EPIPHANY ✁ newt

33 , newt

I couldn't even bring myself to flinch when the first bullet met my side as I ran. Everything felt numb. I wasn't even sure I was right, but a searing anger built inside me at the blonde boy. How could he ever do such a thing? Did he not realise how many people in this world cared for him? How much I cared for him? I sighed, taking down two more cranks as they tried running at me.

One block down, two to go.

A small cry of pain escaped my lips when another bullet hit my left arm, causing me to grab it with my other, leaving me defenseless for a few seconds, before I could bring myself to let go. Everything hurt. Imagine the feeling of having a burning fever, then running an hour long marathon with it, but amplified at least twice. The only reason I could keep dragging myself on was because I had had months of practice living with the pain before now. It was only amplified.

Two blocks down, one to go.

I took a few seconds to steady myself against a wall as I heard a pained scream from somewhere in front of me, hoping it wasn't Newt or Thomas as I pushed myself off the wall, ignoring the spinning world around me as I started running again. Just one more step, get to that lamp post, through the alley, till that mark of the ground, down the road. I know the only way I could keep myself moving was by lying to my brain every few seconds.

I had reached the block where I'd left the boys. I ran to the barrier where they had last been, and with one last push of strength pushed myself around the wall to see... nothing. They weren't there. I couldn't go on.

Without thinking, I fell to my knees, having to will to keep moving. They were gone. And I had no idea where. I couldn't help Newt. I'd promised him... my eyes closed, the orange of the fire all around me flashing behind my eyelids as I pictured his face the last time I'd been with him. Was there any hope? Was he even still...

My eyes moved to two figures across the street, running together through one of the glass doors of a building, vanishing god knows where right before my eyes. One had been dragging the other. "NEWT! THOMAS!" I was giving away my position to any near cranks, but I didn't care. I needed to get to him. Clawing at the wall next to me, I pulled my shaking body off the ground once again, determined to get to the boys.

One foot in front of the other. I slowly started moving across the street, pure adrenaline carrying me faster as a huge part of the building I had been standing under not five seconds ago came crashing down onto the road - squashing at least a dozen cranks under the rubble as it fell. I only just managed to escape the falling debris, inhaling a bunch of the dust instead, which sent me into a coughing fit, almost toppling me to the floor again.

But I kept moving, grabbing onto the broken glass window as I reached the other side of the street, not caring about how it ripped into my skin as I looked both sides, trying to catch even just a glimpse of where the boys had gone. And then I saw him. Thomas had carried Newt out of the other side of the building, leading into some sort of abandoned courtyard which had been paved over - buildings surrounding it on all sides.

As I started moving again, I saw in horror as Newt fell to the ground, looking completely limp as Thomas bent over him, trying desperately to pick the boy up again to no avail. He finally grabbed the boy under his arms, dragging him a few meters before giving up, the both falling to the ground this time. The whole while I was moving towards them to me best ability, trying to run despite the screaming voices in my head wanting to shut my whole body down.

"Thomas?" I froze, the sudden echoing voice all around taking me by surprise. "Can you hear me?" it was Teresa, I was sure of it - she was broadcasting her voice across the city for some reason. I started limping towards them even faster, calling out even though I knew I was still too far away for them to be able to hear my screams. "I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt, there's still time for him."