~Sara~

She heard the voices of those approaching her getting louder by the minute. The voices turned into shouts, and then she heard a crowd of boys arguing.

Gally popped up right in front of her cell, the keys jingling as he unlocked it. She didn't have time to react or protest before she was hauled out like an animal. His grip on her arm was painful, and he didn't loosen it despite her protests. She could tell he was using all his strength to hurt her, preventing her from defending herself.

He dragged her along and pushed her to the ground harshly. Sara cried out in pain, then she slowly turned herself around and gazed up at the monstrous Maze walls in front of her. She could see the end of the corridor through its haunting opening.

A tenebrous breeze shook the dead leaves on the Maze floor and lured them farther into the structure, as if the Maze itself were hungrily claiming its imminent victim.

The sun was setting, and Sara didn't have to be told to know what was to happen to her in the next few minutes.

Newt, Minho, Thomas, and a few other Gladers came rushing toward the scene where Gally and most of his followers were waiting to throw her inside. They each had their poles in hand, ready for the doors to begin moving toward each other to close for the night.

Newt lunged forward to get to her, but Winston and some Builder held him back by the arms, and they pushed back on his chest.

"Gally! Listen, you bloody slinthead! You don't have a valid accusation!" Newt shouted, desperate to break free.

"I don't?" Gally asked innocently. "Hardly seems like you paid any attention to the dreams we all had. All of us Keepers in that shuck Gathering saw the same thing, so what's your problem, Newt?"

Minho intervened. "Well, if you paid attention, you'd realize that our dreams got cut off smack in the middle."

Newt nodded. "And my dreams were different. They were complete."

"Yeah, and? We saw what we saw," Gally retorted. "Unless you have a solid argument, your pretty little girlfriend's gonna have a sleepover with the Grievers tonight."

Sara's curiosity was sparked upon the argument. If Rebecca induced dreams on everyone, what did they see that they thought she was guilty? Newt seemed like he believed her now, so did Minho. What about everyone else?

"A solid argument?" asked Newt. "She's been trying to help us the entire time. That's what I got from what I saw."

Gally only ridiculed him. "Dude, I saw her hugging a guy with a name tag that read, 'Assistant Director Janson'." He motioned with his fingers onto an imaginary whiteboard. "Isn't that what she said? She was working with them, and all these guys know it. She needs to be banished before she can plan anything against us," he said.

"Hold on!" Sara yelled. "Janson tricked me into believing him. I had no other family and no one else to trust before I knew what was actually going on."

"Exactly!" Minho shouted. "Get your head out of your shuck butt, Gally. She already mentioned this before."

Sara wondered why Rebecca didn't let them see everything in the dreams so that her intentions of helping would be as clear as day. That woman always finished whatever she began, so if she had to cut off their dreams...

"Becca must've been in trouble! She was forced to interrupt the process, and that's why you couldn't see everything," she said, scanning the Gladers, hoping to get any signals from their expressions that guaranteed they believed her.

"This is all we've got. So that means you're going into the Maze as a preventive measure!" Gally shouted.

"No, Gally! You have to listen to me!" Newt shouted back. "I have proof from my dreams."

"Yeah?" Gally asked mockingly, then opened his arms to welcome whatever Newt had to share. "So tell us."

And he did.

Sara's eyes brimmed with tears as she recalled the memories Newt brought back with his words. She'd been a crying mess lately, and she hated it. She despised showing any weakness. But her heart melted when Newt said he remembered his sister. That was one thing she for sure wanted to share with him someday. And now he remembered Lizzy, and he remembered a snippet of Sara before the Maze.

You hit the spot, huh Becca?

Gally paid no heed to Newt's words. A few of the guys that were with him also laughed at Newt. "You think I'm stupid?"

Yes, absolutely.

Gally continued. "We're talking about your girlfriend's life. You think I'll fall for your excuses so you can save her? What a coincidence you're the only one who has 'proof.' Go shuck yourself. If you'll excuse us, we have a banishment to carry out."

Newt wasn't having any of it, however. "Yah, well, last time I checked, we never punished anyone by convenience," he said, stepping closer, angrily talking in Gally's face. "Everyone bloody knows this is your lame excuse to kill her!"

Minho stepped forward and faced the crowd of Gladers. "And all of you were so stupid to listen to Gally's klunk!" he yelled, then he scowled specifically at Frypan and Zart. "I thought you shanks still had at least one brain cell left."

Frypan bowed his head and Zart fidgeted uncomfortably.

Gally continued to go on and on about the lack of witnesses for Newt's testimony, and quite frankly, everyone had enough.

"Listen to me, shuck-face!" Minho grabbed Gally by his shirt, pulling it hard. "I'm a freaking witness!"

It was so hard for Sara to see the people she loved, fighting for a cause that seemed absolutely useless. She couldn't believe Gally had most of the Glade on his side convinced simply because Alby was sick and Newt was distressed.

Minho's anger steamed off from him, and his protruding veins were visible on the side of his forehead.

"I heard Newt crying out in his sleep," he muttered angrily. "How can you say it's not enough evidence? Newt wouldn't lie about that. He was so beaten up. And he chose not to show it. You can't even imagine the kind of pressure he's under."

Gally tried to push Minho away from his face, but Minho was stronger.

"Newt's weak! What did you expect?" he asked Minho.

"The dreams gave him a chance to save the love of his life. How do you think it feels to end like this, huh?!" yelled Minho. Before Gally could open his mouth, Minho kept going. "That's right, you don't know. You don't know what love is, you don't have the capacity to understand what someone would do for love. And you... can't... banish... her!"

Sara was devastated to hear that about Newt. She feared the thought of Newt hiding his pain again. She had no idea his experience with the dreams would be that terrible. If Rebecca really wanted him to feel guilty, then that's exactly what she obtained from him. Newt must've hated himself.

The whole time, Newt was avoiding Sara's gaze, eyes fixed to the ground, and a worried frown on his face.

Gally scowled, throwing his hands in the air. "Love's not gonna get us out of here. And just like you're about to see with these two, it can only end in tragedy. Love only distracted Newt, and we need to get rid of that distraction."

Thomas then surprised everyone, facing up to Gally. "It's your fault. You've done everything in your power to ruin their lives. You didn't even let Newt see her before you brought her out to kill her. Enough, Gally."

Everyone stared at him in surprise, but Gally only looked at him with a condescending glance.

"No, absolutely not." Gally scoffed. "You're supposed to be locked up in the slammer, and you and that new chick deserve to be banished too! As for Sara..." he chuckled as he gripped her by the hair, making her hiss in pain, "...say your goodbyes, lady shank. It's time to meet your demise."

Then she heard them.

The horrible grinding noise of concrete and rock scraping against each other as the massive walls converged. Gally forced her head to face the walls, and she let out a grunt as she clenched her teeth.

Closing time.

Ah shuck.

Sara had told Newt she didn't care if she was banished—that she settled for it. 

Lies. She didn't want to die.

She turned her head around, and her eyes met Newt's panic-stricken gaze. Again, two boys held him in place as he scrambled to break free and get to her. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion.

"Poles!" Gally shouted and everyone hoisted their poles, pointing them at Sara, forcing her way backwards.

Frypan, Zart, Jeff, and even Winston dropped theirs, and stepped back with Newt and Minho.

"Gally... It doesn't feel right, man," said Winston, but his voice was suppressed by the noise of the doors.

Sara looked behind to face the narrowing entrance.

About seven feet apart.

Frantic screams to call out for Newt escaped her mouth, and his tears were falling endlessly down his cheeks. She wanted to be strong for him. It was the last thing she could do. She couldn't bear to see him like this, and all the guilt he carried that he shouldn't be responsible for.

Six feet.

Despite her own tears, Sara managed to smile at him.

Five feet apart.

"Newt, it's okay." Her voice was almost steady.

"No, stop saying that!" he cried. Turning away from her, he dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands as the others let go of him.

"Gally!" Minho charged at him, but other Gladers pried him off.

Three feet.

"Newtie," Sara called to him in tears, "I love you."

"I... I love you more... always." He refused to look back.

Sara continued struggling against the poles, feeling the rusty air blowing behind from the closing doors and from within the Maze itself.

She was sobbing at that point. "Your hoodie, it had my perfume all over it... r—remember me."

Everything lacked motion instantly. The Gladers that were trying to push her in, Minho's angry shouts, and Newt's helpless sobs. Everything stopped except for the now two-foot apart entrance.

Newt stood up immediately, turning around and staring back at her in utter shock. "It was you..."

In the middle of the unexpected silence, the booming sound of the Maze doors hitting against each other filled the air, making everyone flinch simultaneously.

And she didn't get banished. 

She even verified she hadn't as she looked down at her feet, her tennis shoes on the grass, meaning she was on the safe side.

Everyone was gawking at her, and it was quite too uncomfortable for her liking.

"You knew?" Minho asked in disbelief. "This dude would stink like flowers for days when we first got here. We didn't have a clue why..."

"That's true, I could smell it all the way from the kitchen," added Frypan.

"He'd never let us talk about it, but we knew where he was just by the smell—a nice smell," said Winston.

Gally was furiously staring at Sara, angry that his plan to kill her was ruined at the very last minute. "Newt could've told her, and why did she choose to say that this late?"

"I never talked about it. Ever," Newt muttered.

Sara wiped her cheeks and sniffed. "Gally, that wasn't my priority. I just thought maybe Newt would remember me before the Maze. It was my last wish before I was to be banished."

"What do ya gotta say, shuck-face?" Minho taunted Gally. "We all heard you making fun of the smell. And then Alby didn't let anyone else talk about it ever again 'cause Newt didn't want to. How could Sara know if no one said a word, huh?"

"The creators watch us! They could've told her." Gally wasn't giving up, despite the doors having had already closed.

"I freaking drenched that hoodie with rosemary, shuck-face," whispered Sara with a warning glint in her eyes. This was her last attempt to redeem herself. "Under WICKED's own roof, where they couldn't even stop me—where they couldn't even stop my next move. What makes you think you can invalidate the only connection I had with Newt before I got here?"

Gally rolled his eyes, but Newt and Minho walked up to him, and the fact that they were both taller than Gally made him step back.

"He won't," said Newt.

"Fine," Gally muttered. "But I'm not done. Thomas and that new chick are still a problem. We'll see who's right then." He pointed at Newt in a threatening manner.

He stomped away, furiously throwing his pole to the ground as his most loyal followers did the same right behind him.

Sara was still in shock, but soon, the relief sank in among the whole group still accompanying her.

Most Gladers started cheering, patting each other on the shoulder, and hugging her, apologizing, and telling her they were glad she was saved.

Soon, there was only a tunnel of space between Sara and Newt as the crowd began to disperse.

His cheeks were stained with tears, but the way he was gazing at her, his striking brown eyes boring into hers, was like everything in the universe finally fell into place.

They ran into each other's arms, embracing so tightly Sara thought they would break. He lifted her in the air and twirled her around, his arms firmly around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck.

Nothing else mattered; only the presence of one another.

He set her down, and immediately, their lips crashed into each other's. The kiss was full of passion and love, forgiveness, and so much longing they'd felt for each other.

Sara buried her fingers through his soft tufts of hair and caressed it. He started peppering kisses all over her face, panting, and repeatedly apologizing to her between breaths. His hot breath hit her face as their noses rubbed against each other. He wouldn't stop caressing her cheeks and pecking her lips every now and then.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, love," he whispered against her lips.

She pulled away from him and gently grabbed his face in between her hands.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure there's a lot more I need to apologize for."

"No, shh, it's not your fault," he said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your letter... it made me realize how wrong I was. You've given me a reason to believe that happiness exists. I know I said things between us could never be the same again, but now, they're even better. I love you, my beautiful girl, and from now on, I'll listen to you. You're not alone this time."

Sara was already crying from happiness again. It was impossible not to feel that way. Her heart was beating rapidly, but she was beyond elated to hear Newt's words. That was all she needed. She was ready to keep going and finish what she started.

"Thank you, Newt. I'm—I'm speechless," she said, laughing at her inability to say anything half as sweet as Newt's words. "I love you, Newt. Always."

"But I love you even more," he whispered before lifting her chin up once more, and gently placing his lips back on hers.