Book 2: Scorch of the Heart / Newt x OC

Chapter 4

Skylar sat down in a forest. She had her knees up in front of her, her arms laying by her sides, and her eyes closed as she leaned against the tree behind her. She listened to the sounds of the trees in the wind, the birds of the air, the rustling of the grass. She was at peace. She heard kids laughing and opened her eyes to see two kids playing in a field a yard or so away. They were rolling around in the tall grass. They were happy. Skylar gave them a small smile as she watched them tackle each other. "Skylar." Skylar whipped her head to the side to see a tall boy with brown hair and blue eyes standing a few feet away from her. Skylar slowly stood up. Her face showed sorrow yet joy at the sight of him.

"Chris?" She asked quietly.

"You need to wake up." He told her gently.

"But....I don't want to." She protested. "I want to stay here. With you." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"They need you Skylar." He told her. His eyes were gentle and showed pity. "You have to help them."

"Why?" She asked, concern filled her eyes now. "What happened?"

"It's what will happen if you don't go." He explained. "Not all of them will walk away from this unless you're there." He pressed. "You have to wake up." Skylar stared at him in sorrow. Tears started to stream down her face. She looked down at the ground. She slowly nodded her head. She looked back up at the boy.

"Bye Chris." She managed to say through her tears.

"Bye Sky." He smiled at her reassuringly as his form began to fade from her view. Everything around her slowly started to disappear as well.

Skylar's eyes shot open as she gasped and sat up on the bed. She looked around her slowly. A tiny tube was connecting her arm to a bag of clear liquid hanging up beside her. She slowly pulled the tube out of her arm, wincing a little as she did so. She looked down at her wrists and ankles, scars apparent on both. She slowly stood up from the bed and walked over to a mirror on the wall. Her hair was pulled back in a worn french braid and she was skinnier than she remembered. She started hearing voices coming her way. "I know those voices." She whispered to herself. The voices talked right outside the room she was in. She walked closer to the doorway that was covered by a white bed sheet. She eavesdropped on their conversation.

"I know Thomas. He was never gonna leave without Minho." Said a girl's voice.

"He's gonna get himself killed." A man's voice responded.

"They all are." The girl stated. There was silence for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking." The man finally said.

"Well.....are you gonna try to talk me out of it? Or are you gonna come along?" The girl asked. The man sighed.

"I'll get my bag." The man finally answered. Skylar jerked the sheet back to reveal the girl and man. They whipped their heads around at her with expressions of shock.

"I'm going with you." Skylar stated with determination. They stared at her for a moment.

"Skylar?" The man addressed her.

"Hey Jorge." She responded, giving him a gentle expression. She never really smiled. She turned to look at the girl. "Brenda."

"Girl, you need a bell." The girl answered. Skylar shrugged her shoulders.

"So, where we headin'?" Skylar asked, raising an eyebrow. Jorge and Brenda looked at each other. They knew there was no way of talking Skylar out of this.

Brenda led her into a new room and grabbed something from a bag. "Here." She said to Skylar as she tossed her something. Skylar caught it and examined it. It was a black leather jacket, it almost looked completely new. "I tried cleaning it up a bit. I knew it would suit you." Skylar looked up at Brenda with a grateful expression.

"Thanks."

"Here." Brenda gave her some other articles of clothing, a pair of black boots with small heels, and even a holster to go on her thigh. "You're gonna want to change." Skylar nodded and went into the bathroom and changed. She now wore blue skinny jeans and a white tank top. She quickly pulled back her hair into a high bun. She put the jacket on her before leaving the bathroom. She walked outside and met Jorge and Brenda. "Lookin' sharp." Brenda said as Skylar walked up to them. Skylar gave her a slight smirk. Brenda handed Skylar a gun.

"Let's go." Jorge said as he turned to the truck behind him. He sat in the driver's seat, Brenda in the passenger's seat, and Skylar slid through one of the truck windows into the second row. They began their journey.

"So who all went with Thomas and where were they headed?" Skylar asked.

"Fry and Newt and they're headed to the Last City." Brenda answered. Skylar started to have flashes of memories with WCKD. They were blurry but she could make out voices. She heard Dr. Paige speaking.

"Get her ready for transport. The train leaves for the City in a couple hours." The doctor had ordered.

"Minho's there?" Skylar asked, worry started appearing in her eyes. Brenda nodded. They sat in silence for a moment as they continued the drive. Skylar saw Brenda glance at her. She knew what Brenda was thinking. "Let's catch up with Thomas, Newt, and Fry and then I will tell you everything that went down with WCKD." She stated. Brenda smirked and nodded.

"Deal." Brenda responded. "Oh, here." Brenda gave her a small sack. Skylar opened it to find some food and some bottles of water.

"You make sure and drink as much water as possible throughout this trip, you got it?" Jorge asked as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"I thought we wanted to conserve our water?" Skylar asked in return, her eyebrow raised and she had her small smirk on her face. Jorge just shook his head, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Just stay alive." He said and the conversation ended as they all sat in silence, enjoying the peace they had for the moment.