Chapter Nine
"recalling"

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"Ha!" Thomas slaps Gally against the back of his head before he slams two hands down on the table. "We're going, Aris and Adelaide! Vince allowed us to go and said he'll find others for the mission!"

Taken aback, I look at him. I wasn't even sure if I'd go with him—guess I will, though.

Gally sighs, burying his head in his hands, and Minho pulls a face.

"Tonight," Thomas decides. "We're going tonight. Grab your stuff and meet me at the stone. Their mission will start tomorrow, so it's balanced just fine. We'll be back in less than two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Gally scoffs loudly. "Do you even have a plan?"

"Yes, actually. I do. We will sail to the Last City and research what is left of it. That will take about three to five days. I expect to find something, so we'll move on from there."

"That's not a plan."

"It's a start."

"What will you do if you don't find anything in the Last City?"

"We'll inspect the surrounding areas, and every spot we ever visited with the Gladers—"

"Are you insane? It took us months to travel from place to place!" Minho somewhat throws his hands in the air.

"That was on foot and with useless cars."

"So what? You expect to find a plane or something?"

"No. Look, just let me figure out and mind your own business."

Minho stares at him, his expression torn between disbelief and frustration. "Thomas, he's gone," he says bluntly. "You saw it with your own eyes."

Thomas stands up so fast the table trembles. "Don't you dare, Minho," he snaps, pointing a trembling finger. "Don't you dare say that. You don't know for sure. You don't know what's out there! Newt, he—he could still be alive. We left him behind!"

"Because he wanted us to!" Minho shouts back. He stands up as well. "He begged us, Thomas! He wasn't Newt anymore, and you know it."

Thomas shoves him, hard enough that he stumbles back a step. "You don't understand—"

"Thomas, stop. You're chasing something that isn't there. You're gonna get yourself—and Aris and Adelaide—killed."

"It's their choice whether they come with or not." Thomas's voice cracks. "But I'm going."

"You're not gonna bring him back. You can't. All you're going to do is worsen things because once again, you've managed to drag people into your shit," Minho snarls.

His shoulders slump, and he presses the heels of his palms against his eyes, as if he needs to hold back a flood of tears. "You don't understand. I can't live with myself if I don't try. If I don't—"

"Try what?" Minho snaps. His face is a storm of anger by now, but there's more. It's worry. Maybe he also believes there's a chance Newt's alive, but he doesn't want to risk losing Thomas. "What the hell do you think you're going to do? Sail across goddamn oceans for a body? You're out of your mind."

Thomas's hands curl into fists. "You think I'm insane for wanting to save him?"

"You're chasing ghosts, Thomas. There's nothing left to save. You saw him go, and you let him."

"Shut up!" Thomas roars, shoving Minho back with all his strength.

Minho stumbles but doesn't fall. He catches himself on the edge of the table, fury flashing in his eyes. "You think I don't give a damn about Newt? That I don't—"

Minho's words are cut off when Thomas shoves him again, this time harder, sending Minho crashing into a nearby chair. It topples to the floor with a loud thud.

"Enough!" Gally shouts, rushing forward to grab Thomas, but he's too far gone.

"I'm not letting go of him like you have," Thomas lowers his voice, face-to-face with Minho.

Without another word, he lunges at Thomas, knocking him backward. The force of it sends Thomas stumbling onto the floor, but he gets up just as fast.

His fist connects with Minho's jaw. Minho staggers back, his hand flying to his face as he gasps in surprise. Blood stains his lip almost instantly.

Thomas looks just as shocked, as if it wasn't his choice to punch Minho.

His friend wipes the blood away with the back of his hand. "This is what you want? A fight? Fine." He swings a fist at Thomas's stomach.

Thomas gulps for air, the wind knocked out of him, but he doesn't falter: he lunges again.

They're on each other now, fists flying, their raw emotions deciding each movement. There's no room for anything else. No logic, no reason.

"Stop it!" Aris tries to pull them away from each other, just like Gally. I am too shocked to move.

Thomas lands a punch to Minho's side. Minho hits him in the nose. Their blood morphs together. Thomas elbows him back in the face. Minho kicks him in the crotch. Thomas does the same. Minho punches him in the face again—it goes on for a while, until Gally is finally able to yank them apart.

"Enough!" he shouts. "You two are gonna kill each other over what? Over Newt? He's gone, Thomas. He's gone. Get it through your thick skull."

Thomas stands there, panting, staring at Minho. Minho's lips twitch, but he doesn't say anything. He just looks back at Thomas.

A small group of people have gathered around us by now. Gally's scowl makes them wander off as he commands Thomas and Minho to go to the Med Hut.

"Idiots," Gally murmurs as he sits back down. Aris shuffles back down beside me, his face blank.

The whole thing has me sweating. My first thought is the lake—but then I remember my interaction with Aris a while ago. I totally forgot about it after everything.

Subtly, I scoot away from him. Aris doesn't seem to notice my movement, or at least, he doesn't show it. He stays where he is, sitting a little too still for comfort.

I can hear Thomas and Minho still arguing under their breath even as they're walking toward the Med Hut.

The tension from their fight lingers, but it's not the only thing that's changed. I'm hyperaware of the slight shift in Aris' posture, observing me without saying a word. It's unsettling.

My fingers press into the wooden bench beneath me. I know Minho could hold a gun to Thomas's head and Thomas would still disobey, so Aris and I will definitely meet him at the stone tonight. That's unsettling as well. I need a moment to prepare for this—to think things through. To think through who Thomas and Aris actually are. I barely know them.

"Are you alright?" Aris murmurs.

I nod stiffly, my face growing red at the memory of the lake.

"We don't have to go tonight," he responds. I frown a bit.

Oh. He believes I'm mostly worrying about Thomas's plan at the moment.

I guess that's good? At least he has moved on from the lake thing.

I shake my head again, as in 'it's fine'.

"Okay." He seems to understand, but hurriedly grabs a paper off the table to help me out.

I smile lightly, even though I didn't need it. Then I write down exactly what's on my mind.

'It's fine if we go tonight. Also, who's Rachel?'

Nothing about his expression makes me feel guilty for asking. He looks slightly surprised, yet ready to explain.

"Rachel... she was from Group B, like me," he begins. "She and I were close when we first came to the Maze. We were both kind of lost, trying to figure everything out. I'm equivalent to Teresa and she's equivalent to Thomas."

I watch him closely. Thomas and Teresa. Aris's eyes. There is more about this. He wouldn't tell me they're the same as Thomas and Teresa had their relationship not been similar to hers.

'Did you like her?' I write, though I assume the answer is obvious.

Aris pauses. "I don't know. It was complicated. There was always something in the way—whether it was the Maze or other things we didn't want to face. I guess we just never really got the chance to figure it out."

I nod. 'Do you mind talking about her? Or anything related to the past?'

"I don't think so." He shakes his head. "And you?"

'A little bit.'

Aris cracks the tiniest smile. "I'll keep it in mind. Rachel once mentioned you, actually. She said she felt guilty. You had attacked her and then got Banished."

My mouth forms an 'O' shape. That Rachel. Back then, I didn't know her name, and I still tend to get confused. There were many girls in our Maze.

But Rachel. The girl I vaguely remember—her face blurry, her scent faint. The attack. The banishment. So much of that time was lost in the fog of fear and confusion.

'What did she say exactly?'

Aris shifts, running a hand through his hair. "She didn't go into detail. Just that... she was sorry. She knew it wasn't your fault. She felt bad because you were right in the end: she was 'bad'. She worked for WCKD in the past, just like I did, and Thomas and Teresa."

I blink, taking in his words. It's odd. 'I didn't mean to hurt her.' I scribble.

Aris's gaze softens. "I know. Do you remember much of that time?"

I try to put together the pieces of my memories, but they slip away like water through my fingers. The faces, the voices, the constant terror—it's all a blur. Everything but what happened in the amaze.

'Bits and pieces.'

Aris nods slowly. His gaze lingers for a moment before he looks away. I glance down at the paper in my hands, not sure how to respond to the sudden flutter in my chest.

'Do you ever think about what could have been?'

"Sometimes," he admits. "But I think the Maze changed all of us, in ways we can't undo."

'I think about it too.'

"I think... we make the best of what we have now." His voice is almost a murmur. He doesn't break eye contact. "Even though we're not completely safe with Grayshades around, we have to be grateful we survived."

I nod.

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A/n: lol sorry that there isn't a lot of chemistry between Aris and Adelaide yet. I didn't really plan the tropes/how it would go. Slowish burn I guess? I don't know.

Have a good day/night <3