ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

Scars And Souveniers

NEWT POV

I get out of the helicopter, Thomas's hand laced in mine. As soon as we're all off, it takes off again. We stand in the middle of a desert. Again. 

"I don't get it." I say.

"Don't get what?" Thomas asks me. 

"I just don't get it." I say again. "Why would they put us back here? What could be gained?" I'm starting to panic, memories flooding my brain. "Why wouldn't they drop us off somewhere closer? Why wouldn't they help us more? Why are we back here?" I look around, a distant, destroyed city catching my eye. "I can't be back here." I whisper. 

"Hey." Thomas says. "It's okay. It's okay. They aren't WICKED, okay? It's okay." 

I run a hand through my hair. I know he's right but it doesn't feel that way. 

"We aren't stuck here." He says, wrapping his arms around my waist. "We can get out. We just have to get enough people, right?"

"Right." I say. 

"Speaking of which," Brenda says. "We should get started."

Thomas shoots her a glare but unwinds his arms from around me. He grabs my hand. 

"We-" I take a deep breath. "We should go to that city. Well, what's left of it anyway."

Thomas nods. "He's right."

The others agree, so we start to walk. Thomas, Aris, and Jorge walk in the front. Brenda, Elizabeth, and Harriet walk in the middle, talking. Sonya and I walk in the back.

"You okay?" She whispers to me.

"I'm fine." I say quietly. Then, I feel something towards her, like some kind of remembrance. "Sonya?" I ask.

"Yeah, Newt?" She says.

"I think I...remember you?" I say, unsure. "But I can't exactly explain it. Or where I remember you from. Or when. Just that I remember you."

She looks at me funny. "Newt, that doesn't make any sense. WICKED took our memories, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." I say. "But...it feels like remembering, Sonya."

She shrugs. "I dunno. Can't explain it."

"Neither can I." I say, utterly confused.

Soon, we have to rest for the night. I can't sleep. I keep thinking about Sonya. I wish I knew where I knew her from. The memory, if that's even what it is, isn't very clear. I lay, looking up at the stars. Thomas is asleep next to me. 

I sigh. I feel like I'll never get to sleep. I sit up, accidentally waking Thomas.

"Sorry." I mutter as he sits up too.

"You alright?" He asks. 

"Fine." I say. "Just can't sleep."

Thomas rolls his eyes. "There's something else, I'm not an idiot." 

"I didn't say you were!" I say.

Thomas smirks. "Yeah, yeah, okay." He pauses. "You should go to sleep."

"Yeah, thanks." I say bitterly. "I know that."

"Come on, we have a long day tomorrow, just lay down with me." He says. "You don't even have to sleep."

I yawn against my will.

"Okay, nevermind." He says. "You do have to sleep." 

I groan but lay next to him. 

"Goodnight, I guess." I say.

"Goodnight." He says, kissing my temple. "Sleep please." 

"Mmm." I say. I lay my head on his chest, closing my eyes reluctantly. And I fall asleep.

The next morning, we wake up right as the sun starts to rise. I close my eyes, the light waking me up. I stand up, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I lace my fingers through Thomas's as we start to walk towards the city. 

As we approach it, it just seems to get bigger. My heart starts beating faster. We walk into the city carefully, scanning every alley for people. Then, I see one.

"Hey, wait." I say. 

It's a girl. Not young, but not old either. I'd guess around between 12 and 14. She has short cut brown hair and bright brown eyes.

"Hello." I say.

She eyes me, clearly suspicious. 

"I'm Newt. Can you tell me your name?" I ask. 

"Magnolia." She says. "Maggie." 

"How did you get here?" I ask.

She doesn't respond.

"Okay, can you come here for a second?" I ask. "I have to test something. I promise it won't hurt."

The girl walks over to me. I take the scanner out of my bag. 

"Okay..." I click a button. "This might sting a little." 

A small needle comes out of it and I press it into her skin and pull a trigger. A small amount of blood goes into a tube and I remove the needle. A red light flashes on a screen. She's not immune. I grin.

"What did you do?" Magnolia asks.

"I just tested you to see if you're immune." I put the scanner into my backpack. "You're not."

"I know." She says. "But still, somehow, I don't have the Flare."

I sigh in relief. "Okay, Magnolia, would you please come with us? We can make sure you never get it. And possibly, you could save more people." 

The girl bites her lip.

"Please?" I ask. "We need you."

Magnolia nods slowly and follows me out of the alley. She sees the others and shrinks backwards.

"Hey, it's okay." I say. "This is Thomas, Aris, Harriet, Sonya, Jorge, Brenda and Elizabeth." I say, pointing at each person. "Guys, this is Magnolia. She's one of the non-immunes."

Thomas smiles at her. "Hello."

"So, you're coming?" I verify.

Magnolia nods.

"Wonderful." I grin. "Come on then, we better go."

After we've been walking for a bit, we stop for lunch. I lean against a building. Magnolia hasn't left my side. I think the others scare her. We gave her some of our food, since she's so young. I sigh. We found a couple others, but not really enough to consider today successful. 

The suns starting to set, so we set up for the night in an abandoned building. The girls, including Magnolia, lay asleep on one side of the room and the boys and I on the other. All the other non-immunes we gathered sleep in another room. 

I yawn. I'm exhausted yet can't bring myself to sleep. I glance over at Magnolia. She's fine. I don't know why I'm worried. I shake my head, leaning against the wall. I close my eyes, listening to the noises outside. The animals. People. Cranks. My breathing becomes more rapid. Then, I remember something.

I sit bolt upright, my eyes flying open. Sonya. She's my sister.