I couldn't stop thinking about it. About what I did to Mae.

Despite the fact that I pushed her an hour ago, she had been rubbing the back of her head and pinching her eyes shut in pain ever since. The girl hit the counter pretty hard, I'm surprised she didn't get knocked out. But as I watched her, I noticed how her eyes were slightly glossed over, and she had to be leaning over or holding onto something or someone as she stood.

Whenever I looked at her, she met my eyes and she gave me a weak smile, telling me that she didn't blame me for what had happened. But I did. I blamed myself for pushing her, I blamed myself for putting her through the pain of knowing that I was going mad. Maybe if I hadn't told her, or shown her, then she wouldn't look like she was thinking of the worst possible situation every moment.

The sadness I've felt since the moment I laid hands on her has almost been unbearable. It took a lot to make me really upset, but when it came to Mae, and her safety, I was like a piece of glass just waiting to be shattered.

That's how I've been since I met her. Something about being the only girl around fifty or more guys flipped a switch in me that I didn't know was there. Before, I had just been existing. I was forced into a life I didn't want, trapped with no memory of a purpose. The only thing that had been keeping me going was the tiniest glimmer of hope that we would somehow find a way out of the Maze.

And then she came.

And she somehow figured out a way to make me feel happy for the first time in my life.

She gave me a purpose. Something to care about. Something to hope for.

I found myself biting off more than I could chew with her. Caring about someone who was so reckless. She made it her duty to protect everyone around her, without bothering to wonder if someone was protecting her. Any minute, she could take a wrong step, and could be captured or killed. And she didn't even think about that.

But deep down, I knew that she was so powerful that the only one that could kill her...was herself.

And now, she was trying to piece together the plan that we had made throughout the course of the day. Her delicate hand was over her eyes in a state of stress nobody could possibly understand. Papers fanned out in front of her while Gally and Tommy bickered about basically stealing Teresa. Their conversation was built on mutters, careful not to speak to loudly to interrupt those who were thinking.

I stared at her, holding my hands in a fist while my elbows were perched on the table. I was about five feet from Mae, wanting to keep my distance just in case something came over me again.

"Okay." She suddenly spoke, shutting everyone up immediately as we all listened to her. "So let me get this straight...I'm gonna be waiting with Bren in the bus while all of you guys go and get Minho?"

Tommy nodded. "And when we get the serum and get Minho, save the other kids, then we'll bring them to you guys. We'll all get on the bus and then that's where Fry comes in."

"Where the hell even is Minho?"

He paused before looking at Gally, who sighed and responded. "That's why we need Teresa. The plan is to get her back here, have her take out the stupid tracker things from the back of our necks so that we won't get detected when we go through the building..." He pushed his lips to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. "And maybe interrogate her in the process."

"As much as I absolutely love that plan, especially the interrogating part, we still don't know how we'll get away from all of this. We're not just gonna come back here, there's gonna be a whole shucking search party for us." She brought up a valid point while my eyes went back to Thomas.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. That's why Jorge," He pointed toward the old man who was standing next to Mae. "Is gonna leave early to go back to the camp and get the Berg. He'll fly it back to us, and when we get Minho and the serum for Newt, then we'll come back here, where Jorge should be. We'll load up and then go back to camp and hopefully the boat will be ready for the Safe Haven."

"Okay, that sounds like a great plan and all, but when have any of our plans actually worked?"

Everyone went silent as we all stared at her, and her suddenly cautious mentality. I stood up straight, furrowing my eyebrows. This girl has always been the one to hop on the bandwagon of saving someone with every chance she got. Usually, she came up with half of the plans, but this time, she hardly even paid attention. Like she had something on her mind.

Thomas' face scrunched up in confusion. "Well, we have to try, Mae. We're so close, and this is the only plan that we've come up with that's solid. Wh-Why are you..." He trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

She stared back at him, unmoving as she pursed her lips and breathed through her nose. He shook his head, trying to understand what she was saying, what she was worrying about through her doubt. But anyone who looked close enough could see it in her eyes. It was as clear as day.

She was scared.

"You'll be with Brenda." Gally leaned forward, and her eyes shifted from Thomas to the boy. "Newt will be with us, and as soon as we get the cure, we'll give it to him. He'll be as good as new."

Tears suddenly flooded her eyes as she clenched her jaw and nodded once. She looked away from Gally and back to the amount of papers that laid out in front of her, slowly pushing them away.

She sniffled once. "What time is it?"

Brenda looked down at her watch. "6:15."

Mae nodded, tapping her finger gently on the concrete table while everyone stayed silent, not knowing what they were waiting for.

"Then what the hell are we doing? Why aren't we going to get Teresa?"

Thomas suddenly broke out into a small grin, as did everyone else except for me and Mae. She pulled the fakest smile I've probably ever seen from her as everyone dispersed, Gally and Thomas grabbing the pillowcase from the table and moving toward the garage. Brenda and Frypan moved toward the kitchen, wanting to get something to eat before everything started to happen.

Once the room was practically empty, I darted my eyes to Jorge, who was still standing next to a very stressed-looking Mae. He met my eyes, and I raised my eyebrows, feeling like this situation was suddenly incredibly awkward.

I wanted to talk to Mae, just not with someone else in the room, or me going closer than five feet to her.

"Oh. Sorry." Jorge suddenly widened his eyes, stepping away and moving toward somewhere else other than here.

And we were alone.

I don't think I've ever felt so disconnected from you. And that was my fault. You stood only feet away from me, and yet I felt like we were worlds apart.

I didn't know what to say. I was practically beating myself up for not saying anything, comforting her when I knew she needed it. But I didn't know if I could be within two feet of her without feeling crazy again. Because she made me crazy. Even when I wasn't infected with a brain-eating disease.

"Do you wanna know what Vince said to me before we left?"

Her voice was like a bullet through the silence, and my head immediately shot up, hearing her speak so softly. I stayed silent, curiosity fighting with the madness in my mind as she swallowed and wiped her eye with the back of her hand.

"I was...I was getting ready to leave. I had already gotten Brenda up, and she went to go get Jorge. I don't know how Vince knew, but..." She looked up at me, and her eyes were so full of fright. Fear of the unknown. "He said to not be scared. Somehow I think he knew what we were going to do, and I think he knew about my little thing with fear."

"He said, 'Mae, don't be scared. Whatever happens, I'll always be there for you. And so will she'..." She paused, looking down at the floor before licking her lips. "He also said to not let you go. To stay with you, because he felt like you were good for me."

My heart dropped to my feet, listening to her words. She wiped her eyes again just as a small tear fell, dropping onto the concrete floor as she hung her head.

"You are good for me. And I'm trying everything I can to come up with some way to fit saving you completely into this whole process." She motioned toward the table, papers that had tonight's events scattered all over it. "Not just saving you so that we would always have to keep giving you serum, but saving you so that freaking virus inside your head is gone for good."

I stared at her as she moved her way over to a crate people had been using throughout the day to sit on when they became overwhelmed. She plopped down with a sigh, leaning forward to put her head in her hands.

"I want to have a dog named Lucy with you, Newt. And I want to live on a beach. You know...maybe in the future have little Newts or little Mae's running around. And I want to be safe. With you. Not with anybody else. I want to grow old with you."

"Maisy..." I spoke for the first time, turning my body toward her and taking a step closer. She shook her head, running her nails through her hair in anxiety. She looked up once again, meeting my eyes from the other side of the room. I could tell she wanted me to come closer by the way her eyes flickered down to the space in between us. But I kept my distance, not wanting to hurt her ever again.

"And I mean that. Like...you're it for me, Newt."

You were it for me too, Mae.

I transferred my weight onto my right leg, tilting my head the same direction as her words hit me in a different part of my chest that I didn't know I had. I swear, I had just fallen in love with her all over again when she said that. I tapped my hand on the table, not knowing what to say back.

Before I got the chance to open my mouth, Mae stood to her feet, swiftly walking over to me and wrapping her arms around my neck. I stumbled back a little bit from the force of it, and from the surprise that she actually wanted to be close to me after what I did.

But she pulled me closer, burying her face into my neck while I stood still. This was a type of hug we've never had before, showing a different type of vulnerability than other times. It was always my arm around her, one hand on the back of her head. When I hugged her like that, I felt as though I was protecting her from the world. Shielding her from all the hurt that tried to lay hands on her and her fragile heart. But now, she was holding me. My heart ached as I hesitantly returned the favor, wrapping my arms gently around her back.

As the moments went by, and she didn't let go, I began to hold her tighter, needing the sense of comfort that has always been her. I don't think I've ever had a hug like this one—I shut my eyes and squeezed her torso, burying my head into the crook of her neck, just as she was doing with me.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, just holding onto each other. It was nice. But it hurt my heart in more than one way—the thought that she was protecting me from the world now only reminded me that I was on a time crunch. And I would still be on that time crunch whether we got the serum or not.

So I held her tighter.

"Guys."

The words pierced through the air, and I lifted my head to see Brenda standing in the entrance to the room. She sighed, leaning on the doorway. "Thomas and Gally are back. We're all downstairs. They have her."

"That quick?" Mae asked, finally pulling her head back.

She nodded, a smirk pulled up on her lips. "You guys have been in here for a while."

"Oh."

Brenda smiled and pushed herself off the wall, turning around and walking towards where the rest of the guys were. Mae pulled away from the hug, leaving my body to suddenly feel cold. I wished that I could stay in that hug forever.

We both followed Brenda into a bigger room where everything was already set up. Candles were clustered on tables, lighting up the room. Guns that had to be loaded were in their place, along with the WICKED uniforms Gally had somehow managed to bring to all of us. On a table to the right, was a whole bunch of medical equipment that Teresa was going to use to get the trackers out of our necks. I wasn't looking forward to that part.

Mae took a step forward, into the group we were all huddled in while Teresa sat tied to a chair, the pillowcase over her head. The girl smirked at the sight, shaking her head and turning back towards everyone.

"Can I do it?" She asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Tommy furrowed his brows as he looked at her.

"Interrogate her. Possibly punch her."

Gally smirked while Thomas shook his head. "No. He's gonna do that. All you have to do is be patient and get your tracker out—"

"Oh come on, Thomas." Brenda suddenly interrupted the boy. She pointed to Mae. "She deserves to be the one to do it. Without Teresa, her mom would probably still be alive. I think she deserves the chance to yell at her."

"Wait, what?" Gally raised his eyebrows at the new information. "Mother? Since when—"

"That is a story for another time." Mae held up her hand, and Gally closed his mouth. She looked back to Thomas, her eyes giving him that look she gave when she really wanted something. "Please?"

Tommy groaned and ran his hands down his face. "You're gonna do it anyway, so fine." Mae beamed. "But, no punching. Only interrogate her. No physical contact of any kind. No—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I can't have fun." Mae waved him off as she started to walk over to the chairs that were seated a few yards away from where Teresa sat. You could practically feel the glare she was giving her as we all sat down, ready to face the girl who had betrayed us and gotten us into this entire mess.

Mae looked back at Thomas as he sat down, leaning forward on his elbows. He sent her a slight nod, and the mischievous smirk on her lips pulled up as she took a step forward and pulled the cloth from over her head.

Teresa was breathing harshly as Mae walked around her, taking slow, menacing steps. The girl's head shot up to look at her, and all the color drained as she did. In fright, Teresa then looked down, meeting her eyes with Gally, who stood next to Thomas.

"Gally?" She breathed, probably in shock from what she was seeing.

The boy stayed expressionless, as did the rest of us.

"Here's how this is gonna go." Mae spoke, her voice low as Teresa darted her eyes back to her. The girl moved in front of her line of vision, blocking her sight from any of us. "I'm gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna tell us exactly what we need to know."

Teresa stayed silent, her eyes darting from Thomas to Mae, then back to me as though she were asking help to control her. She should be scared... She's the reason Mae went through all the pain that night.

"We'll start off simple." Mae muttered, pulling a chair from beside Gally and bringing it in front of Teresa. "Where's Minho?"

Teresa exhaled a shaky breath. "You guys don't seriously think th—"

The sound of the chair slamming on the ground made the girl clamp her mouth shut, jumping a few inches in her chair as Mae sat in front of her on the backwards chair.

"Don't look at him. Why're you looking at him? Look at me." She pointed to herself while Thomas lowered his head slowly, breaking his own gaze with the girl. "He's not gonna help you."

"Now we know you have Minho in the building." Teresa lowered her head and glared at Mae through her eyelashes as she spoke. The hatred that these two girls had between each other was enough to make even me stand back. I knew that Mae could beat her up in about five seconds, but the looks that they gave each other were enough to want to make me klunk myself. "Where?" Mae continued.

"Why would I tell you?" Teresa pushed, making me let out a breath.

Mae scoffed, turning her head around to face all of us. Thomas closed his eyes, almost as though this conversation was paining him to hear. Gally just smirked to himself and shook his head, entertained by all of this.

"Why would you tell me?" Mae repeated, looking back at Teresa who tried to seem like she was so tough. The girl didn't respond. "I'll give you a reason."

She suddenly stood to her feet, kicking the chair out of the way. Teresa flinched, but Mae didn't stop there. She lifted her foot up to the chair, kicking it backwards so that the girl gasped and pinched her eyes shut. Thomas lurched forward, still in his seat although his eyes went wide.

But Mae never let the chair hit the ground. She caught it with one arm, inches from the floor. Teresa pressed herself against the wood while Mae squatted down, their faces inches apart.

"Where's Minho?" She muttered, asking again.

Teresa swallowed, her eyes still pinched shut as she pressed her back against the seat. "He's in holding. Sub level three."

Satisfied that she got an answer, Mae pulled the chair back upright, taking a step away with her arms crossed as I finally asked a question.

"How many others?"

"Twenty-eight." Her voice was shaky, hesitant.

Brenda hummed from somewhere behind us. "Mae and I can make that work."

"No. No you guys don't understand. T-The whole level's restricted. You can't get in without a—"

"Thumbprint ID." Mae interrupted. "Yeah, we went over that already, so you can shut up."

To my right, Gally choked on a laugh. We all looked over at him, and the boy was shaking his head with a smile pulled up on his face. He noticed all of us staring, and his smile immediately dropped. "What? Is it a crime to laugh? She's funny."

Thomas shook his head in annoyance, turning back to Teresa. "That's why you're gonna come with us."

Mae tilted her head and gave him a questioning look before she glanced back at Teresa. "Well, I don't know... We don't necessarily need her. Right?" She stood up and moved to the table behind us, shuffling through the supplies. "Not all of her. We just need her finger."

She turned back around, a scalpel in her hand while she reeked of rage and annoyance that she had to be in the same room with this girl again.

"Mae. Back off." Thomas stood up and grabbed the tool out of her hand, setting it back on the table.

"What are you, squeamish?" She picked up the tool again and took another step towards Teresa. "I guarantee she's done much worse to Minho."

"That's not the plan." He moved in front of her, his eyes shooting daggers into hers while he took the scalpel away once again. "Back off."

"It won't make a difference. Do whatever you want to me. You still won't get through the front door. The sensors will pick you up the sec—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mae interrupted for the second time, gently pushing Tommy out of the way. She wasn't done yet. As a matter of fact, I could feel her rage building. "We know. That's why you're gonna enjoy yourself and you're gonna take those stupid trackers out of our necks."