"Let's get him up," Newt advised, getting two of the boys to lift Thomas up to a set of pillows in a makeshift bed. Teresa appeared, her face frantically looking over him for any visible damage. I checked his pulse, memories flooding back from his check-in after running the maze with Minho and me. His pulse was rapid but better than gone. I leaned closer to him, smelling the same tangy liquid that I had been offered outside.
"Idiot," I grumbled, I should have known he was dumb enough to drink something from a stranger.
"What?" Teresa questioned.
I motioned towards him, "Dumbass, drank the forbidden party juice. We better hope it works its way through his system."
She pushed his hair out of his face, running her finger over a scar below his eye. Newt put a comforting hand on my shoulder and I slipped my hand up to meet his. Even if Thomas was incredibly dumb at some moments, he still might have been the best thing for us. He wasn't just a leader but our friend. I knew deep down that maybe he was to Newt what I was to Gally. They balance each other.
I stood, giving him a moment more to process that Lost little Tommy boy was now found. I found Minho and Aris, holding Brenda over both their shoulders. She was lucid but just barely. Her forehead dripped sweat and her nose ran. They got her set on a couch, letting her rest. I put my hand on her forehead, I imagined she would brush me away but I doubt she had the strength. I instantly felt the burning up.
"You have a fever, which means that your body is fighting whatever this drink got into your system."
She nodded through her pants, no ability for words yet. She gained strength through shock as a door was kicked open with great force, slamming into a table as Jorge marched in, dragging a fellow about his age. He threw him into a wooden chair, punching him every time he tried to break away. I knew better than to question a man with that much anger, letting him take it out on the hollow man.
"No games. No bullshit." Jorge started, fastening him into the chair. "I ask questions. You answer."
"A pleasure to see you too, Jorge." He snarled. His first act of resistance was met with a hard fist to the jaw. He hissed, coming back with double the dirty look for Jorge.
"Shit..." Frypan breathed out, understanding now why it was better to say on Jorge's good side.
"I suggest that you talk!"
"You son of a bitch! Damn it!" Marcus cursed through the blood in his mouth. Spitting it out at Jorge's feet. The spatter sound was enough to turn the tides of my stomach. "I'm sorry... you're going to have to leave my house."
Looks like you've been having fun.
"Good to have you back, Tommy Boy." I smiled, the return of the nickname enough to spark his ears. He looked at me for assurance and I responded with a smile and a nod.
"What did I bring you the day we worked in the maproom?"
I smiled, able to recall it all, "Grilled cheese."
He beamed, giddy with excitement. "It's good to have you back too, Fi."
He felt at home, sitting down below me, leaning his back against the crappy couch we had taken. I shook his messy hair teasingly.
"Listen. I don't enjoy hurting you. Okay?" Jorge cracked his neck. "Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?
"Wait, this is Marcus?"
"The kid catches on quick." He snickered towards Tommy, "Tell me, are you the brains of the operation?"
"The brain is out of service right now." Minho taunted Thomas but ended up not helping my current situation as tilted his head in my direction. I mouthed my silent hatred, only to make him chuckle a little more.
Jorge pulled Marcus's head by his hair, "I know you know where they're hiding. So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal. You can come with us."
I scoffed in disgust, hoping this slimy man would not be joining us. Not after the condition, we found Thomas and Brenda in.
He rolled his eyes, "I burned that bridge a long time ago. Besides, I made my own deal. You're the one who taught me, never to miss an opportunity."
"What's he talking about?" Newt questioned, his voice hard and demanding as he sat on the armrest beside me. I leaned my fist on my cheek to hide the heat I could feel in my cheeks. I didn't know how to stop this.
"I'm talking about supply and demand," Marcus answered, unapologetically. "WCKD wants all the Immunes they can get. I help provide that for them. So I lure the kids in... they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WCKD comes in... they separate the wheat from the chaff."
Anger boiled from my heart to my chest. The air in the room grew about an inch thick. Glares were passed down. Marcus gained nine enemies in two seconds. I thought over everyone we had lost, I saw all the faces tucked into my book all the lives. Some were younger than me when I entered the maze. All taken too young. Imagines of Gally, Chuck, Alby flashed in my mind. Shivering in fear at night, the nightmares that started the first night in the maze and hadn't shied away. My found family, some of them might have been picked off from this very location years ago. I sensed the urge to set it all a flare and watch each flicker taking every cursed brick down.
Newt flinched beside me, my hand naturally found his knee. I wanted nothing more than to rip this man open from his armpit to his prized pieces. But Jorge needed to get the information before hell was introduced to its newest member.
"I changed my mind, Hermano. I do enjoy hurting you." I overestimated Jorge's control, as he kicked Marcus in the chest. He flew backward, landing on his back in the chair. Jorge took his pistol out, finding a nice home for it under Marcus's chin. "Talk! Talk!"
"Okay! Jesus!" Marcus finally agreed. "But I'm not making any promises. These guys like to move around. They have an outpost in the mountains. But it's a long way away. You got half of WCKD on your ass. You're never gonna make it. Not on foot."
He was so confident we would get caught, my face tried to hide all the worry but I don't know how much more of this I could take. Losing my friends one by one was destroying us from the inside out.
"Where's Bertha?" Jorge's voice picked up his grin.
"Not Bertha." Marcus broke into a beg.
I had no idea who Bertha was, but knowing that it hurt Marcus to have her taken from him was enough to get me going.
Lining up to beat the shit outta Marcus. Minho and Newt punch him each taking one side, Fi kicks him in the balls, Brenda spits on him. Aris chooses peace but still laughs along and Fry pisses on him. All while Teresa telling them to
Thomas forces him to chug from the bottle, then keeps it. "Happy nightmares."
YOU ARE READING
Single-Blind - Newt (TMR)
Fanfiction"So when did you- you know- fall in love with her?" Thomas smirked, knowing he had him right where I wanted him, with his head in Fionaland. "Woah," Newt defeated with his hands up, "What?" "I may be slow to getting to know things around here, but...
