Escape to Paradise/Newt, book 2

Chapter 2

"Give me your arm." A man in a white uniform ordered.  He was old, probably around 45, with wrinkles all around his sunken grey eyes. He motioned for Newt's hand, and Newt nodded, holding out his forearm while he sat on a metal table. The man stuck a needle into his inner elbow, extracting blood from Newts vein. He grimaced, the red line appearing in the tube, filling up a vial on the table next to us. A machine nearby flashed a green light, and the man pulled the needle out, replacing it with a cotton swab. He put the vial of the dark red liquid into the same machine before walking back over to Newt.
"Alright, stand still." He said quickly, putting a machine around Newts head. It nestled on his blonde hair, and the man had to tighten a dial so it wouldn't fall off. Newts eyes widened and his jaw tightened, but he didn't move. The machine was a metal ring, with scanners and dials on the sides. Wires ran out of the back to a computer monitor, along with a picture of Newts face, and a few different charts and diagrams. The machine sent out little bursts of light that reflected on his hair and eyelashes. The machine clicked a few times, then there was a beep, and the man removed it. The man took out a tablet and started swiping around, nodding a few times.
"Brainwave activity is high, but expected." His eyes scanned over the tablet for a while, and he tapped a few buttons. Newt's breath seemed to catch in his chest, and the man glanced at him before looking back at the screen in his hands. "Heart rate is high, breathing is normal. Blood pressure and antibody count is fine." The man said. Newt looked down at me, since I had been sitting next to the table through the examination.
"The only problem is a vitamin deficiency, but that's expected. One moment please." The man said before walking out, the door sealed behind him, the small room echoing the noise throughout. Newt squeezed my hand.
"He's just getting you some vitamins, everything is fine." I said quietly. He nodded, biting his lip.
"It's just...it's weird. A few hours ago I was...I was I infected. And now I'm in a WICKED compound, completely fine. It feels wrong." Newt muttered. He looked down at his hand, picking at the dirt under his fingernails.
"I died. Like 4 hours ago, I died. And now I'm here, and you're here, and it's all just a lot to take in. Every time I stand up i have to remember that I don't have a limp anymore. Or little things like my machete. When we were in the scorch it was just dirt and sand everywhere. Now everything is clean, and...I feel like I'm going to wake up any minute and you'll be gone." He said quietly. I stood up, and sat next to him on the metal seat. He looked up slowly. It was weird, like his brain just couldn't keep up with what was happening. I brushed his bangs off of his forehead.
"I know, Newtie. The same thing happens to everyone. It takes a while to get used to. I know it's not the same, but I was killed by a griever. It's just really hard to understand everything. Just take your time, it's a lot to take in." I explained. Newt leaned over, his head on my shoulder.
"Yeah. It's a whole bloody lot to take in. My brain hurts from all of the thinking." He mumbled. The man came back into the room, a small vial in his hand.
"Alright. Issac, I need you to hold out your arm again." The man said. Newt grunted.
"It's Newt. Not Issac."
The man rolled his eyes, handing a small cup of pills and a bottle of water to Newt.
"Whatever. Take these, you're good to go." The man said, checking something off on his tablet and turning away from us to clean up. Newt  stood up, and just like he had mentioned, he tapped his foot a few times on the ground. His shoe clicked on the floor, but it seemed to reassure him that it was real. A white business suit peeked around the corner of the outside door, and I felt myself stiffen. Newt looked up, confused.
"What, what's wrong?" He whispered, snaking an arm around my shoulders. I motioned towards the door and he raised an eyebrow first, but then his jaw tensed and he nodded. He cleared his throat, and we walked out the door. Ava Paige stood outside. She looked up when we passed by, her frown lifting up just the slightest bit into a smug expression.
"I take it the examination went well?" She said, smoothing down her white blouse. She had a clipboard at her side, like she had questions she would ask him.
"Um, yeah, I guess so." Newt mumbled. He threw his head back, emptying the cup of what looked like 3 different vitamins into his mouth.
"Newt, would you-" Ava Paige started to say, but was cut off by Newt taking a sip of water to swallow the pills. He cleared his throat loudly afterward.
"Newt-" She started again, but he staged a coughing fit. His hand rested on his chest as he pretended to cough, turning his head away from us. The chancellor gritted her teeth and stared at him expectantly. When he was done acting, he yawned, slow and dramatically. Her face flushed an angry shade of pink.
"Sorry, Mrs...Paper? I'm a bit tired, so I think Emmy is going to show me to my room now." Newt said, chucking the cup into a nearby garbage can. The chancellor frowned, glancing between us.
"I'm sorry, I need you to fill this out...." She trailed off when she noticed that Newt had zoned out, his eyes glazing over a bit.
"Emmy, you know better than that, speak when you're spoken to!" She said in an annoyed tone. Newts head dropped onto my shoulder and he leaned his weight into me.
I caught him, trying to make it dramatic but believable.
"Sorry Mrs. Paige. He doesn't like needles, he's been feeling faint since the beginning of the examination." I said, and Newt groaned, leaning over more. Mrs. Paige sighed, and I hurriedly turned and started walking away. Newt pretended to lean on me, but he was carrying his own weight pretty well. The second we turned a corner he started giggling, burying his head in my neck.
"That was some good acting there." I laughed quietly. He made a face.
"Nah, just me pretending to fall over is all." he said, shaking his head to push his hair back behind his ear.
"I didn't know I was afraid of needles, love." He kissed my cheek before looking at me from under his eyelashes.
"Well I didn't know that her name was Mrs. Paper."
"Well, you know...Page, paper, same thing." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.
"True. Maybe I should give you a tour, show you all the people." I said sarcastically. Newt nodded slowly.
"Probably not a bad idea to be honest." He looked both ways, at the many doctors and scientists running around.
"I also know my way around the compound better than you do, so....your tour starts now." I said, giving him a smirk. I ducked under his arm and ran down the hallway. I heard him laugh behind me, and then his footsteps followed after me.
"Get back here!" He laughed, trying to grab my hand. I squealed, pulling my hand away and calling to him over my shoulder.
"You gotta catch me, slinthead!"
"You're on!"
I sprinted as fast as I could, weaving my way through the crowd of people. I skidded to a stop as a door opened in front of me, turning on my heel and running down a different hallway. The next thing I knew he was right next to me, smiling as we ran down the hallways. He put his head down and sprinted, easily passing me. He ran around a corner, his white t-shirt billowing out behind him. I followed after, turning the corner a few seconds after he did. Instead of running down a hallway though, I ran into Newt's arms. He picked me up, spinning me around.
"Caught you." He said triumphantly. I swatted his arm and he set me down, his hands staying on my wrists as he kissed the tip of my nose.
"It's been so long since I've been able to do that." He laughed, his eyes sparkling in a way that I hadn't seen in a while. He lifted his foot off of the ground just barely, shaking his toes.
"No limp." He smiled happily, before he leaned down, pressing my back into the wall and kissing me, long and deep in the middle of a WICKED hallway. Scientists were busy scuttling around in lab coats, but we didn't care. My heart pounded in my ears as I grabbed onto his t-shirt, pulling him closer to me. His hands stayed on my waist as we pulled away, and his cheeks were flushed. I tried to ignore all my sense telling me to kiss him again, it had been so long, but I knew I shouldn't.
"We should go. Making out in the hallway? Not really approved here..." I said finally. He glanced up and down the hallways, nodding at all the adults. Then he looked back at me, his head tilted down as he looked at me through his eyelashes. Newt smirked.
"Well then let's go somewhere else."