The Misfire:Book 1 (Newt || A TMR Fanfiction)

21. Memories: Before Trials

Papa began to panic. I haven't slept the whole night since I got sick and wouldn't stop coughing. He was ransacking through his belongings, searching for something while I laid on a mat, wrapped in a blue blanket.

"God dammit!" Where the hell did I p-p-put it?"

I slowly sat up gasping for air, my throat dry and hoarse. My eyes were heavy and my head felt like it was being stabbed by several knives. I looked at my arms, black veins were visible and I didn't know why, although it was not the first time I've been this sick and Papa refused to tell me what was going on.

He finally pulled out a syringe from one of his bags and quickly positioned it on my elbow and injected me with a bluish liquid. He sighed loudly as soon as my breathing pace went back to normal.

"My head," I spoke softly. "my head....it, it hurts"

"Don't give way (Y/N). You're not sick." He grunted.

I stood up and transferred to the couch. There was nothing else I could do now that the radio was destroyed. I spent my entire time staring at the peeled paint on the walls, waiting for papa to return from his daily hunt.

"Here," He handed me a black radio. "Your birthday gift."

My face lit up as I held it. Unlike the previous one, this radio was smaller and had a long metal rod on its side. I thanked and hugged him tightly. I never got the pattern but for some reason, papa would remind me about my birthday. I had no idea how he knew. Today, he said I was 12 years old, but did I really care? I've been underground my whole life and lost track of time.

"I'll be back. You stay here." He changed to his hunting attire, swung a rifle on his shoulder before climbing up the stairs and left, leaving me alone again.

I frowned and slumped to the squeaky couch while hugging my new radio. I turned it on and allowed the static noise to help me fall asleep.

My surroundings started to transfigure, the walls losing more hue and the floors acquiring more dust. I was then woken up by heavy footsteps descending the stairs.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)! We have to go!"

I sat up while rubbing my eyes. "Pa? What's going on?"

"Just fucking hurry!" He demanded and quickly pulled out a duffel bag and started filling it up with things. I had no idea why he was in such a rush or why he was terrified but being so clueless yet alarmed, I obeyed. He handed me a thick hooded jacket and told me to wear it.

I opened one of those dusty wooden chest and pulled a small faded blue bagpack; stuffing it with a few clothes, a scarf, a picture of mom, a pocket knife, and my radio before hopping on papa's back. He was a buff and large man from all his constant ventures on the dangerous outside and could easily carry a puny, emaciated girl like me.

He climbed the wooden stairs and lifted the ceiling door open. I glanced back at our lodge one last time before leaving it forever. We emerged at a large but empty dark room with scattered furnitures and upturned tables and chairs. He bolted towards the door and kicked it open, before heading towards the outside. Frightened yet having no idea what caused it, I pulled the hood to cover my entire face while pressing my cheeks on his broad shoulders. Strong winds howled and the dark surroundings made it difficult to see. I squinted my eyes but nothing around was visible.

"Where are we going?" I whispered. But he didn't answer.

But as we headed further, we were halted by several bright flashing lights and a few seconds, uniformed men surrounded us.

"Fuckin' hell." Papa grunted before taking another turn, spinning around, trying to locate where the hell we were heading to but we were now cornered and there was no escape. I clung tightly as he released my legs and held his gun.

"Sir, we mean you no harm-"

"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted while he aimed his gun at them.

"Sir. We need you to put the gun down."

Before one of the uniformed men could say another word, papa already pulled the trigger, aiming for his head. The loud bang echoed in my ears. I gasped and buried my face on his back, trembling and gnashing my teeth.

The armed men were now pointing there guns at us, but papa wasn't giving up yet. He shot one of them again but missed. Suddenly, someone lunged and tackled us both to the ground. I rolled away from his grip, hearing a lot of grunting and yelling until another man helped me up.

I screamed, attempting to break free from the man's arms once I saw them beating papa up. The man eventually released me and I rushed to where papa was, hugging him close.

I didn't know who these people were since they covered their faces but they looked like soldiers. Without second thoughts, I grabbed papa's heavy rifle and aimed for the closest man beside us. But another man kicked the weapon away. I tried to reach for it but one of the soldiers pinned me down.

"Let her go you s-s-son of a bitch!" Papa shouted, being held down by several men as well.

"Spare the adult," Another one commanded, "Get rid of her."

"No! If you fucking hurt--"

"Sir, we cannot have her lurking around. W.C.K.D needs people like you, not her." The man I aimed my gun at before, tried to explain.

"I said DON'T touch her!" Papa cried and broke free from the men and charged towards me, but they were quick and before papa could take another step, I felt a gun pointing at my temple.

"Your child's infected." The man warned and I felt his finger about to pull the trigger when papa suddenly blurted out.

"Wait! Wait-" He raised his hands in surrender- "She has...she has a gift!"

I looked up and saw the soldiers exchange looks. I didn't understand what he meant. Papa was raising his hands up higher, trembling. "Spare her. Please..."

The man lowered his gun, walked towards him. "What do you mean by she has a gift?"

"She, she's clairvoyant."

"Hhmmm, interesting," The man replied, "But does she know I'm about to do this?"

Before any of us could react or utter another word, there was a loud bang. Papa dropped to the ground.

I let out a harsh and ear piercing scream, something I've never done before. Another soldier lifted me up and place me on his shoulder like an animal ready to be slaughtered. I was wheezing, crying loudly, squirming from him and slamming my fists on his back. I continued yelling words that didn't make any sense.

"Shut her up," Another soldier commanded, "She's too loud."

I lifted my head up and tried to look for where papa was. He lay abandoned meters away and no one even bothered to pick him up. Then I stopped crying, knowing it would make him upset. The last thing I wouldn't want him to feel was being mad at me before I got taken away. Everything happened so quickly that my body decided to paralyze itself with all the heavy and dark emotions I felt that moment. The only person who'd been with me since the beginning, who did everything to keep me safe; was gone in just an instant.

Now I had nothing left. Nothing left but regret, fear and a very broken soul.