Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The Safe Haven meant new beginnings, a chance to forget what WCKED had done to everyone. That is what most people believed this place was. 

For Thomas it was hell. 

Every second he spent here only got worse. He tried to ignore the horrible feeling in his gut as he interacted with people, but it all kept coming back to that moment in the Crank Palace. He couldn't get rid of the memory of being in the Berg and seeing the Crank Palace turn into a big explosion below him. Everyone held there could've been cured, Newt could've been cured.

Thomas had failed him, the one thing Newt asked him to do, he'd failed. 

Thomas sat in his shack holding the envelope that Newt gave him. He still remembered the fight Minho and Newt got into before he dragged Thomas away to talk to him. Newt had given Thomas a worn out envelope and spoke to him with a tone of urgency. 

“You swear to me that you won’t read what’s inside that bloody envelope until the time is right.” 

Thomas didn't understand what Newt meant when he said, 'Until the time is right', until it was.

He understood what Newt meant when he lay in that alleyway with a gun pressed to his head. Newt had tried to shoot himself in the head but Thomas stopped him before he could. They fought each other until they got too tired and just sat next to each other against the wall. 

"I'm sorry Newt." Thomas stated. He failed his friend more than once, but this was the worse of them all.

Newt only scoffed. "Don't be, I'll be a true Crank before ya bloody know it."

The thought of his friend turning into one of...those...scared Thomas to death. Newt would die scared and alone. He'd forget who his friends were, who he was.

Newt let out a long sigh before he turned his head to Thomas. "Tommy," he began. "There's something you need to know."

"You can tell me anything." Thomas replied. He hoped there wasn't another envelope involved.

"Ok." Newt let out a shaky breath before he looked Thomas straight in the eyes, his own black and lifeless. Though, Thomas could see the slightest bit of amber in them, which meant Newt was still alive

"I love you, I always have." He said. "Every since you came out of that box and took off running, I knew I'd follow you anywhere Thomas—even in death if I could."

Thomas couldn't believe what he was hearing: His best friend since day 1 was in love with him. 

"I—" Thomas didn't have the words to reply, so he figured actions would relate more than words. He took Newt's hands in his own and pressed their foreheads together. Thomas lifted his head up and placed a light kiss on Newt's nose, then to his cheek, then both his eyes, and finally his lips. Their kiss wasn't fast, but it wasn't slow. 

It was savoring, like Thomas wanted to keep this moment with Newt stored in his memory forever. There was no tongue involved, nor were there frantic hands running across each other's bodies—only slow and soft. Time must've stopped right then and there because when Thomas pulled back to look Newt in the eyes, he didn't see black. He saw amber with flecks of green and yellow.

For a moment, there wasn't any Crank in Newt, just himself.

Their moment didn't last long because Newt sat up—his hand still intertwined with Thomas's. With a trembling voice he spoke, "Maybe I'll see you in another life Tommy, but for now this is goodbye."

He gave Thomas one last kiss before he turned around and started walking back to the Crank Palace.

That was the last interaction Thomas had with Newt before he died. 

...

The sound of rummaging awoke Thomas from his slumber. He opened his eyes and glanced around the room and found Minho going through one of his drawers. "What're you doing Minho?" He asked with a small yawn.

"Someone said you had a radio connected to the Last City." Minho replied. He pulled open some other drawers out and rummaged through those. 

All sleepiness left Thomas when Minho pulled out the last drawer. He sprung to his feet and pushed Minho away from the drawers. "Quit touching my stuff man!" he yelled.

Minho raised his hands in defense and had a look of confusion. "Sorry Thomas, but we seriously need this radio." he said. "Besides, why are you so amped-up? You got an item you jerk off to or something?" he let out a loud laugh at his statement.

"No, but I have things I treasure." He stated. Most of the things he treasured were Newt's, like his jacket, that one knife he named Henry the 5th, and the bag he always had strapped around his torso in the Glade. A picture of him and Thomas was in the bottom drawer along with the other stuff.

"Besides, why do you need the radio anyways? The entire city blew up."

Minho rolled his eyes at his friend's question. "To build a piano," he said. "No to contact them because we got a message, what do you think Dumbass?" The Asian boy spotted the radio and immediately grabbed it.

It took a minute for the words to register in Thomas's brain, but when they did it left him flabbergasted. "Wait hold up Minho—you said—wait you said they contacted you?" He exclaimed, astonished. "I—wait what? I thought—I thought everyone including Lawrence died!"

Minho had a look on his face Thomas couldn't describe. "Come on, Brenda and Vince will tell you everything in the Gathering." They still called their meetings 'Gatherings' just for old times sake, and for some reason this broke Thomas even more when he heard it.

The two Gladers walked over to the gathering hut and sat down in the chairs planted in the middle. Thomas found himself staring Brenda dead in the eyes, eager for an explanation.

"I know this sounds crazy, but Lawrence contacted us." Brenda began. "He said a majority of the city was destroyed from the bombing, but not the Crank Palace—"

"The Crank Palace blew up." Thomas interrupted. 

Vince shot him a glare and spoke in a dangerous tone, "I suggest you shut your mouth Thomas. You ain't got a clue what we're dealing with."

Brenda let out a sigh before she continued. "As I was saying, only half of the Crank Palace blew up, and the part that survived is where the remaining Cranks are being held. How the Cranks and Lawrence survived, I have no idea. There are also immunes there, and over 200 cranks—which we have enough serum to treat them all."

Thomas felt himself stiffen at the idea of a cure. This meant he had to give all his blood in order to make the serum. 

"I can already see the ideas going through your head Thomas." Vince stated. "Remember Mary?" he asked. 

Thomas nodded. 

"She found a way to copy your DNA and make a clone of your blood for the serum, so you don't have to empty yourself for us." For some reason Vince found that truly hilarious. 

Thomas wasn't laughing though. The memories of being used as a blood giver haunted him. "Even if this thing is real and Lawrence is alive, why would we go there? They have nothing to give us." he asked.

Brenda grew wide eyed at Thomas's statement. "Thomas," she said, "these are people we're talking about, survivors from the explosion! They need a place to stay."

"We're fine in numbers here." Thomas replied. 

"What the hell?" Minho exclaimed. He stood from his seat and grabbed Thomas by his shirt. "Listen Shuck-face, I understand you lost Newt, but this gives us a chance to rebuild civilization. Out of all people you should be the one who understands that most. You're always talking about not leaving anyone behind, so how about you do the world a great big favor and pick your whiny ass up and help save those people!"

"Oh shut the fuck up Minho!" Thomas shouted. He was infuriated that Minho—the one person who believed in him even when he didn't believe in himself—was telling him this. "You don't understand just how fucking hurt I am by Newt. In the Glade we had over 50 boys, and now we have 3. I'm not going to go out there and risk any more lives just for a couple of—"

"Couple?" Vince interrupted. "There's over 200 fucking Cranks that could be human, that could live a normal life. Your boyfriend might dead but that doesn't mean we're going to let those survivors be as well."

Thomas grew angrier with every word that Vince said. Before he knew it he was out of his chair and punching Vince in the face. The Gathering burst into a series of yelling and angry hands grabbing Thomas to pull him away. Thomas couldn't control his anger, he was so angry at Vince for saying that—for excusing his "dead boyfriend".

Someone had grabbed Thomas and pulled him away from Vince, which only caused him to thrash in their hold. Vince's face was battered and bruised and blood dripped from his nose. The sight made Thomas feel extremely guilty and he stopped fighting against the person holding him. 

"I'm sorry." He spoke in a trembling. "I'm so sorry Vince—I'm so fucking sorry."

Vince wiped his nose with the back of his hand and spit on the floor while glaring at Thomas. He didn't say anything to the brunette, but Thomas could see the fury inside his eyes. 

"Control your fucking friend." He muttered to Brenda. 

Vince left the Gathering Hut with Gally trailing behind him. There was a long awkward silence in the room—mostly because of what Thomas had done. 

"Will you be using the Berg to fly to the Last City?" Thomas asked. 

"Yeah," Brenda answered. "Me, Minho, Gally, Jorge, and Vince will be going. If you want to tag along—which I hope you do—then that's totally okay."

Somehow, it felt as if the group wanted to add something but was thinking against it. "There's got to be something else you're not telling me." Thomas said. "I mean—you don't just go and start rescuing people you don't even know. Besides, it might even be a trap to sell you to WCKD."

Minho and Brenda exchanged a look before the Asian spoke. "We found out Newt is alive. A complete Crank, but alive." 

It suddenly felt as if the world was upside down. Thomas wanted to throw up and celebrate at the same time, but he just stayed quiet, taking in the information he was just given. The only thing that left him was a small, "Oh, well then".

Of course he was happy that Newt was alive, for Christ's sake he was his best friend! But the fact that Newt was a Crank and was completely gone broke Thomas. Even if he did get cured, he wouldn't be the same. 

"He's a Crank, he's gone in the mind." Thomas stated. 

"Thank you for stating the obvious Thomas." Minho replied with a scoff. 

Brenda turned to Minho and said: "Minho, shut the fuck up." She then turned her attention back to Thomas and began speaking, "He won't be your old Newt, we know that, yet if he does get cured then you have to rebuild that friendship, even if you don't want to. He might be a raging Crank, but he's still human—still Newt. Just...Different."

That made Thomas happy, and he gave Brenda a small smile. "Okay, I'll go, under one condition." He said.

Minho was heard groaning in the background, but Thomas didn't acknowledge him. 

"What is it?" Brenda asked, suddenly very curious.

"I'm going to be the one who gets to talk to him and bring him out. You and everyone else can help guard, but I want to get him out first."

"You do realize he's going to be behind bars right?" 

"Yes, but I'm not afraid of him. I never was."

Brenda let out a sigh before she looked Thomas in the eyes. "Do you love him?" She asked. 

The question surprised Thomas. "I—I don't know." he replied. He loved Newt as a friend, but there was more behind that love. Thomas just couldn't understand it.

Thomas's day was spent packing and getting the Berg ready. Him and the others were going to fly to Denver in the morning and land in the helicopter zone, then after that they'd walk to the Crank Palace. Because of the bombing there, 90% of the entire area—including the Crank Palace—was destroyed. How some of the people survived? Thomas had no clue.

More than 200 serums were taken on board for the Cranks, and extra food, blankets, and pillows were brought. Thomas had brought Newt's jacket and their picture that always hung on his headboard.

After packing, Thomas spent the rest of the day enjoying the food and laughs, then it was time for bed. 

It was 1 am and Thomas was wide awake. He kept thinking about what to say when he saw Newt, and also preparing himself for what he'd see. Newt wasn't some physco killer, but he was a Crank. Thomas would be the luckiest person on the planet if there was even just a little bit of Newt still in him. He kept going through memories they had with each other, and his mind kept landing on one. 

...

They had just exited one of the sand filled cities and were now walking towards the mountains. Winston had killed himself just hours before, and Thomas felt nothing but dread the entire time he walked. It soon got dark and everyone set up camp next to a large cargo ship. 

Thomas and Newt were a bit farther from the group—they preferred to talk to each other rather alone. Their bags lay next to each other and the blanket they shared was draped over their bodies. Thomas was focused on the stars and Newt was playing with his knife—well, not really playing, more like observing it from every angle. 

="Where's your constellation?" Thomas asked. 

Newt stopped turning his knife around and glanced at Thomas. "It's only visible in the Northern Hemisphere during March, Thomas. We're in bloody mexico and it's probably July or something."

"Yeah, probably." Thomas muttered. Silence stretched between the two, and suddenly it became too much for him. "Newt?" he said.

"Yeah Tommy?" Newt replied.

"Do you think we'll actually escape? Like we'll be safe from Wicked for good, no games or playing tricks, where we can finally live a normal life?"

It took a minute for Newt to answer, because he kept starting sentences but immediately stopped. Finally after a few tries, he settled on: "Yes. It'll be a challenge but I believe we can make it."

Thomas closed his eyes and spoke in a trembling voice. "I don't know if I can keep this up."

"Keep what up?"

"This act that I'm the leader, who knows what I'm doing. Because in reality, I haven't got a single clue."

Newt turned his body so he was fully facing Thomas. With the smallest bit of hesitation, he took Thomas's hand and intertwined it with his own. "You're just a kid Tommy, you can't carry the whole world on your back. I know you'll do great things in life, no matter how scared you are." he said.

Thomas looked at Newt and at that moment he felt as if the world had stopped—like it was just them. Newt's face was dangerously close to his, and for some reason he felt his stomach turn at closeness. Thomas ended the staring by turning his head and coughing.

"Thank you Newt, but we seriously have to get to bed now." He said.

Newt looked mildy disappointed at Thomas's rejection, but he didn't give that much thought to it—instead he just turned around so his back was facing Thomas. "Goodnight Tommy." He mumbled.

"Goodnight Newt."

...

Thomas woke up from Minho shaking him by the shoulders like a maniac. Of course he wasn't happy about it, but he could understand why Minho was excited.

Newt was there, and they could save him. 

"Get up Thomas, today's the big day!" Minho shouted in his ear. He was so excited it was actually starting to annoy Thomas. 

Thomas grumbled and curled in a ball so he could fall back asleep. For some reason going out to Denver seemed like a stupid plan now. 

"Dude I swear to God if you don't get your ass up and be on the burg in the next 10 minutes we're leaving without you." 

That made Thomas sit up immediately, now ready to leave. "Sorry Min, I just—" How could he say this? "—I'm not ready."

"What do you mean Not Ready?" Minho asked.

"Not ready to see him." Thomas answered. It was completely true: he was absolutely terrified to go to Denver. 

Minho let out a long sigh before he sat down on the end of Thomas's bed. He had a look of sincerity, like he understood. "I understand you're not ready to see him—none of us are—but you can't abandon this mission Thomas. You've already committed."

That was the only thing bothering Thomas. He didn't want to commit, he had to. Out of everyone in the Safe Haven, he was the most valuable and could direct everyone to safety—including Newt. God forbid the kid ever wanted to see him after their departure. During the fight, Newt had said such awful things to Thomas that he wishes he could just forget them, but he can't. It's basically carved into his brain.

And even if there were survivors, how would they cure them? Cranks were like dogs that went crazy for a piece of meat and bit anyone who went near their food. The best option would be to just put the serum in a dart serum and shoot it into their neck or something.

"I hate Wicked—and Janson—and Teresa—basically everyone who betrayed me." Thomas stated. 

"Yeah I know, we all do." Minho replied with a laugh. He stood up and exited the hut while mumbling a random song, leaving Thomas alone again. 

Finally after some back and forth arguing in Thomas's mind, he got dressed and grabbed his bags. He grabbed the gun that he had used in the fight with Newt, and his favorite knife. He did one last check to see if he forgot anything, and when he was positive nothing was forgotten, he headed out and towards the Berg—towards Newt. 

Oh how much of a roller coaster this would be...

The Berg was still just as ugly and cold as the last time Thomas was in it—the fall of the WICKED Facility. Everyone had found their own spots and corner and set up blankets and pillows there. Thomas decided on the corner closest to the door so he could be the first one to get out. Jorge was flying the Berg as usual, and Minho was keeping watch of Cranks and survivors. 

Once Thomas settled into his spot, he leaned his body against the planes large door and closed his eyes. Everything was going by fast—too fast. It was too much for Thomas to comprehend. The past 25 hours have been so confusing and nauseating that Thomas actually thought he might throw up. 

Sadly, he didn't get the chance to throw up because Brenda was shaking him out of his thinking. "Wait up stink stink!" She exclaimed with way too much happiness. 

"What?" Thomas dragged out the word when he replied.

Brenda offered him a small grin and took his hand. "We're going into the air now, I want you to see what The Safe Haven looks like from below."

The Berg had a large square window in the floor where guards could use it to fire their guns. For now it remained glued shut, since no one wanted to fall through it by accident. Everyone gathered around the small window and looked down. Thomas walked over to Minho's side and crouched down. What he was, was incredible. 

The Safe Haven looked gorgeous from above, but so fucking small. The island itself was only about 2 miles big and most of it was forest no one had decided to explore yet. A cyan color surrounded the edge of the island, the coral reefs fully visible. Then it faded to a normal blue, where Thomas could see seagulls flying about it looking for fish. And lastly, it faded to a dark blue—like the kind of blue that could swallow anything that entered it. The sun was still rising, so that made hints of orange and yellow to highlight the waves. The sun flared against the island, illuminating it.

Something made Thomas's stomach drop, and suddenly he didn't feel like going to Denver. It wasn't because of Newt or The Last City—he just couldn't handle leaving the place that took everyone months to arrive at. All the pain and lives that cost them to make it to this paradise. 

"When we come back," Minho began, looking at Thomas with hope-filled eyes, "we'll have over 200 more survivors. They'll be given a new life because of you."

Thomas looked away from the window and at Minho with a sad look. "Yeah well, I'm also the reason we lost so many lives, Minho." He stated. 

Minho let out a frustrated sigh and slapped Thomas on the head. "Pick yourself up mate! If I was you I'd be jumping out of my pants happy!"

The thing with Minho was that he just didn't understand. It wasn't the type where you couldn't figure out the question—no—it was literally that he couldn't understand what Thomas was going through.

Minho didn't understand when Thomas clutched onto Chuck's dead body after Gally shot him. He didn't understand when Teresa admitted her feelings to Thomas and then betrayed him right after. And he definitely didn't understand when Thomas walked back to the van after he had just kissed the hell out of his best friend, then let him go to perform suicide.

Minho was such a clueless prick that it actually made Thomas want to punch him in the face. "You know, for someone who spent 2 years running in a maze everyday and had to attack grievers so you didn't get killed, you sure sound happy." The brunette spat out. He didn't want to deal with Minho's dumbass statements. 

So with one last glance out the glass window, Thomas returned to his spot to sleep. The trip would be long and dangerous, but for now they had roughly 8 hours in the plane. He had scouting duty in 2 hours, but for now he figured he could use that opportunity to sleep. Thomas closed his eyes and relaxed his body against the wall and door, slowly feeling darkness engulf his mind.

...

It was Thomas's first day in the Glade, already receiving a tour from Newt. The blonde was showing him things like the garden and Bloodhouse, but kept him out of the DeadHeads. The sun was shining impossibly bright and it was making Thomas' eyes hurt and his skin sweat. He brought the hem of his shirt up to wipe at his face, meanwhile he didn't fail to notice Newt's gaze drop down for a small second before darting back up.

"This time of the year ought to be the hottest of them all, lucky you for experiencing it first Greenie." Newt said. 

Thomas became confused at Newt's words. "What do you mean? Are you immune to the heat or somethin'?" He asked.

Newt threw his head back and let out a loud cackle. "Of course not," he answered after collecting himself. "After being in the Maze for 3 years you get used to the confusing temperatures. Thankfully we don't have crazy storms or bipolar temperatures. It's currently July and it'll stay hot until mid September."

The only thing that Thomas focused on from his reply was the months. "Wait—you know the date? What's the year? What about the day?" He still knew about the countries and their states, so with stupidity he asked: "So you don't have weather like Missouri and Illinois?"

Newt stared at the brunette for a long while before he shook his head and smiled. "To answer your questions: the date is July 18th, 2009. And no, the weather here is not like Missouri and Illinois."

The blonde continued walking towards the Slammer, but before he could go far Thomas grabbed him by the forearm and pulled him back. They were standing awfully close and it made Thomas's heart skip a beat. Newt had gone stiff and now they were just staring at each other. 

"Take me to the DeadHeads." Thomas commanded. He wanted—no—needed to see what it looked like. 

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Only Keepers, Baggers, and those in Command can enter the forest." 

"Well you're Second Command aren't you?" 

Newt didn't reply for a long moment, proven right by Thomas. "I may be Second in Command, but that doesn't mean I can take Greenies to see the graves of previous Gladers."

"Please Newt." Thomas spoke. He looked at Newt with the most heartbroken eyes, like an upset puppy, and Newt just couldn't resist them.

"Fine," Newt replied, which made Thomas grin. "But if you tell anyone about this I will personally behead you."

"Are you British?"

"Yes, now shut up and follow me."

The forest had a weird vibe to it; like it was dark and unwelcoming. The trees stood tall and blocked out a majority of the sunlight so it was hard for Thomas to know where he was going. Another disadvantage was how dense it was, almost all the trees standing not even a foot away from each other. 

"Why is this forest so damn dense?" Thomas exclaimed. He was getting tired of having to wedge himself through each tree to catch up with Newt.

"So no one can escape." Newt replied. 

Thomas's body stopped moving at Newt's words. "Escape? Hold on—what are you on about?"

Newt turned around so he was facing Thomas. "The Maze is a dangerous place Thomas, and this is the worst of the Glade." 

Now entirely confused, Thomas grabbed Newt's arm and pulled him back. He got a sense of deja vu when they were this close only an hour ago. "What is in this forest? What do you do?"

The blonde didn't reply to his questions. He instead grabbed Thomas's hand and dragged him farther into the forest. Finally after another 10 minutes of going through trees, they arrived at a small clearing with rows of stones.

"Those—" Newt pointed to the stones, "are the dead Gladers. Some dead from suicide, some from The Changing."

Every stone had a small piece of writing dug into it—probably by a knife. Pieces of clothing or satchels hung on each stone, some new and some old. Thomas walked up to the stones and muttered the words written. 

"Arthur, deceased June 4th, 2009. Henry, September 11th, 2008. Stewart, August 2nd 2006, The Changing—wait, The Changing?" 

Newt walked up the stone Thomas was staring at. "It's when you get stung by a Griever and go through this horrible change. You get your memories back in the process, but it alters how you function. Not just physically, but mentally—it makes you do things you never thought you'd do." The blonde pointed at a grave on the far right. "That man right there, Gabriel, killed almost all our sheep while we were asleep."

"So The Changing is like going physco?" Thomas stated.

"Yes." Newt replied. 

The silence stretched far longer than Thomas intended it to, and as soon as he cleared it, he didn't feel like staying in the graveyard. "I want to go back now." he said.

"Good that," Newt replied.

The boys ventured out of the woods and back into the middle of the Glade where Alby was waiting for them. The leader had a look of anger on his face, and Thomas thought he'd broken a rule. 

"God damn it Newt!" He shouted at the boy. "When did I say it was ever okay to take them to the shucking DeadHeads?!" 

Newt brought his head down and muttered something Thomas nor Alby could hear. "Speak up boy, I want a shuckin' reason!"

"Because I wanted him to learn!" Newt shouted. He looked furious at Alby.

"Wanted him to learn? What in God's name do you mean?" 

"I know for a fact no one will willingly bring this Greenie into the DeadHeads. He needs to know what's going on around here, and fast. Otherwise we'll just lose another Glader." 

Thomas stepped in between the arguing boys so he could cover Newt. "I was curious what was out there. It was me who pushed Newt to bring me to the DeadHeads. I'm sorry, Alby." 

The boy just let out a sigh of frustration. "Because of what you did Newt," he began, "you have to be with him at the ceremony."

"What ceremony?" Thomas asked.

"Every time a new Greenie arrives, we host a Gathering near the Homestead. You're the Guest of Honor Tommy." Newt answered.

Alby turned around and walked toward the box, leaving Newt and Thomas alone together. It was still awkward, but Thomas found a way to get them to both talk.

"So how does this party thing work?" He asked. 

Newt gave him a glance before he started walking toward the Homestead. "It's exactly what Alby described, literally just a party for every new Greenie. You get to drink Gally's nasty ol' recipe drink. Oh, and you get hunted to prove what role you'll get in the Glade."

"What do you mean, 'Get Hunted'?" Thomas asked, a look of confusion across his face. 

Newt gave him a small smile before he explained, "For 1 hour—after the party—all the Keepers including Me and Alby get to chase you down. IF you survive, we host a Gathering in the Homestead and all Keepers and in-command get to decide what role you'll have." 

Out of curiosity Thomas asked: "What if I don't survive?"

Newt let out a snort at Thomas's question. "It's not The Hunger Games, Thomas. They just chase you, then try to tackle and pin you. It may sound easy, but some of us have been doing this for so long that we know every nook and cranny in the Glade."

"Can you go out there?" The brunette pointed to the large stone doors that led into the maze. He'd already been given the talk about what was out there and how the maze worked.

Newt shook his head in disapproval. "I mean, technically you can, but that's a death wish." He looked Thomas up and down before adding something else. "From the looks of it, I think you have a high chance of surviving."

"What's the best way to survive?" Thomas asked. He wanted to find a place to hide in for the whole hour.

"The maze, or trees." Newt answered.

Thomas took a deep breath before exhaling. As much as he hated the idea of being hunted, it sounded better than being at a party with people he didn't know. "Ok, let's get on with it then." He muttered to Newt.

...

Thomas felt someone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and let out a loud yawn before his vision settled back to normal. In front of him was Minho—Oh my god not Minho—who was holding a bag and resting his hand on Thomas's shoulder. 

"Wakey wakey Tommy," he whispered, "it's time for watch duty!"

Thomas grumbled and lolled his head to the side. "Don't call me Tommy." He mumbled. 

Minho looked a bit taken back by the statement, but decided to prod Thomas for it. "It's just a nickname Thomas, what's the big deal?"

See, this was the perfect example why Thomas wanted to punch Minho in the face. Had he not caught the clue of who called him Tommy? The only person who gave him that nickname was Newt—the only person who ever called him that. 

"Newt gave me that, not you." Thomas whispered. He got up from his position and snatched the bag Minho was holding. He wasn't going to argue with Minho so early in the morning over something he should know not to bring up. 

He walked over to the area where he was supposed to keep watch and sat down. Curious, Thomas opened the bag he snatched from Minho. There was only a bit of fruit and a water bottle—probably so he stayed nourished during the watch. 

The dream with Newt still clouded his mind, making him feel lonely and desperate for the boy. He wished that he could see Newt, no matter the condition he was in. To be honest, he hadn't fully thought out the mission and its risks. All that mattered was saving Newt, but when he got to thinking about all the Cranks he'd see, the buildings Lawrence and Vince destroyed...reality came crashing on Thomas like a boulder. 

Even if Newt was completely gone—a full Crank—Thomas would still do whatever it took to bring him back. Even if that meant emptying all his blood, he'd do it. Just for Newt. 

...

The party wasn't going to start until the sun set, yet Thomas was already freaking out. He found a spot in the forest and curled himself up against a large tree and proceeded to have a full blown panic attack. It was so bad that Thomas felt as if the sky was falling on him. His vision grew hazy and weak as he felt himself sinking into the fear more and more. 

Someone must've called his name, since Thomas could see a blurry figure walking towards him. Said blurry figure crouched down so they were eye level with Thomas. They placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it affectionately. Somehow, it calmed Thomas and he could feel his heart rate slowing down and his breaths getting more even. 

When he finally got himself back together, he lifted his gaze so he could see who was in front of him. It was Newt, in all his glory. The blonde looked concerned—but also curious.

Newt spoke in a soft voice, "For someone who wants to run into the maze and travel through the DeadHeads, you sure seem pretty anxious." 

Thomas rolled his eyes before he leaned back against the tree. "I couldn't help it," he replied, "I don't know any of these people—I don't know you. What if I end up falling flat on my face, or I lose the hunt? What if I'm not worthy?" He was rambling now, but he just couldn't stop.

Newt decided to sit down next to Thomas. Once he was settled, he placed his hand on the brunette's knee. "I know we only met a few hours ago," he began, "but you're probably the most fearless shank ever. Braver than Alby and Minho."

Just for the fun of it, Thomas experimentally rested his head on Newt's shoulder. When the boy didn't make any move to nudge him on, Thomas stayed like that. "How am I braver than Alby and that other guy?" He asked.

"Alby had to survive a whole month alone, had to witness the most deaths. Minho runs into the maze every day for hours, yet somehow always makes it back before the doors close. You? No person in the Glade has ever wanted to explore the DeadHeads on their first day."

"It's just a graveyard."

"A graveyard with people who've been torn apart by Grievers or gone crazy from The Changing."

"Still a graveyard."

Newt scoffed and turned his head so he was staring at the spring near them. "Summer's always a bitch." He stated. 

"Why's that?" Thomas asked.

Newt turned his head so he was facing Thomas once again. "The Runners have to run faster so they can come back before the sun sets. For some reason the sun decides to set at around 4 pm, instead of 7 pm like a normal time. If we don't water our plants then they die out quick from the heat. Our animals get crazy because of mating season, and I'm stuck touring the next Greenie at the WORST TIME!"

Thomas burst out laughing at Newt's rambling, clutching onto his side because of how hard he was laughing. "I can't—oh my god—there's no way you hate touring!" He exclaimed. 

Newt smacked him on the arm and let out a huff of frustration. "You try doing it, it's so bloody boring."

"Ok I will, next Greenie that shows up will get a tour from The Thomas."

The boys continued joking around until Frypan called for them. The entire journey to the Homestead consisted of Newt and Thomas clutching onto each other and feet stumbling from all the laughing. When they arrived at the Homestead, Thomas' sides hurt so much from laughing he thought he formed abs. 

"Dude," Thomas said to Newt, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to have abs of steel after all that laughing."

This caused the boys to burst out laughing once again and clutch onto each other even more. Alby shushed them so he could talk. The Gladers had formed a circle around a large bonfire with a bull's head on the top, everyone holding some sort of drink.

Alby walked around the bonfire with confidence as he spoke. "Today marks the era of a new beginning, new friendships. Our lovely Chuck here is no longer the Greenie," he pointed to the short chubby curly haired kid in the crowd, then to Thomas. "Our newest Greenie is now Thomas!" He exclaimed with a yell of triumph.

Everyone raised their drinks in the air and shouted like a mad man, all for their newest Greenie. Thomas felt his mood boost at all the cheering for him, but it suddenly dropped when he met eyes with an angry looking Glader.

The man's eyebrows were furrowed together and his eyes glared straight at Thomas. The brunette nudged Newt and whispered to him: "Who's that over there?" 

Newt cast a glance at the Glader and chuckled. "That's Gally The Cry Baby. He's the one you'll get to wrestle."

Thomas threw his head back and let out a groan. He kind of expected Gally to be a little kid who was annoying as fuck and picked his nose 24/7. "He looks like an asshole." 

"He is an asshole." Newt replied. "But he's also been through The Changing, so he's seen some pretty gruesome stuff."

"I thought you said you die from The Changing."

"You do if you don't get the serum in time. But if you hurt another Glader with or without it in you, you get banished into the maze."

"What happens when you get banished?"

"You get put in there right before the doors close. The whole thing is to see if you can make it out alive, which is stupid because no one's ever made it a night through the maze. If you do, hypothetically, then you are welcomed back—but you also get put on surveillance for the rest of your life and you aren't allowed to be alone with any Glader."

Thomas looked back at Gally, who now had his attention on something else. "Damn." He muttered.

Alby walked over to Thomas and stuck his hand out. Thomas took it with no hesitation and let Alby lead him to wherever. Everyone gathered around a little area full of sand and were all chanting Thomas's name. Gally was standing in the middle of the pit with a stern look on his face. 

"Thomas, meet Gally." Alby said to the brunette. "Gally, meet Thomas." He said to the monkey looking man. "Here is where you get to wrestle and prove your worth, Greenie. Every keeper will be watching you closely and will determine what your role is, along with the hunt."

Thomas stepped into the sand pit and stood before Gally. The guy looked exactly like King Kong from his angle: nostrils flaring, tall frame, muscles bulging out of his shirt. Beyond terrifying. 

"Do ya know the basic rules of wrestling, Greenie?" Gally had asked. 

"You pin the opponent by keeping their shoulders on the ground for more than 3 seconds." Thomas replied.

"Since it's your first day, I'll go easy on you." Gally said, bringing his hands up and crouching down.

Thomas gulped, already afraid. He repeated the same moves as Gally and they circled around each other like hungry predators. Now, Thomas probably hasn't been a wrestler in his other life, but he knew a few moves. So with a quick bolt, Thomas made a shot and crouched, his head pressed against Gally's thigh. He brought his hands to where they were against the back of the blonde's thigh, and with all his strength, he pushed the boy and tried to veer to the right.

Gally didn't even stumble when Thomas did this. He immediately sprawled down so his body was laying on top of Thomas's, then proceeded to push his hips into the sand. Gally wrapped his arms around Thomas's torso, but then switched them so his left hand was holding right above Thomas's right elbow, his other cupping the brunettes chin. 

Someone had shouted out in the crowd and now they were chanting the same word. "Cow Catcher! Cow Catcher!"

Gally lifted his hips up a little so he was on his toes and yanked Thomas back twice. Thomas could feel his jaw starting to ache from the harsh pull, but he tried his best to plant his feet. Gally was most likely going to pull the good ol' Cow Catcher on him, which OW! That would hurt like a bitch after.

Gally did indeed pull a Cow Catcher on Thomas. He sneaked the hand that was holding Thomas's elbow down under his armpit and across his back. Gally turned Thomas and pushed so he fell on his back, the blonde holding his head and the other hand holding his wrist on the ground. Thomas switched his hips so only one shoulder was touching the ground.

Not happy with this, Gally moved further up so he was still on his toes, but he was now pressing harder against Thomas. After a long time struggling to stay up, Thomas gave up and slumped his body against the ground, making Gally win. Alby slammed his hand on the sand and yelled "Pin!" and the crowd erupted in triumph.

Thomas could see Newt at the front of the crowd with a look of disappointment on his face. Not happy with his loss, Thomas got up from the floor and stood facing Gally. "I want a rematch." He said. He was going to win this match, not just to prove himself worthy to the Gladers and Keepers, but also for Newt. Newt was probably the only one who believed in him at the moment, and Thomas didn't want to let him down. 

The crowd 'Ooo'ed in excitement, probably not used to someone wanting to challenge the All Mighty Gally. In fact, Gally looked pissed at the offer.

He did accept it though, and they got back to their original positions. Thomas caught Newt's eye and he offered a small wink at the boy in the crowd. Newt visibly flushed at the action and dropped his head low with a grin plastered on his face.

Thomas had decided he wasn't going to go for a shot this time. Instead, he would try the Fireman's Carry. It was a simple but effective move that would definitely catch him off guard. The boys reached for each other and grabbed their arms until they were locked together. Thomas's right hand cupped the area where Gally's neck met his shoulder, and the other under and cupped the blonde's forearm. 

People whooped and hollered as the boys tried to pull and push each other into some sort of move.

"So Gally..." Thomas started.

Gally just rolled his eyes. "No talking in the pit Greenie."

He caught the bait. Wonderful. Thomas nudged his head to the right and smirked. "You and Ben together?" 

Gally took a sharp breath and he whipped his head to the side. It was only a second of distraction, but it gave Thomas the perfect opportunity to remove the hand on Gally's neck and swoop under and wrap his arm around the boy's leg. Still holding the other arm, Thomas yanked Gally so he was now carrying Gally, then took a sharp turn and threw the boy over him and onto the ground. Gally landed on the sand with a painful groan and tried to get up, but Thomas had kept his hand on Gally's arm and swung himself around so he was now laying on him. 

The Gladers whooped with excitement and Alby got down on her hands and knees to watch Gally's shoulders. Thomas pressed all his body weight on the boy and finally after a while of struggling, Gally gave up and lay there on the ground. Alby slapped the sand and grabbed Thomas's hand and held it in the air. "To Thomas, our newest Greenie!" 

Cheers erupted from the crowd and people lifted Thomas into the air. They carried him around until Alby gave the order to put him down. When Thomas was set back down on the ground, everyone shut up when Alby walked toward him. Thomas gulped, now fully aware of what came next. 

"You beat Gally, Greenie." Alby said. He placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder and gave him a look of trust mixed with fear. "Now it's time to beat us." All the keepers had formed in a small group and each of them held weapons and a bag. Why did they have weapons? Thomas had no clue. For some reason, anyone who wasn't a keeper started moving away.

"Do I get a head start or something?" Thomas said with a laugh. Alby laughed along with him, but then his smile dropped, and his face turned dark and cold.

"No." He replied.

The keepers started walking toward him, some twirling the spears in their hands, others whipping the ground with their lassos. Thomas stumbled back, watching as they came closer to him. 

"Run boy run." Newt sung to Thomas. 

The Greenie whipped his head to Newt's direction and stood there in horror. "This world is not made for you." Newt continued on with his song. Others joined in on the singing, and soon every Glader was singing.

"Run boy run...They're trying to catch you!" 

Thomas felt as if his head was going to explode from the singing. He staggered back, turned around, and took off running to the woods. All while the Gladers sung their song.

"Run boy run...Running is a victory!"

"Run boy run...Beauty lies behind the hills!"

"Run boy run...Break out from society!"

...

The Berg landed in the mountains relatively close to the Last City. Just before everyone exited the Berg, Vince mentioned that there were going to be Cranks—lots of them. Everyone visibly shrunk into their uniforms at Vince's words. The memories from the bombing at the Crank Palace haunted everyone, so a visit back to the place suddenly didn't seem so fun.

Vince and Jorge were the first to exit the Berg, and were also the first to come sprinting back. Everyone seemed shocked at their sudden shouts to get back in the Berg. Curious as to what was going on, Thomas peeked out from the crowd and saw maybe 20 Cranks running after them. Vince grabbed the gun that was strapped to his thigh and began shooting the Cranks. Only about 4 fell down but the rest continued chasing after Thomas and his friends.

Brenda brought her gun up and started shooting the Cranks. "I don't care how many Cranks there are, we're getting to the Last City!" She screamed while shooting. 

Following her movements, Thomas brought out his own gun and shot the Cranks. When he ran out of amo, he reloaded. Once everyone was out of ammunition, they switched to machetes and spears. Cranks fell one by one, some getting their head sliced off, others being stabbed in the chest from the spears. Thomas was battling against a relatively strong Crank, his figure well over 6'3 and muscles bulged out of his ripped shirt.

Thomas saw a flash of blonde in the corner of his eyes, and when he turned around he saw a Crank with his back turned to Thomas. His hair was long and fluffy, frame tall and skinny. It looked so much like Newt that Thomas actually believed it was him. He turned back to the Crank he was battling against and quickly stabbed him in the heart. 

Thomas turned his attention back to the still Crank and began walking toward him. The Crank didn't move, didn't twitch his hand, didn't even breathe. He just stood there, staring into the sandy abyss. Thomas placed his hand on the Crank's shoulder and spoke softly. 

"Newt?" 

The Crank turned around and all color drained from Thomas's face. He in fact was not Newt. He was just a random Crank who happened to look like him. Dread filled Thomas and he felt horrible.

He felt alone. 

He felt betrayed.

The Crank let out a roar and jumped on Thomas. Thomas was caught off guard by the motion, letting out a yelp of surprise. The two rolled around in the ground, ending with the Crank on top of Thomas. For a second, the leader thought this was it: the Crank would bite his head off or beat him to a pulp. His life flashed before his eyes—most of the memories being in the maze, others of Newt.

The Crank had a look of fear and guilt flash across his face for a moment—almost like he regretted doing all of this, like he was still there. Even if it was only a split second of truth, Thomas saw a window of opportunities. He looked down at the name tag on the Crank's vest. 

'Josey', it said. 

"Josey, hey Josey!" Thomas said to the Crank. 

The Crank stilled for a moment—just a moment—before he went back to trying to rip out Thomas's throat. Not happy with this, Thomas grabbed his shoulder and stilled him. "Hey Josey," he said in a reassuring tone, "it's okay."

It was as if all Crank had left the man, his eyes returning to a dark green—black still there, but not completely—and his body stopped shaking. Finally, Josey calmed down. He was straddling Thomas, but rolled off so he was sitting on the sandy ground. As ugly as he was, he looked normal—Human. Thomas scooted over to Josey's side and they sat there together. 

Nothing was said for a little while, the silence was only broken when Josey spoke up. "My...W-Wife.." He said in a weak and raspy voice. If it weren't for Thomas being right next to the Crank, he probably wouldn't have heard it. 

"What about your wife? Tell me about her." Thomas replied. Even if the Crank was going to die right now, Thomas was happy that he was actually talking.

"She was t-the...most—" The Crank let out a weak cough before continuing, "the most b-beautiful t-thing..I've ever...s-seen."

Thomas grabbed Josey's hand and interlocked their hands. He gave a light squeeze and smiled at him. "Do you love your wife?" He asked. The Crank nodded. "I promise Josey," Thomas gave another reassuring squeeze, "I'll help you find your wife—and yourself."

Josey stared off into the distance, not replying to Thomas's promise. "I don't w-want a normal l-life." He whispered.

Thomas was taken back by this. "What do you mean? Do you not want to go back to being human? Don't you want to see your wife?" 

Josey sighed. "My w-wife is dead." He stated. "But in my h-heart..s-she will always..be alive and f-flourishing." He took a deep breath and laid down on the sandy ground. Thomas was still holding his hand, crouched down next to the Crank. "Whatever y-you do...don't rescue those...who don't want to..be saved." 

The Crank gave Thomas's hand one last squeeze before he closed his eyes and exhaled. His head lolled to the side and his hand lay limp in Thomas's. All the leader could do was sit there, his hand still intertwined with the Crank's. 

As if everything decided to hit him right there, a tear rolled down his cheek. Then another—Soon, Thomas was sobbing hard and his body began to shake. He placed his head on the Crank's chest—right above his heart—and let out cries of defeat. Nothing could've prepared him for this Crank's death. Nothing. 

A hand was placed on Thomas's shoulder and he heard voices pulling him back to reality. 

"Thomas, Come on, we have to go."

It was like experiencing Chuck's death all over again. He didn't know the kid well—just like this Crank—but during that short time he learned so much. "It wasn't supposed to end up like this!" Thomas cried out, pressing his face harder against Josey's chest. "He deserved to live! He was supposed to be human!" 

Minho grabbed Thomas by the shoulders and pulled him away from Josey's dead body. Brenda was closing his eyes so he could die peacefully without the sun glaring into them. Minho was still trying to pull him away, if though he was protesting like hell.

"We get it Shank, he's dead. There's nothing you can do about it!" The Asian boy yelled. 

That was the last straw for Thomas.

The leader got up from the ground and stood facing Minho. "What are you doi—" Before Minho could continue, Thomas swung his fist right into his jaw. Minho fell to the ground and let out a cry of pain. 

"What the fuck was that for Thomas?" He screamed.

"I hate you Minho!" Thomas screamed back. "I hate you I hate you I hate you!" Memories of Newt and Thomas's last interaction filled him.

"I hate you, Tommy!” He was only a few feet away and Thomas took a step backward, his hurt over Newt turning to fear. “I hate you I hate you I hate you! After all I did for you, after all the freaking klunk I went through in the bloody Maze, you can’t do the one and only thing I’ve ever asked you to do! I can’t even look at your ugly shuck face!”

The memory hurt Thomas, but he couldn't stop screaming at Minho. It was as a dam had just broken, all his built up emotions flooding away. Everything that Minho had said the past couple of days was too much, and him adding to what Thomas just had was just too much. 

"You are so stupid Minho!" Thomas yelled in his face. "You constantly say these things as if I don't have feelings—as if you can't understand the pain of losing people!"

Minho looked genuinely hurt at Thomas's comment, but Thomas didn't care. He was going to be as blunt as blunt could be. As rude as rude could go. He was going to make Minho feel his hurt—his pain, his suffering.

"I had to fight in that alleyway just so my best friend wouldn't shucking kill himself! Meanwhile you were discussing with Lawrence about Unicorns and Rainbows. Ever since Chuck died, nothing's been the same. You haven't been the same. Every time I look at you I just want to throw up."

It was silent now. Brenda had stopped her walking and was now staring at Thomas. Vince and Jorge were giving each other side glances and Minho stayed on the ground, not saying a word. 

"All this time..." Minho began. "You've been feeling guilty? Because of Newt?"

"Because of everyone god damn it!" Thomas brought his hands up to his hair and squeezed hard. He wanted all of this to go away. "I look in the mirror and all I see is the kid that let everyone down. I'm the chosen one. I'm the cure! But I can't even use that to my advantage, because I just had a conversation with a Crank who didn't want to go back to being normal. He could've lived—everyone could've lived! And now you're telling me it doesn't matter. Well guess what Minho! It does! It matters so much that I'm obsessing over it!"

Minho slowly got up from his position to stand facing Thomas. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked softly. 

"Because you don't understand." Thomas answered. "You've never understood, and that's what I hate most about you. You ran the maze for 3 years and couldn't even find one clue. I solved the puzzle in the maze, and I was there for less than a week!"

Minho lowered his head in shame, upset at how Thomas spoke about it. "I didn't have special telepathic powers like you did, Thomas." He replied. 

Thomas only rolled his eyes. "You don't need special powers to realize the code for the maze is the order of the sections being opened!"

Brenda grabbed Thomas by the shoulder and turned him around. Just as Thomas was about to continue yelling at Minho, Brenda swung her hand across his face. The slap left a burning red mark on Thomas's face, and he could already tell it was starting to bruise. 

"I understand you lost people—we all do—but that doesn't give you the right to act like a dick." She was about to slap Thomas across the face again, but the brunette caught her hand before it met with his face. 

"I know you're hurting, Thomas," She whispered, "but you aren't the only one who suffered during those 2 years. Some of us have lost way more than you'll ever imagine."

Thomas lowered his head, now ashamed of the scene he created. When he turned his body to meet Minho's, he saw true fear in the boys' eyes. Thomas felt a pang of guilt in his chest. His own friend was afraid of him. 

"I'm sorry Min." He apologized to the boy. He held out his hand and Minho grabbed onto it, being pulled up to a standing position. 

"Hey it's all good. But if you're ever feeling overwhelmed, I'm here to talk—even if I'm not the best at it." Minho stated with a laugh. 

Him and Thomas laughed around a little longer until Brenda and Vince told them they had to start moving. With that, everyone began walking towards the Last City, in hopes of curing people and finding Newt. Thomas walked with Jorge and they discussed Wicked's evil plans. 

"What are we going to do when we find Newt?" Jorge asked Thomas. 

Thomas only shrugged. "I want to be the one that talks to him. Even if I get mauled in the face, he'll listen to me, I know he will."

Jorge chuckled at Thomas's answer. Then he brought up something Thomas hadn't thought about since his second day in the maze. "When it was just me and Minho at the bonfires, he would talk about the Glade and the adventures you all had. In one of his stories he mentioned something called 'The Hunt', is that something you competed in?"

"Yes, but not really." Thomas answered. "It's something they did with every Greenie. You'd be chased in the Glade for an hour, trying not to get caught by anyone. It was a way to prove your worth and see what role you'd play best in the Glade." 

"Did you win?"

...

The beating of Thomas' heart filled his ears, being the only sound he could hear. The hunt had already been going for half an hour, but Thomas felt like it had only just begun. Shouts from the Gladers echoed across the woods, some yelling that they saw Thomas, others shouting nonsense. Thomas was headed towards the far corner of the Glade, where a cave stood.

His main objective was to get as far away as he could from the Gladers, then trick them into thinking he was there, then he would run back to the homestead without them following him. If that didn't work, then he'd just hide in a tree. Shouts from Minho were heard from afar and for a second Thomas thought he would be caught.

He brought a torch, rope, straw, and 2 wheat bags with him. All of this would be used to make it seem as if he was sitting in the cave, the shadow of Fake Thomas would trick the Gladers following him.

No shouts were heard when Thomas reached the cave, so that meant he was safe and could now build his trap. He started off with rolling large rocks over to the corner and forming them so it looked like legs. Then he grabbed one of the wheat bags—the one filled with wheat—and placed it on top of the rocks. The figure now looked like it was sitting down in the corner with its legs stretched out. Finally, Thomas grabbed his other empty wheat bag and filled it with a few rocks. Then he placed it on top of the other wheat bag, and after that he lit the torch he brought and placed it in the opposite corner. 

Now when the Gladers came over to the cave, they would see the shadowy figure and believe it was Thomas—giving him enough time to leave and not be hunted.

Speaking of getting hunted—Shouts were heard from no far away and Thomas jumped, caught off guard. He hadn't expected them to find him so quickly. 

"Okay Thomas," he said to himself, "just trick them and leave. It's only 25 more minutes."

The glow of torches were seen from the trees, which meant Minho and his group were almost here. Thomas got into position, hiding behind one of the trees near the cave, but far enough to not make any sound when he bolted back to the homestead.

Minho was seen emerging from the maze of trees, Alby and Frypan right behind him. "Look guys, there's light coming from the cave!" Frypan shouted. 

"Maybe it's one of his tricks." Alby said. 

"Nah, we'd hear him if he was near us trying to run away." Minho replied. "Besides, the cave is pretty deep so he most likely went there too. Or maybe he went inside the maze—since he suggested that to us before the hunt started." 

Alby snorted at the inference. "Thomas, in the maze? At night? Please!"

Frypan laughed along with him. "He'd be lucky to survive even 10 minutes there!"

A night in the maze? Thomas thought. No one had ever survived a night in the maze, but it was possible. For some strange reason, Thomas felt that he was capable of doing just that. Slowly, he backed away from the cave, but immediately stopped moving when he stepped on a twig. It snapped, and echoed in the forest. 

Minho's head whipped towards Thomas's direction, eyes filled with curiosity. "Did you guys hear that?" He asked. 

"Chill Minho, it was probably just a rabbit or something." Alby replied. 

Thomas's breath quickened and he could see Minho walking toward him. Oh my god oh my god—I have to get out of here! Thomas thought to himself. He turned tail and ran as fast as he could from the cave. He must've snapped more twigs or something, because Minho was chasing after him. Sticking close to the edge of the forest, near the walls, helped a alot. 

Minho was going through the dense part of the forest, slowly coming to a stop. "I know that's you Thomas!" He shouted.

Thomas ignored his shouts and kept running toward the homestead, not stopping whatsoever. All of a sudden, a figure slammed into him and he went tumbling to the ground. Said figures rolled around with him until they were on top straddling Thomas. 

"Guess it's my lucky day huh?" The Glader said. 

Thomas couldn't see very well, but he recognized the voice. "Newt, oh my god—fuck." Thomas groaned. He lost the hunt only because he couldn't hear someone coming out of the woods. 

"Your little cave trick may have fooled Minho and the others, but not me." Newt said. He had a knife pressed against Thomas's throat. The iron felt cool against his skin, saving him from the unbearable heat. 

"Well I lost the hunt, now what?" Thomas asked.

Newt snorted. "You haven't lost it yet." He replied. "You can still redeem yourself." 

Thomas's eyes went wide at his words. "How? I'll do anything!"

"The first way is to go into the maze and wait until the doors close. The other one..." Newt shifted across Thomas's lap. He was fully sat on the brunette's hips, and the movement grazed his dick and sent a jolt of pleasure up Thomas's spine. The blonde dragged his knife down Thomas's throat and to his chest, twisting the fabric with the tip of his blade.

To be completely honest, Thomas was turned on by Newt. Not a little hard—no—he was literally straining in his pants.

Newt bit his lip, staring at Thomas's Adam's apple when he gulped. As if reality dawned on him, he stopped his movements and just sat there. "That's the only way to redeem yourself. But don't worry, your trick back there is more than enough to give you a good role in the Glade."

He got off Thomas and held out a hand for the boy to take. Thomas took it, speaking in the process. "I only made it what, 40 minutes?" He said. 

Newt shook his head. "The time doesn't really matter, as long as you do something to prove that you're not a lazy shuck, then you're bound to get a good role. In this case, it was running through the forest and setting up that trap."

"Should've climbed the trees and just sat there."

"You could, but almost ever Glader has tried that, so it gets kind of boring after a while." Newt kicked a few rocks as they walked, "We want something fun. Not one of those common tricks, like climbing a tree or hiding in one of our buildings."

A question occurred in Thomas's mind, and he couldn't help but ask about it. "Has anyone tried to hide in the maze?"

Newt shook his head no. "It's not against the rule, which means it's possible, but wouldn't you rather stay in the Glade than get eaten by Grievers?" 

The 2 boys continued walking toward the Homestead, all while talking about how the hunt worked. They reached the big area where the hunt started and were greeted by all the keepers and Alby. Apparently Thomas got a good reputation from the trick back in the cave, yet no role was decided for him yet. 

"When are you guys going to choose my role?" Thomas asked. 

Alby only laughed at his question. "Calm your horse Thomas, we'll choose tomorrow morning. That was a pretty good chase you made back in the forest, along with the trick."

Thomas suddenly thought of the role of Runner. It wasn't explainable, but he had to become a Runner. "I want to be a runner." He stated. 

Alby stopped laughing. "You don't get to decide what you can and cannot be."

Thomas nodded, but still pressed on. "I don't know how to explain it Alby, but I feel it in me, like I'm meant to run—run out there." He gestured to the closed doors of the maze.

Alby leaned back against his chair, examining Thomas all around before he spoke. "Tell you what Tom Tom," he began, "you race Minho from one side of the Glade to the other side, I'll make you a Runner. No voting, no objections, you'll automatically become a Runner."

Thomas smiled, happy to get his wish. "Thank you Alby."

Alby smiled back, this time less tense and more relaxed.

The next morning Thomas was up, along with Minho and Alby. Alby was actually being serious when he said Thomas had to race Minho in order to become a Runner. Of course, Thomas wasn't happy about it, but he knew he wasn't slow. He'd definitely win this. 

Maybe.

Probably not. 

"Don't be so nervous Tommy." Newt said, punching Thomas lightly on the arm.

"I can't help it, I don't even know if I'm going to win." Thomas replied, voice shaking slightly. 

"Don't doubt yourself Thomas, because if you do then you'll be convinced you're going to lose."

Thomas stared at the wall where the race finished, a solid 800 meters of absolute torture. How was he going to beat Minho in that? He had no idea. Speaking of Minho, he arrived at the starting area and was standing beside Thomas. 

"You do know that in order to be a runner you have to maintain a good pace, right Thomas?" 

Thomas only nodded. Not satisfied with his reply, Minho kept talking. "It doesn't matter if you make it to the finish line before I do, I don't care about that one bit—none of us do. As long as you maintain a good pace and don't gas out quickly, then I'll pick you."

"Why does it matter?" Thomas asked.

"The maze is more than 15 miles long, and the walls are constantly changing, so you can't falter your navigation and get lost."

Their conversation had stopped when Alby walked up to them, standing just 5 feet in front. He held a white flag with a green print on it. The letters spelled: "W.C.K.D PROPERTY". Both Minho and Thomas got into a starting position: crouched down and ready to run. 

Thomas could feel the nerves overwhelming his body, making his arms feel numb and his face grow hot. As soon as Alby's flag went down, he was off, running with everything he had. Minho was next to him, lagging a bit behind but enough to not be considered the loser. The boys ran for what seemed like forever, the walls of the Glade seeming farther each step. 

Suddenly, a loud gun exploded, startling everyone. Thomas skidded to a stop, catching himself before he fell face first into the dirt. He looked to the direction of the blow and saw a group of birds escaping from the Deadheads. 

"HELP!"

Minho had stopped his running and was now standing behind Thomas. "Holy shit—" Minho said, suddenly very worried. 

"What Minho?" Thomas asked. His stomach dropped when he heard the next words.

"It's Chuck—Ben's trying to throw him into the maze!" 

Thomas took off sprinting towards the forest without a second thought. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his feet striking the ground and those muscluar arms pumping up and down. Somehow, this felt natural. Like he was meant to run—not on a daily basis, but to discover. He maneuvered his way through the thick forest, taking the edge since Newt said it was the easiest.

Newt.

Why was he thinking of him now? 

Thomas got to the clearing where the gun was shot and saw Chuck wrapped in rope and Ben trying to drag him into the maze. "You little shit, let go of him!" Thomas screamed. He ran up to Ben and threw his body onto the boy. They both fell to the ground in a heap and rolled around in the dirt, battling for who would be on top.

In the end it was Ben, who was although very skinny looking but could actually throw a mean ass punch. Thomas had gotten kneed in the balls at least three times and maybe 10 swings to the face and ribs. He tried to deliver his own set of violence, but they were weak and his body was tired from the fighting.

"Damn you Thomas!" Ben screamed in his face. "Damn you damn you, damn you!" He threw one last punch before getting off the battered boy. 

Thomas's face hurt like hell, to say the least. He was pretty sure his nose was broken and there would maybe be 20 bruises all over his body by tomorrow. Although his vision was hazy, he saw Ben trying to pick Chuck up, failing because of his size. Thomas couldn't just lay there limp and watch Ben throw the kid into the maze, he just couldn't.

He was going to take down this jackass no matter what. So with a lot of struggling and screaming in pain limbs, Thomas got up and was now standing behind Ben. Somehow, the boy didn't notice all the noise that Thomas made when he tried to get up—either deaf as hell or he just didn't care.

"It was always you." Ben said.

That stopped all movement in Thomas's body right away. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Ben stared at Chuck, and Thomas could hear small sobs escape him. "When I went through The Changing, I saw you. I saw my friends in these weird containers filled with water. They screamed and banged on the glass, pleading to be let go. The machine was almost drowning them. And you know what I saw out of the entire thing?"

"What?" Thomas replied, curious and a bit disturbed by Ben's dream. He had no clue if this Shank was making it all up or if this was actually legit, but he needed answers. Answers for this god awful maze they were sent into.

"You were just watching us, but you didn't look happy. No—you looked devastated. It was as if you couldn't stand watching us getting sent into the maze and seeing people die."

Thomas...worked for the creators? The same people who sent him down here, the same workers who let people be killed. But how? How did he just go through this experiment and suddenly be put here himself?

"Ben..." Someone said. It was Chuck, who looked like he'd just gotten beat the living hell out of. "Enough.."

Now Thomas was confused. Chuck wasn't even getting a beating and he was saying "Enough"? Was there a code Thomas wasn't aware of? 

Ben groaned, seemingly pissed off. "I was having so much fun though! He whined. 

Chuck sat up and began untying himself, and when he was done he went up to Thomas and slapped him on the shoulder. "Well that was definitely a show. You sure you're not too hurt mate?"

Thomas stood there, baffled. Was this a game or were they actually being serious? "Wait—was this all just a test? To see what role I'd have?" He exclaimed. None of this made sense—this maze didn't make sense. 

"Sorry Thomas, it was the only way.." Chuck said, looking down on the ground with a defeated expression.

Damn, Thomas thought. he'd been lied to more than three times in less than a day. What was up with everyone? He point at Ben and shouted, "You know what? Fuck you." Then he walked away, not turning back to look at the clearly upset boys until he went back to the Bunker.

This was all so damn stupid. Actually no—stupid couldn't even reach Thomas's words of anger. Every single thing he did was just a test, just so he could get a role, just so he could prove his worth. Had the hunt not been enough?

Newt was found walking towards Thomas with a basket in his arms. He seemed content, clearly he didn't know what happened. "What took you so bloody long Tommy?"

"Fuck you too, Newt."  Thomas spat. He didn't mean to say that to the boy, but after all the pent up anger he just couldn't keep it contained.

Newt actually looked surprised at the comment rather than hurt. Immediately he dropped his things and stopped Thomas from walking any further. "Mate, I don't know what happened back in the woods, but that doesn't excuse you from taking your anger out on people who have nothing to do with it." The look is his eyes was wild, like he was ready to kick Thomas right in the balls.

"You actually think I care? This whole place is fucked up and you know it!" Thomas replied, now just as angry as Newt. "I haven't even been here for 3 days and I've already received a beating for no reason!"

"Well boohoo Thomas!" Newt replied back, his voice raising higher and higher into a yell. "Some of us have had it worse than you!"

"Oh so now you understand?" 

"I absolutely do!"

Thomas slammed Newt into a tree and held him by the collar of his shirt. "Then what's your story, huh? I guess we all have something we don't want people to know about. So what made you so happy and shitting rainbows?"

Newt pushed Thomas away from him before slapping him across the face. "I tried to bloody kill myself, that's what! Jumped right off one of those damn cliffs in the maze!" He screamed in the brunette's face. That made both of them silent, the other sound being heavy breathing from them.

"You—" Thomas couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "You tried to kill yourself? Why?" There was absolutely no way he was hearing this right.

"Cause you get bloody tired Thomas! That's why! It gets to a point where you just can't take it anymore!" A tear had slipped from Newt, and for some unknown reason Thomas reached his hand up and swiped away the fallen tear. He didn't know why he did it, but it felt wrong to hear his friend talk about his problems and cry.

"Were you...scared? When you...jumped?" Thomas carefully asked. 

"No. I felt at peace when I jumped." Newt answered. "I did feel scared when I realized I survived the fall and night was closing in." 

Thomas stared at Newt for what felt like forever. Then out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist and pulled him in tight. Thomas hugged Newt like his life depended on it. How could he have been so mean to the boy? He had no idea what newt was going through, and the entire time he decided to act like a total dick to him.

"I'm so sorry Newt. I shouldn't have been so rude to you. I should have listened."

Newt wrapped his arms around Thomas' neck and hugged him just as tightly. They stayed like that for a while, neither wanting to let go. It seemed like they both needed the comfort, this change of forgetting your memories and not knowing who you are was really taking a toll.

"Newt?" Thomas asked, voice a little muffled from his face being buried in Newt's neck. 

"Yes Tommy?" Newt replied, voice soft and calm.

"Will you ever go down that path again?"

"Hopefully not, I'm kind of enjoying my life right now."

Thomas laughed at Newt's reply, but didn't push it any further. He was happy Newt wasn't back at that spot, because if he was then Thomas wouldn't know what to do. So he savored this moment with Newt, memorized his cinnamon and ginger scent.

...

Thomas and his friends made it to Crank Palace just before dawn, which meant they had time to get some rest. The plan was to rest until 8 am and then get Newt and go home. Thomas didn't want that though—his heart begged him to go into that palace and talk to Newt, no matter the condition he was in. 

Minho had to physically hold him back from running into the building, whispering things like: "Quit it shuck face better I feed you to the Grievers!". It was a bit childish, but everyone knew that those memories of fighting in the maze haunted them all. 

"He's in there Minho." Thomas spoke, voice breaking. "He's actually in there—I can go see him—I can talk to him!"

Everyone looked hurt by Thomas' words, him not understanding how it affects them all. "Listen Thomas," Brenda began, "I know you want to see Newt, we all do, but right now we're all tired and in need of sleep. So take a few hours to get well rested and then we'll go see Newt in the morning, okay?"

Thomas got out of Minho's grasp with a small grumble of protest before he sat down on the ground. "Fine, but we're entering at first light."

He and his friends got settled in their spots, laying down in a small dog-like pile. It wasn't even 10 minutes before a majority of them fell asleep—Thomas himself. 

The night was still young, but Thomas couldn't help but stir in his sleep, his mind recollecting memories of him and Newt together. At first it was just a normal dream of him and Newt in The Glade, talking about the most random things. Then it was in the alleyway where they had their last interaction. A thousand voices howled in his head, mostly blaming him for Newt's "death".

What would have happened if Thomas gave Newt the cure before it was too late? Would they still be on this mission looking for possible survivors? How close would Thomas and Newt be after their kiss? Would Newt even be the same? It was as if an alarm was ringing in Thomas's mind, telling him he had to get up this second. Within an instant, Thomas was awake and extremely nervous. 

Night was still going so that meant everyone was still asleep. The brunette got up to his feet, being careful not to wake anyone else. He had to see Newt now, no matter the time. So he grabbed all the things that were Newt's, including the picture they took in the Scorch. He also put on Newt's jacket, hoping it would calm him. It did, thankfully. The last thing he grabbed was the serum, which was in a small syringe.

He wrote a small note and stuffed it in Minho's hand, taking one last look around to see if he forgot anything. Once he was settled, he took off running to the palace. 

Needless to say, the place was actually hell. Almost every Crank was locked up, the ones that weren't full Crank yet just hanging around the cells. Still no sign of Newt, which kind of disappointed Thomas. He still continued on, sneaking through the hallways and rooms. It was surprising how little immunes were left guarding the place. There were probably only 20 out of 200 people in the entire building, some not even doing their duty.

It didn't take long for Thomas to find Newt, who was locked up farther than the rest of the Cranks. He looked worse than the last time Thomas saw him, his face now covered in black veins and his eyes a void of darkness. The once blonde hair was now almost brown, and his once clean pale skin now covered in dirt and blood. He looked angrier too, bloodthirsty and violent.

Thomas didn't know how to react when he found Newt. He wanted to scream at the blonde, telling him how much he hated Newt—but he also wanted to pull the boy into his arms and never let him go. His heart broke at the sight of Newt's condition. 

He immediately ran to Newt and dropped down on his knees, grabbing onto the cell bars and gripping them. "Newt!" he exclaimed. "Newt, hey it's me: Thomas."

The blonde didn't reply, only staring at the wall with a look of anger and agony in his features. He sat against the dirty wall, legs splayed out in front of him. There was something in his hands, but Thomas couldn't make out what it was. 

"Newt please." Thomas's voice broke while asking him that. He wanted Newt to answer him—even if it was a small hum, he'd still be bursting with joy. "I need you to come back to me Newt." Thomas tried again. 

When Newt didn't answer, Thomas got up and punched the keypad. The cell door was unlocked and Thomas walked inside. This was the first ounce of emotion that Newt showed towards Thomas. He got up and lunged at Thomas, knocking them both to the ground. 

"Newt stop!" Thomas screamed. He rolled around with Newt, trying hard not to get bitten. 

The Crank didn't stop at that though. He tried to pin Thomas, but the brunette quickly pushed him away. They eventually stood in front of each other, both breathing heavily from their fight. 

"I don't want to fight you Newt." Thomas stated. He looked down at Newt's hand and noticed he was still holding the object from before. 

Newt lunged at the boy, but Thomas quickly punched him across the face, sending him back. The Crank was taken back by the movement, stumbling away from Thomas. He took the opportunity to grab Newt and wrap his arms around the boy, holding him close. Newt tried to fight back, even biting Thomas in the shoulder. The brunette had to bite back a scream of pain at the feeling of teeth digging into his skin.

"Newt, I need you to come back to us—to me." Thomas exclaimed. He had his arms wrapped around Newt's waist, squeezing him tight. "I don't care how many bites I get, or how long I have to stay here—I will stay here forever if I have to—but I am taking you back."

Something flashed in Newt's eyes—almost realization. It was a moment of truth, a moment of hope. It spread relief through Thomas's body. His friend was still there.

"Tommy." Newt croaked out. His voice was raspy, probably from not being used for 8 months.

Thomas pulled back, still holding Newt by the waist, but so he could see the boy's face. "Newt? Please, please come back to me. I know you're there." 

Newt spoke again, this time more lively. "Please..go." He suddenly collapsed, but was caught by Thomas. 

The leader held him in his lap, rocking him slowly. "No Newt, no! I know you're not gone, you're still Newt." He kissed the blonde's forehead, a tear escaping him. "You're still mine."

Something seemed to break inside Newt, tears bursting from his eyes and his voice breaking. "No! Go away!" he screamed. Despite yelling this in Thomas's face, he held onto the boy like his life depended on it.

"I need you, Newt. You're all I have." Thomas whispered into the boy's neck. He hugged Newt for what felt like forever. Time must've stopped right then and there because when Thomas pulled back to look Newt in the eyes, he didn't see black. He saw amber with flecks of green and yellow.

For a moment, there wasn't any Crank in Newt, just himself.

Their moment didn't last long because Newt sat up—his hand still intertwined with Thomas's. With a trembling voice he spoke, "I know you want me to come back, but I can't. I belong here now."

Thomas couldn't help but shake his head no. "I'm not letting you rot away in this damn cell! You can come back to Safe Haven with me and we can live a normal life!" he replied.

Newt backed away from Thomas, standing up and looking down at the boy. Thomas got up as well, now leveled with Newt—except a little taller than the blonde. "I don't want a normal life." Newt stated. He looked down, guilty, almost as if he wanted to say something else.

"But..?" Thomas asked.

"But I'm not me anymore. I'm just a lousy Crank who happens to be able to think and speak—"

"And experience emotions." Thomas interrupted. He placed his hands on Newt's face and pressed their foreheads together. "My path is where your path is, Newt. I'm not changing that."

Newt smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was dark and distrustful. "Good, because I'm not taking you down that path."

Thomas pulled back and looked at Newt, now extremely confused. "Newt," he began, "what are you talking about..?"

"I love you, I always have." Newt replied. He brought his hand up—the one holding the small object—holding a remote of some kind. There was a guilt painted across his face, like he regretted not doing this sooner. "I'm going to blow this entire place up, and you're going to take off running back to the Berg, back to your friends." He stated.

Thomas's heart stopped beating right then and there, his blood going cold and the hairs on his arms and neck standing. "Newt no—don't you dare push that button!" He exclaimed.

They were both crying now, neither making a move to stop each other. Both just stood there for a long time.

For a moment, there wasn't any Crank in Newt, just himself.

"Maybe I'll see you in another life Tommy, but for now this is goodbye." Newt whispered. 

Just as Newt pressed the button on the remote, Thomas lunged at his, reaching his hand out to touch the boy. The whole palace shook as it exploded in various areas, including Newt's cell.

Newt gave Thomas a loving smile and said: "I'm glad I met you, Tommy."

That was the last words he spoke before the floor collapsed, both Newt and Thomas falling in the air. Thomas reached out to interlock their hands, but suddenly his vision began to grow blurry.

The last thing he saw was a sad smile on Newt's face, now fully out of the Crank effect—now he was Newt. 

But Thomas couldn't save him now. He was already dying himself.