Edward watched helplessly as the soldiers surrounded and seized his brother and Newt. "No! Tom! Tom!"
He tried to sprint down but Jorge who had joined them held him back. "No Hermano. It's no use. It's no use,"
But Edward wouldn't stop fighting back. He couldn't lose his brother but Jorge's strength overcame him. His eyes were locked on Thomas being pulled into the cargo plane. The doors closed. He saw Thomas's face disappearing. Then he heard a scream out, "Edward!" Thomas was crying out to him, begging him to save him.
"Thomas!" Edward screamed. He sat up hyperventilating. He saw his tent still standing around him, Aris, Brenda, Chuck, and Harriet sleeping on some mattresses. The Right Arm had camped for the night in the shadows of some mountains. Jorge stood guard outside their tent. His breathing slowed though his heart rate remained rapid. He turned his head and he saw a brown jacket hanging on a chair. He reached off and took it cradling it. It was his brother's. He stood up and walked out of the tent by the left side so Jorge wouldn't see him.
He walked away from the campsite and sat on the desert stand staring out in the moonlight. It was a cold night. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling the warmth of the jacket engulfing him as if he was being held in his brother's arms. A tear fell down his face. He wiped it away. Another fell. He didn't bother. Dark invisible clouds of despair had been raining on his head for days because he couldn't rid himself of the awful memory which had long plagued his thoughts.
"You okay?" a kind voice uttered.
Edward turned his head and saw Brenda standing right near him. He watched as she came closer and sat down next.
"You don't have to talk about it," she consoled. "I already know what you're thinking,"
Edward sighed. "I just really thought all those days ago we were finally free from WICKED. But our friends are probably being tortured. Including my brother. And it's all my fault,"
"Hey," Brenda touched her shoulder. "This isn't your fault. You didn't cause this to happen. If there's anyone who's to blame, it's that darn girl Teresa. She's the one who betrayed us. She's the one who's caused everyone to be treated like lab rats,"
"Yeah but...if I had known better than to trust her in the first place....we wouldn't be in this whole mess. I can't believe she lied to us all this time, how foolish I was," Edward swallowed a lump in his throat just thinking of her. The thought of the traitor whose telepathic connection he shared made him sick. He spent many hours every day, ensuring he couldn't feel Teresa trying to read his mind or speak to him. He had felt nothing from her for weeks. But whilst he tried to distance himself from her, he remembered every confrontation they had, every moment when it seemed like she was hiding something but he ignored that gut feeling. Because of that, he felt he had carelessly allowed Teresa to betray everyone.
"We all trusted her Ed. You can't blame yourself for her treachery," Seeing that her words weren't doing much to make him feel better, Brenda shuffled closer and gave him a warm side hug.
It didn't lift his mood but he held her close, feeling warm compassion. "Thank you, Brenda,"
They stayed in that position for the next few hours. Brenda fell asleep and he allowed her to lie her head on his lap. He then pulled off one of his jackets and pulled it over her like a warm blanket. Tenderly touching her shoulders, he looked out into the night scar and saw silent stars. A star shot by. He closed his eyes and made a silent wish that they would save their friends and finally reach the Safe Haven where they could live together in freedom forever. He opened his eyes and once again saw only the silent air.
"I don't know how long it will take Tom...but we will find you. I promise," a tear fell off his puffy cheek. Tiredness took over Edward and he fell asleep on the sand, Brenda's body lounged next to him.
Thomas screamed for what seemed like the thousandth time as jolts of electricity stun his brain. He was sweating. He was squirming. He felt as though he had been zapped too many times through his body. He couldn't take it anymore.
His torturers stood in front, pads and pens in Ava and Teresa's hands.
A doctor approached Thomas and put a light in his eye. He turned his head to Ava and he nodded. "All right,"
Janson approached Thomas and lifted his chin. "Anything else? Anything useful?"
Thomas couldn't answer. His throat was so parched from water and his entire body was floppy like jelly that he couldn't lift his tongue.
Janson slapped his face. Teresa felt her heartbeat. "Speak!"
"Janson!" shouted Ava. "Enough,"
Janson fumed and he stood back. Ava walked forward and her head stare down at Thomas. "Well?"
Thomas breathed slowly in and out. He wanted to stop speaking but the thought of Newt turning into a Crank remained the trigger that made him talk. "I remember...me and my brother being brought forward to you. You demanded we'd tell you why we did it. And we said...you left us no choice," he stopped. His voice box rested.
"That's it?" Jerry shouted, not impressed. "We've been doing this for hours and we haven't got what we're looking for,"
Teresa looked at the monitors supervising Thomas. "He's crashing. We have to rest him,"
Ava looked at the screen and he saw his energy was so low, his heart rate was too rapid and his hormone levels were so high.
"We can't stop now," Janson scoffed, completely choosing to be oblivious. "We haven't got what Stephen hid from us, what he found!"
"We'll kill him if we continue doing this to him," Teresa argued.
"She's right," said Ava. "We've done enough. Detach him,"
The doctors pulled the needles out of Thomas's body and the big one from his neck. Two strong men lifted him off the chair and they carried him to another room down the corridor. He felt his body being washed and soaped. He felt his hands lift his chin to give him soup and bread because he was too weak to move a muscle. In a few hours, he regained his strength and he was escorted back to his cell where he sat alone on the bed with a glass of water.
He flopped back on his bed again, worn and stressed out from all that trauma he had been through. All the memories that came bouncing into his head again became hallucinations that seemed to play out in front of him. He saw himself and his brother being hugged by their parents. He saw himself and Newt chilling out together on the rooftops. He saw him and his brother working together, promising to take care of each other. But nothing relating to what WICKED wanted. He couldn't understand why it was easy for WICKED to bring back the memories he had of his childhood but why it wasn't easy to uncover what he had discovered before he was saved. It was almost as if that memory was choosing to remain hidden forever.
He closed his eyes as exhaustion overtook him like a spell to make him sleep forever. All he had on his mind was Newt. He prayed Ava was keeping her word and injecting him with that special serum to slow down his transformation. He didn't know how long it would be before Ava put have him tubed up again to try and get that precious memory but he was not going to wait until afterwards to see Newt. He was going to see him tomorrow and not a moment later.
"Wake up love birds," Chuck's teasing singing made Edward jolt awake. He saw Chuck's head hovering over him. "Been looking for you and what do I find. You and Brenda sleeping together?"
Edward turned his head and saw Brenda still asleep right next to him. Her eyes flicked from Chuck's mocks and she gasped realising how close their faces were.
"Okay, this is just getting awkward," Edward sat up and Brenda copied him. "Sleep him?"
"Been good," she said, her teeth showing a modest grin.
Edward loved that grin. But Chuck's sniggering made him say, "Don't you start,"
The pair stood up and to their surprise, they saw everyone already ready to leave. Tents were packed. Guns were armed. Jeeps were stacked.
"About time you two woke up!" Amelia complained about where she was.
"Are we getting there or what?" Aris asked.
Edward rolled his eyes. "Let's just go," he boarded the truck and chose to sit in the back for a change and not sit next to Jorge and Brenda. She turned her head to him in the back but he didn't look at her. She felt dejected. Amelia noticed.
The jeeps drove off into the desert and Edward remained silent in the back. But whilst everyone else was doing their own thing, he turned his head quietly over to Brenda. He felt regretful if his distance had offended her. Did he like her? He kept asking himself that, but George's grave kept flashing in the mind of his eye. He bit his tongue and stayed silent.
Thomas sat in his cell, alone and unable to move. He heard the locks of his doors clicking. He didn't turn. Two pairs of feet approached him.
"Good to see you're awake. Cause we're not finished with you yet," Janson said sinisterly.
"Where are my friends?" Thomas demanded.
"They're in the holding. They have not been tested. Yet," Ava finished.
Thomas sat up. "I want to see Newt,"
"I'm afraid you're in no position to make any demands Thomas," Janson cackled. "You made your conditions and those are finale,"
"Take him," Ava ordered.
"But Doctor Paige..."
Ava silenced him with her arrogant face. "Just bring him to see Newt,"
Janson didn't answer back but Thomas knew that he was outraged at being shut down. Rather than the two adults take him, Thomas was escorted by none other than Jerry who was just as repulsed as having to be the one to escort him. There was something about Jerry that made Thomas very disputed about him. "What made you become like him?"
"You don't get to ask me those questions,"
Thomas wouldn't listen. "Does it not bother you that they torturing kids like you? That they're sacrificing innocent children to make a cure?" Jerry remained silent and stubborn. "Just as I thought. You're just as heartless as him,"
Without warning, Jerry grabbed the collar of his shirt, threw him into the wall and then pinned him over the neck with his arm pointing a gun at his gun. "Don't you dare say that! I had watched my own mother transform. My father didn't care at all. She never really loved her because he was still head over heels for your mother. He neglected me. I became a soldier of WICKED to please him, to finally earn his attention. It worked. And I am not giving it up,"
"Those people are the reason your mother is dead,"
"No. Your father did this. He should have programmed it to be easily cured and contained. Whatever influence you had over your friends including your precious Newt won't work on me. Now I suggest you keep your mother unless you want to lose someone else you love,"
Thomas pressed his lips together. He couldn't bear to lose Newt again.
Jerry smirked. "That's a good boy. Now move it," He pushed Thomas further up the corridor and much to his pleasure, he remained silent.
Newt sat in a cold room on a lonely bed. He cradled his pendant in his hand tracing the letters N and T. He worried for Thomas, what WICKED was putting him through, what they were doing to him. The clicking and clanging of locks made him turn towards his cell door. He saw a tall head outside of the small window. The metal door was pulled open revealing Jerry and Thomas.
"You've got ten minutes," Jerry pushed Thomas inside and slammed the door behind him, locking the door again.
"Tommy!" Newt sprinted to him and they enveloped each other in their arms. They stayed in that position for several seconds before he pulled back and he smacked his dry lips against Thomas's blood-red ones. Thomas held him close as they kissed. They pulled apart and they sat down on the simple bed where Newt started bombarding questions. "Are you hurt? What have they done to you?"
Thomas couldn't speak. It felt painful. Instead, he turned his head slightly to show the back of his neck. Newt cringed when he saw all the marks he had received from having those needles inserted inside his neck. "I'm so sorry,"
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm so sorry that this all happened to you and everyone else. I promised I'd get you guys somewhere safe and now we're stuck in here and now you're..."
"No Tommy. None of this is your fault,"
"It was all for nothing,"
"No, it wasn't,"
"It's over now,"
"No, it's not. There's still a chance," though fretted about Thomas and what Ava was doing to him, Newt's spirit was empowered by hopefulness. It had been the spark that had ignited his determination since the day the brothers came up in the box and had helped them escape the maze. "Edward is still out there. He and the others will find a way. I bet they're finding the other Right Arm members and they're planning to bust us out,"
"But that's it. They want Edward too. I'm so frightened for him,"
"I'm sure he's safe out there. He's got Brenda and Jorge; they'll keep him safe. Is Sonya all right?"
"She's fine. They've locked her and everyone else in cells. I haven't seen any of them since the council room,"
"Promise me that if once I transform..."
"No!" Thomas shook his head. "Don't talk like that," he sniffled.
"Just listen. Promise me that whatever happens to me, you'll take care of her. And Minho and everyone else. And Tommy, you can't give up. The Thomas I know would never give up. He would fight and finish what he started. He would never allow WICKED to do awful things to him,"
"No Newt. Nothing is gonna happen to you. You're going to get given some serum,"
"What are you talking about?"
Thomas pursed his lips. What he was about to reveal to Newt would dishearten him.
"I made them swear to give you and all the other non-Immunes the serum they're using to slow down the virus. And exchange I promised I'd give them the memories of what I discovered,"
Newt was flabbergasted. "No Tommy. You can't give them whatever they want,"
"But I can't watch you die," Tears threatened to rain from Thomas's eyes and damp his cheeks.
"But if you do this, then you could die," Newt valued Thomas's life over his.
"But what if my father did conceal a way for the Flare to be cured? If I found out, then I can remember it, you and the others can be cured and WICKED will finally stop killing innocent children. I have to do this Newt,"
"And if you do reveal it to WICKED? What if your father hid whatever it is he did for a reason? If you reveal it to them, then his death will be for nothing,"
Thomas didn't know how to feel about his father. A part of him was grief-stricken from how Stephen had submitted to Ava Paige to protect him, his brother, and their mother out of true genuine love. But he felt rage and hatred because it was he who created that virus that caused all this misery, that had stirred WICKED into apprehending, torturing, and killing innocent children. And now several of them including Newt were non-immunes and sooner or later they would become cranky monsters like the unlucky millions. "I would rather have that be than watch you die. I can't lose you again,"
Newt's throat clutched itself making him unable to speak a word. He was too heart-struck by Thomas's determination to keep him alive. They embraced one another tightly, shedding tears that they had held back in the long period of days they had been separated from one another. They wanted to lie down together on Newt's bed and hold each other so they would know they were never alone as long as they were together.
They heard the opening of the cell door.
"Love reunion's over! Time to go!" Jerry commanded.
"You can't take him," Newt tightened his grip around Thomas. "I won't let you take him from me again,"
"Oh, whatcha gonna do? Turn into a Crank and eat me?" he mocked. He clicked his fingers and two guards appeared and grabbed Thomas's arms.
"No!" Newt cried out. "No! You can't!"
Thomas fought back but his captors were too strong. Jerry pointed his gun at Newt. "I suggest you leave with us or we shoot a bullet through his head,"
"Do that and I will never reveal anything to WICKED,"
"Hate to break it to you but there are other ways of getting your memories," a supercilious smug formed on Jerry's face. "That daft Ava Paige as always is just being soft on you. And I know you're gonna give in. Like your dumb father, you just care too much about love,"
"Don't give in Tommy," Newt begged.
But Thomas hung his head down and nodded.
"That's a good man," Jerry was proud of himself for such submission. "Let's go,"
The soldiers pulled a meek Thomas out of the cell. Jerry kept his gun aimed at Newt as he backed out slowly.
"I love you Newt!" Thomas cried out over his head. The door slammed and Newt fell against the cold metal. He stood up and looked through the small upright window and saw Thomas being dragged away by the soldiers and Jerry. He tried to scream out but his voice was muffled by the thick door. He could do nothing but cry silently as the boy he loved was taken away from him. Again.
He fell to his knees. And the space in front of him became a pool of salty tears.
Another chapter is done. I hope you are enjoying this. I hope you guys are enjoying the relationships between Thomas and Newt and Edward and Brenda. I would love to hear your opinions or any ideas. I am very open. Well, I hope the beginning of Death Cure has been spectacular for you all so far. See you all in the next chapter.