The Other Side - A Newt Fanfiction

Chapter Five: One Loss Unites the Rest

AU: Chapter is scheduled for revision.

Eyes fluttering open, I am immediately blinded by pale, white sunlight, and I squeeze my heavy eyes shut again, the sudden brightness shooting pain into the back of my eyes. I bring my fists to them and rub out the sleep and soreness, yawning as I attempt to recollect the events that took place yesterday, which had left me staring up at the sky from under some wreckage. It only takes a moment for the screeches of the Cranks to wrack my brain, and, piece by piece, everything aligns in my head and the occurrences of the day before become as clear as the sun above. The breakout, the false sense of freedom, the Cranks crashing through the hallway.

I grunt as I sit up, holding my head as I open my eyes to squint and look around at the others, all sleeping. My spine is stiff from lying on the hard ground.

Aris, slowly rising to consciousness, but not quite yet awake, mumbles something in his sleep, shifting from a position of hugging his jacket tightly around himself to pushing away at it, the heat beginning to settle in, even though the sun seems to have only been up for two, maybe three, hours. I'm grateful to see that he is free of any Crank-induced wounds. If he, the only person left from our Maze, was hurt, I don't know what I would do. In truth, he is all I have left from the beginning stage of my new life, the only life that I can remember. I can't let anything happen to him, especially since we swore to watch out for each other.

With that in mind, I begin to skim the other sleeping figures, and, as I do so, I am relieved to see that no one else seems to have been hurt by the Cranks while we slept.

Except for Winston, of course.

I can see him wheezing shallowly beside Frypan in his sleep, the color drained from his face and the sweat making his hair stick to his forehead. Trailing my eyes down to his stomach, I can see that they had bandaged him last night, but the blood has made its way to the exterior of the wrapping.

I shudder at the sight. I hope he'll be okay.

I hear some shuffling from behind me, only to see Newt curling up on his side, fast asleep, one arm under his head and the other extended out on the ground, as if his subconscious is grasping for something.

Jumping with a start as I hear a snap from somewhere out of my peripherals, I look back in the opposite direction to see Thomas sitting up, angrily shooing a crow away from our supplies. "Hey! Hey, get out of here!"

In response to his yelling, I can see the others jolting to consciousness with a panicked start, which I'm sure only doubled up on the anxiety induced by the Cranks yesterday. They sit up groggily, one by one.

I sigh, looking up at Thomas as he already gets to his feet. "They seem to be gone for now," he mumbles, looking out into the opening of the remainder of the building. "We need to get going."

Nodding, Newt silently sits up, carefully rising to his feet.

Fry walks over to Winston, offering him a hand and pulling him up to his feet cautiously. Wincing in pain, Winston lets out an agonized grunt, clasping his other hand onto Fry for support.

"Hey," Aris mumbles, rubbing his tired eyes and tapping my shoulder with his free hand, "are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I give a small nod in response, pursing my lips together.

Sighing, he gives my shoulder a pat and carefully rises to his feet.

Once I've checked my pack for all of my supplies, I zip up my backpack and toss it over my shoulder, standing upright and following the others in a line as we walk out into the open, surrounded by a city in utter ruins, some buildings nearly buried in sand. I gape as I step off of the concrete and onto the dirt ground, looking up at the collapsed, towering structures. "Woah..."