Emotionless »« Newt

FOUR

Leandra winces as she wipes her dusty hands on her trousers, all cut up from the glass. She'll admit, it wasn't her smartest idea, but she was just trying to make sure the others don't cut themselves, after all. She knows she should probably search through the belongings scattered around the place, gather some things she needs, but she can't. The pain in her head slowly grows.

"Hello."

The voice makes her head snap up harshly and her eyes dilate, staring at Newt for a moment, then manages to contain herself with a deep breath. Everyone's seeing her for the first time again, and while it hurts, she's not going to act out. "Hello," she finally answers, standing up from the rickety old bed she was leaning against. "Sorry, I'm in your way."

"I actually wanted to talk to you," he says instead, surprising her. He notices it, frowning. "Is that so odd?"

She shakes her head, busying herself with her bag to distract her from his slightly disappointed aura. "If you're going to ask about the photographs, I don't want to talk about it."

"No, I..." Newt takes a deep breath, trying to figure out his words. "That's not quite it. I mean, that plays a part, but... How did we know each other before? You said at breakfast that you still have all your memories, and you act like you know us."

"That's because I do," she replies simply, pursing her lips. "Aren't you supposed to be listening to your leader, Thomas?"

"There's no need to be so sour, you know."

Leandra pauses for a moment, eyeing him, but manages to lower the madness in her brain a notch. "I know," she sighs, fiddling with her sleeves anxiously. "I do. It's just... your friends' anger is really high. And the Cranks here are infecting, not that you'd remember any of that."

"What does that even bloody mean? You know, you expect us to trust you, but you're not explaining anything to us and you're suddenly taking charge and telling us what to do. Minho has a hard time listening to you because you're not telling us a thing. I want to trust you, I do, but you're not giving us any reason– You're bleeding."

Newt's alarm seems to spike instead of his annoyance, and Leandra doesn't hesitate to reach up and wipe under her nose, recognising all the signs. Her breath's coming in rapid gasps now, and the moment the lights flicker on, she lunges.

"LOOK OUT!" she screams, knocking Newt to the ground harshly, and suddenly shrieks sound out along with footsteps. "EVERYONE, WE NEED TO GO! DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU!" Everyone's yelling then, the emotions all becoming too much for Leah to handle, and everything seems to happen all too fast. The Cranks are piling in from all available exits, everyone standing up and rushing to the middle, and Thomas and Minho are screaming as they run in.

Leandra reaches into her bag and grabs a gun she managed to steal years ago from a lab after her test, slinging the backpack over her shoulder as she aims carefully, hitting the one about to touch Minho on the right side of his chest. Two more trip over its limp frame, but it's clearly not enough.

Every shot that rings loose hurts her, the pain suddenly transforming into an empty ache in her head, but there's not much she can do till something grabs her arm, tugging her along. Aris. "COME ON!" he yells in a panic, and she pushes him roughly to get him to start running.

He gets the idea, dashing up the escalator along with the others, and it's a few seconds after that she stops shooting and follows. The closer proximity to the Cranks hurts, sending pain through her head, but she ignores it. She forces herself to ignore it, concentrating on every single step she takes instead, knowing from Janson that they might not be able to infect her, but it doesn't mean they can't kill her.