Two Idiots

Okay, sure. Maybe Thomas and Hope weren't the best role-models for one another. They did just look into each other's eyes and say, 'Y'know what? Let's spend the night in a death-maze!' All it took was a single look for the two idiots to run right into danger. Together. They didn't have any idea what had come over them, but Thomas and Hope decided that they'd rather die themselves than let Minho and Alby die alone. Again, it sounded completely stupid (more than stupid, really), and yet the two weren't able to stop themselves. They ran into the Maze without a single smart thought in their heads. So yeah, Thomas and Hope weren't a very smart duo: they did dumb things together. Still, did they regret their idiocy? Not at all.

Now, we would see how these two idiots reacted to being utterly afraid and reaping what they sowed. Therefore, let's get back to our regular programming.

"Good job," Minho huffed the moment the Maze's doors closed. "You've just killed yourselves."

"W… What?" Thomas yelped in fear, while Hope quickly got up from the ground and ran over to Alby.

"Oh my gosh…" Hope sighed upon seeing the Leader's state. He had blood all over him, and he looked completely out of it. "This is worse than I thought."

When he heard this, Thomas got up as well and ran over to Alby; he kneeled down on the other side of Hope. "What happened to him?"

"What does it look like?" Minho scoffed. "He got stung."

"A-And," Thomas gulped, "what happened to his head?"

"He did what he had to do," Hope responded before Minho could, prompting the Runner to look over at her and for her to look over at him. Hope stared into Minho's sad eyes meaningfully, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "This isn't your fault."

"But it is," Minho argued, his voice echoing through the Maze. "I just wasn't fast enough, and now… now you two are gonna die with me."

Right when those words left Minho's mouth, however, a Griever's scream screeched through the Maze. More so, the sounds of the Maze moving rumbled through the space. And although two of them weren't Runners, they knew that that noise meant "start moving."

"Okay, okay," Thomas said as he started getting Alby into his arms. "Help me get him up."

"We gotta go," Minho remarked after he stood up and started limping away. "The Maze is already changing."

"But Minho!" both Thomas and Hope shouted at the same time. This made Minho instantly stop walking. "We can't just leave him here!"

Slowly, Minho turned around from where he stood. Hope saw pain and so much conflict in Minho's eyes: he wanted to help Alby, but the human instinct to do anything to stay alive was just as powerful. Nevertheless, Minho was the most loyal person Hope knew, so she knew how to win him over.

"Thomas and I will carry him," she said with a grave look in her eyes. "You lead the way."

In response, Minho simply nodded.


BOOM! When the Glade saw the Maze's doors close, it was almost like they had all just witnessed a murder. Which, they kinda did, but for their sakes, let's simply keep it as an example. Especially for five of their sakes. They each stood there, still not fully being able to digest what had just happened. As Minho was carrying Alby on his back, the Glade had practically accepted that the two of them were goners. There was merely no way that they'd make it. But none of them would've thought that… they'd lost Thomas… and Hope, too. Not Hope. No, not Hope. For some of them, Hope couldn't have been-

"Ruff, ruff!" Suddenly, Hugo ran up to the closed doors and started scraping his paws against the stone. "Ruff, ruff! Ruff, ruff, ruff!"

"Hugo! No, boy! You'll hurt your- Ow!" However, Hugo nipped at Gally the moment that the boy tried to take him away from the wall. This made Gally immediately take a step back and glare down at the dog. "Okay, fine… Whatever. This is stupid, anyway! They're all so stupid!"

Gally stomped away from the Maze, unable to actually digest his emotions just yet. Furthermore, once Hugo had started pawing at the wall again, Siggy could only stare at the sad sight. He had never seen the dog so panicked in its life, and the actual human wished that he was able to show his own sadness. But he couldn't. In those moments, Siggy - exactly like Gally - was unable to express his emotions. He didn't know how to. Frypan had spent so long trying to feel numb towards death that he… he couldn't actually… So when tears started forming in his eyes, Siggy turned around and walked the opposite direction from where Gally had gone. The cook wouldn't let anyone see his own panic.

Though, there were two boys that didn't seem to care. Chuck was one of them. The second that the doors closed behind Hope was the second that a tear fell down his cheek. And even more came once he saw Hugo crying for Hope, too. Chuck just stood there and cried. He felt terrible for Thomas as well, but he didn't feel the same grief he did toward Hope, because she… Hope was his…

"Newt!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Hey, Newt!"

"I don't wanna be a burden…"

"I would love to be your friend, Newt!"

"What if I'm the bad guy?"

"I'm happy, Newt! I'm so happy that you're alive!"

Hope was Newt's everything.

In those mere seconds, Newt saw his entire life with Hope flash before his eyes. He saw the happy moments, the sad moments, even the moments in between happiness and sadness. Newt remembered every minute detail, and despite some details of their story being sad ones, Newt loved them. He loved every single second of his time with Hope in it. So now… So now that the world was threatening him to never have one of those moments again, Newt just cried. He cried openly and unapologetically. He couldn't fathom such a fate, because he wanted… he wanted to spend forever with her.

Newt's eyes widened like saucers, and he looked down while placing a hand over his mouth. Forever, Newt thought. I wanted to be with her… forever. But the reason that Newt felt so shocked was because the other feelings felt different. Of course, he was devastated about Minho. He was crushed that he might never see his best friend ever again. However, Newt's pain in regards to Hope felt so much different than that. It felt stronger. Worse. Heart-wrenching. Bone-crushing. Soul-taking. It felt like… a part of him had been violently ripped out.

So it was at that moment that Newt realized… that this feeling wasn't normal. That it wasn't simply 'friendship' or 'comradeship.' It was something so much more than that.

"You're amazing…"

That happiness.

"Your life is important."

That relief.

"You're kind, Newt."

That safety.

"I… cherish your life."

That heart-thumping feeling.

"I'm happy that you're here, Newt!"

That unknown, powerful feeling was…

"I get weird when it comes to you."

Love.

Newt loved Hope… more than anyone else.

He didn't know when it had happened, but…

He had fallen in love with her.

And the saddest part of it was that it took him to lose her… for him to realize it.


The sun was starting to set, so an orange glint cascaded across the Maze's stone… everything. And as Hope carried Alby with Thomas' help, and since she probably would never get another chance, Hope decided to see what the actual Maze looked like. It was cracked in various places, the stone looked old and worn, and there were vines almost everywhere. Some of the vines were hanging on the walls, while others were hanging above them. Hence, if Hope hadn't found herself in a life-threatening circumstance, she'd say that the Maze looked cool. But, of course, the life-threatening situation was much more important to think about.

Moreover, it wasn't a very surprising fact, but Alby was heavy. He was heavy and the two idiots were having a pretty hard time carrying him. Regardless, the two idiots carried Alby and followed behind Minho as fast as they could. It was a difficult task, but Thomas and Hope weren't ones to just give up. They wouldn't spend their last few hours alive leaving behind a friend.

Grumble…

"Okay, let him down. Now." Minho ordered this after hearing the Maze change off in the distance. The two idiots quickly leaned Alby against a wall, as Minho ran over to them both. "Guys, this isn't going to work. We gotta go."

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" Thomas tried to stop the Runner from running away. "If we're leaving him, we gotta hide him!"

Minho scoffed. "Where?!"

"I don't know! Just think!" Thomas urged, while Hope, on the other hand, was wiping some blood off of Alby's sleeping face. "Y-You're telling me that there's not a single place we could take him?!"

"...Minho!" Hope barked when Minho abruptly turned around, grabbed onto Thomas' collar, and pushed his back against the wall.

"Listen to me, shuck-face, alright?" Minho ignored Hope and merely hissed at Thomas. "Take a look around. There is nowhere to go!" Minho then let go of Thomas… and pointed his glare over at Hope. "And you! Why would you kill yourself like this?! It wasn't worth it!"

"Not 'worth it'? Minho, what're you talking about?!" Hope snapped right back, standing up to face Minho head-on. "I promised you that you'd never be alone again! That I would always be there for you! And just because you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on that promise! I care about you, Minho! I wouldn't leave you to die alone!"

Minho's expression softened, and finally, the situation had finally sunk in. This was the last thing that Minho wanted to happen to Hope - seriously, of the many deaths that could've happened in the Glade, this was the last one Minho wanted Hope to go through. This one was the toughest, the longest, the most miserable death anyone could go through. Hope didn't deserve this. Her name didn't deserve to be scratched off of that wall. Furthermore, Minho's thoughts found Newt. Because if Newt… If Newt lost him, Alby, and Hope all at the same time, Minho understood that Newt might not be able to handle that. Newt was one of the strongest people Minho knew, but… we all had our limits.

"I'm… I am so sorry, Hope," Minho finally said in a sad, despondent tone. "I didn't… I didn't mean for you to-"

"It's okay," Hope cooed after softly placing her hand against Minho's cheek. "It's all gonna be okay, Minho. It's not your fault."

In response, Minho only blushed and glanced away.

"Hey, guys…" Thomas' voice suddenly cut through the air like a knife. Hope dropped her hand, Minho turned around, and they both looked to where Thomas was now standing before a wall very overgrown with vines. And without Thomas even talking, Hope knew exactly what he was thinking. "I think I've got an idea."


By the time the sun had set, Hugo hadn't left the Maze's doors. He hadn't even budged. The poor, lonely dog just sat there, his eyes never leaving the closed opening. Chuck hadn't left, either: his back was leaning on the wall, and his hands were carving his wooden man as a distraction. There were a few other Gladers there, but not all of them. Like Gally and Frypan, some couldn't stand beside that door. They couldn't even stomach it. So, instead, they looked away. They walked away. But there was one boy… One, singular boy… who sat beside the angry hound. Who wasn't afraid of his large, sharp teeth.

This boy was the current Leader of the Glade.

"Y'know, outta everyone, you probably remember the most, don't you?" Newt mumbled, leaning back on both of his hands. "You know why Hope is here, and you know why you're here. But now that your reason for being here is gone, you… you can't accept that, can you? It hurts too much."

Hugo didn't even acknowledge Newt. All the dog did was stare at the wall. Though, this didn't stop Newt.

"It's the same for me," the boy then said. "I've never believed that anyone could survive a day in the Maze, but here I am. Here I am praying that they're alive, because I… I can't imagine my life without them in it. I couldn't bloody live with myself." Then, Newt took a deep breath. It was a shaky breath, because annoyingly, Newt still had some tears left. "I-I can't… I can't lose her too, Hugo. I need her to tell me that everything's gonna be fine, I need her to help me deal with losing Minho, and I… I-I want to hold her. I just wanna be with her, so why does the world wanna take her away from me? Is there something wrong with me? A-Am I… unworthy of her?"

Newt could still feel Hope's body against his, and he would have given up everything to just feel her again. All those times Hope comforted him, all those times that she held him or he had held her, Newt had finally understood why he loved it so much. And why… And why this morning made him feel inhumanly happy.

"I adore you." Hope's words from the past whispered into Newt's ear. He even lifted up his hand to his cheek, touching the exact place Hope had kissed him. Newt wanted her. He just wanted her. He wanted her smile, her laugh, her frown, her fear, her face, her hair, her body, her bed, her mind. He wanted every single inch of her. And he realized this by losing all of that; Newt had lost every inch of her. Furthermore, it was strange how Newt remembered nothing, yet somehow knew that this was the feeling of love. It only made his feelings grow even stronger, since those feelings breached what was supposed to be impossible. Yes, Newt wanted Hope even if he wasn't supposed to.

He loved her. He loved her so very much.

"Mmm…" But all of a sudden, Newt felt something warm and soft nuzzle into his legs. "Mph."

"Oh, boy…" Newt breathed, lifting up his hand to Hugo's head lying on his lap. "You love her as much as I do, don't you?"

Hugo just buried his face deeper into Newt's body, begging the human to comfort him. And, of course, exactly like the dog had done the night before, Newt did comfort Hugo. That night, Newt and Hugo realized that if their comfort was gone, then they could find comfort in one another.


It was insane how time went by faster when you were having fun. Or, in the two idiots' circumstance, when you were about to die. Thomas had ingeniously thought up a pulley system by using the vines: he tied a bunch of vines together, threw the long vine-rope up and around another strong vine, wrapped one end of it around Alby's body, and then had all three of them lift their Leader's body up into the air. It was tough work, but it seemed to be working quite well. Alby's body was high up in the air and was sort of hidden within the vines, too. However, it was going a little too well, since-

Grumble! The Maze moving wasn't the bad part. The truly horrible part was what the Maze uncovered behind the opening walls. Minho was the first to see it through the thick midnight fog: a Griever. It was as terrifying as the last time he'd seen it. He was so scared that he dropped the vine, prompting Thomas and Hope to be the only ones holding on. Thomas verbally asked why Minho had done this, while Hope saw why he had done this. And almost immediately after seeing what she theorized to be a Griever, she showed Minho a dead-serious look.

"Go," Hope stated, causing Minho to whip his head in her direction. "Run, Minho."

"But what about you two?" he questioned. "I can't just leave-"

"Thomas and I have a better chance at surviving with only two of us," Hope interjected, seeing the Griever in her peripheral vision. "So does Alby. And so do you. Just run, Minho. Thomas and I will be fine. We'll protect Alby."

"Hate to admit it, but she's right," Thomas acknowledged. "We got this, Minho."

"You… Y-You better…" Minho stammered and then deliberately started to back up. "I'll find you guys. Promise."

But the second that Minho ran away was also the second that the Griever heard them. Hope saw this and grabbed onto Thomas' arm. "We gotta hide!"

Hope yanked Thomas into the vine-covered wall, both of them somehow keeping their grasps strong on the vine within their hands. They each laid down on the ground and kept their breaths quiet, which was a crazy feat, because they both almost gasped upon seeing… the Griever right in front of them. Clink… Snap… Clink… Hope's eyes widened - she was seeing one, an actual Griever. It had legs like a spider, but they were made with a shiny, sharp-looking metal. And the sounds that it made were so low and girthy and alien that it made the whole area vibrate. As it slowly walked passed them, its legs snapped against the stone ground, and despite Hope being unable to see the top half of it, she couldn't stop herself from thinking an idiotic thought.

If I wasn't scared out of my mind right now, Hope thought, that'd be the coolest thing ever.

"Hope…" Just then, Thomas whispered in her ear once he heard the Griever's footsteps far off. "Here."

"Got it," Hope whispered back, making the two hastily stand up. Thomas had motioned toward a strong-looking branch, which looked like the perfect place to tie up Alby's vines. Hence, once standing up, the two quickly tied the vine to there. But then, Hope heard something. "Hide."

They both had heard the Griever coming back, but Hope was the one who acted first. Therefore, Hope grabbed onto Thomas' arm and pulled him behind the wall facing away from where the beast was. Their breathing stopped completely, and their bodies froze like statues. They heard the Griever's deep growls behind them until… Grumble! The Maze shifted again, and the noises of the predator moving subsided. So after a few seconds, Thomas glanced over at Hope, who showed him a silent nod in response. Thus, the boy very slowly moved his body to peek around the wall. And when he saw nothing but walls and walls of stone, Thomas let out a sigh of relief.

"I think it's gone," Thomas whispered. "C'mon, let's get moving."

"Got it," Hope said with a single nod. The two idiots then started carefully walking in a random direction, making sure that they looked everywhere. However, their trek didn't last long, since the sound of something sticky and gross made either of them stop in their tracks. The sound had come from underneath Thomas' foot, and when he lifted it up, an extremely disgusting goo was sticking to his boot. But before Thomas could wipe it off, Hope saw that same goo fall into Thomas' shoulder. So, she looked up and saw… something that made her curse for the very first time. "Ohhh, shit."

A Griever. It was a Griever, and it was right above them. It was hairy in places that shouldn't have been hairy, it had green skin that was puffy and unnatural, and it had teeth as sharp as knives. More so, since the moon was shining right behind it, it was almost comical how perfectly monstrous it looked. Though, of course, the two idiots didn't give much attention to that fact as they ran. Thomas and Hope's bodies went straight into flight mode, so their legs practically started moving on their own. Side-by-side they ran through the Maze, having no idea where they were going, but knowing that they definitely weren't going in the direction of the Griever. It was a fast creature, yet it was big; and big was scary, but it was also bad when chasing after two smaller humans.

"Right, right, right!" Hope shouted when Thomas was met with a dead-end on his side. "This way!"

Humans were harder to catch when you were twice their size. Even if they had no idea where they were going, it was still hard to catch them when they were sporadically going random directions. Though, if you caught them just before they could turn to go somewhere else, that was when they were most vulnerable.

"This wa- Um, nope!" Hope yelped after becoming face-to-face with the Griever. It had cut her off from going left. "D-Definiety not this way!"

"MOVE!" Thomas barked, grabbing onto Hope's wrist and yanking her away. And now that they were connected, the two idiots had an easier time staying together. With Thomas leading the way, Hope was on Griever duty. So, after seeing the beast almost take her leg off, she let out yet another yelp.

"Th-Thomas, it's gaining! It's really gain- Woah!" Thomas pulled Hope's body to the right, causing her to almost fly into the air. Regardless, Hope's feet stayed on the ground and she continued to run behind Thomas. They each kept running, never stopping for anything, until they suddenly… did stop. Hope snapped her head around to give Thomas a worried look. "H-Hey, why… did… we… You've got to be kidding me."

A dead-end: the most annoying thing to run into when trying to solve a maze. Though, unlike when you normally would just erase your line on a paper, the two idiots' lives were about to be erased instead.

"Ah, shit!" Thomas cursed right before… his eyes caught-hold of something in the darkness. "Hope! The vines!"

"I see 'em!" she shouted, making both of them immediately jump onto a rock, leap into the air, and clasp their hands onto the vines. But right when this happened, the Griever was directly below them. It tried to bite at their feet, yet by some miraculous stroke of luck, the two made it up the vines and onto a platform. Instinctively, they started running across the stone, and then even more instinctively jumped over a ravine when it was necessary. They each landed on the other side by a hair, so it was kinda annoying how the Griever made the jump without a single issue. Still, the two continued to run. They ran straight and then ran to the right, finding themselves on another open platform… with an end to it. "Thomas, stop!"

"Woah!" Thomas gasped after Hope had saved him from falling over the edge. Nonetheless, it seemed like the two idiots would have to fall from that ledge, since the Griever was right behind them. There was nowhere else to go "Y-Y'know what?! I think we are idiots!"

"Totally agree!" Hope yelled as the two backed up from the edge. "Though, at least we're not idiots alone, huh?!"

Thomas smiled. "Couldn't agree more!"

Furthermore, once they gave each other a nod, the two ran and jumped off the ledge. They landed onto another wall filled with vines, but after only a few seconds was that wall filled with a Griever, too. Its sharp legs gripped onto the stone wall right beside where Thomas and Hope's heads were, and it even started to try to decapitate those same heads as well. But, of course, the two idiots somehow dodged its attacks and continued on breathing. Their breath got knocked out of them, though, when the vines snapped off of the wall due to their combined weight, so all three of them fell onto the hard, cold floor. The two humans instantly got over that pain and got themselves out from the vines, so when they saw that the Griever wasn't having such luck, they quickly started running again. But right when Hope turned a corner-

"AH!" Hope let out a shriek of sound after she'd unexpectedly run her body into something. However, upon seeing what she'd run into, the happiest of smiles formed on her face. "M-Minho! You're alive!"

"You two are crazy sons of bitches, y'know that?" Minho smiled back, intertwining his hand with Hope's. He then showed Hope and Thomas a knowing look. "C'mon, follow me! I know where to go!"

Now, with Minho holding Hope's hand, Thomas following beside them, the group ran as one. There was still a Griever right behind them, but for some reason, the three of them together gave Hope hope. And feeling Minho's hand wrapped around hers only strengthened that feeling. Somehow, in some way, Hope knew that they'd survive. Together.

"Guys, it's changing!" Minho shouted to them. "This section's closing, so we gotta go down here! Come on, we can lose it!"

However, as one idiot followed Minho, the second idiot stopped running all together. The first idiot didn't notice it until she had reached the other side of the closing corridor, but when she did see Thomas standing so far away, she knew… exactly what he was doing. Somehow, in some way, Hope's thoughts were connected with Thomas'. While Minho was yelling at Thomas to hurry up, Hope merely stood there and smiled. Moreover, that smiled only deepened… when she saw her fellow idiot take on the Griever. Alone.

"Come on!" Thomas threatened it. "Come get me!"

And it did: the Griever charged at Thomas, prompting Thomas to finally start running down the ever-closing corridor. He was fast, smart, and so-very loyal, which was exactly what every Runner needed to be. With a Griever right behind him, Thomas didn't give up. He kept on running. And with two walls threatening to squish him, Thomas just kept on running. He wouldn't give up, and he wouldn't let anyone or anything stop him. Thomas had run into a death-maze to save two boys he barely knew, and that was all the proof that Hope needed… to know that she'd follow him anywhere.

"THOMAAAS!"


A/N: Hands down the most fun I've ever had writing a chapter. I wrote this thing in almost one go, so once I started, I couldn't stop! Hope you enjoy!