Hell is better

Chapter 15

Teresa's view:

A few more days had passed.
Things went a bit up for me, at least some people were really interested in me.
They didn't know my past and didn't want to know it either.
They saw me as I was, they saw me as a person.

In fact, I smiled for the first time in a long time.
I was more grateful for those little moments than anything else.
I actually felt free.

A few others found it odd that I appeared so suddenly, they were nosy and rude, but I mostly ignored that.
I didn't care, at least for them.

When my old acquaintances gave me those evil, suspicious looks, I felt bad. And alone.
I really tried to reach out to her, but it made no sense.
Especially Gally and Minhi were so mean.

It reminded me a bit of back in the WCKD labs when I was so young. Barely 5 years old and still the other immunes saw me as competition because I was something "special". Back then, some kids bullied me and I felt like shit.

Despite everything, I didn't show it, smiling when Fry asked me how I was doing and grateful for Sonya's kindness. Even Brenda gave me a honest smile sometimes.
I tried everything not to attract attention.
But it was hard, very hard.
And gosh I wished it would be normal, but it wouldn't be.

//

Newt's view:

I was excited, almost nervous.
Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered...but then again, I'd survived a bloody four months without anything happening to me.

Also, I was not alone on this mission. We wanted to go out with the ship, look for pieces of metal and raw materials to build our houses.
But it had become more dangerous.

Victoria, who helped us get here, had given us a status report a few days ago.
The situation had deteriorated, there was hardly any fodder for the cranks in the cities anymore...and that didn't have good consequences.
It was pure chaos out there.
Everyone knew it was dangerous.

Tommy snapped me out of my thoughts as he handed me a box.

"Will you bring that to the... hey, are you alright?"

"Yes, of course, and everything is ok. I was just thinking."

He gave me a smile that made me feel weird again.
I was clearly confused again.

I took the box away and stood at the railing.
The ship should now depart. I looked out over our peaceful harbour, everything looked normal.
So carefree.
Hopefully everything would go well and we'd be back soon.

//

Teresa's View:

I sat on one of the benches next to Fry's kitchen and watched the ship go by.
A small worry line had formed on my forehead.
Hopefully, oh please God, everything would go well.
I had seen enough in my life to know how dangerous these monsters were.

I might have been in my thoughts, but I could still hear Brenda talking to herself.
It was practically impossible to overhear, especially when she was upset.
She plopped down next to me.

"Ahhh that's so vague! Why the hell can't we go with you!"

I just looked at her.

"Honestly...I can fight better than most of them and so can you. We know better than anyone how to survive!"

I sighed, she wasn't wrong on that point.
Of course I could see her point, she was made to fight.
But I was glad for a moment of calm, although I didn't look it.

"You're right, I bet Gally gave you that explanation, didn't he?"

I answered her now.

"Yeah, if I can get my hands on that bastard..."

I was only half listening again. What if something happened to them.

"God, Tess, now listen! Well, I can see that something is wrong and personally I'm really worried about Thomas. But who the hell are you worried about so much that you're just staring into space!?"

I felt a little caught, looked away embarrassed and said nothing.
But Brenda wasn't stupid, not at all.

"Don't say you..., TERESA..."

//

Hey guys I've finally updated again and I'm so sorry...
For this year I plan to write and publish more.

Thank you to everyone who is still reading and interested in this.

By the way, even though Tess and Brenda don't like each other in the books/movies, I find it interesting to see Brenda change her mind and reach out to her a bit.

Arya :)

(HAPPY NEW YEAR BTW)