The Other Side - A Newt Fanfiction

Chapter Sixteen: The Reason We Failed

Scrunching up my face, I use all of my strength to cut through the final kid's chain in the back left corner of the container with large pliers, sighing in relief as soon as the steel snaps into two. "There you go." I say, smiling weakly. "Head on out to get some food and a blanket from Fry, and then go take a seat. Vince is explaining everything outside." Setting the pliers down, I offer the boy my hand.
The boy nods, quietly taking my hand as I pull him to his feet. Once he's gained his balance, I pat his back gently, letting him walk past and watching him leave through the door into the blinding light.
Sighing softly, I dust my hands off on my pants, picking up the pliers and quietly walking out of the rail car. Shielding my eyes as I step out into the sunlight, I watch the kids huddle up in a group on the shore as Vince steps up onto the boarding deck, hands on his hips.
I fold my arms, leaning against the doorway. Examining the crowd, I spot Thomas leaning up against the brick wall of one of the shelters, a few yards back from the group. However, in my peripheral vision, I catch movement, causing me to quickly look to the right to see the source: Newt.
He leans against the opposite end of the storage unit, hands stuffed in his pockets and head hanging as he kicks a rock in the sand. Raising his head to look at Vince and the group, he clenches his jaw, silently standing upright before turning around the corner of the container and limping out of sight.
Furrowing my brows in concern, I lean the large pliers against the wall of the storage container before quickly following after.
As I turn around the corner, I spot Newt limping down the path ahead.
"Newt, wait!" I call, causing him to stop in his tracks, but he doesn't look back.
I jog up the sand path between the various shelters, slowing down once I've reached his side.
Chewing on his bottom lip, Newt fidgets a little. "Yeah?" He mumbles, not lifting his head.
I frown slightly. "Let's walk and talk..."
He nods, beginning to silently limp alongside me through the campground.
"Listen, Newt," I begin, "I'm so sorry about Minho."
He shrugs. "I just don't bloody understand..."
I tilt my head to the side slightly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Tommy listened for Minho and said he was in there."
"I'm sure he really thought he heard-"
"No, I'm not blaming him. I don't understand because I could've sworn I recognized Minho's voice from inside, too."
I distort my face in confusion. "You did?"
He nods. "That's why I'm so confused... I was convinced that Tommy and I were hearing him."
Sighing slightly, I shrug. "Maybe he was in the next car down?"
Brows drawn together, Newt shakes his head. "It just doesn't bloody make sense..."
I open my mouth to speak, but then close it, deciding against it.
It's insane how in a matter of an hour, Newt and I have completely swapped positions of feeling successful and feeling like a complete failure, and, just like he did with me, I allow him to feel secure in silence but provide comfort with mere presence.
"You know, you don't have to stick around me." Newt says, as if reading my mind. He lifts his eyes to mine, letting out an obviously forced laugh. "I'm sure Aris and Sonya want to see you."
I shake my head. "You didn't leave my side, I'm not leaving yours." I say.
He smiles weakly, exhaling softly as he looks ahead at the path as we walk. "You're really going to be stubborn about this?"
I nod. "You know I am."
He laughs genuinely this time. "Well, then I guess we'll head to the supply shelter together so that your poor friends get to see you." With that, he picks up his walking pace just enough to get ahead of me, leading me along the path towards the brick shelter ahead.
Furrowing my brows, I ask, "How do you know they are there?"
"Harriet said she was taking them there."
I sigh, following behind. "Newt..."
"Come on." He insists, limping ahead at a brisk pace.
Keeping up, I walk into the storage shelter after him, only to see Aris and Sonya sitting on some supply boxes.
Looking towards us as she cleans out a cut on Aris's face, Sonya smiles. "Hey, guys. Harriet went out to get us water. She should be back any minute."
I nod, quietly walking towards them and taking off my jacket, tossing it onto one of the crates and adjusting my shirt as the sleeves slip off my shoulders. Taking a seat on one of the supply boxes, I quietly watch Newt take off his coat and neatly set it on the supply box beside me before taking a seat on it. He slides his bandanna from off of his neck and ties it around his right wrist one-handedly with ease.
"So," Sonya begins, looking to the two of us, "what has happened with you guys the past few months?"
I exchange a knowing look with Newt before averting my eyes back to Sonya. "Planning this rescue mission."
Aris opens his mouth to speak, but winces in pain as Sonya dabs the cloth on his face.
"Sorry..." She whispers.
He nods, closing his eyes. "It's just insane how long it's been. We honestly didn't know you'd be able to find us with all of the moving around we've done."
"We managed to track WICKED long enough to make a prediction of their next moves." Newt explains. "Besides, we weren't going to give up until we found our friends..."
While Newt explains the course of the six months in better detail, Thomas silently appears in my left peripherals.
Newt trails off, looking to Thomas with a somber expression. "Hey, Tommy."
The brunette nods, quietly crouching down in front of Aris. "How are you two holding up?" He asks.
"Better now, that's for sure..." Aris laughs lightly.
Harriet quietly enters from the back entrance behind Aris and Sonya, struggling to carry five cups of water. "I figured more of you would be here." She says, smiling warmly as she walks to our group, handing Aris and Sonya each a tin cup. She offers another to Newt, who accepts, and then hands me the fourth. "Thomas?" She offers.
He shakes his head.
She lifts her eyes to something behind me. "Brenda?"
Turning around to look at the girl who I didn't even know was here, I stare at Brenda as she smiles slightly, shaking her head with her arms folded. "No thanks."
Harriet nods understandingly, taking a seat beside Sonya, sipping from her water.
Aris, wincing as Sonya cleans his cut, once again, shifts his eyes back to Thomas. "Like we were telling (y/n) and Newt, we didn't think you guys would find us." He explains before jokingly adding, "It took you long enough."
I manage to laugh lightly, averting my eyes to Thomas, who can hardly smile.
"What happened with you guys?" Newt asks.
"We fought as much as we could." Aris mumbles. "Well, we tried to, at least. They had us moving around a lot."
"Yeah," Sonya nods as she chimes in. "We never really stayed in one place. The strange thing is, however, we seemed to be continuing down one direction... It seemed like something big is going to happen."
Thomas furrows his brows. "Do you know where they were taking you?"
Clenching his jaw as he ponders on it for a few moments, Aris mumbles, "I just know they kept talking about a city."
Harriet's face falls slightly. "I thought there weren't any left?"
"That's because there aren't." Brenda says flatly, though curiously tilting her head to the side and furrowing her brows together.
Thomas thinks about it for a few moments before turning back to Aris and Sonya. "Hold on. What about Minho? Why wasn't he on the train?"
Sonya and Aris exchange a strange, unsettling glance before looking back to Thomas.
"Sorry, Thomas..." Aris mumbles, frowning.
The words cause my heart to skip a beat. Furrowing my brows, I lean forward slightly, closer to Aris. "Why are you sorry?"
He slowly shifts his blue eyes to mine. "He was on the train."
My breath hitches in my throat. Sitting taller, I dart my eyes to Newt, who's already staring at me, dumbfounded.
"What?" Thomas asks, staring at Aris in utter disbelief.
"Minho was on the train with us."
"In the same railcar?" Newt asks.
Aris nods somberly.
A silence that seems to heavily weigh on us like death fills the room.
"There must have been guards in the far back end of the train." I think out loud, looking to Thomas. "But that doesn't make any sense. I know that a guard couldn't have entered through the door on our side. We had Newt, myself, Vince, and you looking on our side the whole time..." My voice trails off as I ponder on it.
The two inexperienced Right Arm kids. They were in charge of the other side, where there's another door.
"Shuck!" I exclaim as it clicks, causing the others to jump with a start.
"What? What is it, (y/n)?" Newt asks in concern, sitting taller.
"That shucking slinthead that almost shot me! He and the other kid were in charge of guarding the left side of the car!" I exclaim. "How much do you want to bet that they didn't look at their door once? The only time it was glanced at was probably when Vince and Thomas were hooking up the ropes on their side!"
Face falling, Newt darts his eyes from me to Thomas. "She's got a point... One of them nearly shot her."
"Yeah, but she also did to me." Thomas says.
"Newt pulled my arm!" I exclaim defensively.
Newt nods. "That's right, Thomas. I hindered her. No one interfered with the other's aim. They're new to this, Tommy. I think (y/n) is right."
"They guards did come in from the back left..." Sonya mumbles hesitantly.
The corners of Thomas's lips tug downward. "Well... Then that means one of the chains were properly undid and not cut through by one of us..." he mumbles.
I stand up, nodding with a frown. "I'm going to go back to the car. Check the rows to find it."
"I'll go with her." Newt says, getting to his feet.
Nodding, Thomas stands straight. "Harriet, would you mind keeping an eye on these two?"
She shakes her head. "Of course not." She gently rests a hand on Sonya's arm. "Come on. We'll get you two some food, and I'll show you around."
Thomas, turning on his heels, rushes out the front entrance, obviously on a mission of his own; Brenda turns and follows behind.
Sighing and placing my hands on my hips, I look to Newt with a lifted brow. "Ready to go inspect?" I ask.
He nods, setting his cup down on the crate.
With a deep, frustrated breath, I lead Newt out of the supply shelter, briskly rushing down the sand, on the verge of a jog.
As we approach the container of the rail car, I slow to a stop, pushing the door open and stepping into the darkness. "They had one shucking job..." I mutter under my breath.
"They're new to this, (y/n)-"
"So?" I say, running my fingers through my hair before putting my hands on my hips again. "How are you not angry with them?"
Newt, limping past me to walk farther down the aisle, manages to chuckle lightly. "I am mad. I'm livid." He stops in his tracks, looking back at me. "I just try my best not to let my anger cause me to lash out irrationally."
Staring at Newt for a few moments, I huff a sigh. I turn to begin looking through the rows of chairs. "I can bet you that it was one of those boys that had to cut the chains in the row where Minho was." I mumble. "Because if you or Thomas or Harriet had seen an empty seat, we definitely would have shucking said something."
Newt nods. "Good that." He mumbles, stopping at one of the rows at the center of the container, furrowing his brows as he leans over the aisle seat. "(y/n), come look at this."
Perking up, I quickly make my way down the aisle to Newt, looking down at the chair to spot properly unlocked cuffs. Exchanging a somewhat excited glance with Newt, I slowly pick up the cuff, examining it. "Can you get the pliers from outside?"
Newt nods, quickly limping out and returning with the pliers in a matter of seconds.
"Cut the chain from its connection to the ceiling. We can take this to the others."
Nodding, Newt steps up onto Minho's seat, scrunching up his face as he squeezes the pliers on the chain, snapping the connection into two.
• • •
I set the chain down on the table in the center of the room where Vince, Thomas, Newt, Fry, Brenda, and I are meeting. "Here it is. Minho's cuffs." I say, folding my arms. "Newt and I assume that one of the new boys were in charge of the aisle it was in because one of us would have said something."
Vince quietly takes the cuffs into his hands, examining them silently.
Thomas, staring at the cuffs while he leans on his elbows onto the table, takes in a deep breath as he stands upright, clenching his jaw. Looking down, he turns around and walks to the small shelf in the corner of the room, fumbling through in search for something.
"The newbies also failed to guard the door on their side, resulting in Minho being taken in the first place. They're the reason this mission was not successful." I explain to Vince.
The man sets the chains back on the table, silent.
"Well?" I ask, arms folded. "What are you going to do about them?"
"What do you expect me to do? Banish them from our camp?" Vince asks sarcastically.
I crease my brows together, dropping my hands to my sides. "Are you forgetting that this mission was six months worth of planning?" I snap.
"Everyone did their part."
"Their part was to guard their side of the rail car and break the connection between the container and the train itself!" I exclaim, which causes Newt to quickly stride towards me and gently grasp my arm. "Newt and I didn't have a problem with our half of the job!"
"If I remember correctly, you put the mission at risk by not getting a secure stance on the roof of the car and falling off the ledge. If it weren't for me, you would have been hooked up to these chains right now." He says, gesturing to Minho's cuffs.
I stare at Vince with my face distorted in rage, gaping at him in offense. "Shuck you!" I snap as Newt grasps my other arm, holding me back.
"(y/n), don't start a fight over this." Newt says urgently.
I purse my lips tightly together, breathing heavily through my nose as I force myself to calm down. "It's because of those shuck-faces that half of a year has gone to complete waste..." I growl.
Thomas strides to the center table, slapping a map down onto the it and running his hands along the paper, examining it. Suddenly, he points at a specific spot on the map. "That's it. That's where we're going."
Looking to Thomas in absolute confusion, I ease up completely, and Newt let's go of my arms.
"What do you mean, Tommy?" Newt asks.
"It's where they're taking Minho." Thomas explains. "Look, right here."
Furrowing my brows, I lean closer to get a good look at a circled spot on the map.
"Based off of our collection of WICKED's tracks over the past few months and on what Aris and Sonya were saying, this spot is where they are taking their captives. It's a few hundred miles from here. We take all that can fight. We'll make our way to the location through here," he explains, drawing the path with his finger, "and we'll return in a week."
Vince, shifting his eyes to Thomas, frowns. "One week? It took us 6 months to get here!"
Now look who's shouting angrily.
"I know, but if we just-"
"Thomas, we can't stay here forever, especially after what we've done now. We're on WICKED's radar, back on the grid! We've already been stuck here for half of a year, and now you want us to take our strongest survivors and wander off to a random spot on the map? You do not even know what's there!" He exclaims.
"I know." A familiar voice says, causing us to look to the doorway where a silhouetted figure stands, the golden lights from behind them making it nearly impossible to figure out who it is, but the accent gives it away: Jorge. His entrance reminds me of Brenda's when we had first met her. "I was there, but that was a few years ago. The Last City, as WICKED calls it. The base of their operations." He explains as he walks towards us, into the light of our room. "If the city is still standing, that is definitely the last place you want to go, hermano. It's the lion's den."
"It's not like we didn't already know that." Thomas says, fidgeting with his hands as he bites his lip. "We just need to make a plan-"
"We had a plan!" Vince snaps. "Several months worth of planning, countless armed men and women ready to take action, the element of surprise, but now we have none of that! Everyone is ready to leave for the Safe Haven, and we don't have anymore time to waste!"
"But, Vince, I was thinking-"
"Are you not listening to me? I said we don't have the time or the energy, Thomas! We cannot just run into this unprepared-"
"We have before-"
"When I did not prepare, I lost everything!" Vince suddenly shouts in complete rage, slamming his fist on the table and causing the rest of us to jump with a start. "Remember?!"
The image of Vince crying out over Mary's dead body flashes in my head at that instant.
Sighing heavily, Vince lowers his voice as he looks at Thomas apologetically. "I cannot risk it." He mumbles. "I will not."
I frown, looking to Newt as he leans on his elbows on the table, the room weighing down with a heavy silence.
However, the silence is broken by a faint voice on the radio, causing us to look in its direction. "...giving a search in the perimeter...A is complete...moving on to Sector B..."
As if on cue, the propellers of a Berg can be heard far in the distance outside, the sound slowly getting louder.
We all stand taller, hearts stopping.
Thomas's face falls. "Shi-"
"Language." Newt interrupts flatly.
"Stop that, Newt!" I hiss, but immediately clamp my mouth shut as the wind begins to roar from the approaching Bergs.
"Cut the lights!" Thomas orders, rushing towards the door with Vince following behind. "Quickly!" He calls before running outside.
Jorge rushes towards the electrical lever on the wall to our right, quickly pulling it, the lights immediately shutting off in our room.
Newt, grasping my arm, quickly pulls me behind him to the next room of the shelter. "You get the left, I'll get the right!"
I nod, turning on my heels and running through the door to my left, quickly grasping onto the lever on the wall and pulling it down, the room suddenly going pitch black.
As my eyes adjust, I manage to make out the silhouettes of objects in the moonlight, cautiously walking back into the main room.
"(y/n)?" I hear Newt whisper.
I turn my head in the direction of his voice. "I'm here."
After a few seconds, I feel his hand grasp mine. "Hurry, this way." He whispers urgently, pulling me behind him to the back exit of the shelter, pushing the blanket that acts as a door out of the way so that we can watch what is taking place.
The massive Berg flies over us in perfect timing, the light beams scanning the ground as it continues South.
I gulp, exchanging a worried glance with Newt as we watch the Berg slowly shrink in the distance.
• • •
Sitting on the sand with a heavy sigh, I watch the waves calmly rise and fall from the shore, scanning the starry horizon. Out there is freedom, but behind us is Minho, being tortured for science.
I frown, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin on top of them, closing my eyes as the cold breeze brushes through my hair gently and gives the tip of my nose an icy kiss.
I listen to the wind and the sea, breathing in the salty air through my nose as I let my surroundings embrace me, heightening my sense of smell and sound and feeling with my lack of sight with closed eyes.
"We need to talk." I hear a faint voice say from somewhere behind me, and, opening my eyes, I turn to look over my shoulder, spotting Newt limping alongside Frypan, talking to him in a low voice.
Well aware that Newt intends on keeping this conversation between himself and Fry private, I quickly sink onto my stomach in the sand, watching them suspiciously.
"Alright, what's up?" Fry asks.
"Thomas is going to sneak out of the camp tonight."
Frypan furrows his brows together. "How do you know that?"
"I just do. Vince said we're not going to conjure up another mission to get Minho, and you know how Tommy is..."
"Yeah," Fry nods, "and I also know how you are. You plan on going with him to get Minho, huh?"
Newt nods.
I furrow my brows, lips parting slightly as I listen as best as I can over the sounds of the ocean.
"And I expect you know me well enough to know that I will definitely be joining." Fry chuckles.
Newt nods again. "Of course."
"So what's the plan?"
Newt shrugs, folding his arms. "I figure Tommy will be heading to the jeep just outside the shelter we rest in. He thinks he's bloody sly, but I saw him shoving his filled pack under his hammock."
Chuckling, Fry nods.
"I'm sure he'll be sneaking out by the time things have died down and everyone seems to be asleep, and that won't be for another..." Newt pauses, checking his digital watch, "three hours? I'm guessing around one."
"When should we get to packing?"
"Last I checked, Thomas was with Harriet and Brenda, helping get the new arrivals settled down for the night in one of the shelters towards the outskirts of the camp. I think we should get to packing right now before he gets back and bloody catches us."
Frypan grins, nodding. Turning on his heels, he walks towards the entrance of our rest shelter, but, suddenly, he stops in his tracks, putting a hand out in front of Newt. "Hold on a second... What about (y/n)?"
"She's not to find out."
Fry lifts a brow. "Are you sure? You don't even want to give her peace of mind by at least telling her you'll be gone?"
"Are you bloody kidding me? She'd follow us." Newt says. "I can't let her go on this dangerous mission with us."
Well, too bad, Newt, because that's exactly what I'm going to do.