Afflicted↠ Newt [1]

Chapter 20

Images flashed in my vision. Black and white, blurry, but still there. I couldn't make any of them out, as they flew by far too quickly, but one face was clear on every single one of them. A young girl. Dark brown hair, green eyes. Smiling happily in all of them. All except one.
Her face was full of fear. Her eyebrows ceased, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a silent scream. The photo stayed in my vision for several moments. I tried to look away from it, but it was as if my eyes were glued to that very spot. And then I began to hear screaming. Screaming so loud that I was sure it was ripping out whoever's vocal chords it came from. Then I realized that it was, in fact, the girl screaming. I tried to cover my ears, to block out the horrible sound, but I could not move. Thankfully, the scream began to soften, until it was nothing more than a soft ringing in my ear. The photo then disappeared, and my vision went black.
It stayed like this for a few moments. The ringing silently faded off into silence, only to be replaced by a beeping sound moments after it. Then, as if I were given the gift of sight, my vision cleared. I was in a classroom, sounded by at least twenty-five young students. They paid no attention to me, only focusing on a TV at the front of a classroom. A movie played. One of those animated ones that everyone laughed at. I remembered them from my childhood. The faces of the characters, but no names or sounds. Not even the name of the movies.
I was dragged back into my dream as the ground began to shake violently. It was almost as if I were really there, really experiencing this earthquake- or whatever it was. And then the heat. As if we were in an oven, and it was just turned on. It was the most intense heat I had ever experienced, I was sure of that. Almost immediately, I was covered in sweat, my hair drenched. I forced myself to look out the window, to see only a bright whiteness, tinted orange. It faded, like fog in the air, only to be replaced by hell. Heat waves literally visible in the air, flames covering the entire campus of the school. People screaming, running around frantically. Most of them were covered in flames, others completely fried to a black crisp.
The kids were screaming, their teacher trying to calm them down. Sirens wailed outside the school, making it impossible to hear anything over the loud noise. And then we were surrounded by darkness. The electricity went out. The occasional flicker of the lights and the flames outside the windows were the only source of light. The kids glowed with a orange tint, their faces full of terror.
People banged on the windows with their fists, their screams muted by the wailing of the sirens. They were naked from head to toe, their clothes probably burned to ashes. Large, irritated wounds and burns covered their body. Their hair completely gone, only to be replaced by a red, scabbed scalp. The teacher quickly went to close the curtains, and we were engulfed by darkness.

My eyesight quickly returned, though I was no longer in the classroom, surrounded by screaming kids and blaring sirens. Instead, I was in a lab, surrounded by silence. A door opened, revealing a man in a lab coat. He was a young, hispanic boy. Couldn't be any older than 17. He entered the room, followed by four kids. Two of the kids I immediately recognized from my other dreams. Though the other two were unfamiliar. A girl and a boy, their eyes wide. Whether with fear or curiosity, I did not know. Perhaps both. The girl had long, raven colored wavy hair and large, blue eyes that stared around the room in awe. She held on to the first boy from my dream as if her life depended on it. The other boy had sandy blonde hair, brown eyes. He seemed calmer than the girl, or perhaps more scared. He walked closely to the first girl, staring at the man in the lab coat as he spoke.
"You four have been chosen for something great. Something that could save the entire human race." He looked at each of the kids before continuing. "Your parents wanted you to take part in this. Make them proud, each of you, by doing exactly what we say. We won't hurt you. We're protecting you here. Protecting you from what's out there. From what took the lives of the people you loved."
The second girl raised her hand, her blue eyes wide in curiosity.
"Yes, DeeDee?" the man spoke.
"Will we ever see the people who took care of us again?" her voice was small, almost as if she were afraid to speak.
The man knelt down in front of her and ruffled her hair, "I'll do my best to make sure that happens." He then stood up once more. "You will be given new names. Names that we thought best suited you. You will no longer be known as what you are now, but by your new names. Is that understood?"
The kids nodded, though looked at each other as if they didn't like the idea.
The man eyed each of the kids closely, nodding as he addressed them. He looked at the first boy, whose dark brown eyes stared up at him eagerly. "Stephen."
His eyes then traveled to the second girl, who had spoken earlier. "DeeDee."
Then he looked at the boy with the blonde hair, "Alexander."
His gaze then rested on the last girl, where he hesitated for a moment before addressing her.
"Evelyn. Welcome to WICKED."
Evelyn.
My gaze then went dark once more, that one name still ringing in my mind over and over again. Evelyn. Something about it seemed familiar, and I longed to know why. I didn't have time to ponder on it, however, as my vision cleared once more.
I was in a large room. The four kids sat on a couch, each with some electronic device in their hand. A third boy sat with them. Light brown hair, blue eyes that were staring at the device in his hand dumbly.
"What is this thing?" he asked.
"It's a workpad, Jackson," Evelyn told him and giggled slightly as the boy, Jackson, rolled his eyes at the device.
"Well, I think it's stupid. What are we even supposed to do on here, anyway?"
"Mr. Gallaparga wants us to take another test, remember?" Alexander said from the other side of Evelyn, his voice thick with a British accent. "We're learning our new names soon, but only after we've completed all these tests."
"Well, Mr. Gallaparga doesn't know what he's doing," Jackson muttered and began tapping on the workpad reluctantly.
"He does know what he's doing," DeeDee said. "He knows better than anyone here."
"Except for Chancellor Paige," Stephen added with a smile towards Evelyn. The girl only rolled her eyes and kept tapping on her workpad.
"Chancellor Paige is only doing this because dad would've wanted her to," she muttered.
"Exactly," Alexander nudged her shoulder gently with a smile. "Your mother only cares about you."
Your mother.

+

I woke up sweating, my head buzzing like a swarm of bees. The room was dark, the sky only just beginning to turn purple outside. My dreams still replayed in my head, over and over again like a broken record player. Who were those kids? And why did they keep appearing in my dreams? I knew they had to have some significance to me. And those words. Evelyn. Mother. They had meaning to them, and I longed to know what.
Newt's and Minho's beds were both empty, sheets thrown messily on top in their attempt of making it. I knew that they hadn't left yet, as the Doors wouldn't open for another good hour. I quickly hopped out of bed, taking a minute to regain my balance as I stumbled, before heading out the Door after them. I caught up to them just as they were exiting the Homestead, deep in conversation. I broke in between them, wrapping my arms around their shoulders.
"Hey guys!" I said cheerfully. Minho held his hand over his heart, clearly startled.
"Shuck, Emily! You're never awake this early," he breathed. "You usually sleep like a rock!"
"And how would you know that?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"I've done things," Minho looked over at me and smirked. I shot him a glare and he immediately added, "Just kidding."
I had a feeling he wasn't kidding, and made a mental note to myself to start sleeping with one eye open.
"What are you planning on doing today?" Minho asked as we took a seat at our usual table. It was odd being awake this early, before the sun even rose, but part of me liked it.
"Oh, not much. Mainly just planning the perfect revenge on Newt," I smirked and looked at Newt, who was staring at me with wide-eyes. "Shouldn't of tickled me."
"You two are so cute, but so gross at the same time," Minho laughed and made gagging noises, which caused me to kick him underneath the table.
"You aren't really planning on getting me back for that, are you?" Newt asked from beside me.
I looked at him as if he were just announcing he was going to spend the night with the grievers.
"No shit I'm planning on getting you back!" I laughed. "You better watch your back, Newtie."
The rest of breakfast consisted of small talk, nothing important. And nothing I really paid any attention to, either. My mind was too focused on my dreams I had last night. They were haunting me, though not necessarily in a bad way. I wanted to know more about the kids, and what significance they had to me.
Suddenly, a voice appeared in my mind. It wasn't the man's voice that I was used to hearing, but instead, it was a boy's. The boy's. The boy who spoke to me when I first arrived in the Glade.
"I'm still here, Emily. I'm not going anywhere."

I followed Newt and Minho towards the West Door. I trailed behind them, not exactly sure if I was welcome there or not. But then Newt turned around and held out his hand for me. I took it, and he pulled me forwards, so that I was walking beside him.
Another Runner was waiting for them at the Door. I had yet to properly meet him; I only knew that his name was Max. Him and Minho exchanged a few words, though Newt stayed by my side.
The low, rumbling sound of stone on stone filled my ears, and the Doors slowly began to open. Max and Minho immediately took off into the Maze, waving a quick good-bye to me.
"I'll see you later, okay?" Newt said, drawing my attention back to him.
I nodded and, without even really thinking, pulled him into a hug. His arms immediately wrapped around me, and I buried my face into his chest.
"Be careful," I murmured, my voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.
Newt pulled away from me and smiled, leaned down and placed a quick kiss on my forehead.
"Always."
He backed away from me, smiling once more before heading off into the Maze. I watched him turn a corner, disappearing from my sight. I pursed my lips, stifled a yawn, and turned around. I had another good hour until wake-up, and I would cherish the sleep.
As I headed back to the Homestead, the boy's voice appeared in my mind once more, sending a wave of reassurance through me.
"I'll look after him."

+

A/N:
I really like this chapter :3
Uh oh
Who are those kids? And why do they keep appearing in Emily's dreams?
And who's the boy speaking to her in her mind? :O