We continue to sneak our way around the city, before stopping behind some short walls. Thomas and Gally hide behind one of the walls as Minho, Newt and I rush over to one next to them. Newt throws his back against the wall, trying desperately to catch his breath and coughing as he does so.
The soaked W.C.K.D. soldier jacket is just weighing me down, so I take it off and toss it to the side--revealing my white shirt and mellow orange jacket. I sit beside Newt, cupping his face as I look at him. His coughing gets worse and he's losing the color of his skin even more. The veins are beginning to spread even more up his face.
I unzip his jacket as Minho kneels down beside me. "Newt, how're you feeling?"
The blonde groans as he takes off his gloves. "Terrible." Somehow, he musters up his usual bright smile and looks at Minho. "It's good to see you though."
"Yeah man," I agree. "We've really missed you."
Minho gives us both a smile before making his way over to Thomas and talking to him. I return my attention back to Newt as he leans his head back, clearly in pain.
"We're almost out of here, Newt," I whisper, fighting the tears that are forming in my eyes. I'm not losing him. I can't.
"Clementine," the boy gets out. "I love you so much."
I smile as I cup his left cheek, "I love you too, Newt." I close the gap between us and kiss him. "We're going to be okay."
Thomas walks over and looks at the two of us. "Newt, come on man. We gotta get you up."
The blonde holds his hands out to the two of us as we pull him up onto his feet. He instantly stumbles and Thomas has to pick him upright. I feel like a piece of my heart chips away every time I notice how much worse he's getting, and it makes me feel terrible. My heart has been so heavy for the past few hours and the feeling will not go away.
Minho and Thomas pick Newt up, slinging his arms over their necks as they move in a light jog. Gally and I lead the three boys as I pull my pistol out from my holster and move with it. We make some good distance, before a loud boom stops us in our tracks.
Our eyes dart towards the gate of the city, watching as a big explosion arises from the area. Fire and debris fly everywhere. The whole wall crumbles down and the fire fades away.
"We were supposed to take down W.C.K.D.," Gally blurts out. "Not the whole city."
"Looks like Lawrence had other plans," I mumble. I pat the boy on the shoulder before moving along. "Come on, we gotta go."
Gally leads the way as we all follow. Eventually, we make it to a street near the entrance of the city. Tons of W.C.K.D. soldiers and vehicles are parked at the end of the street as they just sit there, awaiting approval to fire.
"Get low," I tell the trio behind me.
We duck behind a wall as I sit between Minho and Newt. The blonde just looks so much worse than he did before, and he starts to cough rapidly. He looks so drained.
"Newt, hey- hey. Look at me," I tell the boy in the calmest voice I can muster up. His chocolate eyes meet mine, and yet again, I feel a piece of my heart chip away. "You're gonna be okay. We're almost there, okay? The tunnels are just a bit from here."
"I love you, Clem," he exhales.
"I love you too."
Suddenly, a big explosion hits the street near us as people start charging at the W.C.K.D. soldiers. More and more explosions go off as the two groups go to war. I peak around the corner, witnessing the chaos unfold. Somehow, I feel the hope diminish from inside me.
I watch as the world around me crumbles. Fire is everywhere and the city is falling apart. Happy endings... what are those? I've had it so stuck in my mind that it's this nice, lovely ending that people get to enjoy. But now it's hitting me--those are only in fairytales. And this? This is not one of those. The chances of us getting a happy ending are very slim right now... and I feel my heart grow heavier than before at that realization.
I feel Minho pull me back behind cover as Thomas squishes his body into Newt, holding his arm over the blonde and I. "Stay down, stay down!"
Newt looks into my eyes. "Don't you dare let that brightness dim right now." It takes me a second to register what he said, as I can't bring myself to even believe he said it. His voice was so low and quiet, and it was only audible to me.
Suddenly, Gally stands up as Minho and Thomas pull Newt back over their shoulders. I stand up and follow as the boys struggle to escape the situation. Gally guides us into a building as the battle goes on right outside the door.
I find myself having a harder time breathing as I get panicky. Thomas contacts Brenda, telling her that we aren't going to make it. This whole thing feels like the biggest slap to the face.
How stupid could I have been to believe that we could've actually pulled this off?
I look at Newt, the veins spreading more up his face as he looks like he can pass out any second. Without thinking, I rest my head on the boy's chest, hugging him. He wraps his arm around me as I close my eyes, trying to find the comfort of being in his arms.
"I love you so bloody much, Clementine," the boy whispers in my ear.
"I love you too, Newt," I mumble into his chest.
"Our ride's here! Just look for us near the tunnels," Brenda's voice erupts from the walkie.
My head shoots up as I look at Thomas, before exchanging looks with the rest of the boys. That little sliver of hope begins to grow inside me again.
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We're making our way through the city again--Thomas and Minho now basically dragging Newt's body as Gally and I lead.
"Alright," Gally announces. "Newt, we're almost there."
"Just leave me," the boy mumbles.
I turn around, walking backwards as I glare at the boy. "You're crazy if you think we're leaving you. Do you hear me? We're almost there. You're going to be okay."
Regardless of the little lecture I gave him, I can't help but notice the doubt poking at my guts. I want to ignore it, I do. But I feel like it's eating me up from inside.
Suddenly, a car is thrown through the street we were about to cross as more people charge from that direction. It sends Gally and I flying backwards. We all sit down for a moment against the wall of the building. Thomas leans Newt up against the wall as I take a look at the boy.
Black liquid is starting to spill from his mouth, and his eyes don't hold the purity they once did. I look into the black orbs, seeing nothing but emptiness and sorrow. The veins are almost all over his face now.
A loud whirring noise is heard from above, as we all look up. We watch as a berg flies across the sky, making their way towards the direction of the tunnels.
"That's them," Thomas shouts.
I look back at Newt. "We're almost there, okay? They're just right there. Everything's going to be okay, Newt."
"Clementine," he mutters, a cough following it. "I love you."
"I love you, Newt. Now get up, we're going home," I tell him.
Thomas and Minho try picking him up but he shakes his head. "Go without me." He coughs once more, his throat sounding super congested. I can't stand seeing him in this state. It's breaking me.
"No, Newt," I tell him sternly, my voice cracking as I fight the tears that are trying to form in my eyes. "Remember that promise back in the Glade? Nobody's going anywhere. You're not leaving me. You're not! So get up and let's go."
His breathing gets heavier as he huffs, shaking his head. Thomas looks at me before looking at Gally and Minho, "You guys gotta run ahead. Get the serum and get back to us as soon as you can."
"He's right," Gally tells Minho. "I can cover you, but we gotta go now."
"Minho," Newt mutters as he grabs ahold of the boys hand. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."
"Hey, just hang on," the boy whispers back. He gets ready to leave but Newt pulls him back.
"Clem and I made it official that day they took you," the blonde musters up the best smile he can. "Just thought I'd let you know before I can't anymore."
"You two have basically already been official for the past four years," Minho smiles. He looks at the two of us before reluctantly getting up. "Hang in there."
He follows Gally as the taller boy leads him through the destruction. I look back at Thomas and Newt. "We can't stay here, we gotta make as much distance as possible. Or at least try to find better cover."
Thomas nods his head and turns to Newt. The blonde looks super out of it and Thomas starts shaking him. "Newt! Come on. Let's get you out of here."
"No, no," Newt repeats as his hands reach up to his necklace. He struggles as he breaks it off his neck and holds it up to Thomas. "Take this! Take it!" He calms down and catches his breath. "Please. Please, Tommy. Please."
That's when I break. The tears start flowing out of my eyes without even giving me a chance to prevent it. I take a deep breath to try to calm down, but it makes it even worse. Thomas finally takes the necklace from him and pockets it as Newt's gaze turns to me.
"Don't cry, Clem," he whispers. "I love you."
"I love you too," I whisper.
"Alright," Thomas states as calmly as possible as he picks Newt up. "I need you to give me everything you have. Okay?"
I holster my pistol as I take Newt's other arm and wrap it around me. We start moving--Thomas and I basically carrying all of Newt's weight. The familiar action sends chills down my spine as I get flashbacks of doing this with Alby, then with Minho. And now, I'm carrying Newt.
The three of us struggle as we pull the boy through the mess. Eventually, we make it to an empty train station and walk through the middle.
"We're almost there, Newt," I tell the boy. But his body just suddenly starts convulsing, making him heavier and harder to carry.
Thomas and I place the boy on the ground as gently as we can. He lays on the ground, wheezing and gasping for air as he doesn't move. His chest moves up and down as he breathes. The sight reminds me of Winston, and I feel my head start to get fuzzy.
I knock myself out of it as I help Thomas pull him up, the two of us now literally dragging his body. My arms feel so weak but I keep pushing.
"I'm not losing you, Newt," I shout at the boy. "Come on!" I feel my legs about to give out, and suddenly, they do. I collapse to the ground, Thomas along with me as Newt lands on top of me.
I get up from under the boy and place his head in my lap, stroking his hair as tears stream down my cheeks.
"Thomas," a voice echoes over the speakers as the brunette stands up and looks around. It was Teresa. "Can you hear me? I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt."
Her voice drowns out at that last sentence. "I'm so sick of your crap, Teresa," I mutter, my voice only audible to myself. Tears continue to drip from my eyes as I look at the boy in my arms. "You promised me you would get me a serum for Newt. So why didn't you? All you care about is freaking Thomas, you don't care about anyone else. You're so obsessed with Thomas's blood that you didn't even give mine a second thought."
I look deeply into Newt's eyes. The blackness has taken it over whole, and the black gooey liquid that Winston spit out before is now spilling from Newt's mouth more and more. "Newt, please. Don't leave me. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
"Please, just come back to me. I know you know it's the right thi-" Her voice cuts out, as all the street lights turn off with it.
Suddenly, I see light flicker in Newt's eyes as he stands up on his own.
"Newt," I question the boy, my voice louder than I mean it to be. Thomas turns back around and looks at him as well while I stand to my feet.
The blonde turns around and looks in mine and Thomas's direction. His eyes land on me, and that's when I realize it.... That's not Newt anymore.
I feel my whole heart sink at the sight and don't do anything as he runs towards me and tackles me to the ground.
I land on my left palm--my hand hitting the ground hard as I groan in pain. Thomas pulls the boy off of me as I look at my palm and pull down the arm sleeve to reveal the bandage. Blood is soaking through the bandage even more now and it burns.
I ignore the pain as I get back up and look at Newt as he continues to throw his body at Thomas. The two boys roll around on the ground before Thomas gets the blonde off him again. Newt sits up, looking at Thomas. "Tommy, kill me!"
The three words send a terrible feeling throughout my whole body. Before Thomas can get a chance to respond, Newt attacks him again.
I rush over to the boy, trying to pull him off Thomas. "Newt please! I know you're still in there. Come back to me!"
I pry the boy off of Thomas, only for him to land on top of me. His hand goes to my neck as he tries biting me. "Newt," I croak out. "Please. I love you... don't... leave me."
The struggle stops as he calms down again, his eyes widening as he realizes what he's doing. He looks me in my eyes, and I see a flash of sadness rush through them.
"I'm sorry, Clementine. I love you." He pulls my pistol out of my holster and points it against his head.
"No!" I slap his arm, sending the gun flying backwards and skidding across the ground. Anger overtakes him again as he gets ready to attack. Before he can, Thomas pulls him off me and the boy goes sliding across the ground.
Just when I think he's done, he pulls out his knife and starts swinging at Thomas.
"Newt," I shout desperately as I can't control the tears streaming down my face. "Please, stop!"
He pins Thomas to the ground again, pushing the knife towards his chest. I try pulling him off of the brunette but he throws his elbow backwards, hitting me in the jaw. My body goes flying to the floor and I feel super dizzy.
I watch as Thomas throws the boy off him just as he pierces his skin. They both get up, Newt slicing the air as he tries to cut off Thomas. I can't get myself up. I can't get myself to speak. I can't get myself to just simply lift my head up off the ground.
Suddenly, the knife finds a home in one of the boys as Newt runs into Thomas. Somehow, my body gets up on its own as I rush towards the two boys.
They separate, and I see the knife lodged into Newt's abdomen, his own hand on it. I fall to my knees as Newt's body collapses into my arms. The amount of pain I feel in this moment cannot be described.
He starts spitting up the black goo again as he looks at Thomas and I.
"Tommy, I'm so sorry," he croaks out as he gasps for air. "Clementine, I love you. I love you so bloody much. Tommy please take care of her."
I pull the boy's body close to me as I sob. It's so overwhelming, I don't think there are even words to describe it.
Thomas takes one last look at the boy before sprinting off.
I don't even try to stop him. My attention is only on Newt. The boy lays in my arms, looking up at me. The stars aren't in his eyes anymore. He can't even get the strength to smile. My hand fidgets with the charm on the necklace he gave me as my other hand strokes his hair.
"Newt, please," I sob. "I love you so much. Don't leave me, please. We made a promise. We made a promise when we were kids--you, me, and Minho. We promised to always stick together. And in the Glade you and I promised to never leave each other. Newt, please. I can't lose you. I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
The boy who was by my side since the very beginning of my battle with W.C.K.D.
The boy who was the first person to formally greet me in the Glade.
The boy who makes me feel safe and loved.
Newt.
My little british boy.
My little golden retriever.
My star.
My Newt.
The boy I fell in love with. He's dying in my arms.
The next moments go by in a blur. I just feel my body moving but my mind isn't reacting to anything. I feel so... numb.
The next thing I know, I'm sitting on the berg as we rescue a broken Thomas. Teresa sacrificed her life to save the boy, and now I sit next to Minho as Brenda works on patching Thomas up.
It all just goes by in a blur. And I don't feel a single emotion throughout the whole thing.