ANTITHESIS.

YEAH ,        YOU’RE        JUST        GONNA        HAVE        TO        EXCUSE        HIM       for        not        believing        in        the        whole        not        LYING        thing.                                    ‘                well        shit       dude ,        my        bad       then.            i        didn’t        realize        this        shirt        said        hey        i’m        willing        to        listen        to        a        lunatic’s        ravings        about        my        long        lost        past.                i        was        going        for        more        of        a        shut        the        hell        up        sort        of        vibe        guess        i’m        not        that       good       with        fashion        statements        yet.                ’                    /                                       the        boy        speaks       disdainfully ,       annoyance        tamed        FEAR        misdirected        at        the        other ,        a        pebble        kicked       stubbornly        into        the        open        space        before        them.                  deep        down ,        thomas        knew        well        enough        that        tesla        wasn’t        the        one        he        was        TRULY       angry       at.                    he         was       angry       at        himself.        at        the        person        he         had        once        been.             angry        at        his        choices ,        at        his       WEAKNESS.                     to        let        wicked        manipulate        him ,        manipulate       them ,       use        them ,        all        of        them ,        when        he        could’ve        done       something        to        stop        it?             he        just        couldn’t       wrap        his        mind        around        what        kind        of        person        would        do        such        a        thing.                     NO.       even        after        everything        he        had        done ,        this        wasn’t        tesla’s        fault.                 it        was        HIS.                and        it        was        about        time        he        started        owning        up        to        it.                after        all ,        who        was        he        to       judge        anyone’s        actions?                                 ‘               fine ,        whatever.               ’            the        runner       resignedly       mumbles        to        himself        more        than        anyone        else ,        arbored       MISTRUST       reluctantly        placed        aside        to        make        way        for        the        growing        desire       to        start        anew.                          for        his        own        sake ,        if        not        for        anyone        else’s.                                             ‘               look        man ,        don’t        get        me        wrong        alright?                 i’m       grateful        you        want        to        help        with        the        cure        and        i’m        willing        to        trust        you        on        that.                but        i        have        no        interest      in        who        i        was        before        this        whole       mess        started.                i       already        HATE        myself        enough        as        it        is ,        i        don’t        need       any        more        reasons.                    whoever        you        met        back        then ,        back        at        wicked ,       he’s        gone.            he’s        been        gone       the        moment        i        woke        up        in        that        damned        box ,               ’

      “you sure he’s gone?” it’s not meant to be antagonistic, for once, and tesla even spares thomas a side - glance as they walk, hiking his backpack further up onto his shoulders. “cuz the guy i met back then would’ve done anything for the cure.” even if it meant sentencing his friends to imprisonment and certain death. was paradise really that different from the maze? nothing was guaranteed but that they’d all die one day -- be it from grievers, or crank, or old age. what was the point of making it out of the maze if there was nowhere else for them to run?

AN        ANNOYED        GLANCE        IS         SENT        IN        TESLA’S        DIRECTION ,        an        eyebrow        raising        in         surprised        disdain       as        the        boy’s        features        remain        on        lock.                     truthfully ,        thomas        had       been        sort       of        hoping        this        would        be        a        MUTE        kind        of        journey.                and        now        …         was        his        self   -   proclaimed       ENEMY        willingly        and        spontaneously        starting        a        conversation        with        him        —-        and        a        somewhat       innocent        one        at        that ?            surely        he        was        MISSING        something.                                        ‘              why       are        you        telling        me        this?               ’                the        runner        questions ,        his        tone        somewhat        rougher        than        necessary ,        MISTRUST        dripping        from        the        small        silence        that        follows.                              it        was        bad       enough        tesla        was        seemingly       the       ONLY        person       that        had        the      knowledge        to        help       him        on        his        quest        to        finish        what        teresa        had        started.            he        didn’t       need        him        spewing       LIES       all        the        way        there.                                ‘                if        this        is        some        sort        of       game ,        i        am        not        in        the        mood.                ’

        “and you think i am?” it’s almost impressive, really, how thomas can rile him up with only a few words. perhaps it’s years of practice dealing with jealousy, with rage, with going to bed attention starved, craving the validation thomas seemed to scoff at. they weren’t all that different, when they were younger, but it still feels like a lifetime away. he’s not sure a twelve year old tesla would recognize himself now ( but you weren’t tesla then, were you? you were WILLIAM, and he’s dead now. they’re all dead now ). 

       “–somethin’ like that.” in theory he knows that all of the kids here are in the same boat as he is–terrified, confused and probably pretty goddamn exhausted. but newt can’t quite bring him to trust any of them. only his gladers. “a week, huh? how many got out?”

    ‘ NO — ’ her gaze falls, just proving that it was a blatant lie. of course she had nightmares about them, most nights she couldn’t even bare to fall asleep as the fear that she would be haunted by their faces keep her wide awake. she could have stopped BETH, she could have saw the signs that she had been bit way before the knife plunged itself into RACHEL’S chest. maybe if she had been faster the both of them would still be alive. ‘ I DON’T WANT TO talk about it. ’

“   &  all  i’m  saying  is  that  i  didn’t  ask  for  your  opinion .   “    didn’t  even  know  him  but  was  getting  tired  of  people  telling  them  what  they  should &  shouldn’t  do .

    ‘ STOP IT, please. I’ve had enough. ’ there’s a soft whine in her voice as she takes a step back away from him.  though there was no denying he was in the right, the pain of rapid memories flooding in was becoming far to much for her to handle.