Emotionless »« Newt

TEN

"Why couldn't the Maze have been like this?" Minho scoffs as the group sits in the large room, and he sinks into an armchair before a loud sigh escapes his lips. The floor beneath their feet vibrates from the bass of the club music emanating nearby, voices muffled through the crumbling walls that separate the two completely different atmospheres. "Ahh. Yup, this is heaven."

"I dunno," Frypan comments distastefully. "These curtains aren't all that great."

"Doesn't matter. Anything beats sleeping in hammocks surrounded by a Maze with Minho-eating Grievers. I could get used to this. Why are we heading for the mountains again?"

"Because the Right Arm is our chance to get away from WICKED, for good," Newt reminds him, shaking his head disappointedly as his arms remain firmly crossed against his chest. "So maybe doing something useful would really help right now."

Minho throws his hands up in surrender, although there's a cheeky grin on his lips. "Lighten up, Newt. There's not much we can do until they make an appearance, which'll be in– How long, Jorge?"

"Well, they shouldn't be here much later than us," Jorge considers. "Some time later today sounds right."

"Unless they're dead," Aris comments offhandedly, which immediately results in verbal abuse from the others and swearing in Spanish from Jorge, and the boy's quick to backtrack. "Okay, okay. I was just pointing it out, it's actually a valid point. What if they're not going to meet us here? What if they can't? How long do we wait, and what do we do next if they don't show up?"

"They're going to be here," Newt replies determinedly, jaw set. He refuses to think of any other option. "They will. We all know Tommy, and he's not going to die that easily, trust me. I doubt Brenda is, either. From what we've seen, she's tough enough. Right, Andi?"

At the lack of response the others frown, looking around before Frypan gestures over his shoulder. Newt turns, only to catch sight of the blonde girl by the window, leaning her chin on her arms as she stares out, in a daze. Waving his hand, the others are quick to head back to some sort of conversation as Newt heads over, looking through the window to see if there's anything in particular she's looking at. Nothing.

"Hey, love. You alright?"

She jumps, clearly not having sensed his thoughts on her, which he can't help but find strange. It's only when Leah turns to him that he starts, shocked by how pale and sickly-looking she seems all of a sudden. It's definitely not the Flare, but concern rises hurriedly in his chest. "What is it, what happened?" he urgently questions, though keeping his voice down. It wouldn't do to grab attention for no reason.

"Nothing. Drunk kids isn't exactly an environment I'm used to. I'm just... trying to tune them out." She smiles thinly, continuing in a murmur. "Though you lot were pretty excited when you thought you finally got away from WICKED."

"We're going to get away," he insists, hand gently resting on hers, the gesture too casual to mean anything. "We are. We're going to find the Right Arm, and WICKED won't be able to get to us again."

Leandra cuts a quick look at Teresa, but Newt doesn't notice. She doesn't say a word in response, just looking at his hand over hers, and he realises before pulling it away hurriedly.

Instead he turns back to where Jorge, Aris and Minho are engaging in a tense conversation, arguing over something. He sighs. "What's going on now?"

"Jorge's trying to find who'll sneak into the party to keep an eye out for Thomas and Brenda. I'll do it." Minho puffs his chest out.

"That's not going to work," Jorge scoffs. "Have you seen yourselves? You've apparently been stuck in a Maze for years. I'd be surprised if you knew how to interact with people at all – and trust me, first hand, you don't."