stuck with him - newt tmr

four - duck duck goose

"I mean, Thomas technically did save us from becoming shrimp like those other kids in there. We owe him." Maria for some reason had the urge to defend Thomas, perhaps partly in spite of opposing Newt.

In the corner of her eye she could see Frypan and Aris slightly nodding their heads in agreement, though trying to avoid Newt's attention.

"As far as I recall, you weren't a part of the conversation." Newt responds bluntly. For some reason, every single word that came out of the boy's mouth made Maria's blood boil.

"Well, as far as I know, Thomas was also tricked by WCKD and thrown into the deep end just like the rest of us. So, it's really not his fault if he doesn't have a plan straight away." Maria held her ground. Newt clenched his jaw, unable to come back with a response. The stillness of the air heightened the suspense even further, the group shuffling in discomfort.

"Can we please sort out this feud between you two?" Minho pleads. "It's really not helpful that you guys are at each other's throats in quite literally the worst times."

"She started it." Newt mutters.

"It's not my fault his face irritates me." Maria grumbles, earning an eye roll from the boy.

Minho ignores their comments and clasps firmly onto each other their shoulder, forcing them to unwillingly stand in front of one another. He gives each of them a passionate look and breathes in a dramatic amount of air, as if he was meditating on the spot.

"Now, I want you both to say sorry each other, start afresh. And then get it over with and kiss each other on the lips." Minho was barely able to finish the end of his sentence before getting attacked by the two, swatting his arms off them and cursing at him in annoyance. Everyone else, and Minho especially, burst into laughter although trying to muffle their mouths with their hands.

Everyone was left snickering apart from the pair, who had irritated expressions on their face, both silenced by Minho. A couple moments later, the group finally calmed down, and Thomas suggested that they should split up and scavenge for any supplies and explore the area for any signs useful to them.

Maria stalked off into a direction by herself, desperate for a moment alone, as she was slightly overwhelmed from the past few hours of events.

She waded through piles of items, littered over the ground around her, the shine of her flashlight scanning her surroundings, like a lighthouse spotting for any hidden treasure ships. Trinkets and toys collected dust, each item a time capsule of old life, memoirs of the forgotten lives perished from this world. Maria felt something beneath her foot as she stood it, she looked down to see a brown teddy bear, with one of its buttoned eyes hanging on by a single thread. Her heart quenched in sorrow for the misfortune of the child that had once never left this toy by his or her side, and Maria frowned at the thought of what may have happened to them now.

She slowly steps through the homes made from scraps, evident that these survivors had tried to create a haven in spite of the Scorch, and she silently grieved for the countless lives that once lived in these clothes that she is forced to scavenge through. In a corner, she spots a pair of leather boots that looked her size, and decides to replace the flimsy pair of shoes she currently had on.

After a while, she hears footsteps approaching from her side.

"Hey." Aris emerges from the shadows, sitting himself down in front of Maria, holding his own pair of shoes. Maria smiled back, laughing to herself at the irony of the two of them sitting across from one another, like how they did back in the cafeteria. She watches him place his belongings onto the ground, realising that he had changed into a different outfit. He wore a grey jacket over his plain t-shirt, and his bag was bulging from the supplies he had gathered. She noticed the bags under his eyes, and she figured it was from the sleepless nights scouring through the vents, trying to find ways to escape from the facility. She deeply respected him for his efforts to get the group out, he truly deserved the credit.