Her || The Maze Runner

Thirty

There were more voices- voices she knew well. Newt and Thomas were talking to each other, their voices were significantly distinguishable. Was this another memory? Mara still couldn't tell the difference between being awake and living a memory. Would she ever wake again?

"Well, just keep bloody thinking- don't lose it. Concentrate."

Mara tried to open her eyes to see the boy belonging to the voice, and it seemed to work despite the heavy movement of her eyelids. Mara's vision was starting to come back to her, yet it was still blurry and hard to see. Newt was sitting on her bed, looking over to Tommy who was sitting on a second bed. He hadn't noticed Mara's eyes were open.

Was she alive? Was she really awake with Newt sitting next to her? She had to be, she was lying in her bed in the Glade, she was in the Homestead and she was awake.

"I'm trying so shut up." Thomas sighed, Newt kept his eyes fixed on the boy.

That was when Mara knew she was back. A smile crept upon her face, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Newt was there, and she was grateful for that. But she was glad for the memory she had of their kiss. Mara knew she loved him and the memory had reminded her.

Mara held her hand to Newt and gently squeezed his hand. He jumped in shock and took a few seconds to realise what was going on. Newt smiled, not being able to contain his joy.

"Mar-" Newt started but Mara interrupted him. She drew him closer and smashed her lips into his, erupting into chaotic rush of emotions and relief. His lips were the way they had felt before; homely and familar. It was the perfect greeting into a world full of madness.

Their lips moved in time and kept in rhythm with each other. Mara could feel a smile forming against Newt's lips, it was the best memory she had received in the Glade and it was something she was never going to forget. Newt's hands cupped around Mara's face, pulling her up into a sitting position.

"Mara." Newt chuckled in disbelief as he continued to kiss her. He left one last lingering kiss before their lips parted way. Mara's eyes zipped open and locked onto his brown ones. "Bloody hell, I missed you so much love."

"I've missed you too Newtie." Mara smiled, but it didn't last long.

A clash sounded to their right, grabbing both Newt and Mara's attention. Thomas was jumping around in shock and awe. He had knocked his chair backwards and was spinning around in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Newt asked, standing to face Thomas who was still in shock. "Did you remember something?" Mara tried to stand but Newt pushed her back into bed. "You're not going nowhere. Need your rest."

"But-" It was no use, Newt's attention was directly to Thomas.

"I..." Thomas was dumbfounded, but he sat back down and started to stare at something in the distance that Mara couldn't quite see. She pushed herself onto her elbows only to see the other girl- the girl from the box- was lying in front of him. "Newt, did you just say something before I stood up?"

"Not to you, no." 

"What do you mean not to-" Thomas began, but he stopped when he noticed Mara. How hadn't he noticed her lying there before? "Mara? You're awake? But I thought..."

"Did you hear something Tommy?" Mara asked, wanting him to continue with what he was talking about instead of staring at her. Had he remembered something about the girl lying there? If so, what had he remembered?

"I... I swear I heard a name. Teresa." 

"Teresa? No, I didn't hear that." Newt looked to Mara, who shook her head. Now that Thomas had said her name, she remembered it. She remembered Teresa's name from her memories. "Must've sprung loose from your bloody memory blocks! That's her name, Tommy. Teresa. It has to be her name."

Newt walked over to the girl and the two continued to talk. Mara attempted to get out of bed. She expected to feel excruciating pain from her wound, but she felt nothing. In confusion she lifted the bottom of her top to reveal a stitched up scar running across her stomach.

"Did you stitch my stomach up?" She asked and Newt turned back to her with a confused look on his face.

"We did, but it didn't look like that."

Behind Newt's pondering Thomas was stumbling out of the doorway and out of sight. Newt turned just in time to see Thomas leaving with his hands pressed against his ears. Just before Newt could run after him Mara reached him and pulled him back.

"Leave him, Newt. He'll tell you what's going on when he's ready. Somethin' just spooked him." Mara told him.

"How are you standing? Ain't it bloody painful?"

"Actually, I can't feel anything. Don't ask how, because I don't know. But it may be something to do with W.I.C.K.E.D. I almost saw them Newt. They were talking about me but I couldn't see them. I couldn't open my eyes. They said something about me potentially being a final candidate. And then I had another memory. You were there, and I met my brother Andy. He was sweet and caring. I might not remember him but I miss him." Mara explained with a smile, she wanted to see her brother but she didn't want him in the Glade. "There was one more thing. I think I'm ill. Not ill like a cold or chicken pox, but something else. I just don't know what."

"Maybe it's fake. Or maybe you got over it." Newt suggested, but by the look on his face he didn't believe what he was saying. He coughed before changing the subject. "I guess you wanna catch up with the times? After Ben's Banishing we spent a bit of time tryna find out who stabbed you with that needle, but we were hoping you would know."

"I didn't see who it was." Mara sighed. She had hoped they had figured out which Glader had stabbed her. "All I saw was a gigantic needle hanging from my arm."

"Damn." Newt sighed. "We kept you in the Homestead for a bit. Next day Alby and Minho went into the Maze to bring back that dead Griever the shank told us about. Most of us spent our time waitin' for them to get back, so no one was watching you. When Clint came to check on you, you were gone. Couldn't put the puzzle together or find you. Alby and Minho were just outside the Doors when they were about to close, and Tommy the bloody shank went and got himself trapped out there too."

"He just... ran out there?" Mara asked, she didn't know if that was brave or stupid. He ran to his death, but he managed to survive all the same. As well as that, they had saved her... kind of.

"Yeah, stupid right? Course we spent the night grieving for them, and you. Then you came back with them in the mornin' and... you- you died in my arms. We were gonna bury you, but Clint said your heartbeat came back after they stitched you up, said it had been beating the entire time." Newt explained, a lump catching in his throat.

"So, I never died? I don't get it. I died, I swear I died. How could I have not died?" Mara questioned, more to herself than Newt. Her head was hurting from the confusion. She had died, hadn't she? Mara tried to shake off the thoughts. "What else happened?"

"Well, Alby went through the Changing after Tommy and Minho brought him back. We had a Gatherin' and ended up deciding to give Tommy a night in the Slammer as punishment and now he's a Runner, but not everyone was exactly chirpy 'bout that. Gally went crazy, ended up stormin' out into the Maze and we haven't seen him since. Not long after Alby was askin' for you and Tommy, but when we got him talkin' he went all psycho and tried to kill himself. I swear it wasn't him, it was like that time with Gally and your mum. And now we're here. Wanted Tommy to get a better look at the girl to see if he knew her."

Everything Newt had told her was a lot to take in at one point in time. Mara took her time to think of what she wanted to say next, but she had so many questions she didn't know where to begin. She knew she still wanted to be a Runner despite everything but she didn't know why. After everything that had happened, why did she still want to go back into the Maze? Even if she did ask Newt wouldn't let her, not after that.

"Did Alby say anything specific? Anything at all?" Mara asked, last time someone had been controlled it had been her mum doing the controlling. For all they knew it could have been her again. 

"He said to protect the maps in our map room." Newt shrugged in confusion. "That's enough explaining for today. I think we need to give you a rest. Come on, I'm sure lots of Gladers will want to see your shining face again."