A Calm Conclusion

Once Newt and Hope had their individual talks, they rendezvoused at the Infirmary. As usual, Newt was cool and calm: he leaned his back against the wooden structure, his arms crossed. But Hope, on a whole other hand, was pacing back and forth in front of him. She was biting on her nails, playing with her hair, and was being a complete worry-wart. Newt's dark brown eyes watched her do this, as did Hugo laying against a tree. Though, unlike the dog, Newt has to contain his amused smile caused by how cu-

"What're we gonna do?!" Hope screeched, flailing her arms around dramatically. "They both wanna murder each other!"

"Hope, as I have been saying, that's just boys being boys," Newt said while his eyes continued to follow her. "They don't actually want to slice each other's throats."

"W-We still have a huge problem here, though!" Hope protested. "Zart is threatening to never give Winston feed again, and Winston is threatening to never give Zart manure again! That'll be terrible!"

Newt shrugged. "Then we'll just have to figure this out before that happens."

"But how?!"

"Well, first of all, you haven't actually told me what Wins said you to," Newt acknowledged, causing Hope to instantly stop in her tracks. "You've been too busy freaking out."

"O-Oh…" Hope's face went red. "Sorry."

"Zart said that the pigs ate his crops after Breakfast," Newt finally started explaining. "However, I talked with some of the other Slicers and found out that Winston was with them during that time. Both yesterday and today, they were getting supplies from the woods to fix up the fences."

"This is not me picking sides or anything, but Winston still could have opened that gate before they left. More so, leaving in a group would have been the perfect cover-up," Hope brought up. "But again, I don't see the motive as to why Winston would do something like that."

"I agree." Newt nodded. "Before this, Wins and Zart were on pretty good terms. They were friends even. They'd have no reason to do this to one another… Still, what did Winston say?"

"Well, other than wanting to murder Zart, he said that the poisonous plant is used fairly often for the pigs," Hope answered. "However, this morning, Winston never saw Zart deliver it to the Blood House. And since they were out getting supplies, it would've given Zart the perfect chance to feed one of those piglets the poison."

"But again, there's no reason for Zart to do that," Newt added, and it was Hope's turn to nod in agreement. "It doesn't make any sense. Either I've somehow missed Winston and Zart hating each other, or there's someone else in this camp who wants to… sabotage us."

"A-And that's an even scarier thought than our first theory," Hope gulped. "But you're right. This really doesn't make any sense. Not at all."

"All we've got are the timeframes and the scene of the crimes," Newt pointed out, his fingers softly rubbing his chin. "One of them happened yesterday, but both of them were in the morning when everyone was out of the Blood House. And both of the crimes started there, too."

"Then someone must have known that Winston was in the woods," Hope noted. "Someone must knowwhen no one is there… Did you ask around to see if anyone saw anyone suspicious?"

"I did, but none of 'em saw anything," Newt stated. "Plus, they said that everyone was doing their job and acting normal."

"Then… Could it have been another Slicer? They'd know the poison."

"It could be, but…" Newt shook his head. "All those boys respect Winston so much. I know it's naive to think it, but I honestly can't see them doing this to him."

"I see…" Hope mumbled and then thought for a moment. "Okay, then how about a Builder? They know the woods better than anyone, so they could've gone unnoticed by the Slicers?"

Newt shook his head. "Gally said that they were building all day. Together."

"The other Cooks I work with were hanging out with Fry this morning. And yesterday, we were all together all day cooking," Hope commented. "So then it must be someone who can freely walk around without anyone noticing. Someone who works alone most of the time. Someone who has time to know Winston's schedule. Someone who… who… who does…"

"…Hope?" Newt said after Hope had trailed off. He took a few steps closer to her, puzzlement swirling in his eyes. "Hope, what is it?"

"W-What if…" Hope slowly looked up at Newt. "What if the person wasn't watching Winston? W-What if this person… just goes to the Blood House daily?"

"I don't follow," Newt said, making Hope show him a meaningful stare.

"Newt… What if this person goes to the Blood House every morning, because he wants to… clean up the animal's manure first and… get over with it?"

"Oh… Oh…" Newt gasped in realization and then smiled down at Hope. "Hope, you're a genius."

Almost immediately, Hope and Newt started their man-hunt. First, they walked into the Homestead to find their perpetrator's clothes. They weren't going to waste time searching every nook and cranny. No, Hope and Newt were smarter than that. Hence, Newt took a piece of smelly clothing and brought it up to Hugo's nose, letting the hound smell it. And when the dog turned around to start leading the way, Newt and Hope shared a victorious fist-bump.

The two followed behind Hugo as he sniffed the ground, his fluffy tail high up in the air. The sky was depressing and gloomy, but Hope knew that it would brighten up soon. It always did. She just hoped that this "war" would brighten up just the same.

"Ruff!"

"Huh…?!" The perpetrator let out a noise of surprise after hearing Hugo's bark. He turned around and tilted his head. "Hugo? What're you… doing… here?"

"Hey, Chuck," Newt greeted while he watched the perpetrator take a step back, fear in his younger eyes. "What're you doing hiding out in the woods?"

"I-I'm…" Chuck stuttered, whipping his eyes back and forth between Hope and Newt. However, after a few moments, the boy let out a long breath of air… and put up his arms. "Okay, before you two go crazy and beat me up, I didn't mean it! I didn't want any of that to happen! It was just an accident, I swear!"

"So it really was you, huh?" Hope mumbled sadly. "Chuck… What happened?"

"There's… There's not really any way to explain it other than… I was being an idiot," Chuck confessed as his back fell against a tree. "Yesterday, after I was done cleaning the Blood House and the Slicers were away, I accidentally left the pig-pen's gate open. And then, this morning, I saw some green plants in the Blood House, so I gave some to one of the piglets. As a treat. I-I didn't know it was poison until… Y'know."

Newt sighed. "Why haven't you told anyone, Chuck?"

"Would you hate me if… I said I was scared?" Chuck questioned the two, but in reality, he was only asking Hope. He stared up into her sad eyes, wanting nothing more than to disappear. "I know I'm horrible for making Zart and Winston hate each other, but… I don't want them to hate me. I don't want them to punch me o-or call me a 'Slinthead'. But that's… that's just selfish of me, isn't it? I-I'm a selfish moron, aren't I?"

For the past - almost - two days, Chuck had wanted to tell the truth. He wanted so badly to get the truth out, but… his fear stopped him. And eventually, Chuck believed that fear to be selfishness. He felt so selfish that sleep wasn't possible for him last night: it kept him away from finding salvation in a dream. Though, after a while, Chuck accepted it as punishment for being selfish.

That was why Chuck was staring so guiltily at Hope. After what had happened with Zart and those pigs, Chuck wanted to run to Hope and tell her all about it. He wanted to whine and cry to her. He wanted to beg for her forgiveness. And then, when Chuck accidentally killed that pig, he wanted to whine even more. Chuck wanted… to be soothed.

"Chuck…" So when Hope said his name, Chuck had to hold back tears. Particularly as she stepped closer to him, kneeled down, and looked up into his eyes. "Chuck, I know you don't like anyone saying this to you, but you are, in fact, the youngest one here. And being the youngest, as you well know, carries a heavy weight on your shoulders. You feel like you need to prove yourself, right? That you need to… try your best to be an equal?"

Chuck sniffled. "M-Mhm…"

"Then I understand why you lied. I understand why you're scared," Hope told him, a sympathetic smile forming on her face. "But, Chuck, you cannot let that fear control you. You have to be brave for yourself and for the Glade." But once a tear fell down Chuck's cheek, Hope lifted her hand and wiped it away. And upon feeling her soft hand, Chuck took a deep breath and used his own hand to wipe his eyes. "Be brave for us, okay? You can do it. And I'll be right there next to you. Every moment of the way."

Those eyes of hers… Those kind, understanding eyes of Hope's… made Chuck unable to say no. He couldn't resist her.

"O…Okay," Chuck ultimately agreed. "I'll do it. I-I'll do it."

"Thank you, Chuck," Hope cooed. "I'm proud of you."

Newt and Hugo watched the exchange from afar, their equally-colored eyes never looking away from the scene. Once more, Newt had been shown the endless kindness that Hope had within her heart. It confused him as to how that kindness was there, but it also made him feel oh-so warm inside. She knew how to move people with only her words, and that was something Newt wanted to protect. He wanted to protect this kind, generous creature from any kind of sadness.

He wanted to give back what Hope gave to all of them.

"Okay, so what you're telling me is that," Minho scoffed, "Keeper War Number Two was almost started by little baby Chuck?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Newt snickered while taking a swig of his beer. "And you wouldn't be saying it like that if you were there. It was bloody intense."

"Dang," Hank sighed. "I wish we could've been there to see it!"

"Yeah, a fight between Zart and Winston?" Dan chirped excitedly. "That would've been awesome to watch."

"At least it all worked-out, though," Ben commented before he pointed his smile across the fire. "And it looks like Zart and Winston forgave Chuck just fine."

"Yeah…" Hope beamed. "They sure did."

It was now after Dinner, so everyone finally had time to tell the story to the Runners. They all sat around in a large circle, a medium-sized fire in the center, and there was a beautiful sunset above them. Across the fire from Hope, sat a group of three: Winston, Zart, and Chuck. The two older boys were teasing the younger one relentlessly, and the younger one was responding in acceptance. Chuck knew that this was the least he could endure after what he had done.

Therefore, when Chuck had told the two Keepers the truth about what had happened, they actually took it pretty well. They understood that Chuck would never mean to do something like that, and they only gave him the one warning of, "Just tell us the truth next time, okay?" It made Hope feel such joy when Chuck almost cried tears of relief; he felt so much better, and it all showed on his face.

Truly, Hope loved Chuck's smile.

Although, Hope had had a stressful day. So much so that she even accepted a small glass of Gally's alcohol. It tasted like animal urine, but it was good and potent enough to calm her nerves. This would have to do.

"Seriously, though," Frypan suddenly chimed in from the right of Hope, "how did you two figure it out?"

"That's what I've been wondering, too," Gally agreed as he swished his drink around his glass. "What gave it up?"

"Hey, it was Hope that figured it out, not me," Newt acknowledged. "She's a bloody genius."

"I-I'm not really… Plus, it was your information that figured it out, Newt," Hope told the boy sitting to the left of her. "From all that you told me about the timeframes, the setting, the witnesses, I could figure out that Chuck was the only one that nobody would notice. Even if they saw him by the Blood House, they'd just think he was just doing his job and move on. You're the true hero here, Newt."

"Well, whoever the hero is, I owe you two my thanks," Alby said and then he raised his glass high up into the air. "To Hope and Newt for keeping peace in the Glade!"

"YEAH!" the Gladers cheered in unison, causing a bashful blush to adorn Hope's and Newt's cheeks. They were both pretty modest, so the attention and gratitude made them feel… conflicted emotions. Nonetheless, they felt glad that they could do something good for the Glade and even manage to impress Alby, too. It felt good… to be useful.

"Hey, Minho!" After everyone had gone back to their individual conversations, Hope abruptly heard Ben's voice to her left. "Let's have a drinking competition!"

"Yeah!" Hank beamed. "Whoever drinks the most wins!"

"And whoever wins gets the other threes' bacon tomorrow!" Dan added. "C'mon, Minho! It'll be fun!"

However, instead of answering, Minho's eyes… found Hope's. The girl's eyes widened at the contact, but then visibly relaxed at the look the boy was giving her. He was… Those dark eyes of Minho's… were searching for something within her. They were wavering. Thinking. Searching for an answer. Minho's first instinct was to say, 'no way,' but somehow, looking into Hope's friendly eyes made him feel… the exact opposite.

"…Sure," Minho finally replied. "You guys are on."

Hank smiled. "Hell yeah!"

"Don't be a sore loser, though," Minho challenged. "I'm good with my alcohol."

"I'd expect nothing less from the Keeper of the Runners," Ben mused, prompting Dan to motion to Gally.

"Hey, Gally! Get us some more drinks! We're gonna need 'em!"

"Don't blame me when you throw up," Gally huffed, yet got up anyway to fetch the drinks, "'cause you will."

Hope smiled warmly as Minho smiled along with his fellow Runners. Yesterday, it seemed like Minho was an outcast. A loner who didn't like getting close to people. But, truly, he did want them to get close. He wanted to have people stand beside him and cheer him on. Minho sacrificed so much for the Glade, and Hope was thankful that he got the acceptance he deserved. It wasn't always easy to open yourself up to others, but it sure as heck felt good once you finally did.

The merry attitude lasted until the sun had set. Far beyond the sun had set, really. Everyone was quite drunk - some tipsy - and Minho had - not surprisingly - won the drinking competition. Unlike the other three who tapped out at ten, Minho was calmly drinking his twelf. The fire was blazing in the center, and the laughter was erupting into the air above. Still, Hope could tell that everyone was getting tired. A few more than others.

"Heyyy, Hope!"

"O-Oh…!"

"Wassup?" Chuck blinked after he had unexpectedly dropped his head onto Hope's lap. "How you - hiccup! - doin'?"

"Bloody hell…" Newt, who was still sitting beside Hope, cringed upon seeing Chuck. "This is the drunkest I've ever seen him."

"Y'know, Hope, you look really pretty right now," Chuck gushed as he stared up at her. "The fire makes your eyes sparkle."

"Th-Thank you, Chuck," Hope stuttered. "You're very kind."

Chuck pouted. "No, you're kind!"

Hope smiled. "No, you are."

"No, you!"

"You!"

"Don't - hiccup! - argue with me, missy!" Chuck protested, pointing up at her. "You are the kindest, nicest, kindness, niceness, person ever!"

"Oooh, he is bad," Frypan, who was stillsitting on Hope's right, also said. "Today really affected him, huh?"

"I don't blame him," Gally chimed in while taking a sip of beer. "He won't be the same after today."

"We'll make sure he never feels bad about it, though," Alby stated in a soft tone. "He's too young for that kind of guilt."

"Hope, Hope, Hope!" Chuck started cheering again. "Can you sing me a lullaby?"

"A… w-what?" Hope asked, prompting Chuck to smile brightly.

"I heard you singin' the other day!"

Hope's eyes widened. "Y-You did?"

"Yeah! In the Kitchen when you were cleaning up!" Chuck explained. "You were alone, and you started singing this song!"

"Oh, wow, I… I don't even remember that…" Hope murmured and then gulped. "S-Still, I don't think anyone here would want to hear that, Chuck. I want to grant your wish, but-"

"You should do it, Hope!" Hank somehow managed to yell through his drunkenness. "I'd love to hear your voice!"

"Seriously," Newt scoffed, "that guy is the biggest flirt here."

"He's right!" Frypan abruptly approved. "If a drunken kid says you're good, then you must be good!"

"And if it's a lullaby, you'd help me by putting these other children to sleep," Alby acknowledged. "At this rate, I don't think they'll ever sleep."

"Yeah! Let's go, Hope!" Ben shouted, pretty drunk himself. "Sing us to sleep!"

"U-Um…" Hope shrunk underneath everyone's eyes. None of them were mean, but the attention still made her anxious. "A-Are you sure?"

"More than sure!" Chuck claimed before he gave Hope puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeeaaase, Hope? Pretty please? I'll cry if you don't…"

"Ch-Chuck, you… you know I can't win against that face…" Hope sighed to herself. "But I… Well… Oh my goodness, okay."

The Glade cheered once more. "YEAH!"

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Gally said with confusion in his eyes, causing Minho to nod in agreement.

"Me neither. The things we put this girl through."

"Okay, everyone, shut the shuck up!" Dan bellowed to the entire campfire. And when Hope heard the entire place go silent, she loudly gulped as Dan sat back down. "Good. Hope, please continue."

Everyone waited expectantly, their attention directly on Hope. Above them, the moon waited as well. Even the stars waited for Hope to open her mouth. To Hope, it felt like the entire world was watching her. It felt… so strange to be looked upon by so many people. Alien almost. Regardless, the moment that Hope looked down at Chuck in her lap, all that worry and uncertainty… washed away. She saw his innocent smile, his puffy red cheeks, and his curly brown hair; she remembered his tears, she remembered the selfishness he felt, she remembered how scared he was. So if… if this would make Chuck feel better, then… then Hope wouldn't resist. She couldn't say no.

Hope would have done anything to keep Chuck smiling.

"Oh, the sun is surely sinking down…" Hope started in a quiet voice. "But the moon is slowly rising."

Don't ask Hope how she knew this song.

"So this old world must be spinning 'round… And I still love you."

She wouldn't know how to explain it to you.

"So close your eyes… You can close your eyes… It's alright."

It was a confusing place within Hope's mind.

"I don't know no love songs… I can't sing the blues anymore…"

That was for sure.

"Oh, but I can sing this song… You can sing it when I'm gone…"

It was like when Hope made that chocolate.

"It won't be long before another day… We gonna have a good time…"

Instead of her own voice, Hope heard…

"And no one's gonna take that time away… You can stay as long as you like…"

She heard that woman's voice.

"Only close your eyes… You can close your eyes…"

That soft, soothing voice.

"It's alright."

As Hope sang, she could almost start to see that woman's face.

"Oh, I don't know no love songs… I can't sing the blues anymore…"

The picture was blurry, but…

"Sure, but I can sing this song…"

Hope still felt oh-so safe underneath that woman's gaze.

"Yes, and you can sing this song… when I'm gone."

But then, the picture was gone.

The woman was gone.

She had left Hope.

Hope… had been left alone.

"Hey…" All of a sudden, Hope heard a familiar voice and a touch next to her. She heard Newt's whisper and… his arm touch hers. "I'd clap for you, but… look."

Hope looked to where Newt was looking, and her eyes widened like saucers at what she saw. All the boys were sleeping soundly on their logs, while Chuck was sleeping softly on Hope's lap. The innocent sight made Hope's heart burst with happiness, and she could barely contain the laugh that had bubbled up inside her. These are precious boys, Hope thought. They are so very precious. But as Hope smiled to herself, Alby, Frypan, Gally, Minho, and Newt each smiled at her. And they, secretly, thought the same thing… as Hope.

A/N: Friendly reminder that I do NOT own 'Maze Runner' nor its characters!

Hope you enjoy! The song's name is 'You Can Close Your Eyes' by James Taylor!