The Trigger (A Newt fanfiction)

Chapter 15

"Who are you?" Newt asks, his eyes not even baring the slightest hint of recognition.

My smile falls into a look of sadness and confusion. "W-What? Newt, it's me! Maya?"

Newt shakes his head slowly, then awkwardly glances at the others, seemingly for help, but they don't say anything. The entire situation is strange.

I can't cry, even though I really want to. My tears had been used earlier when I pulled the trigger on Amber. My heart stings with pain, and I'm consumed with confusion. Newt really doesn't remember me.

I notice that Newt looks a little freaked out, and that's when I realize I had been staring at him the entire time.

"Who is this chick?" an Asian boy asks rudely, stepping up to the both of us.

I flash him a look of hurt, and then I step away from Newt. I've made up my mind. Now isn't the time to worry about this. We need to find the cure. As much as it hurts, I turn my back on Newt and walk over to Harriet, who looks at me sadly. All is silent, until Jorge speaks up.

"We need to keep moving," he says boldly.

Newt falls back into his group, but exchanges one final glance with me. His eyes still bear that same unrecognizable glint, until he finally looks away and the pain in my chest lessens considerably.

The two groups walk silently into the night, the Crank City inching closer and closer to us. We eventually merge into one big group. The group then stops abruptly. A brown haired boy speaks up. "Let's get some rest," he offers, his brown eyes weak.

"Thomas is right, I'm feeling all shucked up right now," the Asian boy says, his body slumped over. His vocabulary causes me to raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine," the girl, who I found out was named Brenda, says.

Everyone then simultaneously sits down. "We'll reach the Crank City tomorrow," Brenda continues, "so everyone be ready."

We all nod or murmur yes, and then I lay on the cold desert grounds. I flinch in pain as a strangely shaped rock digs into my back. I pull it out from underneath me, and I'm about to toss it aside, when I notice that it doesn't resemble a rock at all. Instead, it looks like the bottom of a lightbulb... the part that screws into the socket.

"What is this doing out here?" I ask no one in particular.

Lucy slowly raises her head--she lay only a few feet away from me. "What did you say?" she asks, her eyes barely open.

I examine the thing in my hand. It isn't that big of a deal to mention. "Nothing," I say, then toss it aside and lay back down.

Lucy sets her head back down, and I stare up at the stars. Out of nowhere, Lucy starts to talk.

"You think there is actually a cure?" she asks.

"I hope so," I whisper, trying to connect the stars in the sky. Then, Newt flashes to my mind. I growl, and I can't believe I didn't put the pieces together sooner. WICKED did that to him. They made him forget. But why? To torture me?

I glance to my left and notice that Lucy is staring at me, perturbed. "Sorry. Just mad at WICKED."

She chuckles sleepily. "Aren't we all?"