A Different Path

Chapter Three - A New Perspective

Sonya looked out of the car window, trying to process the situation. She looked behind her and saw Newt was still unconscious. Thomas was sitting beside him, his eyes still wet with tears. His quiet sniffles were the only thing that broke the silence. I'd feel the same if that had happened to Harriet, she thought, looking out of the window again. She saw nothing but empty wasteland.

"Minho, do you have any idea where we're going?" she asked.

"Farther North," he said. "Because there's no sea in the North, and no sea means the road won't come to an end."

His answered confused Sonya. "So you're planning to just keep driving?" she wondered. "Shouldn't we stop anywhere to find shelter? We can't stay on the road forever."

"Relax! We'll stop as soon as we're out of reach for WICKED and the Right Arm, until then we'll keep on driving," Minho said snappy.

A full hour of silence had past when a sudden, painful groan startled Sonya. She shifted in her seat to see where it came from.

"He's waking up.," Thomas whispered in awe. Sonya noticed Newt had grabbed hold of the remnants of his shirt, and squeezed forcefully.

"He's hurt," she softly remarked. Newt slowly opened his eyes and squinted, blinded by the bright light of day. Sonya turned to Minho, curious for his reaction. He gazed at the road ahead of them, completely disconnected from everything. Sonya reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Hey, Newt's awake," she said quietly, but Minho didn't move a muscle. Sonya realised everything might be a bit too much for Minho, so she left him be and returned her focus to Newt.

In the few seconds Sonya had looked away, Newt had become even paler than he already was. He had to be in a great deal of pain, Sonya knew that for a fact. He couldn't stop wriggling and his jaws were tightly clenched. Thomas, on the other hand, was motionless. Petrified by the condition of his friend, he looked like a deer in the headlights. Another anguished grunt took both Sonya and Thomas out of their thought bubbles.

"What's wrong, Newt?" Thomas asked. Newt held his breath for a moment, and then exhaled with little shocks.

"Shut up. You'll make my brain explode," he whimpered.

Sonya didn't know why, but this remark seemed to hurt Thomas even more. What the stick has happened between them earlier today? she thought.

"Just leave me alone. I'll tell when my head's stopped throbbing," Newt said in a strangled voice. The whole van nodded, seemingly afraid to make one more sound.

Another hour of silence passed. Everybody had fallen asleep, save Minho, Sonya and Aris.

"Hey, Aris," Sonya said in a hushed voice. She turned around to look at him. "Why did you and Teresa wait before joining the group that knew WICKED back in that building?"

"Uh... We just didn't know what they wanted. Maybe they were from WICKED... And, well... We didn't trust them, I guess."

Sonya returned to her normal position. You are definitely hiding something, and I'll find out what.

She peered out the window, trying to find something that wasn't wasteland. After a short while, some road signs appeared, hanging over the motorway.

"Look!" she said eagerly.

"Keep it down, slinthead, you'll wake everybody up!" Minho hissed back at her.

"The road sign says it's only twenty miles to the next city, Douglas, maybe we can find a place for the night there," she said, very conscious of her voice its volume.