Finding Hope - Newt x Reader | Book 1

Chapter 11

I take in the sight once more, the hall full of corpses. We all look at each other, fear and confusion overcoming us. Unintentionally, I feel my hand lightly squeeze Newt's, as he returns the gesture. The boy looks over at me, locking eyes. His face softens, giving me a look like "it's going to be okay."

Thomas cautiously steps in, all of us following behind him. We take slow steps as we look around at the massacre in front of us. Blood was practically everywhere.

We pass by a room with a glass window and peer in. It looks like a morgue, and two bodies were laid out on two tables, white cloth covering them as blood seeps through. I feel my hand begin to tremble, but Newt gives it a reassuring squeeze, allowing me to calm down.

Minho stops in front of me, staring into the window. But I lightly push his arm, urging him to keep going. The boy looks back at me, giving me a nod before walking faster. We walk through the glass doors, entering a room that looks like a big office.

Passing by more bodies on the way, I look around the room. Shattered glass spread out across the floor, and some of the bodies held guns or some type of weapon in their hands. I look at some of the glass, tiny holes inside them. Bullets.

"What happened," Chuck asks, breaking the silence. But no one answers, everyone focused on what this all is.

We all spread out around the room, examining everything on our own. Newt and I walk up to a set of monitors, brain scans appearing on one of them. On another monitor, a shot of part of the Glade is shown.

"Cameras..," I mumble.

"So they were watching us," Newt shudders, "this whole time."

I notice a monitor with a shot of a few boys in the Glade--some of the boys we left behind. They were sitting in our bonfire area, where we used to have celebrations.

I reach my right hand up to the screen, my fingers grazing it. I feel my heart drop as I realize that I don't know what's going to happen to them. Are they going to be attacked by Grievers again? Or are they just going to starve to death? I feel tears start to form in my eyes, knowing that a few of the boys we left back there were like brothers to me.

"Clem," Newt's soft voice calls out to me, "they chose to not come with us. We didn't leave them. It's not our fault, and it's not your fault either. It was their choice."

I wipe my eyes as I look up at the boy, "I know... I know." The boy gives a light squeeze to my hand again.

Suddenly, a big screen at the back of the room turns on--showing the image of a middle aged women. She wore, what looks like, a lab coat, and her blond hair was up in a bun.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Ava Paige," the lady introduces herself as we all gather around the screen. People in the background, all of them in lab coats as well, were seen through the glass doors behind her. "I am the Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, then congratulations. You've successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to celebrate this achievement, but circumstances seem to have prevented it. Certainly, by now you all must be very confused. Frightened. Angry, even. But I can only assure you that everything that has happened to you was all done for a reason, a good one at that."

I scoff at her statement. "Yeah, right," I mutter.

"You don't remember, but the sun has scorched our world," the lady continues. Fires, the heating sun, burnt corpses, and more disturbing videos show on the screen. "Billions of lives were lost to fire and famine. It was unimaginable. But what came after was worse. We call it the Flare--a deadly virus that attacks the brain. It's violent, unpredictable. But most importantly, incurable." The screen shows a man tied down to a table, black veins spreading all over his body as black liquid spews out of his mouth. He shakes violently, thrashing his body around and trying to escape. "Or so we thought. After some time passed, a new generation evolved that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason for people to seek hope for a cure. However, finding it would not be easy."

We all look at each other, realization crossing our faces as we put the puzzle pieces together. "Some would be tested, even sacrificed, inside harsh environments--where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different. What makes you different. You are very important, even if you don't realize it. Unfortunately, your tests have just begun--as you'll soon discover that not everyone agrees with our ways. Progress has slowed down significantly, and people are scared."

Men in black suits with assault rifles burst into the background behind the lady, shooting at everyone inside the lab. Screams are heard as people run or fall to the floor.

"It may be too late for us, but not for you. The outside world awaits you. Now remember," the woman we came to know as Ava Paige states, as she pulls out a revolver from her side, and men shoot at the glass behind her, shattering it. "WICKED is good." The lady takes a deep breath and I quickly turn my head, burying my face into Newt's chest as he wraps his left arm around me, his other hand still intertwined with mine.

A loud bang echoes around the lab, sending shivers throughout my body. I feel my stomach weaken again, even worse than it did when we walked in here. Newt's left hand reaches up to the back of my head, and I let out a shaky breath as I pull away to look up at him.

Thomas walks past us, making his way over to the office that the lady was in, her arm and gun on the floor in view. Everyone makes their way over, following closely behind Thomas. I keep my eyes on the ground, not wanting to see the results of her action.

Suddenly, a loud beep was heard on our right as a metal door opens, revealing another dark passageway with few lights in it.

"Is it over," Chuck asks eagerly.

"She said we're important," Newt mumbles.

I look up at him, "She also said that there were people who don't agree with their methods. Meaning that there are people who are on our side and want to help us."

"Well what are we supposed to do now," the boy asks, directing the question more to Thomas than me.

We all look at the boy, uncertainty reading all over his face. "I don't know," he breathes. "Let's get out of here," the boy says with a clearer voice.

"No," a voice says from behind us, startling the whole group.

Everyone turns, recognizing the person immediately. Gally.