A.N. Hey everyone! Thank you for checking out my first story! Unlike my other story, FindingXAyami, this one isn't finished, I'm writing as I go, so I wont update as regularly. This book will be shorter as well, but I'm planning on writing through all three movies. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
Year Two, Day 31, 12:00 P.M
Acidic liquid surged up her throat as she woke and Claire choked, quickly flipping over and retching onto the cold grated floor. Claire looked around blairily, noticing crates full of supplies around her and another boy vomiting in the corner. Lights flashed by as the elevator shot upward at an alarming speed. 'Am I in the Greenie Box?' Claire thought, struggling to her feet.
"You alright?" She called to the kid, pushing down her panic, not knowing how she got here.
"Who are you? Where am I?" The teenager snapped.
"My names Clara, you can call me Claire. We're in the Greenie Box." She explained.
"I-I don't remember my name. Why can't I remember my name? I- Why don't I remember anything? What's a Greenie Box? Where are we going? Why-"
"Slim it!" Claire snapped, cutting him off. Now she got why Alby was always so annoyed at the Greenies. "We'll be there any-" The box jerked to a stop, cutting her off and knocking both of them to the ground. "...second… ow…" Claire groaned. She'd hit a crate on the way down, that was definitely gonna bruise. The boy stood first and helped her to her feet.
"How did you know-"
"I've been here before. Well, I guess not here-here, I woke up topside, but-" The doors above them were ripped open, the sudden light temporarily blinding the two of them. Claire stumbled backwards into a corner and out of the light as her eyes adjusted, migraine already forming. There was a crowd of boys surrounding the box, jeering loudly at the boy, apparently not noticing Claire. A large, bell built boy with short blonde hair jumped into the box.
"Day one Greenie." He boomed, stalking towards the frightened boy.
"Scaring the newbies again, Gally?" Claire said, stepping into the light. Gally froze, gaping at the girl. She looked exactly as she had when she'd gone missing, all long dark brown hair hanging down to her ribs and bright aquamarine eyes, full lips curled up into a playful smirk. The gladers above them went silent, staring at the girl.
"Clara?" Gally asked.
"Miss me?" She asked, a smirk turning into a wide smile. Gally strode forward abruptly, yanking the shorter girl into a hug, ignoring the boys above them as they started cheering and yelling questions down at them. Gally and Claire had never been super close, but she had been there with them since the beginning and he had missed his friend. After a moment he stepped back, releasing her.
"How are you here?" He asked.
"I have absolutely no clue." Claire said, stepping passed him towards the edge of the box where many hands lowered to help her up. She grabbed two and was pulled out of the box and into their arms. She had barely realised it was Mikey, one of the early Gladers, before she was stolen away by Frypan. She was passed from Glader to Glader while Gally dealt with the newbie until she ended up with Nick and Alby.
"What the shuck happened that night? How are you here?" Nick demanded even as he smothered her in a hug.
"I have no clue, last thing I remember I was in the maze cornered by a Griever." Claire explained, pulling away.
"We have to call a gathering." Alby added.
"We should get her to the med-jacks first, make sure everything's okay-"
"How long have I been gone?" Claire interrupted. Both boys turned and saw her staring, horrified, at Jeremy, a builder who had been sent up four months ago.
"Uh…" Nick hesitated.
"I can see four boys that I've never met before and I have bruises that I know I didn't get in the maze. How long?"
"Nine months." Alby answered. Claire closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down.
"Where's Newt? Is he still in the maze? The suns getting low, he'll be out soon, right?" Nick and Alby shared a look and Claire's heart stopped. "Where's Newt?" She demanded, trying to breath. 'He can't be gone'
"Claire- Claire he's okay, breath. He's in the infirmary." Nick said, trying to calm her down.
"Why?" Claire demanded.
"Claire, its- something happened…" Nick struggled for a moment before sighing. "When you died- sorry- didn't make it out of the maze, Newt- he just couldn't take it, you know how much he cared about you. He- he went out a couple days after and climbed the wall-"
"No…" Claire breathed, knowing where this was going even as she tried to deny it.
"He jumped, Clara. Minho found him stuck in the vines, he shucked his leg up pretty bad, he's been laid up ever since."
"No… He wouldn't-"
"He did. You were his whole world, Claire, everyone knows that. When the maze took you, he just...gave up. He didn't want to be here without you." Nick said gently. Claire dropped her head into her hands, trying and failing not to cry. Guilt was absolutely crushing her, she could barely breathe under the weight of it all.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Claire choked out.
"He's been a bit of a dick to be honest."
"Alby!" Nick hissed at his friend.
"What? It's true!" Alby insisted. Claire couldn't help but laugh.
"He's cranky because he's been on bed rest for eight months, Cling and Jeff fixed him up the best they could. He'll be off the crutches soon, but he'll probably always have a limp. Do you want to see him before we get you checked out?" Nick asked. Claire nodded eagerly and they set off towards the Medhut, alby staying behind to deal with the greenie. Rumor of her return must have reached the Medhut because Clint and Jeff were waiting eagerly outside. Clint rushed forward, picking her up and spinning her around joyfully.
"We missed your clumsy ass!" He declared, making her burst into laughter before he passed her to Jeff, who hugged her tightly. She'd spent a lot of time with the boys before she was lost in the maze. Claires feet always ran faster than her mind did so she would often clip corners in the maze or trip over debris. As the three of them calmed down, smiles faded.
"How is he?" Claire asked.
"Better than he was at the beginning. He didn't want to be saved, for a while we had to make him eat, and someone had to be watching him just in case he tried again." Jeff explained.
"He's doing better now, except for the nightmares. He's been drawing a lot, I think it helps him calm down. He has good days and bad days, but I'm sure you being here will work wonders." Clint said, offering her a small smile.
"I'm gonna go check on the Greenie, make sure Alby hasn't traumatized him yet. After she sees Newt I want you two to check her out, see if you can figure out what happened to her. Claire, do you need anything?" Nick asked.
"Can you ask Fry to send me some food? I'm starving?"
"Can do. It's good to have you back, Clara." Nick offered her a grin.
"Good to be back." She said as he walked away. She turned to Jeff and Clint who nodded at the Medhut.
"He's upstairs. We'll come check on you guys soon. Just a warning, he's on a bad day today." Jeff warned. Claire nodded determinedly and went inside, quickly scaling the stairs and hesitating in front of a closed door before pushing it open. The room was dark, but she could see Newt laying on a bed, turned away from the door. There were several detailed sketches on the table next to his bed, most of them of her.
"Leave me alone, Shuck-face." Newt spat without turning, assuming it was Jeff or Clint again.
"Well that's not rude at all." Claire drawled, watching his whole body stiffen like he'd been struck by lightning, Newt shot upward, whipping around to face the source. He knew that voice.
Year Zero, Day 107, 6:17 P.M.
It had been four months since the twenty one Gladers had woken up in the Glade, not knowing who they were or where they came from. It had been chaos at first, several people being killed right off the bat, running into the maze or even attacking each other. In the end only fifteen of the original gladers remained, as well as four more boys who had been sent up every thirty days or so.
After all of that, things were finally starting to settle down. They'd finally set some ground rules and developed a schedule, giving each glader a job. They finally had a functioning community instead of a bunch of kids scrambling to survive, and Newt was incredibly proud of his part in it. He had been heading towards the mess hall when he heard her running up behind him.
"Newt, Newt wait up!" Claire called as she scaled the hill he had just climbed. He turned in time to steady her as she tripped over her own feet, trying to stop too late.
"Hey slowpoke." Newt teased, trying to push down the slight blush coloring his cheeks.
"I'm not slow, you're legs are just longer than mine." Claire said, putting her hands on her hips and pouting at him as he tried not to stare at the aforementioned legs. Newts chuckled weakly, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close as they walked toward the mess hall.
"What did you need love?" Newt asked. Claire launched into a story about a bet she'd made with Gally, blue eyes shining and dimples on display as her arms flailed widely whenever she got into it. Newt tuned it out for the most part, just watching her with a small smile, trying desperately not to fall for her anymore than he already had. He jolted slightly when she turned her big blue eyes back on him and quickly focused on the words instead of her pretty mouth.
"So I said 'you're on' but I was definitely bluffing and I have no idea how to do that and I really hate being wrong so can you teach me?" Claire rambled, turning a blinding smile toward Newt when she finished. Not entirely sure what she was talking about, Newt offered her a smile anyway, unable to deny her.
"Sure love, we can start tomorrow." Newt agreed, hoping he'd figure it out before then. Claire, beamed, standing on her toes to peck him on the cheek.
"You're the best, Newt!" She declared, before running toward Minho to tell him her story as well. Newt smiled, watching her tackle the Asian man, before following, hoping to figure out what exactly he'd agreed to.
Year Two, Day 31, 12:42 P.M
'She's here.'
'He's here.'