centre | newtmas au

10

DISCLAIMER : these characters and the core plot, i didn't create!

Thomas

Thomas steps into the room and closes the door behind him, acting oblivious to what he had just heard. His stomach has flipped with anxiety and he feels light headed. He worries. For his involvement in WCKD, He worries for his friends, for Newt. He hope this meeting will feed his curiosity and calm him. If not, he knows this will be on his mind always.

He sits down silently in an empty chair at the opposite end of the table from Janson. He can barely stomach looking at his face this morning. There is another knock on the door, and Teresa enters. Today she is wearing dark denim jeans and a button up shirt and white plimsoles. Their ages are so similar but she manages to look 10 times maturer than him. Thomas doesn't know if it's the way she dresses or the way she holds herself, but he feels like a child next to her. She sits down beside him and whispers "Hi Tom." He nods in her direction. She frowns. He's obviously not doing a great job at hiding his anxiety.

"This meeting is your most important yet, and so we apologise for dropping it on you on such short notice." Ms Paige says, with her signature soft eyes and a weak smile in Thomas' direction. "You both are our prime resources for research, and your young and truly magnificent minds will lead the movement we have planned. You are more important to WCKD than you are aware." Janson adds, his accent and his words drilling into Thomas' mind.

'I'm sick of hearing his voice' Thomas says to Teresa in his mind.

'Tell me about it...' Teresa replies. Thomas can hear her tiredness in those 4 words. He disconnects from her and raises his hand.

"Yes Thomas?" Janson says, smirking.

"What is this movement you have planned?"

Janson makes quick eye contact with Ms Paige, probably with the hope Thomas and Teresa wont notice. Ms Paige nods.

Janson clicks a button on the remote in his hand and a screen jumps up into the centre of the table. There is a map, of what looks like... Thomas freezes. "A maze" Teresa says, looking up to glare at Janson. "How does this have any correlation with finding a cure?"

"You kids are impatient today." Janson adds with a laugh. Teresa rolls her eyes.

"Phase one. The maze trials." Ms Paige says, standing up.

"We chose you both for a reason. You are both immune to the virus. Those injections you had at school Thomas and Teresa, the serum that was given to you here, you showed no reaction. We chose you, because we need young immunes like you. There are others, but for your group, we chose you. You are group A. All your friends will be sent up with memories wiped. We want to study the brains of the young immunes in a setting where they must work for their survival and then we can identify what exactly is creating their immunity, bringing us closer to a cure. We would send up a boy monthly. We finalised the order just this week, and we would like to reveal it to you."

Thomas feels sick. Newt, his memory gone. Fry, Winston, Jeff, Chuck.

"But, this won't be for a very long time. We need you two to develop the maze, build it, make it what it is. You will be the creators." Janson says, scraping his hand through his hair.

"This is all strictly confidential too, if we discover you have shared this information with any of your friends, you and them will face consequences."

Thomas feels tears sting his eyes. He looks at his hands. He can't do that. Not to his friends.

"No." Thomas says, allowing the anger to bubble, and allowing the tears to trickle down his face.

"Thomas..." Teresa says, placing her hand on his arm. "Not here."

"Not here?" Thomas pushes back his chair and stands up swiftly pushing Teresa away. "These are my friends, the only thing close to a family that I have. And you're telling me to create a form of hell for them, to wipe their memories and never see them as the people I love, ever again?"

"Thomas, calm down." Ms Paige says approaching him a hand raised.

"If that's why I'm here, if thats what you're doing to people, I don't want a part of it."

Thomas pulls open the door and sprints down the hallway towards his room, loud sobs escaping his mouth. He is a few doors from his room, when he realises he'd rather not sit alone in the dark confinement of his room. He slides down the wall and sits, burying his head in this knees.

"Tommy?" He lifts his head and looks at Newt approaching him.

"Newt it's fine, I'm fine."

"Might be my eyesight, but you don't look so fine to me Tommy. What did that bloody meeting do to ya, huh?"

Thomas exhales and tries to unscramble the words in his head but it makes him realise how painful it is to think about. He begins to cry again. Newt frowns.

"Thomas. You can talk to me." Newt says, grabbing Thomas' arms, reassuring him.
"I can't."

Newt shakes his head. "Come here." Newt says hugging Thomas briefly but tightly and safely. Thomas leans into him for a minute. "Thank you Newt, seriously. I'll tell you when the time is right."

"It's alright Tommy. Go get some rest, looks like you need it."

Thomas stands and wipes his eyes, and begins to walk towards his room a few doors down. He's about to push open the door but instead turns.

"Newt?"

Newt spins on his heel. "Yeah Tommy?"

"Right now, you're my family, so thank you."

"You're mine too Tommy, I appreciate it. I bloody do. Have a good power nap."

Thomas laughs, scans in and pushes open his door and almost falls into bed. He ensures his door is locked and closes his eyes and shuts off his brain as best he can and falls asleep.

He is awoken after what feels like an hour, by hurried knocking at his door.

"Tom. HELLO?" It's Teresa.

He hurriedly stands and opens the door for her and she walks in with a sigh, clutching a piece of paper in her hand.

"Thank god. I was worried. I don't think you'll be overly enthusiastic about what I'm about to show you, but I thought you should know."

"Go on..." Thomas says, hesitantly.

"It's the order of your friends being sent up for the..." She inhales deeply. "The trials."

Thomas snatches the paper out of Teresa's hand. He scans the list, he notices Frypans name in the middle, with Chucks last. He's terrified to look at the top of the list. Teresa avoids his eyes.

Second on the list, it reads 'Subject A5, Newt'

Second. Newt is the second person to be sent into the maze, and the first of his friends that he will lose. Thomas feels his heart sink. He passes the paper back to Teresa.

"Tom, I'm so s-"

"It's fine. You should go."

Teresa nods. "Take care." The door closes quietly behind her.

Thomas leans back into his pillow, shuts off the lights and tries to quieten his brain, again.

whoops. this made me so sad. uH newt deserved so much :(

love you <3 thank you for almost 600!! im away on holiday for the next two weeks, most likely without wifi or much service but i'll be doing a lot of writing even if i dont post it. have a great summer !!!

(not edited <3)