In my Blood

CHAPTER 59 - No False Promises

"I've only ever had three homes my entire life," she states. "My first, with my family. My mother, father and... George. It was nice, because it was before everything happened. I was a kid so it's all a little fuzzy. I remember it had a big lawn. And like, three floors. I stayed there till I was twelve. It was a good home.

"My second, was this isolated place where Jorge took me, when we first met. I was only a teenager. But I was alone. Didn't have George, or either of my parents, just Jorge. He took me to this rural place, in a forest that had been set up to try and keep Cranks out. It didn't, of course," she scoffs. "But we were there for, what, seven months maybe? I remember there were a few others like us, who'd set up tents and tarpaulins to stay warm. There were even people trading things, like animals, vegetables, materials. Before and after that, we just moved around a lot. Didn't associate any of those places with comfort. 

"And then, my third home: here. It was... really, it was the first time I remember making memories. With friends." She nods, looking down. I can see Brenda beginning to well up, her eyes growing cloudy. She doesn't cry a lot, so when she does, it sometimes throws me. We stop walking as she takes a slight breath. "I just remember laughing, a lot. With you, with Thomas, and Newt and Fry. And Jorge, watching over me and letting me be more independent. I know it's only small stuff but it really made all the difference for me. This place was my favourite home, in a way."

I smile, hugging her. "Our next home is going to be the best..." I hope, adding silently in my head. "Bren, do you feel like, it sounds too good to be true?"

"Sometimes, yeah. This time? Absolutely. But honestly, I'm just thinking, nothing can be as bad as the city. Nothing. I mean, we almost lost Newt. We all could've died."

"We could still lose him..." I shake my head, closing my eyes. "It's eating me alive. The thought of losing him, again. God, it was... it was weakening. The worst pain I've... ever felt. Ever." I open my eyes again, my vision slightly blurred. "I don't know what I'm gonna do if it... if it happens again. If it becomes permanent." I remember briefly the gut-wrenching feeling when I saw his eyes fade, his body growing cold. The feeling of agonising, numbing pain. The memory causes my heart to drop and my breaths to become shallow. 

She pauses, furrowing her brows and looking me dead in the eye. "Don't dwell on it. I know it's worrying, I know... I know you love him. No one should have to go through that, twice. We will try everything we can to..." she trails off, her brows concentrated as her mouth hangs open. 

"What? What is it?"

"That thing Teresa said... well, I'm not sure, she could've been lying, I assumed it was a trick to lure Thomas to her but..."

"What?" I press. 

"She said, it was his blood. Thomas' blood. She said it's the Cure. I mean, that's just what I heard... I couldn't be too sure, everything was going on at that point, I was focusing on not dying, but..."

My hand claps my mouth, eyes growing wide. How could I forget? "Brenda, I completely forgot... oh my God!"

She shakes her head, eyes the widest I've seen them. "No, please don't get your hopes up! She might've been lying, okay? Or it might not work against the strength of Newt's virus, or it could cause some really damaging side effects. Please, don't get your hopes up, (y/n)."

I nod, looking to the floor and fiddling with my fingers. "Yeah, you're right. Just... have to wait and see, I guess." Yet, hope bubbles within me. Just a trickle of hope, enough to make me almost optimistic... yet, in all realism, I understand Brenda's right: I can't get my hopes up. I just can't. Besides... who knows when Thomas may wake up, it could be days, weeks, even months... and, well, by that point, we'll have run out of Serum for Newt...

My thoughts are thankfully interrupted by another ship horn blaring in the distance. I see Brenda's eyes light up ever so slightly as we face the large ship, being filled up with people carrying crates, boxes, and wheeling in large machinery. I vaguely see Minho and Fry walking onto the ship exhaustedly, consumed by fatigue, their backs hunched and heads hung low, yet their feet moving them determinedly closer to the ship's entrance.

"I'm gonna go find Vince, tell him about what Teresa said," Brenda explains. "I'll meet you by the ship?"

"See ya," I smile. 

Looking behind me, back to the Berg, I check to see a small group of young men are carrying Thomas and Newt on their stretchers, carefully and slowly. I notice how one of the guys carrying Newt appears to be holding the stretcher at a distance, his eyes reading the dark veins around his neck, his expression clear with disgust and apprehension. He says something to the other guy carrying Newt, who nods slightly. I frown.

I pass the old warehouses, gazing in to the windows and reliving the seven months I spent here with my closest friends. Random people mill about, chattering and hugging each other. A buzz of excitement lingers in the air all over. I quickly reach the foot of the ship, just needing to cross the footbridge for the entrance, when I hear someone behind us yell for Vince. I whip my head around to see who shouted, and I see the guy carrying the stretcher from before, roughly placing the stretcher on the ground. 

"Not being funny Vince, but how do you expect us to have a different life there if we bring an Infected with us?" he whines. Vince approaches him, gesturing to the stretcher. "I mean, if he gives it to even one person, then we're all vulnerable!"

I find Vince amongst a small crowd of people, Brenda beside him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Vince narrows his eyes sternly to the boys. "Pick him back up. Now."

The boy begrudgingly picks him back up, glaring. 

"We are not leaving anyone behind!" Vince announces, loudly and clearly. He looks around, checking that all eyes are on him. "Yes, this boy is Infected. However, I know that we may have supplies to treat him and hopefully we can cure him. I'm not gonna make false promises like WICKED; I'm aware it's a long shot that we're gonna cure him." Vince looks to me, eyes flickering to mine. "I'm not saying with any degree of confidence we will cure him. I'm hoping we will." He looks to the ground. He takes a breath. "And, if we can't... then I will personally take it upon myself to ensure that no one else will get Infected... I will terminate the disease at the root cause."

My eyes fall to the ground, hand clutching tighter around Brenda's forearm. Vince put it nicely, but the point still stands. If we can't cure Newt, then that's it. If we run out of Bliss, and if Thomas doesn't wake or his blood doesn't work... that's it. 

Newt will have to die.