Different | The Maze Runner / Newt ¹ ✓

{3.8}

Disclaimer:

Minho: It's a bird!

Newt: It's a plane!

Gally: It's my eyebrows!

-✼-

"Float cat?" Newt asked after we had successfully put together two words. "Doesn't sound like a bloody rescue code to me."

"We just need to keep working," Thomas asserted with determination evident on his face. Now that we had created actual words, he was starting to get more and more into it.

About a minute later, it was apparent that the second word was CATCH. FLOAT and CATCH weren't exactly helpful phrases, but I was willing to wait to see the outcome.

"Definitely not a coincidence," Minho commented. His eyes scanned the words, eyebrows pinched as the gears in his head turned. 

"Definitely not," Thomas agreed, clearly excited that the Keeper was starting to warm up to the idea.

Teresa swung her arm back toward the full storage closet. "We need to go through all of them— all those boxes in there."

"Yeah." Thomas nodded. "Let's get on it."

"We can't help," Minho informed. All of us glared at him, giving him hard looks that he returned. "At least not me, Thomas, and Dylan here. We need to get the Runners out in the Maze."

"What?" Thomas asked incredulously, his eyebrows raising along with his voice. "This is way more important!"

"Minho, you've been waiting for another clue for months," I reminded him sternly. I gestured to the Maps with an angry look on my face. "Now you've got one! And you want us to leave? Make up your mind!"

Minho rounded on me, eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "We can't risk a day out there. Not now."

"It's the same thing every day," I pressed. "What else could you possibly find?"

Minho's face was almost red with fury, his jaw set tightly and fists clenched. He was shaking. "One more disrespectful word from you and I'll kick you off to become a Slopper."

"Go ahead!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation. I was tired of the fact that he was starting to treat me as a lesser being. I missed when things were so light-hearted between us; when we shared a room and were best friends.

"Fine." Minho's eyes darted around the room. They landed back on me after he had finished inspecting Newt, Thomas, and Teresa's shocked faces. "I, Minho, Keeper of the Runners, formally fire Dylan from her position that she was incredibly lucky to have." He turned toward the door, clearly not wanting to look at me. "C'mon, Thomas."

I watched, full of anger, as the Runner stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind him. Thomas shot me a sorrowful look as he followed obediently behind him like a training puppy. The door shut much more softly when he left.

I stood still for a few moments. My body felt like it had risen to a million degrees, fists sweaty and face flushed in anger. I didn't want to be a Runner in the first place, but being fired like that in front of my friends was embarrassing. I slowly relaxed my body and let out controlled breaths before turning to the remaining two.

Newt and Teresa couldn't hide the expressions of complete shock on their faces. Teresa's mouth was parted in a gape, her jaw slack and hands resting on the table that she leaned on. Newt's brown eyes were widened as far as they could go, eyebrows raised into his hair. I tried my best to ignore these features.