Newt limped away from Homestead his insides twisting. They had found nothing, absolutely nothing. Day after day after day they hadn't even come bloody close to figuring out the Maze. He came to a stop by a tree on the outskirts of the Glade. Newt sighed tiredly as he felt another headache coming on. What were they missing? Why would the Creators even put a bugging Maze out here? But more importantly who would send a bunch of teenagers into the Glade in the first place? Newt took a deep breath breathing in the woodsy smells of the glade and the smell of dinner wafting through the air.
"Newt!" A voice called snapping Newt out of his moment of peace like a bucket of ice water. He whirled around grumpily but held back his biting remark when he saw it was only Sadie If it was any other bloody person… he thought grudgingly as Sadie plopped down on the ground beside him Thomas at her heels.
"So how was your first day of working love?" Newt asked leaning against the rough bark of the tree as he looked down at the two Greenies.
"Oh it was fine thanks for asking." Thomas responded
"I wasn't- I didn't mean you!" Newt snapped as Tommy and Sadie snickered like twelve year olds. When they finally calmed down from the hilarious comment Sadie answered.
"I just have one thing to say about that shucking job and it's; never again." Sadie declared as she slouched into the grass.
"It's not that bad." Newt said smiling as the two wrinkled their noses and looked up at him in disbelief. Sadie shook her head and sighed resting her head on the ground.
"It's not the job for us that's for sure. Besides we already have one in mind." She crowed happily peering up at Newt, waiting for him to ask further.
"Good for you love." Sadie made a face. "Fine! What job did you two have in mind?" Newt asked giving in with an over dramatic eye roll.
"We want to be Runners." She responded casually picking at her fingernails.
"What?" Newt choked his eyes bugging. "You can't be serious?"
"Why not? We want to see what's out there." Tommy said gesturing towards the Maze. Newt looked from Thomas to Sadie then back again.
"Because Greenies don't become Runners right away! You don't want to be a Runner!" Sadie sat up and fixed a stubborn glare on him.
"Yes we do Newt." She scoffed crossing her arms. Why am I always stuck with the stubborn ones? They have no idea. No bloody clue what they're getting themselves into.
"It's dangerous out there Sadie." Newt replied fixing her with what he hoped was an equally as stubborn look.
"We kind of figured that one out ourselves Newt." Thomas pointed out. Newt let out a frustrated growl and started pacing in front of them.
"You have no idea what you're asking for. The Maze is a death trap!" But looking back down at them Newt could tell they weren't going to budge. Fine. He thought I'll show them what they're bloody up against. "Fine you want to see what's inside the Maze? Then I'll show you meet me by the East entrance after dinner." And with that he stalked off. He couldn't, no he wouldn't let Sadie step foot inside that bugging Maze. Never.
After a dinner that mainly included Sadie wolfing down her food and Chuck talking Thomas's ear off they finally headed towards the East doorway.
"Is Teresa getting any better?" Thomas asked as they worked their way through the crowd of guys headed towards the mess hall. Sadie's eyes narrowed.
"I don't remember mentioning her name." Sadie stated suspiciously looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh I- um you didn't?" He stuttered picking up his pace.
"No Thomas I didn't."
"She told me." He blurted out speeding his walk up even more.
"She's been in a coma!" Sadie exclaimed jogging to keep up with him. Finally Thomas came to a stop and locked eyes with her. "Thomas I already know that you remember her, just shucking tell me how you know her name." Sadie demanded. He let out a sigh before continuing.
"She- she spoke in my head." He admitted watching her for any signs of disbelief. Sadie raised her eyebrows, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't not believe him.
"So what, are you guys telepathic or something?" She countered he nodded watching her closely. "Well, that's sort of creepy." She joked before picking up their walk towards the doors.
"You mean you believe me?" he asked following her.
"Well I don't see why not." Sadie quipped at him over her shoulder. Thomas stopped and reached out a hand grabbing her by the arm.
"Don't tell anyone Sadie. Please, I can't explain it or how we do it, but her and I are connected." He said, Sadie shrugged off his hand but nodded. She could tell they were connected. He had gone with her to check on Teresa earlier and she could tell there was something connecting them in more ways then one. Just by the way he looked at her it was easy to tell.
"I won't." She promised. "Now come on! I can already see Newt waiting for us." She urged grabbing onto Thomas's sleeve and yanking him after her.
They got to the entrance just as the doors began closing and Sadie couldn't help but gawk at them in awe.
"How is that possible?" She shouted over the screeching grind of the doors, her hands clamped tightly over her ears. Newt shrugged in response and waved them over to a small section of the wall hidden behind a grove of trees. The doors shut with an echoing boom as Newt motioned for them to stop.
"Wait here." He instructed as he strode towards what looked like a small window in the side of the Maze. He peered through and after a minute or two waved them over. It was a window about roughly the size of a shoebox. "Take one look in there and you'll never want to be a bugging Runner again." Sadie walked over curiously and peered through the glass over Thomas's shoulder. And what she saw sent a chill up her spine and made the hair on her neck stand on end.
"What is that?" Thomas whispered.
"A Griever." The thing was big. A giant mass of slime covered skin rolling in front of them lazily. Sharp stingers and blades stuck out from it's sides clicking and scraping against the Maze walls. Sadie watched in horror as it turned and seemed to focus on them. And with surprising speed it slammed into the small window sending Thomas and Sadie stumbling backwards. She knew now, she knew exactly what had been chasing her in her dreams.
"I told you. You don't want to be a Runner, it's not worth it." Newt pushed as the two panted in front of them. Sadie looked up and caught Thomas's eye, and she knew they were on the same page.
"Yes we do." They said in unison.
"What?" Newt yelped running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Well I'm not bloody signing you two up for it. If you want to become one then you'll have to talk to the Keeper of the Runners because I'm not going to be a bloody part in this!" He yelled stomping off and leaving the two of them behind. Sadie sighed as she watched him go. He doesn't understand… I have to be a Runner I can feel it. I have to.
As the sky grew darker Sadie headed back towards her room in Homestead. Grumbling about Newt the whole way. Who does he think he is? Telling me what to do? A sudden image flashed in her mind of his hazel eyes and she paused, why does he call me love? He obviously had an accent but Sadie couldn't help but wonder… Was it just some slang like shuck or bugger? Or was it… something else. A sudden feeling of giddiness started to rise inside of her causing her heartbeat to quicken. No! None of that! Nope, nada, I don't think so! She thought angrily, but it did nothing to stop the freaking butterflies that were ruthlessly tumbling inside of Sadie's stomach. She marched up the rickety stairs and plowed into their room sitting down rather angrily on a chair in front of Teresa's bed.
"You are in a Maze Sadie." She warned herself. "He doesn't have time for anything like that. And besides it's not like I'd-" But the words died in her mouth. She reached over to Teresa's bedside table and tried to distract herself with feeding her. When Sadie finally felt her eyes begin to droop she stood up tucking the blankets around Teresa carefully and checking her pulse for the hundredth time. Still there. It's still there. She hobbled over to her own bed and climbed under the covers. And when she fell asleep, she started to wish she hadn't.
She was running from them again but she could see them now. And she knew exactly what they were. Grievers. She pushed her legs to carry her faster as her muscles and lungs cried in protest. I have to save her, I have to distract them. Can't let them find her. I. Can't. Let. Them. Find. Her!
Sadie jolted awake before the dream could go any further, kicking the blankets off of her as she jumped out of bed. She stumbled to the window and yanked it open, letting in the cool night air as she shakily tried to calm her breathing. It was just a dream. She reminded herself, but she couldn't stop seeing the ugly membrane of the Grievers, and she couldn't calm the panic that was slowly rising in her chest. For some reason Sadie realized, she wasn't scared. No she was worried, she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to save someone. It felt so real. She rushed over to Teresa's bedside and sighed in relief when she saw that her friend was still there.
She wandered back over to the window and looked out into the wide expanse of the Glade. Newt had told her most of the boys slept outside. I wonder… Sadie pulled on a sweater Newt had dropped off for her earlier. It was warm and gave off a woodsy and musky scent. She clambered down the stairs tugging her shoes on as she briskly walked outside and into the Glade. It only took her a few minutes before she found him curled up against a tree sleeping. He had his head resting against his curled arm, his face that was usually home to a sly grin or a frown was peacefully blank. Sadie ignored the urge to trace the hallows in his cheek and reached out a hand, but she paused. He looked so calm while he slept, it felt wrong to try and wake him. She stood over him awkwardly watching his chest rise and fall and his breath come out in little puffs. She sighed and turned away, what had she been thinking? As she started to walk away a sleepy voice called out to her.
"Nightmares again love?" She froze and whipped around; Newt was slowly pulling himself into a sitting position rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. She suddenly felt embarrassed, like a five year old going to wake up their parents in the middle of the night.
"No I just… couldn't sleep." She lied looking at the ground awkwardly. "You can go back to sleep, sorry I woke you." Sadie mumbled edging backwards.
"It's fine Sadie, no use trying to go back to sleep now anyways." He yawned patting the ground beside him. After a short pause she gave in and sat beside him hugging her knees to her chest.
"You sure you're alright?" He inquired giving her a sideways glance.
"Yes." She responded too quickly. He shrugged and they sat in silence for a bit starring at the stars that dotted the sky above the Glade. It startled her to find that the stars twinkled brightly over the Glade. The place didn't seem menacing but Sadie had come to the conclusion that it was a prison. It almost didn't seem right for something so nice to be in the Glade. Newt's face flashed in her mind and she remembered that he was still sitting next to her. Or for someone so nice to be in the Glade.
"What's your favorite color?" Newt asked bluntly cutting into the silence. Sadie blinked pulling herself out of her own thoughts and raised her eyebrows at him.
"What?" Sadie asked. He shrugged and gave her a small smile.
"Just asking a question."
"Oh. Green… I think.'' Sadie responded. He nodded in agreement and turned to her expectantly. "What?" She repeated furrowing her brows in confusion.
"Well go on. Ask me a question Greenie." She rolled her eyes at the comment, but a few questions did come to mind.
"How long have you been in the Glade?" She asked tugging at the grass beneath her. He sighed and scooted closer.
"For a little less than two years." He responded pulling a few blades of grass up and sprinkling them on Sadie's knee. "Hey!" She growled jokingly tossing the grass into his blonde hair. He laughed and shook his hair out.
"Why do you want to be a Runner so bad?" he questioned stretching his legs out in front of him. Why did she? She looked up at the dark blue sky again and mulled it over.
"I don't really know… I just feel like I should. Like I need to." She confessed remembering her dream. Her eyes wandered over to Newt and she pursed her lips.
"Why don't you want me to be a Runner?" She challenged. A lapse of silence opened between them until he finally answered.
"What were you dreaming about your first night here?" He asked, completely ignoring her other question.
"You didn't answer my question!" Sadie exclaimed nudging Newt with her elbow. He shoved her back playfully.
"You didn't necessarily go into details when you answered mine." He chided. Sadie huffed grumpily giving him an expectant look. He avoided her eyes warily and seemed very interested in his shoes all of a sudden. "Let's talk about something else." He insisted finally turning to look at her.
"Fine." Sadie grumbled laying her head down on her knees. She watched him for a second marveling at the way his hair seemed to turn a silvery gold in the moonlight. "Tell me a story." She added scooting in even closer towards him.
"A bloody story?" He asked raising his eyebrows, Sadie nodded. He turned his head up in consideration and smiled. "Okay, have any of the boys told you about the time Alby got stuck in a tree?" He asked a wide smile already working it's way onto his face.
"What? No they haven't how the heck did he manage to do that?" Sadie laughed.
"Okay so this was back when we didn't really know what was going on. I mean we still don't have a bugging clue… but anyways. We tried to follow one of the beetle blades to see if it led anywhere. After a while we gave up but Alby, that bloody idiot, wouldn't give it a rest. The thing ended up crawling up some tree in the middle of the Glade and the slint head was mad enough to climb after it." Newt described already starting to chuckle from the memory. "But beetle blades don't like being followed so when Alby finally caught the bugger it sliced him and cut a giant hole into his bloody pants! We could here his yelling from a mile away. And then he-" Newt was laughing outright now his shoulders rising as he tried to calm down.
"Keep talking!" Sadie urged punching him in the shoulder lightly.
"Okay, okay. Well when we got there Alby lost his balance up in the tree and fell. But his bloody pants snagged on a branch and he got stuck, hanging upside down by only his pants. It took us almost an hour to stop laughing before we could finally get him down. I'd never laughed so hard in my entire life." Newt laughed Sadie joining in. The pair continued to laugh their voices echoing as they clutched at their sides.
"I can't believe that actually happened." Sadie gasped trying to stop her laughing in vain, as she pictured the uptight, incredibly strict Alby hanging by his pants from a tree.
"Don't tell him I told you or he'll beat the klunk out of me." Newt warned jokingly even though it was probably true. After a few attempts of trying to stop laughing Sadie and Newt finally calmed down enough wiping the tears from their eyes.
"I would have paid good money to see that." She chuckled laying down on her back to get a better view of the sky. When she laid back on the soft grass Sadie couldn't stop the large yawn from escaping as her body tried to pull her back to sleep.
"You should get some rest you'll be working in the Gardens tomorrow." Newt advised, but Sadie didn't want to sleep no matter how much her eyes were begging to be closed. "Come on Sadie, I'm right here it'll be fine." She glared up at him.
"I already told you it wasn't nightmares." She lied, again. He shrugged, not quite believing her.
"I know I know just pointing it out." She rolled her eyes but couldn't stop them from drooping. She rolled onto her side curling into a small ball, her eyes wandering up to Newt's sitting form outlined against the night sky. He smiled down at her catching her eye. "Sleep Sadie. And dream of something nice." Her body didn't need to be told twice as she quickly drifted off.
Sadie was perched on an overturned log sitting around a blazing bonfire surrounded by a noisy group of girls.
"Can you believe it Sadie?" A girl with red hair said joining her as she nibbled on something in her hands. "Those sticks actually gave us freaking marshmallows! We were just messing around when we asked but heck they sure as hell delivered!" The girl cried happily devouring the rest. Sadie smiled and laughed chewing on her own marshmallow as the girls around her began to joke around singing songs or telling stories causing quite the riot in the wide meadow.
"Those sticks might be some evil little shits but I haven't had one of these in I don't even know how long!" A dark skinned girl announced sitting down on Sadie's other side. The fire crackled warmly and the sticky marshmallows were so sweet that Sadie couldn't deny, she hadn't been this happy in a long, long time.