The Maze Runner: Newt Imagines

Seperated in the Scorch (Part 3)

You and Newt climbed out of the room you had slept in that night, and out into the tunnels. After checking left and right, you were sure there were no cranks in the tunnels with you.

"Ok come on," you tell Newt while slinging the backpack over your shoulders, your little book of maps in your hand. Newt grunts as he climbs out of the door, and stumbles to the side. You grab onto his arm to keep him from falling, but the action had the opposite effect, because you went down with him. You landed on his chest, and you felt him groan under your weight.

"Holy crap. I am so sorry," you speak frantically while scrambling off of him. You get to your knees, and standup, reaching a hand down to the boy. He grips it, and you pull him to his feet. You see he's leaning on one leg more than the other, but you don't pay much attention to it. "You ok," you ask, making sure you didn't hurt him during the fall.

"Yep. I'm fine," he tells you while looking down, and dusting his jacket off.

"Okay now we should get moving," you tell him, putting emphasis on the word. You look down at your book, and see where you both are in the tunnels. You start walking off in one direction, not worrying about Newt following because you hear his quiet footsteps behind you. Wait why are they uneven, you ask yourself.

You slow down a little, so your walking right alongside him. Is he limping, you ask yourself, making the observation out of the corner of your eye.

"Hey are you ok," you ask him, and he can tell by your tone, your not talking about the fall.

"What do you mean," he asks, trying to stop limping, but failing miserably.

"Newt I'm not kidding," you tell him in a strict tone while stepping in front of him and facing him so he'll stop walking. "Why are you limping?" You ask in a worried tone.

"It's nothing. I promise. It happened a long time ago," he assures you, probably trying to calm you down. You give him a skeptical look, having to tilt your head up to look into his eyes. After a minute, you sigh.

"Just," you hesitate, trying to figure out the right words to say. "Just promise me you'll tell me if something's wrong," you ask in a tone that's like your trying to meet in the middle of a negotiation.

He wraps his arms around you, and it takes you a minute to return the gesture, unsure of how to deal with the situation. "Promise," he tells you, and you can tell by his tone that he's telling the truth. Why the heck were you responding to a boy like this? Your feelings were jacking with your brain, and you hated being confused.

You took a deep breath to try and collect your thoughts, and then pulled away from the hug, looking down at the ground. You clear your throat, and turn your attention back to the book in your hands, figuring out the way to Marcus's house from underneath the city.

"Ok," you say, running your finger over the map trying to see what would be the quickest way. "Looks like if we keep going in this general direction, and at the speed we're going, we'll get to Marcus's house by tomorrow."

Without waiting for an answer, you turn back around, and start walking through the tunnel, trying to calm your racing heart. He's just another boy who doesn't care about you, so why should you care about him?

You were walking for about five hours, with the only sounds being that of your feet against the concrete.

"You said you wouldn't do it again," Newt speaks up, while walking alongside you. You turn your head to look at him like he's crazy.

"What does that mean," you ask in a baffled tone.

"When you stepped in between me and that other guy. You told me 'don't expect it to happen again,' but you've saved my life twice since that happened," he tells you while keeping his head forward.