Like Ashes We Fall

Chapter Fourteen

"When did you find this out?" Newt demanded as I sat in a chair, dumping sand from my shoes. He spun to Minho without waiting for me to answer. "Did you know?"

Minho raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I knew. Teresa told me. I was the bait to get Ari into WCKD's hands."

That bought a few seconds of silence. We'd moved to a back room Vince had assured us was secure and private. Frypan was being tended to for a nasty blow to the head, but other than that we were told he would be fine.

Newt looked at me. "And they told you your blood is a cure?"

I shrugged. "That's what Teresa said, more or less."

"And we trust a bloody word that comes out of her mouth?" Newt put his hands on his hips.

I leaned back in the chair. "Do we have anything else to bargain with?"

"She's right," Minho said and lowered his voice. "Whether or not Teresa-the-backstabber was telling the truth, we have to act like it. It could depend on us getting out of here."

Newt sighed, bracing his hands on the table in the small space. "Tommy, you've been awfully quiet. What's going on in that shuck head of yours?"

Thomas had been sitting in a chair against the wall, fiddling with his hands. Now he looked up. "I don't understand... how she could do this. To us." He looked down. "I wish I could talk to her. One last time and just ask why."

"I think she made that pretty clear, Thomas," Minho answered, sarcasm lacing the words. "WCKD is good and blah, blah, blah."

Thomas gave Minho a dark look. "If that were Ari, wouldn't you want one last chance to talk to her?"

"Ari would never sell any of us out, slinthead." Minho retorted.

Newt faced Thomas. "Yeah, Minho's right. This is your girlfriend we're talking about. She started all this. She got us nearly shucking killed!" His voice rose with the last word. I looked at Newt in surprise. I couldn't remember a time I'd ever seen him yell.

Thomas stood up. "I didn't say that what she did wasn't wrong- I know that. But I just-" he struggled for words helplessly.

"You what?" Newt took a step closer and got right up in Thomas's face. "You wanna go after her? You think you can play the hero and convince her to come back?"

Minho glanced at me, worry filling his face. This wasn't like Newt. I jerked my head at them. Do something. But before Minho could separate them, Newt slammed his hand into the wall beside Thomas, screaming now. "She betrayed us, Tommy! Get that through your thick shank head!" Spit flew from his mouth. Thomas looked frozen, his back against the wall. Minho and I gaped in shock.

All at once, Newt seemed to realize what he was doing. He took a step back suddenly and ran a hand through his hair. "I- I don't know what happened." He looked at Thomas and then turned and fled the room.

The three of us stared at one another. Silence filled the space. I shoved myself to my feet. "I'll find him."

Minho's eyes flared with alarm. I waved a hand at him. "Just go check on Frypan. It'll be fine."

I left the room and ran into Vince. He pointed upwards. "He went to the roof."

"Thanks." I climbed the rusty staircase, worried for half a second that the entire thing would collapse. But it held and I shoved open the door at the end, blinking at the sudden onslaught of light. The breeze picked up strands of my hair, floating them in the air. I glimpsed Newt's back, sitting with his legs dangling off the edge. For a second my heart was in my throat as I flashed back to his broken body in the Maze. Then I slid into the spot next to him, letting my legs dangle beside his.

"I suppose I can't hide this anymore." He said, breaking the silence. He yanked his right shirt sleeve up, exposing the underside of his forearm. Black veins decorated the pale skin, stemming from a nasty bite mark.

My heart plummeted into my stomach. Shit. "Newt, when? Why didn't you tell any of us?"

He shrugged. "The last thing any of us need is one more problem. And it didn't start showing until that day we escaped WCKD. I didn't even know."

"You're not a problem, Newt. You're our friend." My breath caught. "And I can cure you. I just..." I gazed at the city. My blood might be in my body but I had no idea how to actually make the cure. That required a doctor and a lab.

"We don't have any way of actually making the cure," Newt said as if reading my mind. "And.. it would be too late anyway." His voice trembled just the slightest bit at the end.

"No." I shook my head. I refused to let another of my friends die. "No, it won't be. We will cure you. We'll find a way." I swear it.

Newt didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Don't tell the others. Especially Minho. He's starting to act... a little normal again. Like he's trying. This will just... break him." His eyes searched mine. "I know I'm asking you to bear this alone, and I'm sorry. But you're strong, Ari. Probably stronger than the rest of us."

His words cleaved something in my chest. I was so tired of being strong but I nodded. "Alright."

Newt gripped my hand suddenly. "Thank you, Ari. For everything. Ever since you stepped foot in that bloody Maze. You... you saved me and helped me out of a dark place. You and Minho. And I just want to say- in case, ya know-"

"Newt, stop." I clenched my hands. "You can tell me in the Safe Haven. In person. Alright? Minho and I both."

Newt pressed his lips together in a thin line. "Alright."

"Good." I climbed to my feet. "Now let's go find some food. I'm shucking starving."