I woke up to an alarm. Cringing at the noise, I looked over. Newt rolled out of bed and shoved his shoes on, his watch still beeping. He shut it off, then glanced over at me.
"Good, you're up." He said. "We've got breakfast." I groaned.
"I know." He muttered. "Don't make me drag you, come on."
After getting ready, we ate breakfast in a rush then went to the Map room. Newt walked to the back of the room, unlocked a trunk and started handing me different things he'd pulled from it. Gloves, backpack, water bottle. Then a knife. I frowned and set everything down.
I held up the knife and raised an eyebrow, looking at him. It was a moment before he answered.
"Protection." Newt said grimly, tucking his own knife into his belt. He reached into another trunk, then paused.
"What shoe size are you?" He asked. I held up nine fingers. He glanced at my feet, then his.
"You can't be a nine. I'm a nine." Newt frowned.
"Girls shoes are smaller."
"But that doesn't..." Newt sighed. "Here, take these." He pulled out a box and handed it to me. "That's a six, try that." I sat down and pulled them on. Almost. I handed them back.
"What, too big?" He asked. I shook my head. "Alright, give em here then." I handed them back and Newt dug out another pair.
"Seven." They fit.
"Thank god." He grinned. "I knew my feet weren't that small." I rolled my eyes and laced up the shoes. They fit strangely, but they weren't too big. It wouldn't be good to trip, not out there.
He geared up with all his supplies and had me do the same, then we headed for the doors. The other Runners stood in a group by the entrance, waiting for the doors to open. They watched me, suspicious. From what I'd heard, not a lot of people tried out to be Runners. Minho walked over to us.
"Big day, Princess." He grinned. "You all geared up?" I shrugged. I bit my lip in worry. Minho frowned.
"You'll be fine, okay?" He said seriously. "You'll do great. Right Newt?" Newt was staring at the doors. Minho nudged him and he looked towards us, then the sound of grinding gears filled the air. The doors were opening. Minho went back to Ben and everyone started sprinting through, each of them disappearing and making different turns as they raced off. Newt and I were last.
"You ready?" He asked. I nodded. With that, we left the safety of the Glade.
I didn't know how long we'd been running. I followed his lead as we raced around corners, slashing vines down from the wall as we went. Our own trail of bread crumbs. I frowned at my confusing memories. Sure, Hansel and Gretel are okay, but not my own family. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I had to focus. Neither of us wanted to get lost in the Maze. Nobody did.
It was twisting and turning. Left, then right, then right again, then left again. This far in, I couldn't have found the way back if I'd wanted to. And I needed to. This place seemed so much bigger from this side of the wall; the maze appeared to go on forever. Maybe it did.
Finally, after what seemed like hours (and probably was), we stopped to rest. The two of us sat down against a wall, taking lunch out of our bags. I tapped Newt on the shoulder and he looked up from his sandwich.
"How am I doing?" I asked nervously. He frowned.
"You're alright." He replied, almost immediately going back to his sandwich. I tapped him again.
"What did I do?" I asked. He sighed.
"Sorry, I just...could you stop that?" He asked. I looked at him, confused.
"Stop what?" I questioned. "Stop eating?"
"Quit biting your lip." He responded, taking a drink of water.
"What? Why?" I protested. He froze.
"I...it was...bothering me." He managed. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Newt pursed his lips.
"What? I-I can't be concerned? You keep doing that you'll...you'll break the skin eventually." Newt stammered.
"That's what you're going with?"
"Was there something wrong with my answer?"
"Oh no, not all." I teased.
"See, I'm getting the feeling that was sarcastic." Newt said. I laughed.
"Go on, eat." He urged. "We've still got a long way to go." I sighed.
"How am I doing?" I repeated. "Really?"
"You're doing alright." He admitted. "You're focused, you don't look like you're about to keel over...you haven't died yet, which is a plus." I chuckled. He gave a small grin and started shoving everything back into his pack. He was about to stand up when I noticed something in his bag. I reached into and he stopped, sitting back down.
"What?"
"You have a notebook?" I grabbed it from him. He frowned.
"Yeah, why-" he stopped. Understanding, his mouth dropped open. I scowled at him. Newt, to his credit, looked horrified.
"Oh my god." He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Yes. And a pencil. And bunch of other bloody things that every Runner has that no one else ever needs so nobody bloody thought of it."
"Are you kidding me?" I glared. "There's like ten of you. Meaning you have at least ten of these. Meaning at least ten of you weren't smart enough to figure out that, hey, I might need one."
"I am so, so sorry. Bloody-I can't believe how stupid that is. That literally never occurred to me." Newt apologized. I groaned.
"As soon as we get back, you're getting me one." I insisted. He nodded quickly.
"Yes. Definitely. Bad move. So sorry." He cringed. I sighed. After a moment, he nudged me.
"Are we still alright?" Newt asked, cautious. I rolled my eyes. He sighed.
"Understandable. But, um...we've got to keep going-running, I mean. Are you good?" He asked. I nodded. Newt stood, repacked his bag, and held his hand out.
"Come on, halfway done." He stated. I groaned, but let him pull me to my feet. He pulled to hard and I practically slammed into him. I squeaked in surprise and he grinned wider.
"That's the spirit."