Newtmas: Til Death do us Part

Chapter Five: Thomas

"That's not entirely true." Brenda whispered. Anger bubbled up inside of me, how could she not tell us this? Did she still have the disillusioned belief that WICKED was good? Was she still following their orders?

"You know where we are?" Minho asked, voice dropping low. But it was too late, and people were starting to gather around us. Brenda swiftly nodded, but her face looked vacant. "Well, where are we?" He asked, but before she could respond- if she was even going to tell us- a girl poked Minho on the shoulder.

"Hey! What the shuck is going on here? Does she know where we are?" Sonya! That was her name. She wasn't yelling, but she said it loud enough for people to notice. Mummers swept through the crowd, and it was getting bigger and bigger. Minho's face looked confused, and a little scared. "Finchface, we need to have a gathering." Sonya said, using Group B's slang that I haven't learned yet.

"Yeah. We do." Minho said, snapping out of whatever daze he was in. "Gathering in 5 minutes! Meet at the main tent." He yelled, startling some kids. He waited until the last of the people walked away, so it was just Gally, Brenda and I. "Brenda, what the shuck are you talking about?" Minho hissed at her. "Where are we?" Brenda stared him dead in the eye, and responded quietly.

"Why does it matter. It's not like we're ever going back to the rest of the world, even if we want to. Too risky, everyone's either a crank or dead." She said pointedly, whipping her head to glare at Gally.

"Just tell us!" I blurted out, bringing all the attention to me. "Don't be a slinthead." Her face twisted into a scowl, the cool indifference sliding into slight anger. But she stayed silent, causing Minho to sigh deeply. Gally scoffed, but stayed where he was. Silently, Brenda walked back to the beach. Minho muttered a swear under his breath, and Gally attempted to look annoyed. But underneath that, it was clear he was shaken. Minho and Gally ran after her, and I was about to join them when Sonya called out my name. She ran over to me, and that's when I realized she was wearing the same jacket Newt had when we were in The Scorch. It was the same leather that I had almost reached over and touched, but we had to keep moving. "Where did you get that jacket?" I questioned.

Touching it gently, she said,"It was Newt's."

"I know." I snapped, causing her to frown at me. "Sorry. Where did you get it? And how do you even know Newt?" Questions came rushing out of me, and that's when I realized how many things we still didn't know.

"Newt was my brother." My heart started to eat even faster, and my mouth felt drier. Is this what shock feels like? His golden locks matched hers, and they even had the same grin. Whenever Newt would smile, it was always slightly crooked. I had loved it. "And I found the jacket with the other clothes. I wanted to ask you if it was okay if I kept it, it's the only thing I have left of him. And I don't even know if he's alive..." She trailed off, eyes getting misty. I knew. He had pleaded for death, had begged. His black veins had been throbbing, and he looked so miserable. But that doesn't mean I can sleep at night. "I got my memory back, and you guys were a lot closer than Minho was, or even Alby. You were always whispering to each other, laughing at jokes no one else got. But he was still my brother." She said, blinking back tears. I mutely nodded, not really knowing how to respond.

"Does Minho know you're his sister?" I asked weakly.

Laughing, Sonya replied. "Of course. I didn't tell you because you spend all of your time sitting, staring at the ocean."

I was going to protest, but she was right. "Yeah, I guess I do." My thoughts kept drifting back to the fact Newt and I were closer than the rest. How much closer? God, I wish I had gotten my memories back. "Is everyone ready in the main tent?"

"The collectors were already taking a break, so they were there. Most of the hunters and builders are there, but they're still going in." Sonya said. WICKED had left us with three tents, weapons, and supplies for farming. I was a collector, because it was easy and took my mind off the ever present guilt I felt. "She's going to be okay." Sonya said, looking at Brenda. "Is she your girlfriend?" She asked, leaning against a tree. She was the lead builder, and here, being a builder ment being smart. We were making these places to last, not just bang up wood. But just because she's smart, doesn't mean she's observant.

"Girlfriend? No." I said, trying not to laugh.

"It's not that weird. I mean, you've already kissed." Oh god, don't remind me. After we had, I still felt nothing romantically towards Brenda. She had even gone so far as to curl up her nose in disgust.

"I think I'm going to stick to girls from now on." She had laughed, making me laugh too. We started hysterically laughing, getting some really strange looks. We are much better off as friends.

"Yeah, we're just friends. The only reason we kissed is because we were happy to be safe, and just wanted to celebrate. Besides that, nothing is going on between us." Sonya grinned, and looked at the ground. Just as she was about to say something, Brenda, Minho, and Gally started to walk towards us. Gally was rubbing Brenda on the back, and she was wiping tears off of her check. Minho looked confused, and was trying to figure out what the heck was going on. "You ready?" Sonya called out, and Minho nodded. "Good that." She muttered, turning back to the tents. "I'll get them quiet." She said, walking away. Brenda had finally collected herself, and I hadn't realized how badly she was shaking until she stopped.

"Let's go." Minho said, leading Gally and Brenda inside. I hurried to catch up to them, and a curiosity was crawling up inside me. I pushed the beige fabric aside, to see everyone talking, whispering, and yelling. I guess Sonya hadn't succeeded in making them quiet down. "Listen up!" Minho shouted, everyone slowly stopped talking. "You all have questions, and I hope I can answer them. There have been rumors flying around that Brenda knows where we are."

Murmurs floated through the crowd, one girl shouting out "It's not a rumor if it's true!" Her outburst caused everyone to start talking, louder and louder. Chaos had erupted, and some kids were getting out of their seats. Gally was trying to settle everyone down, and Minho was yelling, telling people to be quiet. But it was Sonya that made them stop.

"Slim it right now, or I will send my fist through your face." She said it just loud enough to be heard, but the volume wasn't what people listened to. It was a threat of violence, coming from the leader of the builders. You don't just have to be smart to be a builder, you also have to be strong. If Sonya was going to punch you, you'd also get a broken nose. She stepped aside, so Minho could take over again.

"Thanks Sonya. So, Brenda and Gally have some important things to say and you're all going to listen." That's when the last of the hushed voices vanished, and it was just Brenda and Gally.

"As you all know, the Right Arm infiltrated WICKED's headquarters and beat the living clunk out of them. There is a slight chance that a member of WICKED escaped, who might have told others to leave as well. If that happened, and they're still alive, they'll be trying to track us down." At this, the noise of the room started again. Gally continued speaking, even louder this time. "But they defected, so they won't be working for WICKED. Sh- They just want to be safe." Brenda stepped forward, nervously tugging at her sleeves.

"And we're on Seychelles, an island off the coast of Kenya. It was my job to get as many people that I can here, and to close the flat trans behind us. So if they're coming, they'll be coming by boat or plane. Keep your eyes peeled, and the moment you see anything, let us know." Brenda's voice was shaky, but her body language was strong. Personally, I didn't care what island we were on. If we were far away from the cranks, I would have been happy. But now that more people could be coming, I wish we were closer. But I could hear the bullet leave the gun, I could hear it hit flesh. If he was alive, I would have known. If he was alive, I'd be able to sleep at night. If he was alive, I would have found him by now. If he was alive, he would be here by my side.