Book 2: Scorch of the Heart / Newt x OC

Chapter 18

     I ran through the trees, not stopping until I made it to my spot which always calmed me down. I was struggling to breath as memories flashed through my head along with voices, mostly my dad's. I stopped abruptly when I made it to the edge of the hill and tried to take deep breaths as I shut my eyes tight. I tried to stop the voices and the horror of the memories but I didn't know how to. I fell down to the ground on my knees as I held my head tightly in my hands, grabbing my hair. The voices started to overlap one another.

     Kill him!-Sky.-Kill me.-Sky!-Chris!-No!-Stop!-Go!-Newt!-Run!

     I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed as loud as I could, trying to drown out the voices. It actually worked. As I gasped, the voices were gone. All I could hear now was the crashing of the waves and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees. I continued to take deep breaths as I tried to blink away the tears that had been trying to break through. As my breath steadied I became aware of someone behind me and somehow knew exactly who it was. "I'm okay." I stated in a shaky voice.

     "That didn't sound or look okay to me." Brenda responded. I let out a deep sigh as I looked down at my lap. I heard Brenda walk up and saw her sit down next to me.

     "I don't know what to do." I told her as I shook my head. I looked up into her eyes that were already staring at me. "I keep hearing my dad and my brother and Newt, Thomas-everyone in my head......and when I saw Newt......all the voices came back at once and I saw my home, fire, forest, huge crowds of people-"

     "I'm gonna stop you right there. I know why this is happening." Brenda interrupted me. "You are struggling with finding out who you were and who you want to be. You need to find peace with who you are now. Stop worrying about who you might've been and focus on the person you are today. And one way to do that is to make peace with your past. Accept the fact that you have a past that might be dark but also have a future that can be brighter."

     "Wow. Didn't know you were so good with metaphors." I tried to joke. Brenda shrugged her shoulders.

     "I've been hanging with the guys too much." I gave her a small smile and nodded my head. I looked out to the view in front of me. As the sun began to set, the camp was starting to light up as spots of light became visible from their lamps they were lighting.

     "Let's go." I announced quietly. "Vince might need our help." I slowly stood up with Brenda and walked down the hill towards the camp. When we were only a few feet from the camp, Harriet and Sonya came running up to us. "What's up?" I asked them as they got closer. Harriet answered when they met up with us.

     "Since Newt is finally awake, Vince is setting up a ceremony of some sort for everyone. It's at the bonfire."

     "It should be fun. Vince is gonna say a few words and then we're all just gonna hang out around the fire." Sonya added.

     "Cool." I responded as Harriet and Sonya continued to stare at me. Brenda started to stare at me as well. "What?" I asked after a moment of them still staring at me. Harriet put a hand on my shoulder.

     "You should go wash up." She informed me. I furrowed my eyebrows.

     "Okay." I responded slowly.

     "And use some of my clothes." Sonya added.

     "And leave your hair down." Brenda added.

     "I've got the perfect outfit." Sonya announced.

     "But I've got clothes of my own and I've never let my hair down so why should I now?" I was totally confused with what they were telling me. The girls looked at one another before looking back at me.

     "Just a little change." Brenda tried to explain.

     "Or an experiment." Sonya added.

     "What-" I was interrupted as Harriet started to push me in the direction of the showers.

     "Don't worry about it. We've got everything covered. Sonya and Brenda will help you get ready and I'll save us seats."

     Everything was kind of a blur after that. I got out of the shower and was handed an outfit by Sonya. I put on the jean shorts, the white tank top and the long light blue cardigan and walked out of the room to see Brenda and Sonya waiting for me. "Okay, let's see how quick we can dry your hair." Sonya announced.

     A little while later, my hair was dried and now draped over my shoulders in waves. Sonya gave me some leather sandals to wear. I slid them on and stood in front of the mirror for Sonya and Brenda. Sonya shook my shoulders from behind me and gave me a big smile. I felt the opposite of what she felt about my outfit. I don't think I ever wore shorts or even sandals or ever left my hair down as long as I can remember. Why? Out of habit I guess. I think my dad always had me wear outfits that were best for combat even from a young age. I took a deep shaky breath as I continued to look at my appearance. "Don't worry! You look great!" Sonya assured me. I nodded my head quickly as I continued to take shaky breaths. Brenda came up and put her hands on my shoulders as she looked me in the eyes.

     "Relax." She emphasized. "Trust me, okay?" I took in a slow breath and nodded my head. "Give us back the confident Sky who can kick anyone's butt when needed." I gave her a slight smile and nodded again. She's right. Why should I care how I look? I can still take down anyone no matter what I wear. "You ready?"

     "Yeah." I responded with more confidence. We walked through the camp and didn't run into anyone since they were all probably at the bonfire already. I saw the bonfire come into view as people started to find seats around it. I saw Harriet talking to Aris when she looked up to see us making our way over to her. She waved her hand and called us over to sit with her. "Over here!" I made my way past people in Harriet's direction and tried to ignore some of the stares I started to receive.