Nine months after Ash's arrival in the Glade, Minho rushes back into the Glade, beelining straight for where she and Alby are standing outside the medjack hut. It only takes one look at the Runner's face to know that something is seriously wrong. A pit forms in her stomach, a chill over her spine, as she hears what Minho tells them.
"Newt fell. His leg… I can't drag him back here, not by myself," he says, trying to catch his breath.
Something seems off, though. There's more to the story, Ash knows there is. But Minho won't say. Alby doesn't seem to notice.
He offers to go with Minho, to help him carry Newt back to the Glade, but Ash speaks up.
"If something's wrong with his leg, then I should go," she says, and both boys look at her in surprise. She's never expressed any interest in going into the Maze before— not for any reason.
"That's probably a good idea," Minho admits, and looks to Alby, who sighs before nodding.
"Go— and hurry," he says. "But… as much as I hate to say this… if you guys don't think you can get him back before the doors close…"
"We're not leaving him out there," Ash says sternly. "We'll be back soon. All of us."
And off they go.
Ash runs harder than she can ever remember doing before, but she still struggles to keep up with Minho. He guides her through the twists and turns, never once reaching a dead end. Finally, they seem to reach some sort of outer ring, where Newt is lying crumpled on the stone floor. His leg is still tangled up in the ivy creeping along the wall next to him, bent at far too many odd angles.
Ash thinks she might be sick.
Gally paces along the wall, right near the Door, where the grass begins to meet the concrete. He's not the only one, either. It's been nearly two hours since Minho stole Ash, whisking her off into the Maze with Alby's permission.
Newt's hurt, that's all Alby would say. He's hurt, and Minho needs help.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Gladers are anxiously awaiting their return, hoping and praying they'd make it back before the Doors closed for the night. Even the Greenie, who had only arrived the day before, is worried.
No one is more worried than Gally— at least about Ash in particular, anyway. Of course he's worried about Newt and Minho, but Ash...
Gally doesn't know what he'll do if she doesn't make it back, specifically.
Thankfully, he doesn't have to worry about that. With less than an hour to spare, Ash and Minho arrive in view, half-dragging a limp Newt between them. Alby rushes forward to help— the only one allowed into the Maze other than the actual Runners, and Ash just this once. He takes over for the girl, as she's clearly struggling under Newt's weight and height.
As soon as she's officially back in the Glade, she's surrounded by the other boys. Gally has to struggle to get to her side, but he makes it. She's out of breath and clearly exhausted, but she manages to keep going, directing the boys to take Newt straight to the Medjack hut.
"Fry, have we missed dinner?" she asks, and the cook nods his head.
"We saved you plenty," he promises, and goes to the kitchens to retrieve it.
Many of the boys are clamoring to ask what had happened, but Ash refuses to say. Once she makes it to the Medjack hut, the only people she allows inside are Alby and Minho, who had already been there. Not even Gally is allowed in, though Ash does ask him to stick around to keep everyone else out.
Inside the hut, Ash simply wants to collapse onto the open cot, but she doesn't. There's still too much work to do.
"What was he thinking?" she mutters to herself, digging in the box of fresh supplies— not yet put away— for the things to put together a leg splint. "Alby, can you go refill that pitcher with fresh water for me? It doesn't have to be a particular temperature."
"Yeah, I'll get it," he says, grabbing the nearly empty pitcher. "You want some fresh cloth or something, too?"
"If you don't mind," she says softly, pushing some hair from her eyes. Alby nods, and goes.
Ash looks to Minho, a hard look in her eyes. "I'm gonna need you to hold him down," she says, determined. "This is gonna hurt him like a bitch, but we have to get the bone set properly before it starts to heal the way it is."
Minho nods, no emotion betrayed on his face. "Should we wait for Alby?"
"We don't have time," she says, shaking her head ruefully. "It's been too long since the initial break already... we have to do this now."
Minho sighs, but goes to pin down his friend's arms and legs as best he can by himself. Ash gently grasps the two parts of Newt's broken leg— avoiding the protruding bone— and on the count of three, snaps them back into place. Newt wakes up, howling in pain.
"Newt, calm down!" Minho shouts, trying to be heard over him. Ash feels horrible, but she knows she's doing what has to be done.
"Newt, I'm sorry," she cries out. "I just need you to hold still so I can get the splint on!"
She keeps her hands firmly in place on his leg, not taking the risk that he may throw them back out of alignment with his thrashing. Finally, after a long moment, the blond calms down and goes still.
He's still whimpering, and Ash can't blame him. She's not so sure it's the physical pain at this point, and she can understand that feeling better than anyone knows.
"I'm sorry, Newt," she cries softly, over and over. Minho takes over the job of keeping the bones in place, so she can grab the splint supplies and put them in place. "I'm so sorry..."
"Go away," he mumbles, covering his face with the pillow from under his head.
"I'm not doing that, Newt," Ash says.
"Me neither," Minho agrees.
Alby returns just then, the full pitcher in one hand, and a wad of spare cloth in the other.
"How's it look?" he asks apprehensively.
"Not good," Ash says darkly. "I had to re-break the bone to get it set properly... he probably won't be able to be a Runner anymore."
"I don't think we should let him back out there anyway," Minho admits. Alby looks confused, but Ash knows exactly what he means.
"I can hear you, you know," Newt groans.
"Good," Ash says evenly. "Then you'll know exactly how worried we all are about you."
Newt grunts, and tries to roll over, but can't because of the splint. Ash just sighs, and pours some of the water from the pitcher into her bowl, wetting a cloth and beginning to gently clean the blood off her friend's leg.
Outside, Gally flinches as he hears Newt screaming, then Minho and Ash both yelling for him to calm down. He can hear Ash crying, apologizing over and over again for whatever it is she's doing. Most of the other boys have gone back to work, as directed by Alby when he'd come out with Ash's pitcher. The only ones left are himself and Frypan, who has three servings of dinner resting on a tray.
"I thought you hated going anywhere near the Doors," Frypan says quietly.
Gally shrugs uncomfortably, trying to appear nonchalant. "Everyone else was," he mumbles. "Our friends were out there."
"You mean she was out there," Frypan says knowingly, and Gally can't even bring himself to glare at him.
The pair stand there in silence for a while, listening to Newt still crying in pain. Gally hadn't gotten a good look at his injury— he'd been too focused on Ash— but from what he's gathering, it's pretty bad.
The ground rumbles as the Doors begin to close, and neither of the boys even look over.
Only a few minutes later, Minho and Alby come out of the hut. The former takes one of the bowls from Frypan's tray, quietly thanking him as he makes his way toward the deadheads with Alby— toward the Map Hut, which most Gladers don't know about. Frypan and Gally exchange looks, wondering what exactly is going on.
Whatever it is, it can't be good.
"I should get back to the kitchens," Frypan says reluctantly. "I still got some cleaning up to do from dinner..."
"I'll take this, Fry," Gally says quietly, taking the tray from him. The cook thanks him and runs off toward the kitchens.
For a moment, Gally debates knocking on the door. In the end, he doesn't have to. Ash comes out, eyes red and watery. She blinks the tears from them as she looks up at Gally in surprise.
"You're... you're still here," she says softly. He nods slowly, offering her the tray. She smiles, but doesn't take it just yet.
"You asked me to keep the others out," he reminds her, and she sighs, nodding.
"Yeah... thanks," she says. "I'm sure it couldn't have been very easy."
Gally shrugs. "Everyone went back to work when Alby came out the first time and told 'em to," he says. "Except for me and Fry."
"Well, Newt's finally asleep," she says. "Have you eaten?"
"... not exactly," he admits. "I was pretty worried about you guys."
"Well, I'm sure Newt won't mind if you eat his portion, just this once," she says. "That is, if you're hungry enough to sit and eat with me?"
"Sure," he breathes, and she ducks back inside to grab two stools, bringing them out of the hut so they can sit while they eat. "Sorry it's cold," he says. "You guys were gone for a while..."
"I know," she chuckles, though it sounds sad. "I'm sure it'll still be delicious."
It's beef stew, nearly identical to the one she'd had her very first night in the Glade. It's not quite as good as it is when hot and fresh, but it's still plenty edible.
"Thank you," she says, about halfway through her bowl. It seems rather sudden, and Gally isn't sure why she's saying it.
"For what?" he asks. "I'm not the one who made this— you know I can't cook. Fry would kill me if I even st—"
"No," she giggles quietly. "No, I know— I mean, thank you for staying. It couldn't have been easy, listening to that."
"Oh," he mumbles, squirming in his seat. "Well, you asked me to stay, so..."
"But you didn't have to, once everyone else had left," Ash says. "So thank you."
Gally gives a small, noncommittal sound of acknowledgment. "So are you okay?"
Ash sighs, setting her bowl down in her lap, staring at the small amount of broth left. "My legs feel like jelly," she admits. "Other than that... I don't really know. I'm not really squeamish, you know that, but... this was tough. His leg was totally broken— bone was sticking out in the middle, and there was a lot of blood... he'll be okay, but—"
"Jeez," he says, wincing. "Any idea how it happened?"
She hesitates, before answering, "Minho said he was exploring some kind of ledge or something... got tangled up in the ivy on his way back down. Fell about fifteen feet— maybe more— and snapped his leg. Probably passed out from shock. He's not sure how long Newt was laying there."
Gally watches her face as she speaks, surprised to realize she's actually lying to him.
He doesn't call her out on it, though he wants to. Does she not trust him? No... it doesn't matter. She must have a good reason for it.
"God, he was in so much pain," she murmurs, setting her bowl on the ground so she can bury her face in her hands. "I had to give him a sedative I didn't even know we had. Alby pulled it out of a locked box, hidden under the cabinet." She sniffles, and wipes her nose on the back of her sleeve.
Gally's heart clenches, and he watches her quietly.
Does she... love Newt? he wonders. The pair had always been close, and had only gotten closer after George had died.
"Uh, you said he'll be okay, right?" he asks. He may like her as more than just a friend, but he can't blame her if she feels that way for someone else, other than him.
No matter how much he wishes those feelings were directed at him.
Ash nods. "Yeah, I managed to set the bone, but... he can't be a Runner anymore. He'll have a limp for a long time... maybe the rest of his life, depending on how seriously he takes bedrest the next few weeks."
"Hopefully better than I did," he tries to joke, remembering the storm. It gets a small laugh from her, so Gally considers it a victory.
"Hopefully," she agrees, then yawns.
The sun's long since set by now, and he can't blame her for being tired, even if he isn't.
"You wanna head to bed?" he asks, but she surprisingly shakes her head.
"I need to stay with Newt, in case he wakes up," she says quietly. "I'll probably get some sleep in the other cot, don't worry."
Or maybe she'll crawl into bed with him, a voice in the back of Gally's head whispers before he can stop it.
She stands, a little unsteady on her feet, and she winces. "I'm gonna be feeling that for a while," she sighs. "Thanks again, for staying. Both to guard the hut, and for dinner. See you in the morning?"
Gally nods, taking her bowl from the ground and setting it on the tray next to his own. "Have a good night," he says, heart sinking.
She's clearly smitten with Newt, he knows that now. He just wishes it were him instead.