Abused ≫ Newt [2]

Chapter 25.

Emily was dreaming. Images of blue and black flashed in her visions, blinding her from the darkness she was engulfed in moments before. The images were poor quality, playing before her slowly like an old fashioned movie. She could barely make out what was happening, but she recognized a lab. Many different transparent computer screens were lined against the wall, glowing a bright cobalt blue color. People walked around the lab- some sat at the computers. All of them were turned away from her, though she still desperately tried to get a glimpse of their faces.
And then her vision shifted, as if she were moving, but she had no control over her own body. She was facing two kids, sitting in front of one of the transparent computers, their eyes shining from the blue glowing light. A faint beeping sound filled her ears, one like a heart monitor on a patient in the hospital. As the kids typed, clicking sounds rose above the beeping. Emily could not see what they were typing, but it seemed to be some sort of log in screen.
"It's not working," the boy groaned in frustration, bringing his fists down on to the keyboard. Emily immediately recognized the voice of Thomas, and felt a twinge of happiness as she realized that this "dream" was actually another memory.
"Here," the girl said- Emily then recognized her as Teresa. The girl took then keyboard from Thomas and began typing. The screen in front of them glowed green and then began playing a video sequence.
Emily struggled to focus on what was happening in the video, but it was hard to tell from where she stood. It was as if her feet were glued to the ground, and she let out a groan of frustration as she desperately tried to move. She squinted her eyes, thankful when her vision gradually began to focus on the computer screen.
The video was in low quality, staticky, showing a large, overgrown field. Emily recognized it as the Glade as she began to see people- all boys- walking around the field. She knew that the video was streaming through the eye of a beetle blade; it was probably perched on a branch of some tree in the forest, the Gladers oblivious to the dozens of scientists spying on them through the mechanical bugs. The video shifted- the beetle blade was probably moving its position- and then focused on two figures directly below it. It took Emily a moment to make out the figures, but she soon realized that they were a boy and a girl- her and Newt. Newt had his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder as she played with her fingers.
Emily heard the sound of bone cracking and looked to see Thomas's fists were balled, his knuckles turning a ghostly white. The veins in his neck bulged out, his jaw obviously clenched. Teresa reached over and grabbed his pale hand, entwining their fingers carefully.
"Hey," she said softly. She reached and placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "Don't get so worked up about it, alright? It was bound to happen, and you know it."
"I still don't like it," Thomas muttered, dragging his gaze from hers.
"He cares about her more than anything, even if he can't remember it. Remember what you said to him before he got sent up." Teresa's voice was quiet, almost as if she didn't want anyone else hearing what she was saying except for Thomas himself. "He's doing you a favor by protecting her until you get there."
"Emily?"
Her vision went black. The beeping, the clicking of the keyboard, the voices faded away into nothing. She sat there in complete silence as the familiar, accented voice rang through her ears.
"Em, can you hear me?"
Emily's eyes shot open, only to be treated by pitch blackness. The only sound was her ragged breathing, the occasional ruffle of sheets across the room. She looked around the room frantically, her eyes taking forever to adapt to the darkness, searching for the source of the voice that spoke to her.
Finally, her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her gaze trailed across the room, over to his bed. Newt lay sound asleep, the thin sheet crumbled at the bottom of the end of the bed. His mouth was slightly open, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were having a very intense dream.
Emily knew it was his voice that had spoken to her while she was asleep; she would recognize the familiar accent anywhere. She expected that, when she opened her eyes, he would be standing over her, staring down at her with that concerned look written all over his face. Perhaps she was thrashing about in her sleep, due to the dream she was having.
Maybe it was just my imagination, she thought as she settled back down in the bed. Just a dream.
She pulled the sheet over her body, burying her face into the pillow as she attempted to get comfortable. She didn't fall asleep right away, her mind was swarming with thoughts and confusion like a bunch of bees around their hive. She did not know why she was making such a big deal out of it- Newt's voice in her head was more than likely just a dream, nothing more than that.
Emily eventually felt herself drifting off into a light sleep. She was still conscious of what was going on around her- the soft, yet obnoxious snores coming from Minho across the room, the sounds of sheets ruffling as Newt fidgeted in his sleep. These little noises annoyed her, to the point where she threw the pillow over her head, pressure it over her ears. She had no idea why they were bothering her; it was as if her hearing had suddenly become like a hawk's, and she could hear every little sound as if it were right in her ear. She thrashed and turned in her bed, the mattress squeaking under every move, suddenly unable to become comfortable. She wondered how long it would be until the sun rose, and debated on whether she should have just gotten up or not. Crickets still chirped outside the Homestead, sounding so loud to Emily that she thought they were right next to her head. She could hear the hushed whispers of some Gladers outside, sounding as if the boys were actually screaming instead of talking in hushed voices. Emily recognized the voices as Thomas and Chuck; Chuck sounded enthusiastic while Thomas sounded tired and slightly annoyed. Emily didn't exactly mean to eavesdrop, she was just curious.
"Come on, man," Chuck whined- Emily imagined him tugging on Thomas's shirt sleeve, as he did to her. "We'll get it over with and then you will be able to get a good hour of sleep before wake-up. It'll be fun."
"I don't know, Chuck..." Though Thomas sounded hesitant, Emily knew that, deep down, he was excited about doing whatever Chuck was suggesting. "I don't wanna start any trouble."
"Have some fun," Chuck said. "He will assume I did it, since I'm the prankster and all. But you? They won't ever know you did it."
Emily? Emily, can you hear me?
Emily sat up in her bed, searching the dark room for the source of whoever just spoke.
Answer me if you can hear me. Please, Emily. Just try.
It was a girl's voice. Emily almost immediately recognized it. It was Teresa's. She closed her eyes, did the stupidest and cheesiest thing she could ever thing of. She called out to the girl in her mind.
Yes, I can hear you. What's happening?
The voice didn't speak for a few moments, and Emily tried again.
I'm not sure if you can hear me or not, but Emily, you have to listen to me. I think I just triggered something. The end is near. Death is coming.
Emily debated whether she could believe this mysterious voice or not. Perhaps it was just a figment of her imagination. Or one of the Creators screwing around with her mind again. Or perhaps she was just going insane. Though she couldn't hide the curiosity she felt towards the girl as she began to spoke again.
I found something out. Someone came to me in a dream. His name was Jorge or something like that. I tried to call out to Thomas but he just would not answer. So I'm trying with you. Jorge told me something. The Maze is a code, Em. Tell Tom, please. Tell him and Newt. Because I know they won't believe me.