"HAVE YOU— HAVE you seen my daughter, Penelope?"
Penny stood rigidly from across the street. Tears brimmed in her eyes as something claw-like squeezed her heart painfully, and she called out, "Dad!"
Mr. Scott didn't hear her, though, and kept on handing flyers to random strangers, bowing his head to those kind enough to accept.
"Dad! It's me!"
The traffic light turned green and Penny immediately dashed through the busy street of Main, Denver. She could hear the echoes of her own heartbeat and worn-out Converse beating against the white-stripped concrete. Everything seemed to roll in slow motion.
"Dad—"
Someone threw a piece of flyer away and it landed gracefully by her left foot.
MISSING, it read, PENELOPE SCOTT. Age 17. Height 5'3". Last seen: near Little Star Mart, wearing pink Hoodie, black jogger pants, and grey Converse.
A huge photograph of herself smiling was printed beside the last Scott family picture —Penny and Mr. Scott hugging Amy on the dinner table, facing the youngest's 10th birthday cake and an assortment of food.
"Oh no," Mr. Scott crouched down to take the dumped paper and flattened it out with shaky hands, "Don't throw it away. No, my daughter... Penny..."
"Dad, what are you talking about? I'm here..." Penny whispered forlornly. She knelt in front of Mr. Scott and reached out affectionately for him, but her hand ran through his body like a mere wisp of smoke and she screamed—
〰️
"DAD!"
PENNY SHOT up with her hand outstretched, and she immediately clamped her mouth to mask her heavy breaths. Fortunately, the other nine residences of her hut only stirred slightly (Zoe groaned and mumbled gibberish, too) before resuming their sleep.
Dad... Amy...
It had been nearly six months since Penny arrived in this tropical island —a place the Leaders called Safe Haven— and she still had nightmares. Tonight was actually pretty easy. There were a number of worse scenarios that had fleeted through her slumber, including her father being shot dead for protesting about her disappearance and her sister being taken forcefully by W.I.C.K.E.D. to fill in her place. And about them both losing their minds because they couldn't deal with the loss of a beloved family member, but Penny convinced herself that she probably didn't mean that much to them.
That made her feel bad, too, in another way.
Once again, Penny walked out of her designated housing and sat down on the porch.
Oh, no. She wasn't saying that the Safe Haven was ugly. Hell, it was even more than just beautiful. It was gorgeous, breathtaking. From her seat, her eyes could capture the lush green grass jutting out to form the hills on her right, the therapeutic waves clawing their way towards the white sand on her left, and the picturesque starry night above her head —all in one frame.
Compared to this paradise, Post-Flare Denver looked like... a sewer. Sorry.
Penny tried to stop thinking about the family she left behind (in the said sewer) and went on a lonely night stroll. Minutes later, she found herself standing in front of the sacred stone monument.
She had heard of the history though very, very briefly: how the Leaders were subjects of W.I.C.K.E.D.'s inhumane experiment; had their memories wiped; placed to live within the Maze for three years; got into numerous battles with Grievers; walked two hundred miles through the Scorch; had their memories returned (well, most of them); escaped; infiltrated Denver; then saved the recaptured ones before heading in here with a band of rebels called the Right Arm.
That was all.
The Leaders weren't... sociable. They were, like, ganged up and acted very exclusively.
Penny ran her fingers over the grafted names. None of them were familiar to her.
Okay, maybe that one, Adam, had the same name as her classmate. And that one, Jeff, was one of the neighbour kids. And that one, Beth, was the name of Amy's best friend... Chuck...
"He was an extremely curious boy, in case you're wondering. Probably twelve when he died."
Penny jolted in surprise and gasped when she saw one of the infamous Leaders, Newt, standing six feet away. She had to blink twice to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
"Oh, God, sorry," Penny said, placing a hand on her chest, "I didn't mean to— I mean, the stone didn't get hurt— I wasn't—"
Newt chuckled, "I know, I know! You can calm down."
"Yeah..." Penny grimaced.
"Sorry to disturb your alone time," Newt pointed to his house with his thumb, which was the one closest to the monument, "I notice that you're always up and about every midnight for... quite some time now."
"You've been watching me...?"
"No! No, no, no," Newt replied hurriedly, "I just... I always see you whenever I get out here in the middle of the night. That's all."
Penny's lips made a silent 'O' sound and nodded.
"Okay... Good. You're not a creep."
What the hell, Penny. Call your freaking Leader a creep.
"Yes, I'm really not. What's your name?"
"Uh, Penny," she grimaced once more, "Penelope Scott, but it's a mouthful, so just call me Penny. I mean, people just call me Penny."
She could see the boys' eyes literally twinkling in amusement.
"Hi, Penny. I'm Newt."
"Yeah, I know. You're a Leader, you're in the Search Party with Minho, so you're rarely in the camp, and you're the only one with thick British accent around here..." Penny faltered when she caught herself rambling. Shit. Get a hold of yourself, Pen. "...Right?"
But Newt didn't seem to be bothered by that. "Right! And what about you? Which division are you?"
"I'm, uh, I help around here. With the children."
"Oh... So you're with Sonya and Frankie!"
"Yes, yeah! Sonya and Frankie..."
"Sonya's my sister."
"I know."
They both nodded and looked around awkwardly, as if searching for any conversation topic but failed miserably.
Penny, feeling suffocated by the chilly night air and the lump building in her throat all of a sudden, abruptly exclaimed, "I should probably get back!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Newt said, "Go on then. Good night."
This is a nightmare, Penny thought. Worst first impression in history of the world, ever!
She racked her brain, trying to find a better farewell or at least some smart, impressive statement, but she ended up squeaking, "Good night!"
And that was it. She turned around, blushed profusely, and didn't stop walking until she was securely back in the comfort of her bed.
Penny threw the blanket over her face. That night, the ghost of her father no longer haunted her mind.
〰️
NEWT LEANED BACK onto one of the picnic tables surrounding the monument as he kept his eyes glued to the young girl's bouncing curls.
Three... Four... Five... Sixteen... Seventeen... She lives in Hut 17-B.
"That girl is weird," he scoffed.
Still, it didn't stop a genuine smile from blooming on his face. He stood up and made his way back home, "Cute."