Chapter 11: Newt's POV

Newt glanced down at the pile of ashes around him, kicking at some burnt pieces of wood with a frown.

"Either Teresa was extremely smart burning that Griever, or really dumb," Mira said next to him, looking at the pile of ashes with a dazed look.

"I don't know how she even knew fire would bloody work on them," Newt thought out loud, glancing at the slammer where Thomas and Teresa were being held.

"The better question is, why didn't the doors close?" Mira asked, shaking her head with a huff. "First, Minho, Thomas, and Ivory find a possible way out, then Ably wakes up and gives us some weird warning about Thomas, then the doors don't open,"

"I'm not blaming Thomas for this, or Teresa for that matter too," Newt said, frowning at her.

Mira crossed her arms, glaring at Newt. "All this crap happened when those two appeared. There is no way those two aren't connected to this," Mira raised an eyebrow at him.

Newt sighed, shaking his head as he glanced around the Glade. "There is no bloody way two people could cause this much destruction." Newt waved a hand at the burnt buildings and debris scattered everywhere.

Mira blinked, glancing at the glade with what looked like sadness, but it was gone faster than it appeared, leaving Newt to wonder what she was thinking about.

"You said you wanted to protect everyone, so maybe keeping Thomas and Teresa locked up will keep them safe,"

Newt groaned, not wanting to discuss something like this right now, especially with Mira who seemed to be as stubborn as Minho, maybe more. He sent a quick glance around the glade, looking for something to change the subject.

"Where's Ivory?" He asked, not seeing her anywhere. Mira frowned at him, and Newt knew that she wasn't fooled by his subject change, but she didn't say anything as she shrugged.

"Don't know, her and Winston ran off to the woods sometime last night," Mira said absentmindedly, glancing at the woods with another shrug. "I pretty sure she's looking for a way out though,"

Newt sighed again. "I swear it seems like you two know bloody more about the maze than we do," He said. He saw Mira glare at him, and expected her to say something sarcastic or something, but was surprised when she turned away from him and quickly walked away, her whole body tensed. Newt stood there, confused, trying to figure out why she reacted the way she did. A few days ago, if he had said something like that, she would have given him a grin and would have told him something that would make him laugh. But ever since Ably had woken up, Mira and Ivory both seemed...quiet, and more serious. And if Newt was being honest to himself, it worried him, a lot.

Deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice Minho coming up next to him until he spoke right behind him.

"Teresa said Thomas is improving a bit," Minho told him, crossing his arms. Newt nodded, still trying to figure out what was wrong with Mira.

"Okay, I'll head over there in a second," He said, not seeing Minho's slightly angry glance to the woods.

"Has Ivory returned yet?" Minho asked, not taking his eyes off the woods.

"No, Mira said something about her and Winston looking for a way out," Newt told him, glancing at the woods, then to where he could still see Mira walking away.

"She looks mad," Minho commented, giving Newt a look. "How on earth did you make Mira mad?"

"I have no bloody clue," Newt confessed. "One minute we're just talking, the next she's walking away angrily. She's confusing as she can be,"

Minho snickered, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure you talking is enough to make anyone mad," He shot, slapping Newt on his shoulder.

"Haha, very funny," Newt said dryly. "Come on, let's find Ivory and Winston before Ivory causes more bloody trouble,"

After running into Ivory and Winston leaving the woods, they decided to head over to the slammer where Mira was already, seeming to have calmed down from her talk with Newt.

"He's not awake yet," Mira told them when they got closer, sounding bored. Ivory didn't say anything, just sat down next to Mira while Newt and Minho knelt in front of the door, glancing at Thomas who looked horrible.

"I thought you said he was doing better," Newt pointed out, looking at Teresa.

"He has, it was worse a few hours ago," Teresa told him, her eyebrows creased as she studied Thomas. "He's pretty weak too. I gave him the cure a couple of hours ago, but the only change was he stopped jerking around and muttering,"

Without even thinking about it, Newt glanced up at Mira, expecting a sarcastic response from her, but she stayed quiet, staring at the maze walls with a determined look in her eyes. He didn't know why, but after the past few days, with Mira and Ivory being around with all their sarcastic response, it became so familiar to Newt that it worried him when they both stayed quiet.

"Newt?"

With a jolt, he realized that Minho was talking to him, and he also became aware that he must have been staring at Mira too. Crap.

"What?" He asked, trying to ignore the glances Minho kept shooting him.

"Apparently Thomas has been muttering about "creators" or something," Mira explained, glancing at Ivory for the smallest second. "But Teresa couldn't understand what he was saying,"

Newt frowned, thinking over what was going on. He knew someone had to have made the maze, but if Thomas was actually remembering them, that might help them figure out how to get out of the maze.

Then Newt noticed Thomas stirring below them, groaning as his eyes fluttered open. He glanced around him, noticing he and Teresa were in the Slammer.

"Hey," Teresa said as Thomas sat up. "You okay?"

Thomas nodded, glancing around him as he noticed the rest above him. Newt was the first one to speak.

"What the h*** were you thinking?" Newt asked, frowning at him. But Thomas only avoided the question with another one.

"What happened?" He asked, looking at Teresa for an answer.

"Gally has taken control," Newt explained. "He said we have a choice, either join him... or be banished at sundown with you,"

Thomas scoffed in disbelief. "And the others agreed to that?" He asked, looking at the ground as Newt and Minho shared a glance, trying to answer.

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened," Ivory pipped in for them, kneeling beside Minho to look at Thomas better.

"Well, he's been right so far," Thomas muttered, furrowing his eyebrows. Newt frowned, glancing at Minho again who was also confused.

"What are you talking about?" Minho asked.

"This place... it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork,"

"They were ending them up in the maze," Newt guessed, dazed. This was big news, and he could tell by Minho's reaction, he was also shocked. But he noticed that Mira and Ivory had paled, looking nervous, or scared. But he wasn't sure if it was from the news, or from something else.

"Yeah," Thomas said, breaking Newt out of his daze. "But not all of us,"

"What do you mean?" Newt asked.

"Guys," Thomas started, glancing at all of them in turn. "I'm one of them. The people who put you here, I worked with them. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here... I was on the other side of it..." He paused, then glanced at Teresa. "So were you."

Everyone glanced at Teresa who looked shocked.

"What?"

"Teresa, we did this to them," Thomas explained, glancing above him with what looked like regret.

"No. That can't be true," Teresa said, shaking her head.

"He's not lying," Mira said, her voice sounding flat. Newt turned to look at her and saw that her face was deep in thought, and her hand was closed in a fist.

"I...I...Ugh!" Mira said shakily, looking angry at herself. "You and Thomas. You two were always their favorite. For.. for some reason."

"Wait, you remember this?" Minho asked curiously.

"Only a bit. But enough to know that whoever created this place had a certain plan for Thomas and Teresa," Mira explained, glancing at Ivory who had paled, a look of pain and fear in her eyes. Newt didn't know what was up with those two, but he would have to figure it out soon. Whatever they faced in their life couldn't be good if it left them like this when they were scared.

"She's right," Thomas said, not noticing Ivory's or Mira's reactions. "I saw it."

"Why would they send us up if we were with them?" Teresa asked him.

"Doesn't matter," Thomas told her.

"He's right," Newt cut in. "It doesn't matter. Any of it," He glanced at Minho, then back at Thomas. "Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do... right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't, Ably would still be alive," Thomas pointed out, glancing at the ground with guilt.

"Maybe," Newt almost whispered. Then he held a more firm tone. "But I know that if he was here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. So pick your a** up and finish what you started. Because if we do nothing... then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that."

Thomas thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first," He explained, glancing around for ideas.

"Gally's easy," Mira said suddenly, and Newt could see her, and Ivory, grinning again. "It's the others we gotta get to."

"What do you mean?' Newt asked her, watching as she examined the lock on the door.

"Gally. He's using fear with the Gladers, using it to make them agree with him," Mira explained. "Ivory, I assume you know where we can get weapons?"

"Yup," Ivory chirped, causing Newt and Minho to glance at both of them in confusion.

"Why would we need weapons if we're not using fear?" Minho asked, followed by Newt agreeing with him.

"We won't be using them on the Gladers," Mira explained, then paused as she thought for a second. "Well... unless they fight back, then we might need to hurt them. But we should be good!"

"You're allowed to harm Gally though," Ivory added.

"Yes, that is allowed," Mira said, causing Newt to groan.

"And you two have a plan?" Newt asked her, fighting back a grin that kept trying to appear. Mira's face lit up with another grin, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Of course, we'll just need help."

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Once they had all agreed on the plan, and Ivory and Minho had gone to collect the weapons and a few other things, Mira had quickly left Newt back at the slammer, telling him she had to grab a few things before Gally came to get Thomas and Teresa. It only took Newt a second before he decided to follow her, wanting a few answers about her actions the past few days.

"Hey!" Newt called to Mira as he raced after. "Hold up, Mira!'

Mira paused underneath a tree, watching Newt race towards her with a lopsided grin on her face. Once again, there was a tightening in Newt's chest when Mira grinned at him, making him stumble as he stopped next to her.

"You okay?' Mira asked, laughing softly as Newt regained his balance.

"Yeah," Newt told her. "But I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Mira stared at him, her face devoid of emotions for a second, before shrugging and resuming her walk towards the woods.

"Shoot," She told him, shoving both her hands in her pockets while Newt walked beside her.

"What happened?" Newt asked. "Last night, you and Ivory seemed to know exactly how to fight off the Grievers. How?"

At Newt's words, Mira stiffened, her mouth pressed in a hard line as she avoided Newt's gaze.

"We just did," She said after a moment of silence. "Fighting is as natural as breathing to me and Ivory. So when we had to face the Grievers, we just...knew."

Something about Mira's answer threw Newt off, but she didn't seem to be lying, as far as Newt could tell at least. But there was something nagging him in the back of his mind, and he knew it had to be connected with Mira acting weird.

"Any more questions?" Mira asked him.

"Just..." Newt hesitated for a moment. "You're sure this plan is gonna work?"

"Of course," Mira said, her voice full of confidence. "As long as one of you boys mess it up of course,"

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Newt watched silently as two of the Gladers dragged Teresa and an unconscious Thomas towards the open Maze doors.

"This is such a waste," Gally said, shaking his head.

"Gally..." Winston said. "It doesn't feel right, man,"

"Yeah, what if Thomas is right?" Jeff piped in, glancing at Thomas. "Maybe he can lead us home."

Newt glanced at Mira who was fingering what looked like the handle to a knife at her belt.

"We are home. Okay?" Gally pointed out. "I don't wanna have to cross anymore names off that wall," He pointed at the wall, and Newt couldn't keep himself from glancing at the wall. He felt the small pang of sadness in his stomach at the sight of so many new names crossed off that list.

"You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?" Teresa asked, glancing around at the other gladers.

"No," Gally admitted. "But this isn't banishing. It's an offering," Newt's head snapped up, catching Minho's eyes that were also filled with surprise.

"What?" Teresa asked, shocked. Then the guy holding her started tying her hands to the post. "Wait! Gally, what are you doing?!"

"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the maze after what he has done?" Gally asked in disbelief. "Look around you! Look at our Glade! This is the only way. And when the Grievers get what they came for... everything goes back to the way it was,"

Newt shared a glance with Minho, brushing his chin. Minho nodded at him, tightening his grip on his machete. Newt noticed Chuck at the side, laden with equipment and a few poles in his hand.

"Are you listening to this?" Teresa asked, glancing at all the Gladers around them. "Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!"

"You shut up," Gally warned her.

"If you stay here, the Griveres are going to come back," Teresa explained, and Newt saw a few of the Gladers give each other worried looks. "They're gonna come back, and they're gonna keep coming back... until you're all dead!"

At that, many of the Gladers start shifting around uncomfortably, glancing at Gally nervously.

"Shut up!" Gally shouted at her, then he turned to the Gladers who had dragged Thomas. "Tie him up!"

When none of them moved, he scowled at them. "Do you hear me? I said tie him up!"

Newt tensed, watching the Gladers pick up Thomas. He glanced at Mira, seeing her and Ivory both ready to pull out their knives. That's when Thomas "woke" up, shoving his elbow at one guy's stomach, snatching the pole out of his hand and slamming it on the other guy. At the same time, Newt pulled out his machete, slamming the butt of it into the shoulder of a Glader running towards Thomas. Teresa kicked at the guy who had tied her up, making him stumble back, and Minho placed the tip of his machete on Gally's shoulder, making Gally stop.

Newt glanced at Mira and Ivory, knowing they wouldn't move until Thomas led them out. Mira had told them there was a reason, but neither of them would explain it, only saying that it would be better.

"You're full of surprise, aren't ya?" Gally asked as Newt and the rest gathered around Thomas.

"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving," Thomas explained, glancing at the other Gladers. "Anyone who wants to come, this is your last chance,"

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare you," Gally said.

"No, I'm not trying to scare you already," Thomas said. "You're already scared, alright? I'm scared. But I rather risk my life out there than spend it in here. We don't belong here. This place isn't our home, we were put here, okay? We were trapped here. At least out there we have a choice. We can make it out of here. I know that."

As Thomas finished his speech, and a few Gladers made their way over to them, Newt saw in the corner of his eyes someone walking towards them. He realized it was Doug, one of Gally's friends. He also realized that Doug had a knife out. But before he could react, Mira and Ivory had rushed him, Ivory sent a kick to the back of his leg, causing him to stubble, while Mira grabbed his arm that held the knife. Doug tried to send a blow at Mira's head, but she dodge it. And faster than anyone could react, Ivory had whipped out a knife, slamming into his chest.

There was a shocked moment of silence as Doug's body fell to the ground. Newt glanced at both girls in surprise and fear. He'd seen them with weapons before. That night they had found them, and when the Grievers attacked. But this was different. Mira and Ivory looked different. They both had blank looks on their faces, and Newt could see that the humor he had gotten so used to seeing in their eyes was gone, leaving them blank and lifeless.

Mira was the first to react, blinking rapidly as she glanced at Doug's body.

"No..." Newt heard her mutter, then she glanced at Ivory who had also come out of her trance, both with sick looks on their faces.

"See?" Gally shouted, extremely angry. "Why do you think I don't trust you guys? These girls just killed one of our very own!"

"Gally..." Newt started. He didn't know what happened with Mira and Ivory. But something about their reactions made him think they didn't want to kill him.

"No, Newt," Gally said. "These girls are murderers. And the only reason any of this happened is because of Thomas and them!"

"Why do you care anymore?"

Everyone flinched at Mira's voice, but Newt, Minho, and Gally all glanced at the girls.

"You guys destroyed our home!" Gally told them, looking at them is disbelief.

"And we're leaving," Ivory piped in, turning toward him. "If we leave, then the Grievers have no need to attack. Or are you scared that we might actually be right?"

There was a moment of silence between everyone as they tried to take in what the girls had said.

"We're leaving," Mira said firmly, and both girls made their way to the group. "You can't stop us,"

Newt could tell everyone was nervous being with the girls, but that didn't stop Newt, or Minho, from following them when they started towards the maze, the rest of the group following close behind. When Newt got to the doors, he paused slightly, remembering the last time he was here. But then Mira grabbed his wrist when she saw him frozen and pulled him in, and Newt didn't stop her.