THE NEXT MORNING, Penny sighted Newt getting his share of food while bickering with his sister. He was already wearing his Searching attire and he had his backpack slung carelessly over his right shoulder.
Then he sighted her as well, dressed comfortably in another pair of hoodie, eating breakfast with Zoe and her other hut mates —Selena, Kat, Debra, Ellie, June, Holly, Margot, and Jang— in a table about forty feet away.
Newt smiled and waved at her.
He... He sees me! He's looking at me!
Penny smiled, raised her hand, and waved back.
〰️
KIDS WERE BOLD. Well. They were probably too young to know how far was too far and what the term 'polite boundary' meant.
"Tell us! Please! Tell us how you went... crittle!"
"Umm... Crippled."
"Yeah! We want to know!"
"Mum said you were an adventurer!"
But, none of the adults complained. They wanted to know more about their Leaders stories, too. They just didn't have the guts to directly ask.
The Daycare kids did, though.
So, when Gally, Thomas, and Jorge went over to pick the Daycare girls up to lunch, the hut was packed to its core.
"Is something wrong?" Gally wondered aloud in worry and dashed quickly towards the window.
From there, they could see rows and rows of people sitting crosslegged across the floor and some standing against the walls, watching Brenda, Frankie, and Sonya... retelling the tale of their Scorch Trials, like a theatrical play.
"—Monsters! As tall as ten feet, moving with their arms outstretched like this. Yellow bulbs stuck out from parts of their bodies!"
"Oohhhhh...." the little boys cooed excitedly.
"And then, I pulled out my knives," Frankie skilfully pulled out pink and yellow markers out of nowhere and hold it out in front of her in a stance.
"I had a spear!" Brenda squealed, taking the broom and twirled around between her fingers.
"We marked our own opponent, and we fought!"
Sonya and Brenda looked incredibly serious with their role play while Frankie just played along, laughing.
"And then, all of a sudden, CRACK! BOOM! Lightning struck, burning the remnants of all Monsters to the ground! Frankie was too close to the lightning and she was thrown back— Frank, seriously, act properly."
"O— Oh, yeah," Frankie threw herself back and carefully laid down onto the floor, "And then I couldn't move my right hand and foot."
"Do you remember Stephen?"
"Yes!" the kids chorused.
"He ran over to Frankie and—" Sonya made her voice sounded gruff on purpose and knelt by Frankie's side, "Frankie! We have to move! Look, everyone's hiding into the pods!"
Gally and Thomas watched their significant others and friends in pure amusement. Who would've thought that those girls could be strong fighters and cute actresses altogether?
"I wish we had a camera right now," Jorge sighed, "Moments like this are way too precious."
〰️
"HEY, HEY, CAN you hear me?"
Penny felt several hands shaking her shoulders vigorously. She cracked her eyes open just as a palm made contact with her cheek and saw lousy, grey sky.
"O— Oops, sorry. Didn't know you were awake. You okay, kid?"
"Yeah," She forced herself to stand up. She could see pairs of hands hovering around her body, in case she felt dizzy and fell.
"Where—" Penny's eyes caught the gigantic, stony walls in front of her and she gasped. It was so tall, it felt monstrous. She twirled —the walls surrounded her like jail. In a sudden, suffocating realization, she tripped over her own foot and nearly fell.
Then her eyes traveled to other, smaller details, like the green grass and grovels under her dirty shoes. The packs of people scattered around the opening. The crickety, wooden structure standing on her left. A few other teenagers still lying unconscious on her right.
"What—" Penny stumbled back. Fear of the unknown future clenched her stomach up to her throat. "Where am I? What is this place?"
"We don't know," the older man who slapped her earlier answered, "Some said it's called 'the Glade'. We were taken hostage here, too."
"B— B— But," Penny's voice broke and she sobbed, "But I was just out for five minutes. Five minutes, to buy lollipops."
"I'm sorry, kid, but no lollipops here."
〰️
THAT NIGHT, PENNY woke up crying. But she just curled into a ball, hugging her stomach, and sobbed into her pillow.
〰️
"PROBABLY JUST SLEPT in."
Newt scoffed audibly at that, not bothering to hide his disagreement. Frankie, sleeping in? That would be utterly impossible.
He meant, the girl was like a bloody alarm clock herself. Always on time, never late. It was really the first (and only) day he woke up earlier than Frankie.
"I'm gonna check the Map Room," Minho announced, leaving his breakfast without skipping a beat.
Newt looked up at him and noticed the creases on his forehead. It had been awhile since Minho looked incredibly troubled, especially since the reason seemed like nothing. Late Frankie.
So he stood up as well, "I'll check her room if you can't stay still, lover boy."
Lover boy... He limped his way towards her room in the Homestead, shaking his head while smiling smugly.
Newt bumped his fist on Frankie's door and called out, "Rise and shine, Frank!"
He waited for a few seconds then rapped on the door once more.
"Frankie? Are you up? It's Newt."
When Frankie didn't answer a second time, a part of Minho's worry began to seep into his own heart.
"Frankie?" He knocked again, "I'm coming in."
Slowly, he pushed the door open and entered the room.
Frankie's room was brightly lit by sun rays entering through the windows and the gaps between the walls' wooden construction. It was tidy, nearly empty even, since she only used the space to sleep. Everything was neatly categorized and placed in two cupboards, including the Glade's stock of extra blankets and sheets.
Frankie was there, lying on her side, facing the farthest wall. Newt snickered.
"Hey, shank, are you still asleep—" he walked towards her bed, "—at this hour? It's bloody bright, how can you—" then reached for her shoulder, "—not wake up? Are you feelin' sick? Drank—" and rolled her over onto her back, "—too much of Gally's nasty cocktail last ni—"
Frankie's left arm limply fell off her stomach, onto the mattress, until it hung over the bed's side. Her fingernails were purplish blue. Her skin was ghostly pale.
But what scared Newt the most was her eyes.
Clouded, indefinitely opened, staring back at him without blinking. She didn't look happy, peaceful, or scared. She looked... dead.
Then he screamed, "FRANKIE! BLOODY HELL, FRANKIE, GOD— WAKE UP! FRANK—"
〰️
NEWT SCRAMBLED UP and crawled hurriedly to Minho and Frankie's bed. He paused in a hovering position over them with heavily heaving chest and waited... waited until he could clearly see Frankie's chest moving, though very slightly.
Then he sighed in relief and fell into a heap on the floor.
She's alive... He told himself, she's alive... They're alive...
Two nights ago were Sonya. Five days ago was Minho. A week before was Thomas. He had been dreaming of losing his friends for oh so many nights, and he had to look at their actual living figure to stop himself from breaking into full mode panic attack.
He knew that was a serious problem, he knew. He probably should see Ralph the Safe Haven's psychologist, but right now... Right now some fresh air and hopefully a chatty midnight companion were good enough remedy.
Newt put on his jacket and walked out into the night.
He sat down on a picnic table by the monument and took some moments calming his nerves and feeling the chilly breeze on his exposed skin. He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone (cough, Penny, cough) to no avail.
It didn't take five minutes for Newt to feel bored, watching the same old scenery, no matter how beautiful it was. He decided to walk around and, without realizing it, found himself standing with his arms in his jacket's pockets in front of Hut 17-B.
He tilted his head in wonder.
Ah... It's Penny's.
Then he heard something like sniffling.
Newt stepped onto the porch and leaned closer, hoping to hear better.
Penny?
He took a peek between the curtains that acted as doors and saw Penny's distinctive curls under the dim moonlight, shaking. It was Penny. And she didn't seem to have the intention to go out tonight.
Newt plopped down onto the porch's wooden flooring and sat down comfortably with his arms stretched behind him like support, facing the ocean with the muffled sound of Penny's heartbroken cry as back sound. He could only hope, even though the girl didn't even know that he was right outside, his close presence could bring Penny comfort. Somehow.