In These Walls (Newt x reader)

Five

~ (y/n)'s P.O.V. ~

I saw a younger me and a younger boy playing with small wooden animals.  We were pretending we were in a Safari, animals running in circles, but instead of eating each other, they always ate leaves. The boy had insisted, saying the animals just wanted peace.

"Ben! (y/n)! Time to eat!" We both got up and raced each other down the stairs of our house. Little me sat down and started eating the vegetable soup our mother had set on the table. My mother smiled at me and then Ben. She was all we had left. Our father had gotten sick and left.

Ben and I were halfway through our bowls when there was a knock on the door. Mother put down her spoon and told us she'd be right back. We heard whispers through the door, and snuck to listen through the kitchen door. 

"Ma'am, it's time." 

"Please just twenty more minutes!"  Our mother's voice was pleading desperate.

"We can't wait longer." We heard people step into the  the house. 

"They're still eating! Please! Just one more meal with their mother." There was a sound of a hand smacking skin, then our mother cried out. It was quiet for a moment after the hit. Ben held my hand, tugging me when we heard footsteps approaching the door.  Ben led me to my seat, almost tilting it by how quickly he shoved me into the chair. Ben grasped his spoon, giving me a look that told me to do the same. When I grasped the spoon, it was shaking.

I heard Ben's breath hitch as footsteps came into the room, so I turned to look at the door. A man in a black suit and a gun in his hand stared at us. I dropped my spoon in the bowl. Soup splattered on me as I stared at the man. The man stood for a moment, looking at us, then shouted, "Fifteen minutes, tops!" He kept the gun close to him as he walked out of the room. When the front door slammed I released a breath. 

When our mother came into the room, she was holding a hand to her face. She sent us a small smile. We tried to ask her questions, like who the man was and why he was here, but our mother only shushed us. 

"Hurry and eat, children, it's all okay. I have a surprise after." We all ate in silence, and when we finished, she brought out a (f/f) cake. She washed dishes as Ben and I slowly ate at the cake. 

"We don't have much time. Go gather some toys, those men are going to take you to a safe place and you'll probably still want to play." Our mother turned after washing the dishes, trying to give us a smile.

"But what about you?"  My voice was high with worry for our mother, who was growing a bruise where the man had hit her. 

"Don't worry about me. I'll always be alright because I'm your mom. Now go get your things. You only have a few minutes." I ran upstairs and packed the wooden animals in a small bag and grabbed a locket off of the counter. Ben came downstairs with some of his cars and drawing book. There was a knock on the door. 

"Time to go." Our mother looked at Ben and I, holding back tears. She opened the door and two men were standing there. Mother gave us one last hug and a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you soon, my two little angels."  The men grabbed at us. One of the animals fell from the bag and onto the porch as the man picked me up. 

"No! No, mommy-"

The scenery shifted and I was in a room with Ben, two other boys, and a girl. One of the boys looked a lot like Alby, but younger. The men took the other boy out before I could get a good look at him, all I could see was his dark brown hair as he left the room. The girl had raven black hair and she stared at us with her icy blue eyes. 

I looked at Ben when my name was called, then I slowly pushed out of the chair and went out the door. A woman in a white business suit met me on the other side of  the door and led me to a room with a table. A boy with blonde hair and brown eyes sat at the table. He stared at me with wide eyes as I came into the room. 

"Why don't you go sit?" The woman gently pushed me forward to sit by the boy. When I sat by him, he shifted in his seat, looking at me strangely. After I sat down, the woman introduced herself as Dr. Ava. 

"We are giving special children, like you, special abilities to share with their partners. We will have several partners, but there are a range of different abilities a pairing can receive. Some will have telepathic abilities, others will be able to understand each other, feel what the other feels. Some groups may even be only partially telepathic, where only some thoughts match up but they can't contact each other directly. Some pairings, depending on the strength of their bond, may get multiple abilities." Dr. Ava turned to look at us, a small smile on her face. 

"Newt, (y/n), you will be one of our several groups. As a pairing, you will spend a lot of time together. Think of this as a... extended sleepover with a best friend, as one day you will become best friends, or these abilities won't work." I looked to Newt. He was looking down at his lap. 

"Come. I will take you to your rooms." I stood, grabbing at Newt's hand  as we left the room. 

When we exited the door, the scenery changed again. I was lying on a table, holding someone's hand. When I turned my head I realized I was holding Newt's hand, and he was older than the little boy that had been shy in the room.

"It'll all be okay, (y/n). I promise." I wanted to smile at his accented words, the voice I had spent almost three years getting used to hearing. One of the doctors came over, taking my hand that was holding Newt's and injecting a blue liquid in my arm. I saw them do the same to Newt, then my arm started to burn and I was panicking. Newt grabbed at my hand.

"(y/n), it's okay, we're fine, we're fine." Some of his words became slurred. The burn grew and I screamed. "(y/n), (y/n), (y/-"

~

I shot up, almost slamming into someone again. They had been leaning over me and it took me a moment to realize Newt was the one shaking me. I looked around, saw the fire was still going, though only four of the boys were sitting there.

 "Are you okay?" I turned quickly to look at Newt. His eyes were wide, reminding me of the little boy in the room. I swallowed, slowly nodding. "You were screaming. Scared me pretty bad, I didn't know what to do. You wouldn't wake up for a bit." I nodded again, realizing me and Newt were still on the hill. 

"When did we fall asleep?" Newt shrugged. 

"I was barely asleep. We were looking at the stars." Beyond the walls, one of the nightly screeches came. This time, it made me jump. I wiped away at my skin, noticing the sweat that was drying there. Newt looked back to the wall when another screech came. 

"What's that?" I shook my head.

"Nothing good. We hear them every night. They seem to be asleep during the day or something, because we never hear them." Newt looked back at me, a frown on his face. 

"Let's get to our hammocks. Maybe you'll sleep better there." I slowly nodded at Newt's suggestion. Newt took my hands in his, then stood us up. He led us back to the hammocks. Despite only four boys being around the fire, none of them were sleeping in the hammocks. 

Newt sat me down in my hammock and began brushing his fingers through my hair. 

"What are you doing?"

"You told me I'd have to pick the grass out of your hair." Newt stayed quiet as his fingers brushed through my hair, and as he continued to do so, the more relaxed I felt. I barely noticed when he stopped. 

"Thank you." I murmured.

"Why don't you lay down? Get some sleep." I nodded, laying back in my hammock. I closed my eyes, and soon enough, I heard Newt's breathing slow and become a soft snore.  In my mind I imagined over and over Newt and I being on those tables, how gently he had held my hands to comfort me, the same gentleness he had used when brushing his fingers through my hair.

"Goodnight, Newt."I whispered, and I waited for sleep to take me. 

Original Publish Date: July 21, 2016