A Different Path

Chapter Seven - A Reunion to Forget

Minho walked down the staircase with a knot in his stomach. He really did want to see his best friend again, but he was deathly afraid of what might happen the second he would enter the locked room. He didn't know how Newt was feeling, so there was no way of knowing what he would say or do. Minho looked down at the paper bag he was holding with both hands. Sonya had packed it this morning as she prepared a canned fruit and dried out bread breakfast for everyone. The bag wasn't heavy, but carrying it made Minho feel like had something to physically hold on to. Before he knew it, he had made it to the janitor's closet. He looked up and down the door, hoping it would suddenly disappear so he wouldn't have to go in anymore. His nerves started making him feel a little sick, almost as a cue for him to do what he came for. Minho took a deep breath in and knocked on the door.

There was no response, not even the slightest sound. Minho panicked, a million thoughts racing through his head. He knocked again, harder and quicker this time. Still, all Minho got was silence.

"Newt? It's me, Minho. I'm coming in, okay?" He slowly turned the silver key, unlocking the door. He waited, making sure Newt wasn't standing on the other side, ready to escape at the first given opportunity. But yet again, not a sound. Minho squeezed his eyes shut and carefully turned the doorknob. As he pushed, he opened his eyes again, but none of the worst-case scenarios he had come up with could have prepared him for what he saw.

Newt sat in the corner at the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked deadly pale, his mouth hung slightly open, and he had a black smear on his right cheek. Both his lower arms were covered in red scratches that definitely had not been there the day before, some of them were even bleeding a little. The rolled-up sleeves of his shirt had black stains on them, and his fingers were covered in a black liquid too. Minho's knees nearly gave out at the sight of him.

"Please, be asleep," he whispered to himself as he rushed over to the non-moving boy. Within five steps, Minho had reached him, and he knelt down. As his knee touched the ground, Minho felt it slip away a little. He looked down and instantly gagged at the puddle of unidentifiable black sludge on the floor. He jolted back up, but strings of the slimy black liquid kept sticking to his knee. The goo disgusted Minho, but he knew he had more important things to worry about than himself. His first and only priority was Newt, and nothing was going to stop Minho from making sure his friend was alright. He crouched back down again and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hey, buddy, wake up." He shook Newt lightly, but to no avail. Looking at him from so close by, Minho could see tiny blue vessels creeping up Newt's jaw.

"No, no, no. No, please don't do this to me. Please don't leave me." Minho focussed on Newt's chest, but no matter how desperately he wanted it to, it didn't start moving.

Minho felt like his heart was tearing open, and in doing so unleashing all the anger he had towards WICKED, the anger he had towards the whole world for letting this virus consume his best friend. His blood was on fire, and the only thing he could do to douse it was scream. So scream he did.

Somewhere in the far back of his mind, Minho heard a faint groan, followed by some coughing. The coughing intensified until it suddenly stopped.

"HEY! WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING YOUR BLOODY HEAD OFF?!"

Within a split second, Minho returned to reality. He opened his eyes, which he had apparently closed in his outburst, and to his great disbelief, he saw Newt looking back at him. Eyes open, breathing, and very much alive.

"Thank you," Newt said annoyedly. "Now, what's the earth-shattering news that's seemingly important enough to wake me up like that for? Did Tommy propose to you?" Newt's cynicism was worrisome, but right now, it didn't matter to Minho. He was ecstatic to the point where he felt like he was physically glowing, all because his best friend actually spoke to him. Minho was grinning like an idiot, and he made not a single attempt to stop it.