Newt Imagines (The Maze Runner)

Into Thin Air

The path to the mountains is dangerous, but to be honest, what part of their journey hasn't been dangerous? Newt thinks it's going fine, that although the terrain isn't the best they're at least making progress, and then the bullets start to ring out. Instantly, everyone panics and starts to hurtle toward whatever cover they can scrounge up in the desert, cowering as gunfire rains down around them. From the corner of his eye, Newt sees a couple of figures emerge from the mountains, faces hidden and weapons drawn.

Newt shoves Thomas and Minho to get their attention, and they start to come out with their hands drawn. Three figures stand before them, weapons pointed at them. Newt scans their faces, but he doesn't recognize the first one, or the next. It's only when his gaze falls upon the last of the three, on the figure standing farthest away, that he feels his heart freeze in his chest.

It's not her. It couldn't possibly be her. But yet-

Before he even knows what he's doing, Newt is stepping away from the protective cover of the car, away from his friends, and towards the third figure. He can see Thomas and Minho extending their arms to pull him back, but they're moving slowly, as if coming from far away. All that matters now is the girl before him, the girl with those all-too-familiar eyes that are now glaring at him in fear.

Newt's voice comes cracked and quiet in the space at the foot of the mountains. "Y/N?" The girl levels her gun at him. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Newt stumbles, thrown by less by her threatening tone of voice and more the words that she's just said. "Y/N? Why don't you-" Hie voice breaks off into silence. Minho and Thomas are next to him now, and all Newt can do is stare at the girl in front of him. "Why doesn't she know who I am?"

The other two figures are by Y/N's side in an instant, the two pairs of three staring at each other. The tension builds and builds until finally the first of the figures glances away, at the other boy walking up to them. "Aris?" Suddenly, the hostility vanishes, and the figures are pulling away their face coverings to reveal the smiling faces of two girls. Aris turns back to them, clearly happy to see the girls. "This is Harriet and Sonya. They're from Group B." He addresses the Group B girls now: "They're with me. They're friends. They helped me escape from WICKED."

Harriet and Sonya nod, but Newt just watches as the third girl hesitantly removes her own coverings. Sure enough, it's Y/N. Harriet notices Newt's stare and turns to his former friend. "Y/N, do you know these guys?" Y/N shakes her head. "I have no idea who they are, or how they know who I am." Newt's heart seems to drop in his chest. "What are you talking about? Y/N, I've known you for about a year, ever since you came into the Maze."

Y/N's eyes hold no recognition, no laughter, no light. She seems to have no idea who Newt is. "All I know is that I showed up one day alongside the Group B girls. They've been my family ever since." She walks away, presumably to tell the people with guns to stand down. Newt is left alone with the words dying on his tongue: We were your family first.

Newt watches from a distance as his friends talk and laugh around him. They're happy to have the Group B girls, who went through the Maze just like the Gladers did, and they're relieved to have the protection of the Right Arm. Newt should be out there too, finally allowing himself to relax or at least have a good time, but he can't quite muster up the energy to fake the smiles. Y/N doesn't recognize him. That's the only thing he has room to think about right now.

As if just thinking about the girl was a summoning, Newt turns to see a familiar figure walking away from the fire and coming to stand next to him. This picture, the two of them standing so close together, away from everyone else, is so painfully familiar that it hurts to know that she isn't thinking of the connection they once shared. All Newt can think about is that he's stood by her a hundred times, but all she can think about is that the boy next to her is a stranger, someone she's never even seen before.