Chapter 8

"We're already dying in here." Face said and walked away.

She took a few steps away from the wall and suddenly started screaming. She inhaled loudly and held her breath as she clutched her head. Thomas ran closer and saw that only a few other kids ran towards her. The lack of concern shocked him. Her skin paled as she went limp into Newt's outstretched arms. He had been one of the few running closer and caught her just in time.

"Get out of the way!" Patrick yelled and pushed through the jam of kids gathered around Face.

Patrick took Face out of Newt's awkward hold and carried her to the elevator. Thomas gaped at Newt for a second before racing after Patrick. Newt followed him and they ended up barely making the elevator before the doors closed. Little Anna stood next to Patrick as he held Face in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Thomas asked Newt when he eventually took his eyes off Face and noticed that Newt was with him.

"What do you mean?" Newt was offended.

"You don't like her." Thomas said simply.

"Yeah, and she doesn't like you. So why do you care?" Patrick added.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't care." Newt realized that he was screwing up. "But you obviously do. I'm here for you man." Newt said to Thomas, trying to seem nonchalant.

They reached the tenth floor and the doors opened. Patrick carried her into the room that looked a lot more like a hospital than the dorm room they shared. He gently dropped her on a bed. Anna scurried calmly around the room as if this was a routine event. She placed a glass of water next to the bed and pulled the shutters. Then she walked to Face and attempted to turn her on her side.

Newt crossed his arms to stop himself from helping. Thomas stepped up and helped her.

"You should leave." Patrick scowled at Newt.

Newt looked at the four faces in the room and nodded.

"Yeah." He said as he backed out of the room. "I'll save you a seat." He said to Thomas and left.

"You can go too," said Anna as she pulled out a silver blanket and threw it over Face.

"What happened to her?" Thomas asked. "You're acting like this is normal."

"It is." Anna tucked the blanket in tight. "She gets blinding headaches. She sleeps them off and then she's fine."

"Why?"

"She probably had a rough day."

Thomas thought about the Walkers that chased them and thought better than to mention it. For some reason it felt to him as if that whole attack was supposed to remain secret. He looked at Patrick and saw that he seemed to challenge him.

"Yeah, Newt said they were working hard." Thomas said. "I guess I'll go to dinner then. Uhm. Take care of her."

Thomas walked to the cafeteria and found his spot next to Newt. The other Gladers chattered on about their day but Newt kept an eye on Thomas. Newt had to stop himself from asking what is wrong with Face.

"I hate Patrick." Thomas mumbled when Patrick joined his safety squad at their table.

"Me too." Newt couldn't stop himself and Thomas looked at him confused.

"Face doesn't like him." Newt added.

"Why do you care?" Thomas asked. "You don't like her."

"It's… no…" Newt tried and sighed. "I don't hate her. I just didn't trust her. I told you."

"Didn't?" Thomas picked.

Newt swallowed, thinking about his choice of words. "She's bossy and crazy, but after saving your life today, I trust her a bit more than I did yesterday."

That satisfied Thomas and after dinner the ids started filing out in small groups until they all ended up in their dorm rooms. Newt, Minho and Thomas took beds by the door again, but they were far more relaxed than the previous night. After the lights went out, the chatter died away and eventually, Thomas jumped from his bed and walked out. He headed up the stairs to the tenth floor and slipped into the hospital room. The room was slightly lit by a night-light by Face's bed and he could see that she was still sleeping.

Thomas walked closer and touched her forehead. He didn't know why he did it, but ignored his confusion. The glass of water remained untouched on the table and the blanket was still tightly tucked around her. Thomas jumped onto the bed next to her and stayed the night. He drifted in and out of sleep, dreaming a mixture of things about the Maze and the tests before.

Face appeared in his dreams. Her hair was longer and braided around her head. She was wearing the same white uniform-like outfit he remembered from the tests. Teresa sat next to Thomas, holding his hand. They all looked a bit younger. Chuck was there and Gally and Alby too. There were girls around them that he didn't recognize. Face sat next to Newt, whispering things in his ear. Thomas felt a pang of jealousy as Newt tugged at her braid. The dream changed and they were standing in long lines with adults pointing them all in different directions. A few kids were holding hands, as they stood in line, side by side. He was holding Teresa's hand and he saw Newt and Face get pointed in different directions ahead of them.

Her name was Zaydeen, he remembered. Newt yelled her name and she tried to get to him, but an adult grabbed her and carried her away.

"Don't split the twins," an adult said as he and Theresa reached the front of the line. He walked with her in the direction Newt was still yelling from.

Thomas jerked awake. He was in the hospital room, next to Face. He looked around, wondering what had woken him. The mansion was quiet as he tried to look around the dark room. Nothing.

He stood slowly with the intention of heading back to his own bed. Halfway to the door, Face sat upright with a loud gasp. She scanned around the room and locked eyes with Thomas.

"Are you okay?" he asked and returned to her side.

"Where is Newt?" She asked quickly. "Don't let them kill him."

"Newt's okay. He's upstairs, sleeping. No one wants to kill him." He tried to soothe her. She took a deep breath, seemingly calming down.

"What are you doing here?" she suddenly asked him.

"I was worried about you. Just came to check on you, and then I fell asleep."

"I'm okay. It happens all the time." She mumbled. "You should get some sleep. You have work tomorrow."

"Yeah. Right. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thomas." She bit her lip. "Thank you for checking on me."

He nodded and walked out. After a few seconds, Face looked towards the shadows by the door.

"Thank you too, Newt." She said.

With a chuckle, Newt stepped into the light.