RECKLESS [The Maze Runner || Newt || Book 1]

13 - No hope

One year later

Clara shifted uncomfortably in her bed, the old wood creaking underneath her, unable to fall asleep. A year had passed since what happened in the maze, but she still got nightmares almost every night. She saw images of the creatures that they'd named Grievers at some point, flashes of Freddy being stabbed by the Griever needle, of the puddle of blood left behind by his body.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the room. The faint creaking of the door to the homestead being opened and closed filled her ears, and she wondered who would still be awake this late. Eager to feed her curiosity she got out of bed, pulling on an old jacket before she walked out of her room and down the stairs, quietly opening and closing the door of the homestead and stepping outside. 

Looking around to see who was still awake, her eyes stopped at the blonde boy sitting at one of the tables with his back to her. She froze for a moment, unsure of whether or not to speak to him. She'd spent the last year ignoring his every attempt at an apology and eventually, he'd given up trying. She heard a soft sniffle from his direction and her sense of sympathy took over as she awkwardly walked toward him,

"Newt?"

"What? Bored of ignoring me already? Coming to insult me now?" He spat. Clara tried not to be hurt by his bluntness, realizing that she only had herself to blame, but it still stung.

"No, I- I just..." She trailed off, not really sure what she wanted to say,

"Spit it out Clara or quit wasting my time."

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, that's bloody rich. Spend a year ignoring me and then pretend to care about me, that's a cruel joke."

"I- I wasn't trying to be cruel. I just wanted to know if something was wrong. I'll just – I'll leave you alone, sorry."

"You wanna know what's wrong Clara? What's wrong is that we're fucking trapped here!" He said, turning around to face her. She noticed the dark bags under his eyes which were now red and puffy from crying,

"What are you talking about?"

"This maze? There's no bloody way out of it, we just finished mapping the entire thing today. There's fucking nothing. No doors, no secret passages, no tunnels. Zero, zip, nada. We're stuck in this bloody place and there's nothing that anyone can do about it! Of course, you wouldn't care, the only thing you've ever cared about is yourself!"

"Newt I- "

"Goodnight Clara. Hope you enjoy the rest of your life trapped inside this shithole." He hissed before standing up and walking back into the homestead. Clara scoffed and made her way to the kitchen, drinking a glass of water before going back to her bed. Trying desperately not to let Newt's words mark her brain.

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She woke up again before the sun had risen, still feeling exhausted. She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the day, having a quick shower and tying her hair into a messy braid. After she got ready, she made her way towards the back room of the homestead to start prepping the medical room for the day. 

Since she was kicked to the Med-Jacks this had basically become her daily routine, wake up early, get ready and prepare for the day, and she hated it, it was incredibly boring compared to running. Especially since crazy injuries were pretty uncommon, somehow every day a few builders or slicers managed to injure themselves but nothing interesting. 

As she walked towards the door to the homestead, she noticed someone heading towards the West door of the maze. She squinted trying to see who it was and quickly realized it was Newt. She wondered why he was heading into the maze so early, let alone by himself but decided she just didn't care, especially after his outburst at her the night before, and she entered the homestead, setting up the medical room for the day.