The Key to it All (Newt)

First Newbie

"You know, we kind of need that wood for other reasons." Artemis said. 

Minho turned towards her. "You know, you can enjoy some things every once in a while. Tonight will be fun! As Newt said, you've known us for a month now and deserve to celebrate. Plus, we'll probably get more wood soon. Shouldn't be a problem." 

"Always so confident" Artemis rolled her eyes. 

Minho winked and gave her finger guns. "You know it baby." 

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Gally and Newt, carrying a large bin with a dark liquid in it. "Newt, what the hell is that?"

"It's Gally's...concoction" Newt said, panting from the weight of the bin. There was enough drink in there to leave everyone hydrated for three days. 

"I volunteered to create a special celebratory drink for this occasion. Voila! It's something I started a few days ago." Gally said, presenting the drink as if it was absolutely harmless. 

"Have you tried it to make sure it's, I don't know, ingestible?" Artemis asked. There was some weird stuff floating in it, and she couldn't tell if it was purple, black, or brown. It also had a little bit of a tangy smell in there. 

"Only one way to find out. Yo, George! Toss me a cup" Gally shouted. George expertly tossed him one of the cups they had taken from the kitchen. Without hesitating, Gally dunked the cup into the bin and took a sip. His face immediately contorted as if he had just bit into a lemon. He began coughing as soon as he swallowed it. "That's interesting."

Newt had made his way next to Artemis during this time, and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "We should probably stay away from that for now. No idea what is going to happen to Gally in the next hour." Artemis nodded along with Newt. 

Luckily, they were saved from having to try the drink by Nick announcing it is now time to light the fire. "Hear ye! Hear ye! I hereby decree that, in celebration of us surviving a month in the Glade and our new friend, Stan, we light this wood on fire!" Cheers went up from all the Gladers as Alby and George set the fire. A huge flame began to spread and soon there was a massive bonfire. Some Gladers had gotten some buckets and made make-shift drums, creating a beat for people to dance to. 

Most of the night was spent either dancing or sitting and talking in front of the fire. Newt and Artemis were the only ones not drinking Gally's concoction, so when they got tired of dancing they loved to watch and see how people were reacting. As the night went on, they saw the effects of the drink. People were slurring their words, couldn't walk straight, and seemed to not care at all. They even saw some people making out near the woods. 

They were a little curious as to what it felt like to drink Gally's drink. Everyone seemed to be having fun and letting go. That curiosity never got the better of them though because they say enough people vomiting to decide that it wasn't for them. Plus the smell of the drink itself was quite putrid. 

When the party began to wind down a few hours later, Artemis woke Bark up from her nap next to the fire to go back to the Homestead before walking back with Newt. "I wonder how everyone is going to feel in the morning." Artemis said. 

Newt laughed. "not great. And I don't think we'll get breakfast. I'm pretty sure I saw Siggy throwing up--he didn't look good."

"You mean you saw Frypan  throwing up. It's awfully bold of him to try and get a new nickname. And Frypan honestly isn't that great."

"Let the kid have fun. Besides, Siggy isn't the greatest name." 

"Better than Newt." At this, Newt elbowed Artemis in the side. 

"I happen to think Newt is a classy name that inspires. It should be used only for the best of the world, the people that will make a difference, the people that matter. From years on, when people hear the name Newt, they'll think, wow. What a great guy."

"Whatever you say, Lord Newt. I, however, am going to sleep. Especially if I have to cook for myself tomorrow. It never goes particularly well."

"Especially if you have to get the eggs from the chickens. I'll never forget that day." Newt smiled as he turned to go into his room that he shared with a few other boys. It was directly across the hall from Artemis' room so that he could look out for her in case anything were to happen. Only Artemis could say who got to live in there. 

As Artemis opened her door to let Bark in, she said "The chickens hate me for no reason. I've done nothing to them."

"Sure you haven't. Goodnight, Artemis. Let me know if you need anything." Newt said as he entered his room, yawning from the late night. 

"night, Newt!" Artemis called after him. 

*trigger warning: rape + assault. I don't explicitly describe it, but yeah. skip to next ch if you don't want to read*

As she went to close the door, a hand slipped over her mouth as one pulled her back by her waist. She heard Bark begin to snarl before a voice behind her said "Can someone shut that dog up? We can't let her prince charming next door hear." 

She knew that voice. It haunted her in her sleep. Jackson. It was dark in the room, but she could tell something was happening. A slapping sound and a whimper from Bark let Artemis know that her precious dog was being abused. She twisted and tried to fight her way out of it, but another pair of hands held her secure. 

Her worst nightmare. They had finally come after her as a group, and they were ensuring that she couldn't get away. Artemis could still hear Bark trying to fight, and obviously so could Jackson, who commanded that they take the dog out of the room. Artemis had no idea how many people "they" included. 

As the door opened, Artemis saw four boys struggling to pull Bark out, who was thrashing with all her might. Artemis tried to send a telepathic message to Bark, and let her know that she knows she's doing the most, and that even getting four of the boys out is such a huge accomplishment and that Artemis is proud of her. Artemis will kill them if they hurt Bark anymore. 

Artemis was trying to stomp on toes, kick some balls, and just do anything to escape, but she was held tight. Jackson and whoever else was holding her brought her to her bed. She was forced to lie down on it, and a faint glow from the fire illuminated the second face: the greenbean. Stan. He must have convinced Jackson to finally go for it tonight, and all around her Artemis could smell Gally's drink. 

"So pretty. Once I met Jackson here, I knew I had to have you. Been bothering me all day. Stupid rules are no fun, so Jackson and I formed a little plan. Isn't that right Jackson?" Stan breathed his hot breathe in Artemis' face. She wanted to scream, but Jackson's hand was firmly on her mouth. She tried to lick it, but Jackson wasn't fazed at all. 

Jackson's chuckle shook Artemis to her core. "I've been wanting you for a month now. Tried to fight me off, but I don't think you'll get to do that this time, will you sweetheart? With Stan's help, I'll finally get to have you. There'll be some punishment for what you did to me involved as well." 

"Shall we get started?" Stan asked. 

Artemis didn't need to see their faces to know what they looked like as Jackson said yes. She shut her eyes and tried to pretend she was anywhere but here. Tried to pretend that her entire body had gone numb. She tried to mentally call out for Newt, or Minho, or George, or Nick, or Alby, or someone, but she knew it was useless. She couldn't stop what was going to happen to her. And she hated herself for it.