The Defective Soldier || Newt

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘

✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃✃

Waking up with a headache was mildly infuriating. However, opening his eyes, like he hadn't had proper sleep in months, looking around him, and being unable to remember anything was baffling. He didn't know who he was, nor who the people around him were, or where they were. He could only remember one tiny piece of information about himself.

His name was William.

He turned his head around many times. The room was wide, but the grey walls made it seem smaller. There was a door on the wall behind him, locked from the inside. On the other side, there were windows, perfectly bricked and barred to prevent even the slightest peek at the outside. In the middle of the room, there were picnic tables perfectly lined up beside one another.

"Morning, sunshine. Had a nice nap?"

And, so befitting to his luck so far, there were at least seven teenagers right in front of him. Either they were smiling at him knowingly, or their eyes carried a sign of pity that William felt repulsed at.

"Let me guess, you can't remember anything," asked the same girl from before.

She was one of the few people smirking. William didn't like that at all. He felt like a prey in front of her. Even if she was more occupied with tying her long black hair into a ponytail, he could tell that her sharp eyes were judging his every move.

"Yeah." He frowned by instinct, giving his surroundings one last look before concentrating back on the teenagers surrounding him.

A blonde girl walked up to him, extending her hand as if she wanted to shake hands. William did not react in time. He could have rejected her offer, or simply accepted a seemingly out-of-the-blue handshake. However, the girl's goal was not to greet him. Not a second passed before she grabbed his right arm and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a tattoo on his forearm, which was written in white ink to make it easier to read.

"He has it, too," she declared, turning to look at those behind her. " But there's something different. It says, 'Soldier S5, property of WICKED. Current status: DEFECTIVE'."

"Well, are we supposed to get rid of him, then?" Joked a blond boy, taller than anyone else in the room. "What's up S5? WICKED got your tongue?"

"You just joked about getting rid of me, dude. What do you expect me to say?" William pointed out, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"It's OK, Birdie, we don't kill people for no reason." The blonde girl assured him. "I woke up here around four months ago, just like you. The others have been showing up in the same way. No explanations. No memories. Nothing really. It's as frustrating as it is weird. Now, if you tell us your name, we'll tell you ours, and we can have a decent conversation."

He doubted for a second, but quickly realised his lack of options. "William."

"Nice to meet you, William. Name's Mae," the blonde said, shaking his hand.

"Rowan," joined the dark-haired girl from before.

"George." The blond boy bowed to William mockingly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Birdie William."

"Don't be an idiot, George," A girl with bright red hair reprimanded before looking at William. "I'm Flor."

"Name's Henry, Birdie." The boy got closer, resting his arm on William's shoulders. "Good to have you here. George and I thought we would be down by three with the girls for the rest of our lives. Now that you're here, we need two more guys, and we'll be even."