Emotionless »« Newt

FIFTEEN

"Should we wake him up?"

Newt shakes his head a little, letting a smile dangle on his lips as he turns to see Frypan sleeping in the drivers' seat. Leandra and Newt are leaning against the van, waiting for Thomas, but there's no telling at one point in the night he'd sneak out. They know for a fact it's going to happen, though, and they're waiting. "Nah. Let him rest. We'll wake him up when Tommy's coming this way. You'll be able to tell, right?"

"Why, worried your dramatic entrance is going to get ruined?" she teases gently, and the two exchange quiet laughs. Even then, there's something heavy in her heart. She didn't get the compartment right, and while she's surprised she's gotten no abuse from it, she knows it's because of Newt that people are refraining from saying anything. It's not a pretty sight when he's mad.

"We're going to get Minho," Newt says quietly to himself, but she can sense the sadness, the hopelessness he tries to push away. It's her fault, after all. They were so close to getting Minho before, they took six months to get where they are now, and she messed it all up by picking the wrong compartment. "No matter what it takes, we're going to get him."

"'No matter what it takes'," Leandra echoes, but her voice is oddly quiet. Newt realises, turning to her curiously, but she shakes her head before ceasing the writing of her name in the dust coating the car. "Newt, how far is that? We can't go rushing in without a plan."

"We have a plan," he shrugs. "Get to the Last City, find a way in, locate where WICKED's holding him and break in. We can figure out the rest on the way."

"And what if someone's life is at risk?" she says, keeping her voice careful and light so as not to step on a fuse. She knows that the questions are irritating him a little, partially because he doesn't have a proper plan, fuelled by the desperate need to save his friend. She knows that sometimes it results in illogical thinking, but that's what she's trying to stop. "What happens then?"

"It's worth it," he insists, though his voice is quiet. "It doesn't matter, as long as we get Minho. We've been in dangerous situations before, and we'll get out of it. All of us. No matter what the cost."

"'You'll do well not to forget resolutions formed in the hour of fear'," she quotes, then manages a slight smile. "It's from Wuthering Heights."

"Have you read it?"

She purses her lips. "No. But my mom always used to say it, and I've memorised it. It's true, though, Newt. I'm with you, but we need to be careful. Stick together, no running off, and we take the safest way. We can't keep taking risks, or... Or we're going to lose people like we lost Winston."

Leandra didn't want to have to say it, but she feels the loss hit her just as strong as it hits Newt at the mention of their old friend, and she knows it served its purpose. If there's one thing Newt cares about, it's the people around him. She needs to appeal to that, get him to be careful. It's crucial.

"How come you didn't tell Sonya?" she questions gently, trying to change the subject. "You know, about you guys being siblings? I get you didn't tell her before, but we've rescued her, now. Don't you want to, like, get that out of the way? Clear it up with her, reunite?"

Newt hesitates, then takes a deep breath. "I don't know. It just... It never felt like the right time. She was just rescued from WICKED, and I can't land a bombshell like that on her. Besides... it's not the same. It doesn't bring the memories back, or change anything."

"That's what I used to think," Leandra reminds him, squeezing his hand momentarily and offering a smile. "But you changed my mind, and even though those memories haven't come back, it's still building up again. Don't lose hope, Newt."