Good Grief (TMR fic)

Chapter 54

I don't actually let them take care of my shoulder in the Homestead. The cut isn't that bad, and I know I can figure out bandaging it myself. I can't stand being cooped up for one more second, not after that.

Instead I grab the supplies Clint tosses to me, and follow Newt to the window he was talking about. We climb up together, the strange grey ceiling above us keeping me from feeling too relaxed. We're still trapped.

At least out here I can breathe.

Newt helps a bit with my shoulder, and it's cleaned and cared for within a few minutes. Then we lie back on the rough wooden shingles, and try to fall asleep.

When my eyes are mostly closed, it's easier to pretend that there are stars above us.

I wake up to someone sobbing. The sound makes me flinch, and I spend one disorienting moment staring at the dimly lit grey ceiling above us before it really registers in my mind. Newt is sitting cross-legged, staring at the Doors to the Maze.

"His name is Matt," Newt says as I sit next to him, folding my arms across my knees. "The crying one. Em was his best friend. He's the one the Grievers got. Matt was the Greenie right after Em, and... they were inseparable... Both of them worked for Frypan in the kitchen."

I guess that explains why I didn't recognize either of them. The boy is still sobbing near the Box, and I can see him pressing a hand over his mouth to muffle the noise.

Newt takes a deep breath, and sighs shakily. "We need to get out. We need to end this. I... I can't just watch them die like this, Ash. I can't. I know these boys. I've known their good days and their bad days. I can tell when they're giving up, and I can tell when they're truly happy. We can't go on this way."

I stare up at him, tipping my head to see him better. "Newt?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll get us out."

Then I stand, crossing back to the corner of the roof and slipping down through the window into the Homestead. I had better go find Minho.