Day Seven Hundred and Thirty

The bonfire blazed high and proud, flames stretching their flickering fingers up towards the stars, wrapping themselves around the bones of the animal displayed above it. The air was filled with a sort of excited static, buzzing with the sounds of laughter and cheers.

The builders had set up a makeshift drum kit, and were pounding away at metal and steel with clubs and anything that would make a loud enough noise. Fuelled by adrenaline and Gally's mysterious recipe, making its one year debut, the gladers were alight with a fire that rivalled the one they danced around.

Ada clapped and cheered with the others as Frypan climbed onto Winston's back, demanding a piggy back across the designated bonfire space. She let out a gasp as strong hands grabbed at her waist and hoisted her into the air before tossing her onto Alby's back, where she landed with a grunt. "Oi!" She yelled pointlessly, clinging to Alby in a desperate effort not to fall off. The small crowd around her laughed and cheered, and Ada resigned herself to her fate as Alby's hands grasped onto her legs and he began to jump up and down while shouting happily. She couldn't help but smile along with them, head fuzzy.

"Two years!" Alby shouted up at her, craning his neck back to look up at her with glassy eyes. "Two years, Ads!"

"I know, you great goofball, now put me down before you drop me!" Alby lowered her ungracefully to the ground, immediately thrusting a jar of amber liquid into her hands. She happily took a sip, letting the burning liquid warm her throat.

"Two years," he slung an arm over her shoulder, tucking him into her side. Ada smiled when she didn't panic, revelling in the calm that wrapped around her like a blanket. "Look at us go."

"Can't believe she's put up with you for that long." Minho snickered, dodging the hand Alby swatted at him.

"Can't believe I put up with any of you for that long." Ada grinned, eyes flitting over to where Gally and Ben were wrestling in the sand pit. "Except Gally, he's an angel."

"If angels had horns and a pitchfork, sure." Minho scoffed.

Gally shoved Ben to the ground and backed away, triumphant, arms in the air and a bright smile on his face. Now that the space between them cleared up, she could make out two figures sat with their backs to the fire, leaning against one of the logs, facing the walls. Familiar blonde hair gleamed in the firelight. He was talking to the new Greenie, she realised, a mason jar cradled in his hand. She couldn't see his face from this angle, but the relaxed slope of his shoulders and the teasing tilt of his head told her that he was enjoying himself far more than the person next to him was.

"Gally's on a roll tonight," Chuck whistled as he came up beside them, holding a jar of water. "That's the third person he's put down so far." He grinned mischievously, eyes glinting. "I wanna see him face off against the Greenie."

Minho nodded, rubbing his hands together. "I'd watch that fight. It's always fun to see them get knocked on their ass."

"You might just get your chance," Alby jerked his head towards the builders, grouped in a corner and laughing with each other, and Ada had to crane her head to see that Newt and the Greenie had moved on from where they were previously sitting, and were now apparently wandering around the fire. Newt was gesturing at different people and speaking too low for her to hear, but from the way he was stumbling slightly and the sluggish movements of his hands she could tell that he was pretty drunk.

Good, she thought. It had been a while since she had seen him relax the way he was now.

The need to be near him was almost overwhelming, cutting through the fog in her brain quick enough to have her patting Chuck on the head and waving halfheartedly to Alby and Minho. "M'gonna go and say hi."

Minho threw his arm around Alby's shoulder, wiping away a fake tear. "Leaving the nest so soon," he sighed, "look at her, abandoning us."

Alby put a hand over his heart, sagging into Minho's side. "They grow up so fast."

Ada put her hands on Chuck's shoulders and pushed him towards them. "There ya go. Resident glade baby for you to fawn over."

Minho pinched Chuck's cheeks. "So adorable."

Chuck looked back at Ada, fuming. "Dagger, please."

"Have fun!" She winked at Chuck before making her leave, sipping from her jar as she made her way around the fire. Neither Newt or the Greenie saw her approach, so wrapped up in Newt's makeshift tour.

"And then we have our medjacks," Newt was saying, gesturing mildly to the two passing boys, "Cliff and Jeff." He nodded at their eager greetings, looking at the Greenie with an easy-going smile. "They spend most of their time bandaging the slicers."

"That's because the slicers are careless idiots." Ada scoffed as she came up beside them, grinning when the newbie jumped at the sound of her voice behind him. "I love Winston, but he spends more time in the med huts than he does in the slaughterhouse."

"There's my girl!" Newt smiled drunkenly, cheeks flushed as he slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her to his side. Minho had done the same thing with her barely ten minutes before, but with Newt she seemed to notice his warmth more, the touch of his fingers on her shoulder sending sparks coursing through her.

"Ada, Newt," A voice came from their left, and when they turned it was to see Frypan leaning against a wooden post, apron streaked with grease. His face was coated with a thin sheen of sweat, and a tray of freshly cut bacon sizzled on the stove beside him. He gestured over to where Winston was fiercely guarding the door to the slaughterhouse. "Tell this man to give me another chicken!"

"I like this chicken!" Winston shook his head adamantly.

"Frypan!" Newt greeted, walking towards him with a grin. "Show our new friend here what bacon tastes like."

Zart stood off to the side with Winston, watching intently and nibbling on the remains of some corn. He grinned around a mouthful of food when Ada looked at him. She wrinkled her nose teasingly in response as Frypan tossed a strip of bacon at the greenie, watching him fumble with it.

"Eat up, Greenie," Frypan smiled as the greenie devoured the morsel of food, "gonna need your strength for working those fields tomorrow." He looked at Winston, arms crossed in defiance. "See? The Greenie likes the pork!"

"He don't know what real food is."

Newt led them away before she could see where that argument was heading, much to her chagrin. "Good, right?"

The Greenie shook his head, looking mildly concerned. "I don't know anything about gardening."

"You don't even know your own name at this point," Ada scoffed, "I'm not overly concerned."

Newt nudged her with his arm, chuckling. "Nah, it's alright, don't worry about it. We've learnt it's best to let the newbies try their hand at everything until we decide what they're best at."

The new greenie raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them curiously. He cast his eyes back over his shoulder towards the builders before shaking his head, looking back at them with a determined glint in his eyes. "What if I want to be a runner?"

Ada tensed up immediately, looking up at Newt with wide eyes. "A runner? What exactly have you been telling him?"

"Nothing, I swear!" He shook his head down at her, smile slowly vanishing into a frown. "Honestly, have you listened to a word I just said? No one wants to be a runner. And besides, you gotta get chosen."

The greenie shook his head stubbornly. "Chosen? Chosen by who?"

A body slammed into him from behind, sending him crashing forwards into Newt and Ada. Amber liquid sloshed down her shirt before she could move away, the cold shocking her. Newt immediately pulled her backwards and away from the chaos, one hand landing heavy on her shoulder as he stared down at her with a worried frown. "You alright, Ads?"

"Yeah," she nodded, scrubbing uselessly at her tank top with her sleeve. Newt reached down as if he were going to assist her, stopping at the last second, his finger brushing against her collarbone in a way that had her gasping. "Stupid Greenie is a clumsy one. And he wants to be a runner," she scoffed, shaking her head, trying to clear it.

"I think we can give him a pass on this one," Newt's voice sounded distant, and when she looked up Ada noticed he was no longer staring at her, his eyes instead fixed curiously on where the Greenie was now stood, facing Gally, a displeased frown on his face. "I reckon Gally just found his next target."

"Huh?" Gally asked, wiping his hands off on his trousers as Ben reached forward to help up the boy he had pushed over. "What do you say, Greenie? Wanna see what you're made of?"

Someone started up a chant and it caught on quickly, and soon the air was filled with excited cheers and encouraging words as gladers shuffled backwards, instantly creating a circle around where the newbie looked as if he were about to take off running. Ada glanced at Alby on the other side of the circle, gauging his expression to determine whether they should intervene. He was watching the display with a drunken grin, however, so Ada crossed her arms and rocked back on her heels, content to watch as Gally rubbed his hands together mischievously.

"Okay," he shrugged with a grin, slowly starting to pace back and forth. "All right. The rules are simple, Greenie. I try and push you out of the circle, you try and last more than five seconds."

Newt leant down so his lips were pressed against Ada's ear, his breath warm on her neck as he tried to speak over the laughter Gally's words had caused. "You wanna wager with me, love?"

Ada turned her face up towards him, staring mesmerised at the golden flecks of fire in his eyes. "Always," she nodded. "Place your bets, then, and prepare to lose."

"I bet on the Greenie. He'll put Gally on the ground, just you watch."

Ada raised a shocked eyebrow, a disbelieving laugh escaping before she could stop it. "Cute," she shook her head, "but Gally's gonna kick this kid's ass."

"Ye of little faith," Newt clicked his tongue. He leant back slightly, putting enough space between their bodies to extend his hand towards her, clearly wanting her to shake on it. "I happen to like this new guy, he's got gumption."

Ada slid her hand into his, grinning. "You need to realise you're the only one here who knows what that word means."

Gally exploded into movement, snatching their attention and returning their focus to the fight. His hands landed heavily on the Greenie's shoulders and pushed him back with enough force to have him careening into the builders, who shoved him into the ring again with little to no mercy. Ada would have felt bad for him, but Gally was clearly having more fun than he had had in a month now, and she would be damned if she were the one to get in the way of that. The Greenie landed on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of sand.

Ada squeezed Newt's fingers, realising only then she was yet to let go of his hand. "I hate to break it to you, but I think you're going to lose your second bet of the day."

"My my," Newt smirked down at her, face incredibly close to hers, "aren't we cocky? Give the lad a chance at least."

"Get up, boy!" Frypan cackled as Gally started to do a sort of teasing jog backwards, arrogant grin on his face.

"Come on, Greenie, we're not done yet."

"Show us what you got!" Someone else yelled, and Ada followed the sound with her eyes. She couldn't tell who had spoken, but what she could see was Minho leaning against the log with his arms crossed, a serious expression on his face. He looked like a disapproving father, she thought with extreme amusement.

"Stop calling me Greenie."

"Stop calling you that?" Gally titled his head, looking over the Greenie's shoulder to meet Ada's eyes. She shrugged, uncaring, and the movement seemed to strengthen Gally's resolve. "What do you wanna be called? Shank?" More laughter and jeers broke out. "What do you think, boys? He look like a shank?"

"Should we intervene?" Newt asked, voice low, but when Ada looked up at him he was grinning. Maybe she was drunk, or maybe she was too happy to think logically, but she would have done anything in that moment to keep that easygoing smile on his face, and capture it in her memory forever.

"Before I can win the bet?" She asked, easing Newt's jar out of his hand and taking a sip. His eyes followed her, and she could have sworn they lingered on her lips a moment longer than they should have. "Not backing out already, are you?"

"Just want to spare you the embarrassment of losing." Newt's smile grew. "Chivalry, and all that."

The Greenie ran at Gally, hands wrapping around his body, clearly pushing with all his might in a short burst of anger. The insult would have been more effective if he knew what it meant, she was sure, but the mocking tone in Gally's voice seemed to be enough for him to figure out the word wasn't meant kindly. They wrestled for a moment, Ada watching each movement eagerly, before the Greenie was once again tossed to the ground.

"You know what?" Gally cracked his knuckles. "I think I've settled on shank."

"Gally's enjoying this a little too much." She said idly, watching as Alby's face started to grow more antsy by the second. He was watching the Greenie intently, a tiny frown line appearing between his eyebrows that she could see from the other side of the circle.

"Yeah," Newt nodded, "so am I."

She looked up at him, smiling at the grin on his face, and only looked back at the fight when shocked cries and yells broke out amongst the gladers and Newt's grin morphed into an expression of surprised delight. Gally was on the floor now, nothing injured except for his pride, and she was standing close enough to him to see the anger slowly starting to creep out across his face. "Gally..." she warned, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Not bad for a Greenie, huh?" The new boy's words were cut off when Gally hooked his feet around the Greenie's leg, tipping him off balance and sending him crashing towards the ground. His head smacked against the sand so hard Ada felt the thud in her bones. She winced, one hand flying up to cover her mouth, warring between concern and amusement as Gally stood up again, thrusting his arms into the air in victory.

Silence descended heavily, shocked and disturbed, but was broken when the Greenie slowly stood up again, mumbling something under his breath. She looked up at Newt, confused, but he couldn't hear him either, eyebrows crinkled together. "Hey..." The greenie muttered, looking around at them with expressions of wide eyed surprise. "Thomas! I- I remember my name! I'm Thomas!"

There was barely a moment of shocked silence before Alby stepped forwards, pointing at Thomas with a wide smile on his face. "Thomas!" He yelled, and then voices rose up, cheering and congratulating as gladers swarmed, clapping him on the back. Happiness filled the air again, wrestling itself out of awkwardness' grasp.

Ada watched with her own smile as Frypan pressed a jar into Thomas' hand, clapping him on the back. "Welcome home, Thomas."

Gally stepped forward, lips pressed into a tight smile, and held out his hand. "Good job... Thomas."

Smiles were everywhere, and for a moment everything was good again, and they could forget the horrors, forget the nightmares, the death, the loss, the grief. For a moment they were just teenagers again, laughing around a fire filled with the promise of new life.

A Griever shrieked, the sound so close and loud it might as well have been in the glade with them. It cut through the joy like a dagger, tearing at the smiles and momentary peace they had found there. Quiet descended like a blanket. Thomas broke it after a moment, staring out at the maze walls, dark and ominous in the distance, stretching towards the sky.

"What the hell was that?"

Gally turned back to him with a dry smile. "That, my friend, was a Griever. Don't worry, you're safe here with us. Nothing gets through those walls."

Safe was a lie. The pile of bodies rotting in the deadheads was all the proof that safe was an illusion, a promise of false hope. Nowhere was safe, and they all knew it. One look at Thomas' face told her that he knew it too.

"Alright guys," Alby said, voice raised slightly. "Let's tuck it in for the night. Come on, it was a good night." He clapped his hands and the Gladers dispersed, Ada and Newt sharing a quick glance before stepping off to the side.

"That hurt your pride, Gally?" Ada asked as the teenager in question went to walk by them, rubbing his arm idly.

"Only you could hit someone so hard they get their name knocked back into them." Newt chuckled.

Gally shrugged nonchalantly. "Totally meant to do that."

"Oh yeah?" Ada teased, leaning forward to jab him in the ribs. "Had nothing to do with the fact that he totally kicked your ass back there?"

"Did not." Gally scoffed, catching her finger, squeezing it before letting her go. "I won, as usual. The crown remains mine."

"Undefeated," she nodded.

He winked at her teasingly as he passed, heading straight for the Homestead, leaving her and Newt alone in the firelight.

"So," Newt grinned down at her, taking a step forward into her personal space, "did my ears deceive me or did I just hear you admit that Thomas totally kicked Gally's ass?"

Ada's face went white when she realised. "Uh – you're going deaf, sweetie, let's get you back to bed-"

"Not so fast," his fingers closed around Ada's wrist, gently keeping her in place. His eyes, full of mirth and mischief, looked gold in the low light. "I do believe that means I won our little bet."

"No it does not," Ada protested, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I told you Gally would beat the Greenie's ass, and he totally did."

"Yes, but those weren't our terms, were they?" Newt's smile was nothing short of wicked. "I bet you that the Greenie would put Gally on the floor. Considering Gally still has sand on his chin and his ego has taken a serious blow, I'd say that secures my win."

"Fine," she huffed, lifting her free hand to sit on her hip. "What do you want?"

"I can have anything?" Newt asked, using his grip on her wrist to gently pull her closer. Ada's breath caught in her throat as her front came into contact with his chest, feeling every breath he took as if they were her own.

She swallowed heavily, stomach in knots. "Within reason." Her voice was shakier than she had meant it to be.

Newt hummed, leaning down slowly, and the warmth of the fire was suddenly nothing compared to the heat in his eyes. "One year ago." He said, voice low, and Ada couldn't for the life of her think straight enough to figure out what he meant. "One year ago, we were sat by that fire, by that log over there, and you kissed me for the first time."

Ada gulped, heat rising fast in her cheeks, and she had to fight the urge to look away. "You told me it was a mistake."

"I was wrong." He said instantly. "I was so, so wrong."

"Newt..." Ada's voice failed her, cracking in her throat. "We should... we should probably talk about this."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Soon, when our heads are clearer."

"Yeah." He hesitated, then a small smile broke out across his face, that damn dimple appearing in his cheek. "I figured out what you owe me, then."

"And what would that be?"

"That talk." He squeezed her hand, thumb rubbing across the back of her knuckles. "Soon."

"Soon." She echoed, and not even the sound of the Grievers shrieking could kill the tiny bud of hope blooming inside her.