Newt and Alby had to pick Poppy up and move her to the Homestead after the trial. A blank expression had taken over her face. She stared down or out but never at anyone. It was like she had shut down physically, mentally, emotionally. There were no lights on anymore in her head. The spunk and stubbornness she had sported since the very instant she arrived had vanished in the blink of an eye.
They laid her down on the bed and waited for her to snap out of it, but it never happened. "She's just shocked. Too much for her to handle." Alby kept saying. Newt hoped he was right, and fell asleep on pile of blankets next to the bed thinking of a more normal tomorrow.
When he woke the next day, Poppy was sitting up and staring out the window at the nearest wall. He was pleased to see that she had moved on her own. "Let's get to breakfast, Greenie. Working isn't easy on an empty stomach." He said, stretching off the sleep.
Newt stepped over to the door and watched as Poppy rose up walked towards him. He wanted to reach out and touch her as she passed, to tell her everything was going to be ok and that it would all go back to normal, but now wasn't the time. Maybe he would tell her tonight, if she snapped out of her daze. The pair walked to breakfast and got their food. Minho called them over and Newt accepted the invitation. Poppy followed blindly.
She picked at her food but hardly ate it. Her ribs were still sore from being kicked by different people. The gash on her head itched from the scabs that were forming. Every time she moved her head, the cut Winston left her would re-open. And whenever she stood too fast her vision would become static. Poppy could feel herself fading into nothing without the rebellious voice inside her head egging her on. While listening to the conversations around her, she thought of how bizarre it was that now she was the one being watched instead of her being the watcher.
Newt tapped her on the shoulder and they started walking towards the Gardens where he worked. He showed her which weeds to pull and how to pick bugs off of plants. Poppy did it mindlessly. Squishing bugs between her fingers and ripping frail intrusive plants from their home left her numb.
The Glade moved around with no notice from her. She heard Newt trying to talk to her occasionally, but Poppy never tuned in. She just ripped and squished, ripped and squished, ripped and squished until lunch time. She ate more at this meal. It was hot in the Garden's and food made her feel just the slightest bit more optimistic. Poppy sat near Newt, Gally and Zart as they passively talked about things happening around the Glade.
"Minho and the Runners would be back early to meet the new Greenie," said Newt.
"We put Winston in the Slammer," Zart mumbled.
"A Griever was sighted during the day and the Gladers were fighting over who would be the next Keeper of the Slicers," Gally huffed, "if there's even going to be a new one."
Newt nudged Poppy back to reality when lunch was over and walked her back to the Gardens. She continued to do the same thing. Rip and squish, rip and squish, rip and squish.
"I believe you, you know." Newt muttered next to her as he tugged up carrots.
The words rang through her like the doorbell to an empty house. Poppy turned to him and waited to see if he said anything else. "Well," he back tracked, "I believe most of what you're saying. I still think you're bloody mad." Newt beat the dirt off of a carrot, not noticing that she had started to listen.
She gave him a long hard look, "what don't you believe?"
Newt met her gaze and shined a smile. "There you are, Greenie! Been looking for you," he teased.
"What don't you believe?" She asked again.
Newt reached down and pulled another carrot. "I think you're mad for thinking you made the Grievers. All of us do. You make yourself out like some kind of bad guy, I don't believe you are. A little jacked, sure, but not bad."
Poppy turned back to the dirt and started pulling more weeds. "What about the part where I think I watched you before coming here?"
Newt stopped pulling carrots and thought about the question. "I think that you think someone did a klunk job of messing with your memory, Greenie, when actually, they did a great job. Too good a job."
She let his words sink in. "You think I'm paranoid."
He shrugged, "We're all a little paranoid, Poppy. It's not a big deal."
Poppy sat in silence for a moment and thought about what to say next. There were so many options. Memories that had leaked through since she arrived. She could list things that Newt did in the Glade before she got here or even show him the way out of the Maze. But he wouldn't believe her now. He would probably laugh and nod his head, then continue pulling carrots. Her time had passed for giving out that information without looking more insane. Poppy had played the wrong strategy, cared too much about her previous life, and obsessed too much about what she believed was right.
She sat staring out into the Glade for an eternity thinking about what was right. Not just right for her, or right for the people she worked for, but what was right as a human.
"I'm going to come back for you, Newt." The words tumbled out of her mouth with such sincerity that it took both of them by surprise. Their eyes locked in to each other's. "I'm going to save you." Poppy didn't care if she sounded crazy, or if he didn't believe her, she believed it. She knew what was real.
Newt gave her a curious grin and laughed lightly, "whatever you say, Greenie."
He turned back to his job and continued on with pruning, pulling, and homing a variety of plants. Poppy watched Newt for a moment and remembered how her heart stuttered the first time she saw him in person. It was almost like meeting someone you've always admired. The feeling you get when they finally notice you exist too. All those years of watching him from the other side of a screen, the control group, and he didn't even know. Even Poppy couldn't remember all of the moments, but she knew they were there, floating around somewhere.
Poppy turned back to her bugs and weeds, contemplating not on the how but the when.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. The voice whispered in her head, waking from its absence.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the whispers. It had told her to make all the wrong choices and assumed all of the wrong outcomes. Poppy wouldn't listen to it anymore.
The pair went back to working in silence, unfazed by the mundane events surrounding them. She had only been there for four days, but Poppy knew the Glade was starting to right itself again after her disruptive appearance. Boys worked, Keepers ran their areas, Alby walked to and from each location to check on things, the animals shuffled in their stalls, and the smell of Frypan starting dinner hung in the air.
Poppy heard the small stampede of shoes slapping against concrete after a few hours of working. The runners had returned. Minho came from the Maze with a few of his people, and the rest emerged from the other exits shortly after. She watched as they ran into a cellar and shut the door behind them, then returned back to her weeds.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. Poppy closed her eyes this time and took a breath, shutting the voice up a second time, then focused back on squishing beetles.
A blaring alarm sounded from all sides of the Glade. It cut through any peaceful practice of work or thoughts that the Gladers were having as it screamed in their ears. Poppy went rigid. The alarm was the screech from her nightmare. The same tone and pitch as the mutated monster that chased her through the desert. She looked around from where she was crouched in the garden, waiting for one to pop out and start the chase.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff. A shiver ran down her spine, one of panic and anticipation.
Newt stood and brushed himself off, "Right on time." He said with a sigh of relief, "looks like you're not the Greenie anymore, Poppy. Come on, let's go see who the new one is."
She looked up at Newt and, out of the corner of her eye, saw Minho and the rest of his runners emerge from the cellar. Poppy stood as she watched them jog over to the box that she had arrived in earlier that week.
"You're right, you are a fast runner, Greenie." Minho's voice sang in her head, "I thought I wasn't going to catch you in time."
All at once every light in her head was turned back on. Her heart pumped at full power. Every ounce of pain vanished and was replaced with pure adrenaline.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.
Poppy's head snapped to Newt. He had a look of peace on his face, unsuspecting peace. A naïve look, too distracted by the appearance of a new person. "Newt?" She asked, stepping to him.
He threw a cheeky smiled, noticing the shine that had returned to her eyes, "yeah, Greenie?"
Poppy stood up on her toes to reach him, both hands cupped the sides of his face, and she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. All of the nerve endings in her body buzzed with pleasure. She pulled away, still holding on to him, and saw the boy she had become so attached to over the years. The one she was going to save.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.
His eyes slowly opened to look at her, a light shade of pink dotted his cheeks, and a goofy grin started to appear. "I-," He started to say.
Poppy cut him off, "I'm really sorry, Newt."
Before his face could fully fall into confusion, Poppy dropped back down to soles of her feet, planted herself firmly, and punched the face she just kissed.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.
He stumbled back and tripped. Poppy didn't have time to watch him fall, she needed a head start on Minho before he got wind of her running for it. She ran, full speed, to the closest wall.
"Poppy!" She heard Newt call her name from behind. But she pressed on.
Two rights, a left, then over the cliff.
The tall grass smacked against her shins, her arms swung vigorously by her side trying to match the speed of her legs, and yells of realization from the boys started to grow louder. But it was too late, she was at the entrance of the Maze and ran through it without hesitation.
"Two rights," Poppy huffed under her breath as she took the first turn and ran down the hard floor to the next one. Her feet slipped on the surface and she tripped as she rounded the second turn. As she hastily picked herself up, Poppy saw Minho coming around the first corner.
"Poppy-!" was all she had time to hear from him as she sprinted down the next corridor.
"A left." She whispered to herself, hanging on to a sharp corner this time and swinging herself threw the turn.
There was a long, narrow, straight hall in front of her framed with ivy and patches of low hanging mist. As she ran, a screech echoed from somewhere in the Maze. A scream of recognition, one that made her chest swell with pride. They know you're coming. The voice almost giggled. They've been waiting for you. A manic smile cut across Poppy's face as the 'clicks' and 'whrring' of a second nearing Griever could be heard on the other side of a Maze wall.
The hall was coming to an end and nothing stood in front of her.
"Stop!" Minho called out, closer than before.
Her feet left the ground, "then over the cliff."
To Everyone who has followed me through this, or just binge-read it, THANK YOU! My story is by no means the most popular fanfiction in the Maze Runner Trilogy, but you guys made me feel like it was. Writing this has been so. much. fun. I cannot express to you what it feels like to finally put your writing out there and not have people immediately crap all over it. This entire process was a huge learning curve for me, so I appreciate that everyone was so supportive (even if I made mistakes) and helpful with constructive criticism. I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it. -Lots of love, Alison