Newt's head was spinning. They'd just talked to Alby now that he was better. However, the leader seemed to have been in utter shock, because he spoke in vague sentences, andtold tbem nothing, except that they couldn't leave.

"I'm sure it's the Changing. It's fried his brain." Minho reasoned. But right now, Newt pushed Alby from his mind. He had another task. He slowly pushed open the door to Keith and Astrid's room. Keith was silently sitting on a chair, staring at a wall. Whatever had happened had taken its toll on him. The kid was in shock.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but with Keith not available to talk to, because he wont say anyhing in shock,. Astrid is a better bet." Clint put in. Newt nodded his assent and walked over to his sister, who was playing with her dress. He sat down gently beside her.

"Astrid, look at me." He said, lifting her chin up. "Can you tell me what you remembered?"

Astrid waited for far too long. The blys almost thought she wouldn't answer, but at last she said "Yes. Astrid remembering..."

"Astid can't remember much. Only pain and feeling scared... it hurts a lot... and there's the man's voice in the background... he's screaming the same words while hurting Astrid and Keith... the maze is a code... he's hurting us a lot..." Astrid trailed off,.staring into space. Newt touched her shoulder. "Who Astrid? Which man?"

"The one who tortured us..." cam Keith's unexpected voice. Everyone turned to look at him, but it seemed as though Keith had gone back to silence after that one sentence. Newt turned back to Astrid. "Do you know who he is?" Astrid nodded as Newt's eyes widened. "He's his father..." she said. Newt's anxiety knew no bounds. "Whose?"

"Dusk's.."

~.~.~.

"You know, you should really be resting after almost dying about two hours ago…" Gail laughed and shook her head as Dusk tried to get up. He smiled. "No, really, I can do this… I'm feeling much better, I'm not kidding." He stated weakly. Gail raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh? A broken rib, a dislocated joint, about half the blood lost from your body and you're fine? I'll believe that without a problem." She said sarcastically.

Dusk managed to shakily get to his feet. He turned and gave Gail a wide grin, as though he'd accomplished something immense. Seeing Dusk give her that extremely childish and extremely goofy grin, Gail couldn't help but laugh. Dusk slowly trudged over to the table that was propped up against the far wall, and leaned against it. Gail was about to step over to him, when the door flew open.

Scratch that, the door didn't fly open. It just about fell apart with the forced it was knocked open with. Before anyone could react, Newt barged in, looking angrier than Gail had ever seen him, which was saying quite a lot. Gail simply stood frozen in shock as Newt stomped up to Dusk with an outraged expression on his face.

"Hey, Newt-" Dusk started but was cut off by Newt's fist connecting with his jaw. Dusk reeled back, holding his face with his good hand. Gail was still too shocked to move.

Newt grabbed Dusk's collar and slammed him against the wall. He repeatedly landed punch after punch on Dusk's stomach. In his already injured state, this wasn't something Dusk's body could take. Blood spurted out of his mouth as Newt's punches got harder.

The second-in-command threw Dusk to the floor and kicked him in his ribs. He picked him up again and threw him against the table. "YOUR FATHER DID THIS!" Newt screamed, not even caring how insane he sounded just about then. This monster… his father had tortured Astrid to the point of insanity. Newt was seeing red. All he wanted was revenge. How could anyone torture such an innocent girl and live with it? He'd considered Dusk a friend…

He ran forward again, but Gail latched her fingers onto his shirt and pulled him back. "ARE YOU CRAZY!?" She demanded. "He's dying!" She said. Newt looked at Dusk's form. The boy was now vomiting blood, and his dislocated arm seemed more dislocated. Newt didn't care. Astrid had probably looked worse when this guy and his father had tortured her. Newt threw Gail off and picked up Dusk by his shirt.

He slammed Dusk's face onto the table and pressed it down onto the surface. "YOU DESERVE TO PAY! What had she ever done!? Do you even see her now!? She's insane, and IT'S YOUR FATHER who did this!" Newt screamed. He lifted Dusk's head to slam it onto the table again, when strong arms wrapped around his own. He felt himself being pulled away from Dusk as the other boy collapsed on the floor, covered anew in his own blood. Newt thrashed against the person who was holding him back.

"Newt just stop will you!? You're not thinking straight!" Minho's voice was urgent. Newt slowly stopped thrashing as Gail knelt over Dusk, trying to stop the flow of blood. She glared at Newt. "Now, I've seen some insensitive things, but NOTHING beats this. He's almost dying Newt! What is wrong with you!?" She exclaimed.

"His father tortured Astrid and Keith! My sister is insane today because of this shuck-face's bloody FATHER!" Newt yelled, tears stinging his eyes. He'd stopped thrashing, but he was practically steaming with fury. Gail looked at Dusk in disbelief. "What?" She asked generally, her voice small.

They waited a good three heart beats before Dusk looked up, his eyes red and his mouth bleeding. He looked at Newt with agony and hurt. Newt was surprised such a monster could feel pain at all.

"You think I had a choice? You think I was with my father? Let me tell you this, Newt. You. Don't. Know. ANYTHING!" Dusk yelled as he shakily got to his feet. Newt was taken aback by his statement. Dusk yanked up his shirt to reveal a mark on his abdomen. A brand, the letters burned into the flesh. Newt gasped. That was the same mark he'd seen on Keith and Astrid. And fro Gail's expression, she recognized it too.

"See this Newt? You'll find one on Astrid and Keith too. Know what this means? It means I was tortured with them. In fact, I was tortured a full two years longer than them. And you know who tortured me? My very own father." Dusk spat out.

Newt, and every other Glader in the room, was shocked into silence. This couldn't be….

"You think I had a choice? They'd torture me in front of Astrid and Keith to break the mentally. You think I wouldn't have helped them if I wanted to? I almost got them out once. You know what that got me? My father tortured my best friend in front of my eyes." Dusk said. He was crying by now. Remembering Ashlyn, who he knew he'd gotten killed because of his attempt at rescuing Keith and Astrid. Everyone was staring at the boy slack-jawed.

"You know what they did to her, Newt? They chopped off her ears. And when that wasn't enough, they slowly cut off her toes one at a time with a butter knife. And then they made me KILL HER to put her out of her misery! AND THAT WAS WHAT I GOT FOR TRYING TO HELP! They never let me near them! You think your sister was tortured? WHAT DO YOU THINK I WAS!?" He yelled.

One could have heard a pin drop in the infirmary as Dusk sank to his knees. He buried his face in his good hand and shook with sobs. Gail didn't even know what to do. She knew Dusk had had a bad history, but this was beyond imagination. And if after that Dusk survived through seeing two of his best friends die… Gail didn't really know how this guy was still sane.

Newt simply stared at him. Guilt was not a word strong enough to express what he felt. When he'd heard that Dusk's father had tortured Astrid and Keith, he'd immediately assumed Dusk had been his accomplice. He hadn't even stopped to think for a moment. It was as though something had taken him over. Rage. Rage had engulfed him. Now, seeing Dusk sobbing on the floor, Newt felt crushed by guilt.

"Dusk, I…" he couldn't finish. How could someone apologize for this? He wasn't supposed to be like this… Newt was always the peacemaker… Now, Dusk was bleeding out because of him… He started forward, but Dusk held up a hand. "Don't. Don't even apologize. You couldn't have known. But before barging in and beating the crap out of me, you could've bothered to learn the whole truth." He said, his voice still broken.

"Dusk, I'm so sorry…" Newt said, even though he knew this was way too small to be an apology. "I just got so mad when I heard…." He trailed off again. Dusk got to his feet, wiping the blood off of his mouth. "Well now you know. I didn't help my father torture your sister. I was tortured with her." he said, looking Newt right in the eye. Then, before anyone could protest, Dusk pushed past the group of awed Gladers and walked out of the infirmary room.

Gail started after him, but felt herself being stopped by Minho. "Don't. he doesn't need comfort right now. He needs to be left alone." He said. To his amazement, Gail obeyed. Somewhere inside of her, she knew Minho was correct.

Newt, who'd been staring at the ground in shock till now, turned to look at them. His eyes were filled with guilt and seemed wide enough to be double their size. He started to say something, but Gail cut him off.

"Don't say you're sorry for not knowing. There's no possible way you could've known. Say you're sorry for being a total idiot and running to almost kill someone without even thinking for a second."

~.~.~.

Gail sat in the kitchen, setting up the plated for lunch. She hadn't really given the trials, but with so much going on, they'd simply let her help Frypan in his cooking. As she put the second bread on the sandwich, she heard the door open and shut. She looked up to see Minho come in wearing a sheepish look.

"I take it you don't want brownies?" She asked sarcastically. Minho scoffed. "Well, you're wrong. Everyone loves brownies." He said as he picked one up. Gail smirked. "Well alright then, let me rephrase that. I take it brownies is not why you came to see me?"

Minho froze and looked down. He shook his head. "It's Newt…" he said. Gail sighed. "What's he done now?" She asked. "The shank ran off into the forest, saying he needed some time… Gail, I know Newt. He likes being comforted. He would never say that."

Gail sighed and placed her hands on the counter. She looked at Minho. She knew where this was going. "So you want me to go out there and console your best friend who acted like a total jerk and beat up my best friend? Where is Dusk now, and why aren't you consoling Newt?" she asked.

"Dusk came back an hour ago. Simply went to the map room to help. He wouldn't speak to anyone, and if someone asked him something, he'd just glare at them. And Gail, Newt doesn't exactly need comfort now. He needs someone to tell him he isn't a complete idiot and a screw-up. Gail he's working hard, trust me, he really is. But so many things have been going on right now. And on top of that, finding out about Dusk's father, it pushed past his limit. He's not like that. But this coming from me would sound as though I'm fake consoling him." he reasoned. Gail sighed again.

"Minho, I know Newt didn't mean it. I know he's stressed. But you honestly think I'm the one who should do this?" she asked. Minho firmly nodded. She rolled her eyes. "Remind me again, why is it that you're trusting me?" she asked. Minho contemplated the answer for a moment before answering.

"I honestly have no idea."

~.~.~.

Gail spotted Newt in quite possibly one of the strangest places. They had a small creek in this forest. Newt was sitting next to it, his knees bought close to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Gail stepped up to him silently.

"I'd announce my arrival in a sassy manner, but all I can think of to say is, this is the most bizarre place for you to be." She said as she walked over snd sat down beside the boy. Newt jumped at the sound of her voice, but relaxed a litle thereafter. "Hey." He managed.

Gail took this chance to look closely at Newt. His blonde hair was dishevelled and his usually brown eyes were tinged wih red. Newt was more disturbed and broken than she'd anticipated. "Hey, you wanna talk?" She asked softly. Newt shook his head, but gave in moments later.

"You know where Dusk is?" He asked. Gail nodded. "He came back an hour ago. He's working with the mappers. He's quiet, but he's fine. That's not something I can say for you..." she informed him. He scoffed and dipped his head low.

"I've never felt more stupid. I just heard Astrid say it was his father, and I lost it. I couldn't even think of what to do... you probably hate me now..." he said, looking up at her with a small yet sad smile. She took a moment.

"You know the weirdest thing, Newt? I don't hate you. And if I'm being completely honest, I never have. Because everything you did, I would have done the same, in your position. Newt, you beat up a guy because you thought he'd tortured your sister. I almost killed an innocent girl because some bullshit creators told me to. But we did it because we love our siblings. We want them safe. And I know what that feels like." She said. Newt stared at her.

"I know what that fear is, Newt. When you're afraid for your sibling's life. I know how it demolishes any rational thought." She stated. Newt stared at her a bit longer before giving her another small smile.

But just as his smile came, it faded. "But I can't even do my job well. Alby always remained calm, and managed everything. And now everything's falling apart and they need me to lead them, and I'm messing everything up. I'm not a leader Gail. I never was..." he said, looking down again. Gail frowned.

"You know Newt? I've not been here very long. But everytime I see a fight, there's always one boy to break it up. Everytime something goes wrong, one boy to calm things down. Everytime someone needed consoling, one boy who was always there. You know who that boy is? He's a certain second-in-command with a funny accent." She said. To her pleasure, Newt offered a genuine smile. "I think that encompasses Leadership pretty well Newt."

Newt stood up, and Gail follwed suit. He looked at her. "Thanks Gail..." he said with a faint voice. Before he could protest, Gail stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. She stroked his hair as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. After a few moments, Newt pulled away. Gail smiled. "You needed that."

Newt seemed as though he wanted to say something, but was stopped by footsteps. Minho burst into the clearing, panting and out of breath. "Gods, it took forever to find you guys!" He complained, out of breath. "We were looking through the maps. And Tommy found something. You need to see this."

~.~.~.~.~.~.

A/N: I KNOW I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I know this chapter was not much of action, but I need this to be a teensy bit slow to tell their stories well. I really needed the Newt-Dusk scene cause I doubted Newt would be really jolly after finding out about his father. I mean "Oh your father tortured my sister? Eh, dont matter lets have some tea!" Yeah, that would be a bit weird.

But please tell me your thoughts on this! I love your reviews so much, I cant even say!

Oh and whoever's read The Death Cure, you'll probably see what I did in this chap.

Please review and tell me what you thought! I love hearing your thoughts! Hope you liked the chap!

Yours in demigodishness,

A Fellow Glader