Run With Me ➵ Newt [2]

TWO | apologies

"Far from here," a boy at the table next to ours said wistfully. He turned around to face us. "Lucky bastards."

"Some kind of farm," another boy from his table said, in the same wistful tone. "A safe place. They can only take in a few people at a time."

That still doesn't clear it up, I thought, but I said nothing. I didn't even have an appetite anymore.

That was when Thomas got from his seat suddenly and started towards one side of the room, where a line of windows provided a view of the outside corridor. A raven-haired girl was walking with several doctors outside. Though I couldn't see her face, she looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey, Teresa!" Thomas called out urgently. I watched as he ran towards the end of the line of windows, and she disappeared from view, not before glancing back at Thomas. "TERESA!"

"Hey," one of the guards there pushed Thomas back. "Hey, hey, hey."

Thomas asked something - I couldn't hear over the din of the people chatting around me - and the guard replied. Thomas asked again, waving his hands around desperately and the guard responded again, looking strangely calm. Thomas hesitated, then returned back to his seat at our table.

"What was that about?" Minho asked.

"Something about having to 'run a few more tests'," Thomas muttered.

"But why her only?" I said. "That's really weird."

"I don't know."

-

We were escorted to our rooms that night. The guards led us down a separate hallway away from the crowd, and we followed them in silence. At the end of the corridor were two metal doors and the guards opened them, gesturing to us.

"Boys in the left and girls in the right," one of them said.

"There's only one girl with us klunk-face," Minho said before marching into the left room.

The other boys snickered at that and piled in after him. The guard appeared not to have heard anything, though annoyance flashed in his eyes. I had a feeling he had had to deal with this sort of thing multiple times already.

I stepped through the door on the right and it closed behind me with a soft hiss. I glanced around my new environment: the room was small and rectangular, with bunk beds lining the walls on either side. There was a door on the left wall, which I assumed linked my room with the boys'. The bathroom and toilet were separated only by a thin, faded curtain, and I was suddenly glad that I didn't have to share the room with anyone else - it would've been embarrassing if I had to do my business while my roommates could hear everything.

I went over to the sink and glanced at my reflection. I blinked in surprise, still not used to my new haircut, then turned on the faucet and splashed my face. I laid down in one of the bunk beds, staring up at the bottom of the upper bed, which seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. Suddenly, the silence of the room seemed unnerving. I started to wish that someone was here to keep me company now.