Bound | Newt Love Story

9 | Ben

Late afternoon has to be my absolute favorite time of day. I usually get back from running pretty early. In Newt's words, "I'm just so fast, it doesn't take me as long as the others." That can be useful but it can also be a curse. I get back and Newt and everyone else is still working. No one to talk to. Sometimes I go hang out in the kitchen with Fry and sit on top of the counters, watching him cook. He doesn't let me near the food, which is understandable. But we talk and he's gotten to be one of my best friends. Other times I follow Newt around and help him in the Gardens or what not. Which is exactly what I'm doing today. Instead, I have company. Thomas is "trying out" the jobs, I guess you could say. He sometimes asks me about being a runner and what the Maze is actually like on the other side. Other times, he's running errands for Newt. 

"Thomas," Newt's voice comes from one of the crops. "will you go dig us up some more fertilizer?" Newt asks, throwing the bucket over towards Thomas. 

"Yeah." Thomas answers, picking up the bucket. "But I don't know where to go."

Newt's head pops out from behind the crops, his eyes squinted. Before he could go into a long speech about where to find the fertilizer, I interject. "I'll just go with him."  I say.

Newt smiles and nods over to me. I grab the bucket from Thomas and turn around, heading for the Deadheads. I feel Thomas' presence right behind me as I walk. 

My muscles seem to relax as I enter the Deadheads.  Leaves crunch underfoot and a light breeze tickles the back of my neck. I carefully avoid the area of the graves as I make my way further into the darker area of the woods. Here the shadows seem to stretch and distort and the bright sky is almost invisible through the thick trees. This section of the maze is eerily quiet, all sounds from the center are muffled and only the loudest of sounds make it through. There's an uncomfortable prickle on the back of my neck and I rub at it uncomfortably, trying to sort out what it is that feels wrong. I lean down into the dirt, Thomas following my moves and start shoveling into the soil, bringing some of it into the bucket. 

"Ah!" I yell out as I visibly jump.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asks. He follows me gaze and it lands on Ben, who has appeared out of nowhere.

"Ben? What're you doing out here, you scared me." I laugh, brushing it off. Ben just stares, his eyes unclear as they focus on thin air. 

"Ben?" I ask again. It's like he's in a different place. His eyes land on me and then they switch over to Thomas. 

"You!" Ben yells out, lunging at Thomas.

Luckily I see it coming and grab Thomas' shirt, yanking him out of the way just in time. I scramble to my feet, pulling a very shocked Thomas up with me. Ben runs after us, I push Thomas in front of me, seeing as I'm a runner and so I can run faster. Ben careens after Thomas but I stay protectively behind him, trying to fend off Ben. Ben grabs out for me and bashes my elbow against a tree. It was a clumsy move but I didn't recover fast enough. Ben's body slams into my back and I go tumbling completely out of control, crashing into Thomas. 

"Help!" I scream out, grabbing onto Thomas' shirt and pulling myself up. "Run Thomas! Go!" Thomas takes off again. 

"Help us!" Thomas yells out panicky. 

The trees are getting sparser, meaning we're nearly at the edge of the Deadheads. Ben's hot on my heels. Even though I'm a  good runner, so is he. A better one than I initially thought. Thomas makes it through, running down the hill yelling and screaming for help. I break through the trees, but I'm not fast enough. Ben tackles me to the ground. I shove him off with all my power and jump up. The Gladers are running but they're not here yet. 

"Why would you protect him?" Ben yells out, throwing a punch at me. It hits me in the jaw, sending immediate pain to radiate through my face. 

"He's my friend!" I yell out, kneeing him in the groin. Ben doubles over in pain but quickly recovers, grabbing my body and slamming me into a tree. His hands wrap around my neck tightly, his face inches away from mine. 

"He did this." Ben yells, tightening his grip on my neck. I feel my airways cutting off and gasp out for air. "He did this to us." He repeats. "Why would you protect him?" Ben begins slamming my head against the tree. I feel as if I'm going to pass out and tears start streaming down my face at the heavy impact I feel with every blow Ben gives me. 

I see through my teary eyes, Alby comes running up with a piece of wood in his grasp. Alby cracks the wood upside Ben's head, knocking him down. Alby climbs on top of him, holding him down. Newt completely ignores Ben and runs straight over to me. 

"Hey, Princess no crying. You're okay." He wipes the tears from my face and examines my neck. "You're bruising up a bit, but you're gonna be okay."

I let out a loud sob and throw my hands around Newt, melting into him. Newt embraces me, holding me strongly and protectively. I bury my tear streamed face into his neck, my crying easing up as I relax in his arms. He has that kind of hold on me. He can calm me down within seconds, no matter if I had just had a near-death experience or not. 

"It's okay, B." Newt whispers, running his hands down my back. "It's okay. You're okay."

I open my eyes and look over at Alby and Gally and the rest of the Gladers who are crouched over Ben, still holding him down.

"Lift his shirt." Alby demands. 

"No, no. Please." Ben begs.

Gally throws his shirt up and gasps come from the crowd. "He's been stung." Gally explains. He turns to Alby. "In the middle of the day?"

"Help me, please." Ben begs again.

Alby stands, "Put him in the Pit."

"No!" Ben shouts. 

"Everyone help, come on!" Gally yells. Multiple guys jump forward, helping Gally lift up Ben. Newt doesn't move, though, he continues to hold me tight and I just listen to his heartbeat...trying to slow mine down.