ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

Going, Going, Gone

NEWT POV

I walk out into the dark, the moon making the sand shine like glitter. They were asking me questions I didn't have the answers to. Questions I desperately needed the answers to. The unknown feels like it's strangling me. I can't breathe right. I sit with my head in my hands against the wall of the building. 

The questions spin around my head in a dizzying pattern. I squeeze my eyes shut. None of it makes sense. The unanswered questions are killing me. I clench my fists. 

"Newt?"

I look up. It's Thomas. Of course. What else should I expect? 

"Are you alright?" He asks me.

"Fine." I say quietly. 

"Nope." He says, kneeling beside me. He brushes a strand of hair out of my face. "Tell me what's wrong." 

"It's just..." I sigh. "I feel so useless. I can't answer any of the questions. None of them. I can't help anyone."

"But that's not just you." he says. "I can't answer any of them either. Neither can Aris." 

"But I'm supposed to know." I say.

"Why?" He asks. 

"I just am." I say. 

"No." He says. "You're not. We'll find them. We'll be fine. Without the answers."

I touch Thomas's shoulder. "Is it my fault? That you got shot? I feel like she probably wouldn't have shot you if I wasn't there."

"Newt, it isn't your fault." He says, grabbing my hand. "And anyway, I'm fine." 

"Oh, yeah?" I ask. I slide down his shirt so his shoulder is bare. "Then this won't hurt." I drag my thumb across the wound. He winces but tries to hide it.

"Nope, doesn't hurt." He lies. 

"Mmm." I say. "Is that right?"

"Yep." He says. 

"Then," I say, leaning closer. "This won't hurt either." I push slightly on it. 

"Okay, okay, fine." He says, wincing heavily. "It hurts." 

"I know." I say. I'm so close to him his breath brushes my face. "You don't hide it well."

"I hide some things well." He says.

"Well, not pain." I say. 

"I guess not." He whispers back. 

I kiss him. 

"You." I kiss him again. "Are the one good thing." I kiss him again, but this time, I barely move away. "About all of this." 

"Mmm." He hums. "Is that right? Because I think there's one other good thing." 

"And what is that?" I ask. 

He opens his mouth but then Aris comes out. 

"Are you guys coming back?" He asks. "It's freaking creepy in there." 

I move away from Thomas and pull him up. "Sure." I look at Thomas. "Come on." 

We walk back into the building. The structure creaks and makes noises that make me jump out of my skin. None of us sleep. We stay awake the whole night, listening for our friends, for danger. 

The next morning, we start moving pretty much immediately. We don't find something for hours. But then, we find a piece of paper on the floor. It's a letter. From Brenda.

Aris, Newt, Thomas, Harriet, 

If any of you find this, I Need you to know where we are. You need to find us. I'm with the others. We're being kept by some kind of society. It's no one we've dealt with before. I have to go. They're going to hurt me if I don't stop. Find us, Please. I know you can.

Brenda

"Oh my god." I breathe. "Who...Who has them?"

"I don't know." Thomas says, taking the paper from me. "This doesn't offer much clue." 

"Wait." Aris says, grabbing the note. "There's something scrawled in the corner." He tilts to paper. "It's like...numbers? I think?"

"Lemme see." Aris hands me the paper. I look. It looks like it reads 0516. 

"You think it's some kind of code?" Thomas asks. 

"It's 4 numbers." I say. "0516." 

"Maybe that's what we need to get into wherever they have Brenda and the others." Aris suggests.

I bite my lip. "I have no idea. But it's something. It's a clue." 

"Well, where do we go now?" Thomas asks. 

"It doesn't say where to go." I say. "So we might as well just keep going the same direction." 

"Wait." Aris says. "This N is capitalized."

"So?" Thomas says.

"It shouldn't be, smartass." Aris says. "You think it means head north?"

"I think it's our best bet." I say. "Let's go north." 

"Wait." Thomas says. "Which way is north?"

I laugh. 

"Figure it out by the sun." Aris says. "See, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so..." Aris shakes his head. "Why am I explaining this to you? Let's just go."

We've been walking for hours. Our throats are dry from lack of water, so none of us talk much. Then, I see something.

"Holy shit." I say, stopping the other two. "Look."

It's a building. Not a big one, but not a small one. It has lights on.

"I bet you that's where they are." I say. 

"We at least have to check." Aris points out.

We start to run down the hill. We reach a door. I raise my fist and knock. A tall man opens it. He looks as though he hasn't slept for weeks, but otherwise is very handsome. He wears a suit, for some reason.

"Hello?" He says. "What is your business here?"

"We're, um, looking for some friends of ours." Thomas says. 

He eyes us with distaste. "And who might your friends be?"

"Sonya, Harriet, Brenda, Jorge, and some others." Aris says. "Do you know where they are?"

"Hmm." He says. "I do. But I'm afraid you are not allowed inside the premises."

"Can you bring them to us?" I ask.

"No, young man, I cannot." He says. 

"But we need to see them." Thomas says. 

"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible." He snaps. 

"Let us in." Aris says. 

"SECURITY!" He shouts and three men take one of us each and put us in some kind of make-shift jail.

"LET US OUT!" I cry for what feels like the millionth time. My throat is dry and my voice is scratchy. 

"Newt." Thomas says. "Come on. Just come and sit down. We aren't getting anywhere anytime soon." 

"Yes we are!" I say. 

Thomas sighs. "Please, just sit. We can't escape. It's hopeless."

"Since when are you so bloody pessimistic, Tommy?" I ask. "We can escape if we try. We escaped WICKED, we can escape here."

"Oh, I'm sure you can." A voice from behind us says. Sonya.