Don't Look Back! Part 2

Chapter Twenty-Three: one of us

It took a while until Gally called out to Marina, but he had no good news for her. The level had been sealed off, and as much as he tried to inquire what went on, no one gave him any answers. Dr Paige gave him more tasks that kept him occupied and gave him no time to talk to marina in person.

She and Thomas sat in one of the control rooms, reading through the lists of children that WICKED had taken in over the years, trained and formed into young soldiers that should survive in the outer world that the sun had scorched and the virus taken over.

Although she wanted to talk to Gally, Marina needed to find out what had happened to Newt. She had neither seen nor heard from him in days and it tormented her, even more so since Thomas seemed to accept that he had gone and did not act upon it.

"Well, what do you want me to do? The soldiers are everywhere" Thomas leant over the desk he sat in front of and eyed Marina as she rested her head onto her hands.

I don't know, something Marina had a look around to see, if maybe Gally walked about and could help her, but he had vanished from sight for several days as well. Gally? You there?

"Why should he help?" Thomas glared at Marina, who had closed her eyes.

Her head shooting up, she brushed the hair out of her face and stared at Thomas, whose face reflected her confusion. "What?"

"What?"

You heard me?

Still taken by surprise, Thomas leant forward over the desk and gave her a light nod. How?

With a proud smile on her face, Marina continued her work as if nothing had happened, but when Thomas walked with her to lunch, she could not stop smiling. You are one of us

One of who?

Like Gally, and I, and... her mind began to work, there used to be someone else, she knew it, she had a face in mind but whenever she thought about it, it vanished, so did the name. Well, more than one of us.

But why didn't I know?

Her eyes on the guards that walked past them, she leant closer to Thomas, grabbed a tray wit food and headed to a table. "Maybe for the same reason Newt is not here"

"You think they took him because he can do that too?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Marina ate some of her bacon and stared at the pile she had taken out of habit, but Newt was nowhere near to enjoy it. What if he can hear us too?

Newt? Thomas shook his head. "I don't think so, but something is up"

"You don't say, bloody hell, you are sharp" marina grinned as she ate some more bacon and turned her head to spot Gally in the corner of her eye, waving ta her, but she looked at Thomas instead. What is it?

You need to see this

"What is it?" Thomas asked, his eyes on marina as she studied his expression. Marina?

It's Gally, he found something With the last bit of meat chewed, marina gulped some water, then headed over to the tray stand, put her tray back and acted as if she wanted to go back to her station to do some work. As she walked past the guards, she noticed their heart beat, the closer she got, the faster it beat and their eyes followed her as she hurried through the door and along the hallway, following the trail of sound, Gally left for her.

Several minutes had passed while Marina had found herself back at her work, not at her won desk, but one that had blinked and turned on when she came into the room, the bright light on the monitor before her showing the Group inside the glade as the first boy had called it. What am I looking at exactly? Marina eyed the construction. It looked just as the one she had to work on, the one she had watched and made notes, send new children or teenagers into the maze and followed the orders WICKED had given her. Whenever they needed new supplies, marina jotted down all she had noticed they used up or what they had talked about, then send someone to get the supplies from storage and prepare the next box to be sent up, with it the next recruit.

Don't you recognise him? Gally's voice came from farther off, but his heartbeat echoed through a hallway, at whose end stood a soldier, or someone dressed as one, keeping an eye on all the ones that may pass him or try to enter the control room.

Her eyes wandered over the list of inhabitants of the glade, then halted at a young man, black hair like hers, the eyes blue, a list of abilities and qualities listed. Luke. She had heard that name before but it did no ring any bells at the time. Careful not to touch too much, Marina had a look around to see if anyone came near, as a second heart beat came into reach from another direction than Gally.

"What are you doing?" Thomas ran over to Marina, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the monitor. "If they see you on someone else's spot, they will lock you up"

"I know him, Tommy, that boy. I know him" She pointed at Luke's photograph, then her eyes fell onto another and her heart sank to the ground. Newt.