The Forest Trials | Newt

003

"How long until she's cured?" Thomas asked running his fingers over the plaster Jennifer had placed over his hand.

"Not long maybe a day or so?" Jennifer replied as she rummaged through a box of things.

"How do you know it will work?"

"I have an expert degree in medicine and healing. I think I know what I'm doing,"

"Have you done this before?"

"I've got an idea how about we all split into twos, look around for anything useful and leave Jennifer the fuck alone?" She suggested as she stood up and went to walk off.

"She not going anywhere alone," Gally spoke quickly. Jennifer groaned loudly.

"What's now?" She sighed looking at him with a bored expression.

"You could've poisoned her and now your trying to escape,"

"Oh my gosh what next? You gonna tell everyone I'm secretly working for WICKED?" She scoffed, the group looking at her with wide alerted eyes "It was a joke," she scoffed "Fine then, Blondie your coming with me,"

"I don't think-" Gally began.

"Put your hand up if you care," She spoke loudly and over Gally. She turned to Gally with a smile "That's democracy for you, to be fair mate you could be from the Conservative Party from the result of that vote," she spoke as she walked past him, Newt joined her side and turned to the others giving them an uncertain glare.

"Gally doesn't like you a lot does he?"

"Really? What have you that impression," she said sarcastically as they walked through the mall. She assumed the others have sorted themselves out into appropriate twos. "Here, I need to go outside," she said quickly pointing to the doors.

Before she could get through the once clear now cloudy and full of scratches door, Newt quickly caught her forearm and pulled her back. "Is it safe?" He asked looking down at her.

"Well, your with me," she smiled smugly before pushing through the door to be greeted by a fountain that had been out of use for years and two sets of flower patches which she had taken over.

***

"So, that flower that Brenda ate... what was it?"

"Well...technically it doesn't fit into any category of flower. It's a rare hybrid of a Sunburst Succulent and a Dahlia. It's against all laws of nature,"

"So if that's the cure... why doesn't WICKED have it?"

"Because it's not catalogued. The Sahlia- that's just what I call it. Was discovered back in like 1734. But because it defied every law of nature and it was so rare. They just covered it up and pretended it didn't exist,"

"So how did you find it?"

"So how do you have so many questions?" She said back. "There, I've got all I need we can head back inside now," she sighed as she stood up sticking her hand down to Newt. He gripped onto her forearm and pulled himself not expecting her to be able to hold him but she could.

"Your stronger than I expected," he complimented as the two walked back inside.

"I have to be," she shrugged. The two walked for a bit until they found themselves in a small shop near the back. The light murmurs of everyone else in the distance.

It was quiet for a bit while the two walked around. "How have you survived so long?" He asked abruptly. She thought long and hard about her answer because the truth was she didn't know.

She just had. Against every odd obstacle that was placed in front of her, here she was. She didn't have a strategy, it wasn't luck, not a miracle not God who decided that she was one of the only people to survive this virus. She was just here and breathing.

Newt seemed to have noticed her silence and changed the question "Have you always been alone out here?" He asked peering over at her above the isle.

"No," she replied quickly "I was here with my brother for a while before he-" she stopped herself abruptly. Her face plane, cold and white "He's dead now," she finished.

"What was his name?"

"...Carlisle," she replied after a pause. The two went quiet as they looked through the stuff on either side of the aisle. "Well, that's my side done," she sighed as she headed towards the entrance of the shop.

"Same," Newt said as he went to join her side before he glanced at her arm. "Woah- woah- woah- what the!" He began, taking quick steps away from her and outside the shop, pulling a dagger up to his side.

"Wait! Before you- wait!" She began as she slowly stepped forwards before Newt's knife was pushed out protectively.

"What's going on over here?" Gally's voice came from behind Jennifer making her turn quickly, he was joined by Frypan. The commotion seemed to have distrusted most of the group and they were all on their way over.

"Would you calm down?" She asked looking at Newt.

"Newt what the hells going on?" Thomas breathed as he arrived by Newt's side.

"Her arm," Newt said motioning towards it with his knife. Thomas turned to get a better look before a quiet gasp came from his mouth.

Her arm was marked top to bottom in sets of jaws. All tinted with a grey-like colour, they looked lifeless and dead to the eye. "She's got bites," Thomas breathed. The group took only seconds to look at each other before grabbing their weapons ready to attack.

"Woah! Okay, how about we all take a minute and uses our heads, yeah? Girl who knows the cure has bites on her arm. Bites that may I add have been here the whole time, your all just too obsessed with each other to notice," she scoffed. "Now please, put the guns away and Blondie, get some colour in your face,"

"So your not infectious?"

"No, and even if I was I would've changed by now," she sighed. After a lot more question answering and convincing she was finally freed by the circle they had formed around her, all still unsure.

As she walked past she looked over at Gally. "Gally," she called "Look alive," she scoffed before disappearing down the escalator.