through its window to see several girls sitting in their bunk beds, staring at the door in fear. I grin widely, quickly unlocking the door and yanking it open with a grunt, peering inside. "Hey, there!" I grin, as if this is the most casual encounter ever. "Come on, we're getting you girls out of here."
They all stare at me in complete shock, exchanging dumbfounded glances with one another, unmoving.
"What are you waiting for?" I laugh, waving them out. "Come on!"
As the girls quickly scramble off of their beds, I turn on my heels and stride back to the center of the room, the girls following me out.
The center room begins to hum with murmurs as Thomas opens the far left door to another room, freeing a group of young boys from inside.
Newt peeks in the window of the door to the right of Thomas's, and I can hear a unified gasp from the kids inside the room, causing me to giggle.
Opening the steel door, Newt takes off his mask, his hair falling into place as a small smile tugs on his lips. "Come on, let's go." He nods at the kids, turning on his heels. "Come on!"
Gally opens the fourth door, to my right, letting out another group of girls.
As I scan over the faces of the captives, I furrow my brows together when I realize that I do not see the one face we came here for. "What the...?"
Thomas, already thinking the same thing, rushes back into one of the bunk rooms, looking inside.
Face falling, I look to Newt, who's darting his eyes around the room, obviously doing his best to remain calm.
"He's not here." Thomas says as he rushes back into the circular room. "Minho's not here."
Standing taller and clenching his jaw, Gally shifts his narrowed eyes to Teresa, who seems just as shocked.
"Wh-What?" She asks.
"Minho's not here." Thomas repeats.
As I avert my attention back to Newt, I can see him dropping his helmet to the floor and taking off his Launcher, setting it on the desks and leaning against them with his hands, struggling to maintain rhythmical breaths, and my stomach leaps to my throat. "Newt..?" I mumble.
"That doesn't make sense..." Teresa shakes her head. "This is where they keep him."
"Well, he's not here." Newt snaps, his voice strong while his body appears weak.
I can sense that something very bad is about to happen, and I step closer to the blonde boy, tension immediately rising in the room. Thomas and Gally shift an anxious glance to Newt.
Teresa, drawing her brows together in concern, says, "They must've taken him somewhere else."
"But you said that he would be here." Newt growls, slowly standing upright and nearly stumbling over as he gains his balance, scowling at the girl. "You said that Minho would be here, and now you're telling us that they've got him somewhere else in this bloody building?!"
"Newt... Just calm down." Thomas says, rising panic laced in his voice.
"No! She's probably lying to us again! For all we know, she could betray us any bloody moment, and a herd of guards will storm in here and take us in for examination!"
"Newt," I chime in anxiously.
He limps towards Teresa, loathing eyes locked onto her. "She's going to get us all caught! Then they'll torture the rest of you for tests, and they'll lock me up behind some bloody glass and watch me become a shucking Crank!"
"Newt!" I snap sternly, quickly rushing after him and grasping his arms from behind before he can get physical.
Teresa holds her ground, unflinching, well-aware of what's going on with Newt. "I'm not a traitor." She says defensively. "Nor am I the overseer of what goes on here, but, trust me, I can find Minho's location right now." With that, she rushes around the other side of the desk. "Give me three minutes." She says, leaning over the desk and beginning to rapidly type on the keyboard to one of the computers.
Taking a deep breath, Thomas strides to Teresa's side, examining the computer screen and setting his weapon and helmet down beside the computer.
I can feel Newt's arms trembling in my grasp, and he slowly turns his head to the left, looking at me through his peripherals as he pants stuttered breaths softly. "Sorry... I don't mean to do this to you guys..."
Shaking my head, I whisper, "You can't help it..." Slowly letting go of his arms, I look over to Gally. "We need the Bliss. ASAP."
He nods, pursing his lips tightly together. He strides to the large, center door that doesn't have any windows, attempting to pry it open. "This is where they've got the Serum?"
He asks when the door doesn't budge, taking a step back to look it up and down.
"Yeah, but I don't have access." Teresa says, her eyes not leaving the computer screen.
"I figured that would be an issue." Gally mutters, dropping his pack on the floor and crouching down, unzipping and fumbling through it for something.
Newt coughs lightly, hitting his fist against his chest a few times until the fit is over. Sucking in a forced, deep breath, he walks back to the desks and leans back against them.
It really hurts to watch him like this, suffering and breaking down. He's gotten pretty bad in a matter of hours. How much longer until he's fully devoured by the virus?
I quietly walk to his side, gently grasping his left hand and squeezing it tightly.
He lifts his eyes to mine, smiling ever-so slightly, his sweat-soaked hair falling into his darkening eyes.
"What the...?" Teresa mumbles, drawing her brows together in concern as she leans closer to the computer screen, reading it closely.
"What is it?" Thomas asks, distorting his face as he examines the screen. "What's wrong?"
"They've taken Minho to the Examination Center." She explains as she shoots Thomas a worried look. "That's all the way on the other side of the building."
Gally finally takes out a handheld saw from his pack, along with some protective glasses. Sliding them over his eyes, he looks to the rest of us. "This is going to take a little while, but I can get in." He says reassuringly before turning on the device and cutting into the door, sparks flying.
Thomas, pursing his lips together, nods slightly, inhaling deeply through his nose as he stands taller, shoulders back. "Alright, we'll get him." He tells Teresa, picking up his Launcher and helmet and rushing towards the open entrance. "Newt, (y/n), keep guard for Gally." He orders.
Newt, standing upright as he forces himself to not use the desk for support, shakes his head. "I'm coming with you." He protests, picking his helmet up from the floor.
"What?" I ask, perking up in panic.
Thomas shakes his head. "No, Newt, you need to stay behind."
"Yeah, no shucking way." I chime in.
Gally, stopping in the middle of sawing into the door, snaps, "Someone just needs to get Minho." After adding his two cents, he returns to working on the door.
"Tommy," Newt says, ignoring me and narrowing his eyes at Thomas, "Minho comes first. Remember?"
I gape in offense over the lack of acknowledgement, darting my eyes from the blonde boy to the brunette as I put my hands on my hips.
Thomas, frowning at Newt for a few moments, sighs heavily. "Fine..."
"What?" I snap at the brunette. "No, no, no. You can't shucking cave in like that!"
"(y/n)," Newt says, "I have to get Minho."
I fold my arms, shaking my head. "No, you don't. Thomas and Teresa are fully capable of getting Minho themselves, and they can meet us at the bus with Brenda in the underground level-"
"It's my turn to save his life."
"Newt-"
"(y/n)." He cuts me off sternly, narrowing his eyes at me. "You know I have to do this."
Clenching my jaw as I inhale deeply through my nose, I nod slightly. "Fine." I say simply with a shrug. "I'm coming with you three, then."
"No," Newt shakes his head, "no bloody way, (y/n)."
"You're not my boss."
"Gally needs a guard."
"Gally is capable of defending himself."
"That's true." Gally mutters from behind as he cuts into the door.
I gesture to him. "See? Besides, you're the last person that should be leaving this room!" I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air. "You need the Bliss!"
"And I will get some when we meet you two at the bus."
Thomas, standing at the entrance way with Teresa, waves. "Guys, we need to get going. Now."
Newt, looking back at Thomas, nods. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind you two."
Staring back at Newt, Thomas nods slightly before mumbling, "Let's go," to Teresa and turning on his heels, pulling his mask over his head and sprinting down that hall, Teresa running behind.
Eyes locked on Newt, I feel my breathing pace pick up. "Newt, you can't-"
"I have to go." He says, looking me in the eyes, pressing his lips tightly together as he takes a deep breath. I can see the gears beginning to turn rapidly in his head.
"Newt-"
"You've got a part of me with you, remember?" He says reassuringly, flickering his eyes to my pocket as I reach inside to feel for the fabric of his bandanna for a moment. "Hold it tightly until we reunite in a few, alright?"
Clenching my jaw, I shake my head. "Either I'm coming with you, or you're staying here."
"Newt?" I hear Thomas call from down the hall before Newt can open his mouth to respond.
The ill boy looks back over his shoulder towards the hall before turning back to me. "I've got to go." He repeats, turning on his heels and limping to the desk to grab his Launcher.
It is at this moment that I realize that there is no possible way I'm going to change his mind. Newt is going to go with Thomas and Teresa, and he is not going to let me follow them.
As anxiety rises inside of me, I struggle to keep rhythmical breaths, hands shaking slightly with overwhelming stress. "Newt..."
Pulling the strap of his Launcher over his shoulder, across his chest, Newt swings the gun to his back, shifting his brown eyes to me. Gripping the strap, he stands still in silence, keeping his eyes locked on mine from a few yards away. He seems almost frozen, unmoving with his expression unreadable as if he's debating on what to do, evaluating several options that I fail to see.
"Newt, are you coming with us?" Thomas calls from out of sight down the hall.
"Give me a bloody minute!" Newt snaps over his shoulder suddenly; however, he averts his eyes back to me as they immediately soften, locking them onto mine. I can almost see the neurons in his brains sparking as his mind races.
Adjusting his posture slightly as he finally comes to some kind of internal conclusion, he sets his helmet back on the desk before slipping off his black gloves and tossing them onto the surface.
In concerned puzzlement, I ask, "Are you staying?"
Newt dusts his hands off on his pants, turning and limping to me swiftly, his brown eyes staring directly into mine in a manner that is indescribable.
I frown, my heart still racing. "Newt, what are you-"
Before I can finish the sentence, Newt clasps his hands on my face, suddenly slamming his lips against mine.
Taken aback, my eyes widen as my lips begin to tingle from the contact with his, and my heart leaps out of my chest so much so that I would not be surprised if Newt could feel it. After seconds, I slowly relax, closing my eyes and returning the kiss.
At this moment, with Newt's warm, soft lips pressed against mine, I feel every worry melt away, the life-and-death situation feeling as if it's a mere spec, a single blip in time, forgotten. It's only him and I, and we are connected far more than we have ever been, greatly surpassing last night on the balcony. I can feel those shattered pieces of our pasts that were exposed a short twenty four hours ago mending together at a rapid pace as our lips move perfectly in sync. Our broken mosaics patch together, joining as one to create a vast, breathtaking work of art, far more beautiful than any aesthetic piece.
As an overwhelming swell of contentment bursts from deep within my heart, I feel Newt's hands gently shift to my waist, and he pulls me closer to him, and, by instinct, I wrap my arms around his neck.
And all of this time, I have yearned for this moment, and yet I never knew that myself.
Our hearts beat in flawless synchronization, as one, and, kissing him deeply, I never, ever want to break away. I never want to let go.
However, Newt gently pulls his lips away, though he rests his forehead against mine, slowly opening his eyes and staring into mine. The print of his lips linger on mine, leaving me with a soft, tingling sensation.
"Newt..." I whisper, cupping his face and gently brushing my thumbs along his pale skin.
He quickly leans in once more, kissing me again, obviously having discovered the same fiery desire within his own heart, and I definitely do not fight it.
As he slowly pulls his lips away, once again, I can feel his gentle, warm breaths against my lips, and the small smile that I adore tugs on the right corner of his mouth. "That was long overdue..."
I manage laugh softly, still cupping his pale, sweaty face between my hands. "Yeah... Yeah, that was..."
Licking his lips, he nods, managing to chuckle weakly. Taking a deep breath and standing taller, his smile already fading, Newt lets go of me, stepping back and grasping the strap of his Launcher. "I've really got to go, now..." He says.
My heart sinks, and my face falls as reality slaps me across the face with it's icy hand. "You can't just stay?"
He limps to the desk, sliding on his gloves and picking up his helmet. "I have to get Minho, but I will be with you again soon. Trust me." He says as he rushes to the hall. He pauses in his path and turns on his heels, looking to me. "Goodbye, (y/n)." With that, he turns towards the corridor, putting the helmet on his head.
"Newt," I call, causing him to stop in his tracks again and turn around to face me once more before he can pull the mask over his face, "this is not goodbye."
Eyes shifting slightly in thought, Newt nods, pulling the mask over his face as he slowly backs into the corridor before turning forward and running out of sight, after Thomas and Teresa.
Folding my arms, I stare at the open entrance for a few moments, my heart yearning for myself to grab my weaponry and sprint after them.
"Geez," Gally finally speaks up, stopping in the middle of his saw work, once again, "PDA much? There are children present."
Shooting a glare at Gally, I mutter, "Oh, shut up."
I turn back around to stare at the open entrance, biting my lip and tapping my foot as I already begin to feel antsy.
'Goodbye'? Why would Newt say that? This is not goodbye. I won't let it be so.