𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒 - 𝘚𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘊𝘏 𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘚

4 ~ 𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙

Newt

There was nothing to distract me from my grief in the days that followed the Gladers' rescuing, except maybe the reoccurring pokes and prods and tests that our rescuers kept insisting on. When I wasn't being tested, I was in my bed, facing the wall so that the others would know not to bother me.

I had lost Alby's coat button. It was the only thing that he owned that he kept close at all times, and now it was gone. After the Griever battle, I had gone over to Alby's body. I checked all of his pockets for the button, but it wasn't there. Most likely, it was still somewhere in the Maze. Exactly the last place Alby would want it to be. I felt like I had failed him – there were many others I felt like I had failed as well. I'm sure I could have done more to save everyone else, if I hadn't been so focused on saving my own skin.

Yet, when I voiced this concern to Minho, he scolded me and said, "You weren't being selfish. Every one of us had to fight for our own life. It's every man for themselves in the Maze, man." It didn't make me feel any better.

The nights at the new facility were the worst, since there was nothing keeping the screaming in my head at bay. Over and over, I heard Mitch's yell as the Griever knocked him into the wall, and then Lottie's sobs as she grieved over him.

On the third day, the door to the dormitory we were staying in opened. There was a clamor of excitement from the others, so I assumed that it was just dinner being brought. I didn't move from my position in bed until Minho came over and shook me.

"Newt, there's someone here to see you," he said.

I groaned. "Tell the doctor that he can shuck off," I grumbled.

Minho chuckled. "It's not the doctor," he replied. "Believe me, this is someone you want to see." I opened one eye blearily to look at his face. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"You'll just have to come see for yourself."

I climbed out of bed, disgruntled but curious. I followed him to the door, where the others were clustered excitedly around something. "Let the man through!" Minho called, and the other Gladers moved away from the door. Julian was then visible. He had his arms wrapped around something – or someone. That someone pulled away from him, and I immediately halted in my tracks.

Her face was almost unrecognizable due to the gashes and bruises, but her smile remained bright as ever. She turned to beam at the others, and she seemed to be scanning the room for something. That something turned out to be me. Her smile widened.

Before I knew what was happening, she bolted across the room and threw herself at me. The impact nearly made me fall, but I didn't care. It was proof that she was real – and she was here. I returned the hug tightly, scared that if I let go, she would disappear.

"Lottie. You're alive?" I murmured into her hair.

"Well, obviously," She grinned.

"What did they do to you?" I brushed my fingers gently at the gashes on her face. She pushed my hand away impatiently.

"They wanted information from me, but I couldn't give it to them, since I had no idea what they were asking."

"I'm sorry. I should have done more. If I had, this wouldn't have happened-" But she shook her head.

"This isn't your fault, Newt. None of this is."

"How'd you get away?" We were speaking so quietly that I doubted the others could make out what we were saying.

"Thomas helped me." She turned her head to grin at another figure who stood by the door: A tall brunette boy who was dressed in a similar uniform she was, and kept glancing out the door anxiously, as if he was keeping watch. "Listen," Lottie addressed the rest of the group. "This place is still WICKED. They've been lying to you. Tomorrow, they were going to have you start a new Trial, but we got to you first."