Subject B3 (newt x reader)

Chapter 13

The sound of the gunshot rings out across the desert just as I reach Niamh to try and smack the gun out of her hand.

But it's already too late.

I watch with horror as the girl's lifeless, infected body crumples to the floor, the gun falling out of her hand as she hits the sand. A dark red pool of blood coming from her head forms in a matter of seconds as her unblinking eyes turn glossy, her mouth slightly gaping open. In that moment, the reality of what's just happened crashes down on me like a ton of bricks.

"NIAMH!" I scream, sinking to my knees next to the girl. Almost immediately Newt slides down next to me, wrapping me in his arms as I bury my head into his jacket, my wails muffled by the fabric.

The sand shifts slightly under me as the group all crowd around the girl, no one saying a word. I keep my head buried in Newt's embrace for as long as possible- I don't daren't look at Niamh's infected corpse.

We all sit in silence for a few minutes, everyone too traumatised by Niamh's suicide to talk. I stay with my head nuzzled into the boy's jacket, with my arms wrapped around his torso as he gently strokes my knotted hair.

Finally, Gzi breaks the silence by simply uttering my name.

"Y/N?"

Slowly, I remove my head from Newt's chest and turn to look at the blonde girl. Her face is wet from tears, and her bottom lip is quivering slightly. In the three years of knowing her, i has never seen Gzi in a state like this before. She always told me back in the Coremeum that she 'didn't have time for tears, because they were a waste of time.' Course, she hadn't ever seen one of her closet friends shoot themselves back then.

"What are we going to do with her body?" I sniffle, my head starting to ache from my sobbing. "We can't just leave her here, can we?"

Thomas, Gzi and Minho are sitting in front of her body, blocking my view from her. Thomas looks over his shoulder at her, before turning back to us, his lips pursed.

"We may have to bury her." He says, looking at me apologetically. "It would be too hard to carry her with us, and who knows what we would do with her body if we reached the mountains? I think it's easier and more respectful if we bury her now, where she'll rest in peace."

I don't say anything- I physically can't say anything, so I just watch as Thomas and Minho shift over in the sand slightly and start to dig a hole in it with their hands.

Newt says with his arms wrapped around my stomach, his head resting atop of mine. I shift my eyes around the group- Gzi sits with her chin on her knees, sniffling slightly. Aris stares out in front of him, not a single trace of any emotion crossing his face. And Renee and Natasha sit huddled together, their fingers interlace as they sob quietly.

It feels wrong for me to see two boys who barely even knew Niamh to be digging her grave for her, so I slowly unwrap myself from Newt and shuffle over to join them.

No one says a word as I use my hands to push the sand out of the way, but it only flows back down into the newly dug hole, making it physically impossible for me to get anywhere. I shift my eyes to Minho beside me, and see that he's having the same problem.

"This is useless." I sigh, sitting back on my knees. "We're never going to get anywhere."

"Why don't we cover her with a sheet?" Aris says, breaking his stare. "I have a spare one in my bag. I accidentally picked up two back in the mall."

The boy stands up and wonders over to his rucksack, rummaging around until he pulls out a large white sheet, although it's more of a stained yellow colour now- I'm assuming from time and dirt.

I watch as Aris walks back over to us, taking the sheet by two corners, and slowly draping it over the deceased girl, letting it float down on top of her until it settles. He steps away from her, his jaw clenched and tears starting to roll down his cheeks, despite his efforts to wipe them away.

I rise to my feet and walk over to him and slowly wrap my arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a side hug. The boy chokes out a sob before nuzzling his head into the crook of my shoulder. I wrap my other arm around his torso and pull him in tighter as I rest my chin on his shoulder, inhaling softly.

After a couple of minutes Aris pulls away from me, giving me a painful smile. "Thank you Y/N."

"Anytime." I sniffle, "I think we should probably get some sleep now, hm?" It's been a long day."

"I don't know how you think I can possibly get to sleep after what just happened." Aris laughs wryly, shifting his eyes to the ground.

"We can at least try." I say quietly.

*******
The 'trying to get to sleep' had failed on my part when a few hours later I'm still wide awake, staring right at Niamh's body a few feet away from, the soft breathing from the rest of group indicating that they're asleep. The area of sheet around her head has turned a crimson colour, and the sight of it makes me slightly nauseous, to think of the bullet lodged into her brain right now. A bullet that she put there herself.

"Y/N?"

I flip over onto my other side and come face to face with Newt, who's sleeping position is next to mine, with the rest of the group lined up along next to him. The early morning light illuminates his pale face as he looks at me, his head resting on his rucksack as a make-do pillow.

"Are you alright?" I whisper.

"That's a question I should be asking you." He replies, adjusting his head position slightly. "Can you not sleep?"

"No. I just keep replaying Niamh's.. death in my head. I can't get it out." I sigh.

"I've never really been the best person to talk to in these type of situations." Newt replies. "But I do know that even though I sound like an awful person for saying it, and you probably don't believe it, what happened was for the best. Sooner or later Niamh would have turned fully, and you saw what they were like back in the mall. Hell, one even attacked you. That virus makes the victims do awful things, and even though she was one of your closest friends and she wouldn't ever dream of hurting you, the virus would have completely taken over her body and caused her to do something horrible to you, or anyone else here. Niamh would never want to see herself hurt you when she was in the hands of the Flare, and she knew that, which is why she shot herself. Because she didn't want to hurt anyone here, and live with it afterwards."

Even though it hurts me to hear him say it, I know that the boy is right. If Niamh were to attack any of us when she turned fully, she would never be able to live with herself if the virus left her body, which would be highly unlikely, considering that Ava Paige said in her video that there was no cure.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it will get better." Newt continues. He stretches out hand and gently squeezes mine, causing my stomach to flutter slightly. "You always have me, remember?"

"Don't say that, because you've jinxed it now. A few days from now you'll be the next to die." I say, laughing slightly.

"Maybe." He laughs quietly back. "But I'll try not to. For you."

I feel a smiling tugging at the corners of my mouth, and I can't help but stop it spreading across my face. "Thank you."

"No worries." Newt smiles back. "Now, we should both try and get some sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and probably another one after that too."

"Yeah." I mumble, adjusting my head on my rucksack to try and find a non-lumpy spot. I wait until the boy next to me slowly closes his eyes before I do the same, smacking my lips together slightly.

"Goodnight, Y/N." I hear him whisper.

"Good night, Newt." I whisper back. It takes a few minutes, but soon I can feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep, my hand still in Newt's as I doze off completely.