New(t's) Life Chapter 7, a maze runner trilogy fanfic

Chapter 7 - Minho's plan

AN: Hello, readers and Gladers! I'm so, so sorry that I didn't send life signals for so long, but as an official translator, I finally got my first pieces of work and it's harder than I thought it would be. A lot of fun to finally prove what I'm capable of, but also very tiring. But I randomly got the energy to finish it today.

We remember: We have another Glader among us and that greenie is none other than Minho, the great! He was quite scared when he arrived, but Blue the little sheep was glad to help him. How will Minho adapt?

The story is not mine, it's Ritara's and I'm just a humble translator.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Now that Minho was also living in the Glade, it had become a lot more turbulent. The Asian was a pure bundle of energy. Every morning and every evening he jogged a lap around the Glade. It was a mystery to Alby and me from where the boy got the energy and strength for it. Most of the time we stayed in our hammocks and watched Minho run from one corner of the Glade to the next. When he then came panting back to us, we could only shake our heads in amazement, while the black-haired boy was beaming from ear to ear.

The two laps turned into three, then four, then six per day. The guy was steadily improving. Why, we didn't know. We didn't care as long as he helped out. And that he did.

Within the first two weeks we had made two more beds and finished the fence for the cattle. Along with Minho, two new goats had been sent up along with more building materials and food. We baptized them Alpha and Beta and let them into the fenced meadow along with the sheep and the three old goats. In addition, we had begun to build a kind of meeting house. Alby had the idea that all members could meet there once a day to discuss what was going on during the day or what had been done.

It was a lot of work. Every evening, as soon as I fell into bed, I drifted off to sleep exhausted. Alby had a similar experience. We all worked hard to make our ideas a reality. And yet Minho was electrified. I often caught him looking absorbedly in the direction of the labyrinth. Alby had also noticed it. We weren't entirely comfortable with the thought. So one morning we confronted him. Minho just came back from his jogging round. If I had counted correctly, then it had been four laps today. Panting, he arrived at our side and dropped to the floor.

"Say, Minho..." I began, but broke off again.

I felt uncomfortable and didn't know what I actually wanted to ask him. But Alby did. He was a bit more direct than me.

"What's all this about, Minho?" he asked.

"Why do you run so many laps around the Glade every day? Is there a background to this?"

Astonished, the Asian raised his head.

"Uhm... no. Not really," he stammered.

He could tell from our faces that we weren't buying it. He sighed.

"Okay, you're right. There is a reason. I want to go back to the maze... Wait, let me finish first," he asked when he saw Alby open his mouth.

My jaw dropped as well. Again? Did that mean he'd been inside before? But how was that possible? Minho looked at me pleadingly, so I closed my food hatch, sat up straighter, and crossed my arms in front of my chest, waiting. Then I nodded.

"... I want to go back to the maze," he continued.

"I've already run into it a bit on my jog a few days ago. Don't worry, not far. Only until the first junction. The maze is huge. And I know you also think that the only way to get out of here is through the maze. However, it's too dangerous to go in alone. You can get lost, hurt yourself. That's why I wanted to suggest that when we get more newcomers, we could go into the maze as a larger group. Then we could take a look around and maybe find something to help us get out of here. If a new greenie comes up in two weeks, well, Newt and I could go in and look around the entrance. I know you hate to go back into the Maze, but Newt's never been inside either, has he?"

I nodded with my mouth open. What the shank was saying made sense on the one hand. Of course it was too dangerous to go into the Maze alone, but I liked the idea to go as a group. On the other hand, he had committed a great stupidity by running into the Maze without telling us. Alby seemed to see it the same way. But he motioned to me to say something about it first. I thought for a minute.

"Okay, Minho. I understand your way of thinking. And I think it's good that you're thinking about this. Maybe you're right. Perhaps the path through the Maze is the only way out. And your suggestion not to go in alone is reasonable."

That was the first point I noticed. Now I looked at Alby and motioned him that it was his turn now. He nodded slowly.

"I'll think about it. However, I don't like the fact that you went into the Maze on your own. I told you what can happen. If this happens again without Newt or I being informed, there will be consequences, all right?" he explained calmly.

Minho nodded, then he turned to me.

"I wasn't done yet. Newt, you wanted to know why I run so much. I train to be prepared. From the looks of it, the Maze is huge. At some point we will have to go deeper, maybe even for several hours. And since the gate closes every evening, one should be in good shape. And I'm already training for that."

Now Alby was flabbergasted as well. With wide eyes he looked at the Asian. He looked back unmoved. My head was buzzing. So we had gotten a greenie who was quite logical and had good ideas, but who also seemed to have slightly suicidal thoughts. Several hours in the Maze? Was he still in his right mind? Good condition? What did he want to do?

Running through the Maze every day? Pshaw. That would never go well.

"So, I'm going to go wash up. See you later."

And already Minho had disappeared. Only Alby and I were left behind.

"Say, what kind is that one?" I blurted out.

Alby shrugged his shoulders. He still looked puzzled. This Minho had given him quite something to think about. Now he turned to me.

"Well, Newt. I think he's right. We can't stay here forever. At some point we have to get out of here. I have to admit, I've thought about going in there many times myself and looking for a way. But I didn't dare. The memories...", he broke off.

I could understand him well. I felt the same way. I was also incredibly fascinated by the whole construct, but I didn't want to go in alone.

"I'm for it, we'll wait until there are at least two more greenies and then you two explore the first passages in the Maze. What do you think? I know you're pretty curious too. Maybe you'll find a way out."

Astonished, I looked at Alby. That was pretty much the last thing I expected to hear from him. But I liked the idea. Finally I would see the whole Maze from the inside. I just hoped that Alby wouldn't get his hopes up too high. Not because I didn't think we wouldn't make it. But there had to be a reason why we were here. And if the reason was really the Maze, then it would not be so easy to conquer it.

Slowly I stroked through my tangled hair. That would definitely not be a piece of cake.

Alby:

When Newt told me about his concerns about Minho, I had to admit that I had already been thinking along the same lines. Something was going on with the guy. That's why I liked Newt's idea of carefully confronting him. After his last morning lap, the time had come. We sat in the hammocks and looked at the Asian, who had made himself comfortable in the grass in front of us.

Newt was about to ask his question, but broke off. Embarrassed, he looked towards the wall, then to the ground. In his eyes, I could read the discomfort that I felt myself. There were only three of us. No one wanted to mess with the other. And no one wanted to come across as boss. But still. It had to be addressed. So I took heart and spoke my question out loud to Minho.

"What's all this about, Minho? Why do you run so many laps around the Glade every day? Is there a background to this?"

Now it was the Asian's turn to feel uncomfortable. He stammered something about it not being for anything, but I couldn't believe that. No one went jogging for six laps every day, without any ulterior motives. A look at Newt's face told me he thought the same thing. Minho saw it too, because he righted back and began to explain what the reason was.

As he spoke, my jaw slowly but surely dropped toward my collar. The guy had just run into the Maze without saying a word? Now that was something. I was just about to give him a raw deal when Minho raised his hand and asked to be allowed to speak. I nodded. After a few seconds, Newt also gave his consent and Minho continued to speak.

He told and told. His story made sense. His ideas were good. The considerations appropriate. And yet. I was not sure what to make of it.

I looked at Newt. He had been a real friend to me over the last few weeks and I valued his opinion a lot by now. I was curious to see what his impression of the whole story was. He sat in his hammock with his knees drawn up and his arms folded. He tensely chewed on his lip. One of his ticks. I had to smile. Now he turned his head and looked at me. I nodded to him, he could start.

"Ok, Minho," he began calmly.

"I understand your way of thinking. And I think it's good that you're thinking about that. Maybe you're right. Perhaps a path through the Maze is the only way out. And your suggestion not to go in alone is reasonable."

He nodded to me, it was my turn. I thought for a second. What Newt had said was good. There was nothing negative about it, but there was also no praise for going into the Maze. Good. Nevertheless, I had to make it clear to him that it was dangerous to go inside and that there would be consequences. And that I did. Minho nodded, he seemed to have thought of something like that. But he wasn't quite done yet. One question was still unanswered for him. He turned to Newt.

Newt looked at the Asian with wide eyes. He seemed to have no idea what to answer to that. I felt the same way. Completely perplexed, we sat there and gaped at the guy who had only been here for such a short time and yet had already thought so much.

A few seconds later, Minho ended our gawking by standing up and disappearing towards the creek.

"Tell me, what kind is that one?"

As soon as Minho was out of earshot, Newt went straight to the point and hit the nail on the head. My thoughts exactly. Nevertheless, I could only raise my shoulders. The boy's thoughts buzzed through my brain and didn't let me think clearly. I hadn't thought of it that way. Were there really such high hopes?

"Well, Newt. I think he is right. We can't stay here forever. At some point we have to get out of here. I have to admit, I've thought about going in there many times myself and looking for a way. But I didn't dare. The memories..."

Newt looked at me worriedly. He knew what I thought about the Maze. I had avoided the topic as much as possible, but now it seemed inevitable. But I believed what I was saying. It gave me hope. And I wanted to cling to that hope.

I further explained my plan, which also involved Newt and Minho. Of course, I did not miss Newt's astonished look. He didn't know, but I had been secretly watching him. He, too, had often looked longingly at the walls. Newt wanted to get out there. He wanted to find a way out of this Maze. Apparently more than he himself believed.

A smile stole onto his face and immediately I felt myself smiling along. This boy made me really happy. I was incredibly happy that he was the one who had been sent to the Maze and not just any conceited guy. Now he stroked his hair and looked towards the walls. I hadn't known him that long, but I knew that Newt thought the same thing as I did. He wondered what would be out there.

END OF CHAPTER 7

EN: This concludes Chapter 7 of Newt's Life. I hope you all liked it and I want to thank you for being so patient with us. Especially long works are not a translation of a few hours. But I hope you'll be sticking around for more.

Kisses and cake,

Yuna McHill

Certified translator.