❝Everything is going to change.❞
When she comes to, curled up on her side inside some strange elevator of sorts, the only thing Adeline can remember is her name. Anything else about herself - who she is, her childhood, her family - are gone. Her min...
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34 → "ARE WE SAFE?"
(Newt)
NEWT had cursed and fought the man once some part of the shock wore off. After giving up, Newt followed the man. He ran down a long hallway, into a dimly lit tunnel. Up a winding flight of stairs. Everything was dark. He ran down another hallway, up more stairs. More hallways. On they ran, some of the men and women leading from ahead, some yelling encouragement from behind. They reached another set of glass doors and went through them into a massive downpour of rain. The leader didn't stop moving until they reached a huge bus.
"Get on!" the man screamed. "Hurry!"
They did, forming into a tight pack behind the door as they entered, one by one. It seemed to take forever, Gladers pushing and scrambling their way up the three stairs and into the seats. They were almost to the door when a hand suddenly slammed against Thomas' shoulder, gripping his shirt. He cried out as someone jerked him backward. Thomas slammed into the ground. A woman pulled back enough for someone's torch to reveal her features — pale, wrinkly skin covered in horrible sores.
"Gonna save us all!" the hideous woman said. "Gonna save us from the Flare!" The woman yelped when one of the rescuers grabbed her with both hands and yanked her off of Thomas. Don't believe a word they tell ya! Gonna save us from the Flare, ya are!" The women scream, pointing at Thomas. The man tossed the woman to the ground.
"Stay put or I'll shoot you dead!" he yelled at her; then he turned to Thomas. "Get on the bus!"
The driver gunned the engine. Without a word, the driver kept his foot on the gas and the bus started moving. The driver drove at reckless speeds, through towns and cities. The bus never slowed. Newt's mind continued to drift off, thinking about Adeline, Chuck and everything that had happened. Newt was still in shock.
"What's going on?" Thomas asked.
The woman looked over at him. "That's a very long story."
"Please." Teresa said. "Please tell us something."
The woman looked back and forth between Thomas and Teresa, then let out a sigh. "It'll take a while before you get your memories back, if ever-we're not scientists, we have no idea what they did to you, or how they did it."
"Who are they?" Thomas asked.
"It started with the sun flares." the woman said,
"What —" Teresa began, but Thomas shushed her.
The women continued; "The sun flares couldn't have been predicted. Sun flares are normal, but these were unprecedented, massive, spiking higher and higher-and once they were noticed, it was only minutes before their heat slammed into Earth. First our satellites were burned out, and thousands died instantly, millions within days, countless miles became wastelands. Then came the sickness." She paused before she continued. "As the ecosystem fell apart, it became impossible to control the sickness- even to keep it in South America. The jungles were gone, but the insects weren't. People call it the Flare now. It's a horrible, horrible thing. Only the richest can be treated, no one can be cured. Unless the rumors from the Andes are true. As for you, all of you — you're just a few of millions orphaned. They tested thousands, chose you for the big one. The ultimate test. Everything you lived through was calculated and thought through. Catalysts to study your reactions, your brain waves, your thoughts. All in an attempt to find those capable of helping us find a way to beat the Flare. Most of the physical effects are caused by something else. First the delusions start, then animal instincts begin to overpower the human ones. Finally it consumes them, destroys their humanity. It's all in the brain. The Flare lives in their brains. It is an awful thing. Better to die than catch it."
Newt couldn't believe what he was hearing; about the world now. About everything.
"We won't let them do this to children. We've sworn our lives to fighting WICKED. We can't lose our humanity, no matter the end result." She folded her hands in her lap, looked down at them. "You'll learn more in time. We live far in the north. We're separated from the Andes by thousands of miles. They call it the Scorch — it lies between here and there. It's centered mainly around what they used to call the equator-it's just heat and dust now, filled with savages consumed by the Flare beyond help. We're trying to cross that land — to find the cure. But until then, we'll fight WICKED and stop the experiments and tests." She said "It's our hope that you'll join us."
She looked away then, gazing out a window. Newt rested his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. Memories of the Glade and everything that had happened surfaced. It was a big slap across the face when he realized that he might not ever see Adeline again.
—
Two hours later, the bus stopped. They had pulled into a muddy parking lot that surrounded a building with several rows of windows. The woman and other rescuers shuffled the nineteen boys and one girl through the front door and up a flight of stairs, then into a huge dormitory with a bunch of bunk beds lined up along one of the walls. On the opposite side were some dressers and tables. As Newt took it all in, Minho spoke for the first time in a while;
"I've been shucked and gone to heaven."
As much as a Newt wanted to laugh, he couldn't. It was if joy had been sucked out of him, leaving an empty, hollow feeling inside of him. Their leader left the Gladers in the hands of a small staff - nine or ten men and women dressed in pressed black pants and white shirts. They were smiling. Beds were assigned, clothes and bathroom things were passed out, dinner was served. Pizza. Most of the Gladers had remained quiet through it all. And then Newt thought of Adeline again; he could imagine her sitting there beside him, barely touching her food like she always did back in the Glade. Newt wondered if she was okay; if she was still alive. He missed her dearly. Although it had been hours, it felt like months. That night, Newt shared a bunk bed with Frypan. He remained awake for a while, like he always did. Newt stared ahead, listening in on the small conversation between Minho and Thomas across from him on the opposite bunk.
"Hey, Thomas?" Minho whispered.
"Yeah?" Newt heard Thomas move to turn on his side.
"What do you think happened to the Gladers who stayed behind?" Minho had asked.
"I don't know." Thomas responded. "But based on how many of us died getting here, I wouldn't like to be one of them right now. Grievers are probably swarming all over them."
"Mm." Minho responded. Then, after a moment, he asked; "You think we're safe with these people?"
"Yeah, I think we're safe."Thomas muttered. Newt shifted to the side, staring into pitch blackness. He believed it too, for whatever reason; that they were safe with the people who rescued them. But, he didn't know that this sense of safety would soon be gone.
