on Newt's face. Even as he started the tour, the girl would catch glimpses of his true feelings. But did she acknowledge them? No. Because, deep down, she knew how scary it was to admit the things you really didn't want to.

"We only got three rules around here, Greenie!" Newt started explaining with the girl trailing behind him. "Number one: do your part! We've got no time for any freeloaders!"

"Y-Yeah," the girl gulped, "that's the last thing I'd want, too."

"Number two: never harm another Glader," Newt added, turning around to walk backwards. "None of this works unless we have trust."

"Hey, even if I wanted to hurt someone, I don't think I have the arms for it," the girl joked as she hit one of her arms. She looked over at the scrawny thing with an amused smile. "It's almost small enough that I can put my hand around- Oof!"

"And rule number three," Newt stared down at the girl after she'd walked into his chest, "is to never go beyond those walls. Like we told you earlier, the maze is a dangerous place. We don't want anyone getting hurt."

"G-Got it," the girl stuttered in spite of Newt's intense eyes. "I understand."

"Good," Newt sighed and then turned his head to his left. The two were standing in the Middle of the Glade, so everything that the stone walls had within could be seen. "Now. You see Zart over there?"

"The one by the plants?" she inquired, making Newt nod.

"He's the Keeper of the Gardeners. If you find yourself taking a liking to weeding, pruning, planting seeds, or gardening in general, you talk to him. He'll give you a job."

"Ohhh, right," the girl murmured in realization. "I remember him from last night. He seemed nice."

"Pfft. If 'nice' means bonkers, then sure," Newt snickered before pointing somewhere else. "Now we got the cooks, whose keeper is Frypan. If you like staying in the kitchen most of the day and cooking for all of us, then just talk with him."

The girl smiled upon hearing Frypan's name. "He's a hard-worker."

"Nah, he's got an easier job," Newt claimed knowingly. "Some of the more manual-labor-intensive jobs are the Builders and the Slicers. The Builders cut wood and build huts, while the Slicers handle the livestock. Neither party has much goin' on up here, though."

"Newt…" The girl said kindly after seeing Newt point up at his skull. "Really?"

"What?" Newt asked back, staring down at her with a smile of his own. "It's the truth."

"That's…" The girl then let out a huff. "Okay, please just tell me who the Keepers are."

"The Keeper of the Builders is Gally, and the Keeper of the Slicers is Winston," Newt explained. "Although, you might not want to be a Slicer because of your furry friend here."

"Mph…" Hugo let out a noise of agreement at Newt's words.

"Awe. Don't worry, buddy," the girl cooed while scratching behind the dog's ear. "I won't let anyone eat you."

Hugo practically beamed. "Woof!"

"...There's one more thing, though, before you start mingling around," Newt acknowledged, prompting the girl to look back into Newt's stern eyes. "Follow me one more time."

The girl immediately nodded. "Of course."

The pair walked across the Glade and toward the stone walls. But as they walked, the girl took the chance to look around some more. She noticed the deep forests in the far corners of the Glade, causing her to wonder what was hiding within them; she also smiled at everyone she saw working so hard, wondering once again what her job could be. What was she good at? What did she like? If she couldn't even remember her name yet, how could she answer those questions? Furthermore, upon thinking up that last question, the events of last night popped into her head.

'Have hope and protect them.'

What did that mean? What did any of this mean for her? Why was she sent up with a note? Why was she the only female? There were so many questions, but so little answers. Although, now that the girl recalled that her name would be coming back to her soon, an eagerness bubbled up inside her. What did her name sound like? Was it a nice-sounding name? Bad-sounding? Would it be-

"W-What," the girl stopped in her tracks, "is all of this?"

"Our names," Newt said, lifting his hand to trail along the wall. Now in front of the two, was a small portion of the ginormous stone walls. However, engraved in that same stone, were multiple names. Each name had its own handwriting, but some of them… had scary-looking gashes covering up the letters. "Each and every person that comes up here, gets to put their name on this wall after they remember it. It's kinda like… becoming a part of something. A group."

"There's so many…" the girl muttered while stepping forward and standing beside Newt. She, too, lifted her hand to the wall, tracing her fingers over a crossed-out name spelling 'George.' "But what about these ones? Why are they…"

"We've had dark days, Greenie," Newt murmured in an emotionless tone. The girl turned her head to the left, seeing his brown eyes staring sadly at the names. "We've lost a lot of boys, but… we will never forget them. They're one of us, and we always live for them. We try our best for them. We never give up because of them. And we will not stop until we find the freedom that they never got."

After Newt's final words, a soft breeze passed the boy and the girl. Newt's messy blonde hair danced across his emotionless face, while the girl's ponytail wisped around her sympathetic one. At that moment, she couldn't look away from Newt - his sadness, his remorse, his guilt all showed in his eyes, and it hurt the girl to see his expression so blank when he was obviously feeling such sadness. Those boys had gone through so much, and yet they carried on. They carried on because of the bond they had with one another. Their care for one another.

The Runners risked their lives so that they could find a way to free everyone.

The Gardeners planted the same crops over and over again so that everyone stayed healthy.

The Builders built homes so that there was at least one place that everyone could rest.

Instead of hating the world for imprisoning them, those boys chose to help one another. It was…

"It's amazing…" the girl eventually mumbled out. When Newt looked over at her, though, his eyes widened in spite of the warmest, most affectionate smile he had ever seen. "You all… are so amazing. Even after all of this loss, pain, and confusion, you try. You try to find a way through the darkness and the sadness, despite how much there is of it. Somehow, you smile. Somehow, you laugh together. Somehow, you… you haven't… given up hope. And I find that," the girl lifted a hand to Newt's shoulder, "truly remarkable."

One more breeze passed the two, but this time, their expressions were completely opposite. The girl's wasn't one of sadness, but instead one of respect; Newt's wasn't one of emotionless grief, but instead one of emotional shock. He had seen many of his friends die, and he had horribly had to come to terms with it. But 'remarkable,' she said. She said that they were amazing. No one had ever said that before, and… and it felt almost freeing to know that someone understood and respected what those boys were doing there.

So, instead of feeling that usual grief, Newt felt something new. As that girl smiled up at him, Newt felt the opposite of what he usually felt when he stood before the wall of names. After hearing her words and with her hand touching his shoulder, Newt somehow felt… better. Like, for the time being, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

A weight that had been there for a very long time.

"O-Oh, uhm…" However, once more, the girl took Newt's silence as a bad thing. With his eyes staring widely into hers, the girl quickly took her hand off from his shoulder and looked away. "S-Sorry! I overstepped again, didn't I? S-Seriously, I'll try to work on my blabber-"

"You shouldn't be the one talking," Newt interrupted with a grumble in his tone. His head turned away from the girl, his hand scratching the back of his neck, in spite of the strange emotions he was feeling. "You're… pretty amazing, too. You might be weird, but you've got… a lot of hope. I-I mean, even though you're trapped here, you're already lookin' on the bright-side of things. I think… you have more hope than all of us combined."

'Hope.'

When Newt spoke that simple word, something within the girl chimed like a bell. The bell vibrated down to the tip of her toes, back up her legs, up the length of her spine, and right to her brain. But once it hit her head, the darkness within the girl's head… lightened. Almost like a spotlight had been turned on, showcasing to the girl a single answer as to what lurked in the darkness. And underneath that spotlight was something… extraordinary.

"H-Hope…" the girl breathed out, making Newt spin his head back toward her in confusion.

"What?"

"M-My name…"

"Your name…?"

"My name," she looked Newt straight in the eye, "is Hope."

"That's…" Newt turned his full body to her, eyeing her up and down. "That's really your name?"

Her expression turned worried. "I-Is it a bad name?"

"Well… It's for sure unique," Newt said while a handsome smile adorned his face. "It suits you, though. I like it."

"Y-You…" Hope stammered. "You do…?"

"Yeah… I do…" Newt remarked in a sincere tone. He then politely reached out his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, then, Hope."

"Nice to meet you, um…" Hope lifted her hand to Newt's, feeling warmth radiating off their touch. "Newt."

It was odd. When either teenager said the other person's name, an odd feeling formed in both of their stomachs. It got even stronger when their hands touched for the second time. Hence, for a few moments, an odd silence washed over the pair - they simply stared into each other's eyes, their hands still connected. More so, yet another breeze brushed past them, rustling their differently-colored hair in all directions.

Yep.

This was the official start of Newt and Hope's story.

"H-Hey, uh, c'mon," Newt ultimately spoke up after somehow regaining his composure. He even swiped his hand away from Hope's and turned away again. "Let's go, uhm, tell the others. I bet they'll be excited."

"R-Right!" Hope said, hurrying behind Newt. As they walked, however, neither person had the strength to look the other in the eye. Both of their heads were turned away from another, embarrassment written all over their faces. Nonetheless, Hope, not wanting to keep things awkward, spoke up next. "H-Hey… Do you think they'll like my name, too?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Newt asked with a scoff. "We all need a little hope in our lives. In whatever shape it presents itself."

Hope's eyes went wide upon hearing Newt's words, but then that same shock turned into a bashful smile. She did like the sound of it: helping others in any way, shape, or form. It made Hope feel like she had a purpose. Yes, it made Hope want to try her best and never give up. Therefore, at that moment, more than just the girl's name came back to her: some of her personality came back well. And it was all thanks… to Newt.

"Hey, Chuck!" Hope yelled out to the boy talking with Alby off in the distance. "I gotta tell you something!"

Although there were many who lost to the maze, there were still many finding a way through it. Despite all of the setbacks and the hurt, they found a way to keep running. It made Hope want to protect such courageous people. So, with the wall of names watching over the Glade, Hope made a promise to herself… to never give up hope.

A/N: Yes, Lucy, my OC will be Newt's love interest. ;+)