Season One, Episode Nine: Never Alone

"Yo! Are you even listening to me, Newt?"

Newt jumped at the sound of Minho's voice. Minho sighed. He'd been showing him all the routes they should take during their week in the Maze. It had been a week since Ric's death, so they decided it was time to go back to work.

"Sorry, Minho. Run it by me again," Newt said. He loved being a Runner, he really did. Running took his mind to a place of nothing; a place of everything. Running helped him forget his problems and reminded him that he had a purpose in the Glade.

Minho quickly summarized what he'd already said, and Newt agreed. The rest of the Runners were already out by the wall, waiting for Newt and Minho. As soon as they wrapped things up, they would head out into the Maze for a normal day. Nick would be joining them this time, which would be nice, considering that he'd been spending a lot of his time in the Gardens instead. More time than usual, even. Nick always switched between Running and Gardening, but since Ric's death, he felt the need to accompany Zart and Elizabeth, who couldn't put their Track-Hoe duties entirely on hold for mourning.

Elizabeth. Minho wondered how the blonde was faring. She hadn't been her normal self since Ric died. Her usually positive attitude and cheerful disposition had given way to a more subdued and quiet temperment. He didn't know whether it was because becoming quiet was her way of dealing with grief, or if she was suddenly struck with the realization that danger was out there. That she could die in this place, where all they had was each other and nothing else.

Turning his attention back to the present focus, Minho grabbed his pack and water bottle, and he and Newt headed out towards the doors to the ever-imposing Maze. How was it that the Maze-though ever-changing-was the only thing that stayed constant in this place?

It was a hot day, and it dragged on longer than usual. By the time they had returned to the Glade, Newt was covered in sweat and ready to hit the sack and drift off into a-hopefully-more relaxing place.

"You okay, there, Newt?" Minho asked, running in from behind him. Newt forced a smile.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Good, that."

Dalton and P.F. both gave him slaps on the back Newt continued on with them to dinner. He grabbed a plate and heaped it with the lumps of creamy mush and found his usual place a the table next to Elizabeth. She smiled at him when he sat down, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. They all ate in awkward semi-silence and afterwards Newt was one of the first to leave for the Homestead.

Elizabeth watched him leave, and for some reason, she felt guilty that she hadn't talked to him more. Out of all of them, he and Gally seemed to be taking Ric's death the hardest. Gally took his hurt out with anger and fiery retorts and challenged the other guys to fights by throwing himself at them without warning. But Newt hid behind fake smiles and tried to pretend everything was normal. He went along quietly without complaint and when someone asked him if he was okay, he convinced them that he was perfectly fine.

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as she watched him. She remembered how he had steadied her during Ric's death, and the way they stared at the ground with their foreheads pressed together. And she remembered the feeling of relief that he was the one who had been there with her. Out of all of them, it was Newt she felt the most connection with.

"Why the long face, beautiful?"

Elizabeth looked up to see Chris eating his food across from her. She blinked-had he been there the whole time?

"I'm sorry, you have a problem with my face?" she answered. Chris laughed.

"A cute idea, but no. I like your face."

Elizabeth felt the blood rush to her face and she turned away. It wasn't that she disliked Chris. He was nice enough to her, and seemed to be getting along with everybody else, too. But sometimes...sometimes the way he looked at her and the things he said to her were unnerving. It didn't help that he happened to be an incredibly attractive boy-thick, curly, raven hair accentuated his olive-toned skin and arched nose. His eyes alone were enough to take the breath out of her: dark, almost velvety black eyes framed by long, gently curled lashes.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to embarass you." Smirking, Chris took another bite of his food. That was another thing about him-he was all too aware of his dashing good looks. It gave Elizabeth the idea that he had probably been some sort of player before coming to the Maze. While another girl may have been charmed by his smooth-talking, all Elizabeth ever felt was awkward.

She finished her food quickly and went to the Homestead. Along the way she met up with P.F. and Dalton, who were on their way to the showers. She stopped and talked with them for a while about how their first day back Running was, and they complained about the heat.

"It was jacked up. Of course the day we decide to go back into the Maze it had to be the hottest, shucking day of the year!" Dalton said.

"Next time the Box comes, I'm going to write a letter to the people to send up some comfortable underwear for running. The ones we have now get really uncomfortable after a while." P.F. said. Dalton and Elizabeth both looked at him.

"I...I was not expecting that," Elizabeth said, her nose crinkling. Dalton grabbed P.F's shoulder and shook him violently.

"You slinthead, you can't say something like that in front of her!" he half-whispered, half-shouted. Elizabeth laughed without meaning to. Covering her mouth, she said: "It's okay. I think you should definately ask them for that."

P.F. was mortified. His usually pale face was redder than a ripe tomato. He mumbled something under his breath about needing to take a shower as soon as possible, and he and Dalton parted ways from Elizabeth. She shook her head after they were gone, and reached her hut. She hesitated in front of the door. After several seconds, she turned around and headed over to Newt's hut instead.

Hank was busy hammering away at the roof of the newest hut. They were trying something new this time, using the over-sized leaves from those weird plants Doug had noticed growing by the Deadheads during Ric's funeral. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Hank would really miss that little kid.

"Gally, a little help over here?" He put the hammer in his mouth and placed a nail over the corner of the wall. As he expected, Gally suddenly came into view beside him and held the leaf down as he hammered it in.

"Thanks," he said. Gally didn't say anything. Hank was used to the other boy's lack of responses, but today it had been worse than usual, and it really bothered him.

"Know what, shank? I'm gonna tell you something now, and you better listen up," Hank said. Gally just kept holding the leaf down in silence. Hank nearly threw the hammer at him.

"I know you're listening right now, and you know what? I think your attitude is jacked. You never respond to people talking to you, and it is like, the rudest thing in this whole shucked-up place. So from now on you're gonna start answering my questions and talking back to me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings by being rude." Gally said, heavy sarcasm lacing every word. Hank felt the blood boil inside of him.

"Listen here, you little shank. You didn't shucking hurt my feelings! Now get it right!" This time Hank did drop the hammer as he grabbed Gally's shirt. The ladder they were both standing on wobbled. "I'm just tired of talking to myself, dammit!"

Gally grabbed the side of the hut, but it was too late. The ladder fell, along with the two Builders. They landed in a heap at the ground, with the ladder close behind. After pushing the ladder off of them, they sat there and looked at each other.

"You klunkheads okay? What happened?" Doug asked, running up. Hank and Gally looked at each other.

"Just clearing something up, is all," Gally responded.

Newt groaned when somebody knocked loudly at the door. What do those shanks want now? He thought, closing his eyes. He held his breath, hoping maybe they'd get the drift and leave.

*knock knock*

And then...

"I know you're still awake, Newt."

Elizabeth? She never visted him. Had something happened? He rolled out of bed and opened the door. She looked back at him for a moment, then pushed past him and sat on the floor.

"Uh...did you need something?" he asked, watching as she started doodling in the dirt with a finger. She shrugged.

"I just came to check up on you, is all." This woman. She was so weird.

"That's all?"

Elizabeth shrugged again, then looked up at him. "I just...I thought you needed a friend."

They looked at each other for a moment. Newt standing with his hands at his sides, Elizabeth sitting in the dirt still tracing outlines of shapes in the ground. And then she said something that took the breath right out of him.

"You wish it had been you, don't you?"

Suddenly he understood exactly why she was here. Fresh pain over Ric's death struck him from out of nowhere, when he had been trying so hard to forget. He hadn't been exactly wishing that he had been the one who was killed, but...Elizabeth had definately struck a nerve.

"It's more like I wish I had been there when it happened," he confessed. Elizabeth nodded.

"I feel the same way. I think everybody does," she said.

Newt waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. What he really wanted was to go to sleep and not talk about feelings or listen to each other's sob stories. What he really wanted was for someone to just understand and nothing else.

"You don't have to-"

Elizabeth cut him off by standing up and wiping her hands on her trousers. "It's okay, Newt." She smiled at him then, and this time it reached her eyes. "It's okay. I understand."

Newt blinked. She understood.

"Are you a mind reader or something?" he asked. Elizabeth gave him a funny look.

"What are you talking about? First of all, if I had the ability to read minds I wouldn't. And second of all, if I did have some sort of superpower it would be the power to control rocks!"

Now it was Newt's turn to give her a funny look. "Rocks? Why would you need to control rocks?"

Elizabeth blushed and gave another little shrug. "I just think it sounds really cool. You don't think it would come in handy? I could literally break a rock in my hand!"

"Yeah, you could also break the walls of the Maze. Some of it is probably made of rock."

"Exactly! Don't make fun of my rock-manipulation power!" Elizabeth punched his arm. Newt smiled. Something heavy lifted from his shoulders. He'd missed talking to her. Out of all the other Gladers, Elizabeth was the one who always managed to lift his spirits. She wasn't without her own hurts either, he knew that now. He just hoped their relationship helped her as much as it had helped him.

"Thanks, Elizabeth," he said. Before she could respond, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. After her initial surprise, she hugged him back. She was shorter than him, and warm. When he pulled away, his chest felt suddenly cold and warm all at once, but she smiled brightly at him like she always had. He realized that she'd been feeling down since Ric's death, too. He hadn't seen her smile like that for a while, and they hadn't really spoken to one another since he died. Usually they would talk to each everyday. He hadn't realized how much he missed it.

"I"ll be fine, I just need some time. I didn't mean to avoid you or anything," he said. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"So you were avoiding me?"

"Well, I mean...I was kind of avoiding everyone."

"It's okay, I think I've been avoiding everyone, too. I'm sad that Ric had to die, but I'm glad you were the one that was with me when it happened."

"Yeah..." Newt hated himself for blushing, "yeah, me too."

"I guess I should go back and try to sleep, right?" Elizabeth walked over and opened the door.

"Yeah." Newt wasn't sure what to do so he just watched her go.

Elizabeth made a little huffing noise. She turned around before leaving.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked.

"I think we both know that even if I say no you'll tell me anyway," Newt joked. Elizabeth made a 'tsking' sound with her mouth, but he knew that she knew he was right.

"You always assume that you are alone. But you are not alone, Newt. You never have been, and you never will be."