Book 2: Scorch of the Heart / Newt x OC

Chapter 5

     Skylar, Brenda, and Jorge stopped at a tunnel into a huge mountain. Skylar stuck her head out the window, getting a clear view of the tunnel. She couldn't see anything in the tunnel, it was pitch black. "Yep. That's definitely Crank infested." She said, a stone expression on her face.

     "You don't really think they were stupid enough to go through?" Jorge asked. Just then they heard the devilish screams of the Cranks and a gunshot was heard.

     "Yes they are." Skylar answered as she quickly sat back in her seat and Jorge pushed on the gas pedal. It was pitch black except for a few dim lights from overhead. They drove on until they saw a huge group of Cranks blocking their way through the tunnel. They drove right into the Cranks and saw three people standing a few feet away from the Cranks. Jorge slammed on the breaks. Brenda quickly stood up through the sunroof and started shooting at the Cranks.

     "Get in!" She yelled to the three individuals. Two jumped into the trunk while the third, who had blonde hair, slid through the window to sit in the seat next to Skylar. It was Newt. She was relieved to see he was okay but he hadn't even noticed she was there. He was distracted by the Cranks around them. Everyone was.

     "Go Jorge go!" Thomas yelled. Jorge drove through the Cranks that were closing in from the front. Skylar had her gun in her hand just in case any Cranks decided to try and hitch a ride. She saw a Crank try and grab Newt. She grabbed his jacket, pulled him away from the window and shot the Crank in the head. She turned her gaze from the window to Newt who was now leaning against her, his back halfway on her lap. Their noses almost touched as they gazed at each other. He looked at her with shock, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

     "Hey." Skylar greeted him in a whisper. Her heart rate quickened. She realized that his hair had gotten longer since the last time she had seen him. His deep cut he had right below his left eye had healed and all that was left was a barely visible scar. They stared at each other, not moving. His dark brown eyes looking at her bright green ones.

     "You guys okay?" Jorge asked. Newt and Skylar quickly snapped back to reality and Newt sat back up in his seat. Newt cleared his throat and started to rub the back of his neck while Skylar looked up at the back of Jorge's head while she scratched her forehead.

     "Yeah, we're good." Thomas answered from the back.

     "I'm impressed. You guys almost lasted a whole day." Jorge said. Brenda turned around to look at Thomas. She started shaking her head with a smirk on her face.

     "I'm sorry, I didn't want to bring you guys into this." Thomas tried to explain. I raised an eyebrow at Brenda who returned it.

     "Hey, I think what he's trying to say is: Thanks for saving us." Fry chimed in. Thomas cracked a small smile at Brenda.

     "You're welcome." She responded and turned back around in her seat.

     "What happened to 'we stick together'? Skylar asked as she turned to look at Thomas. Thomas quickly turned his head to look at her. Fry did as well. They shared the same shocked expression.

     "Sk-Skylar?" Thomas stuttered.

     "T-Thomas?" She stuttered in return, she had her sly smirk on her face. He then cracked a small smile at her. He was about to ask her something but Jorge had already started talking.

     "Don't get your hopes up. That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defense." Jorge explained. "If that was overrun, chances are the city is too." Skylar looked out her window and her eyes widened a bit.

     "Uuh, unless they have a new strategy." She stated. They all turned to look the same direction she was. Jorge slammed on the breaks. They all climbed out of the car and looked down the hill they were standing on. Down below was a huge city. It looked as good as new. It was surrounded by massive walls. Everything on the inside of the walls was magnificent and shiny while everything outside of it was just as ruined as everything else in the world.

     "Funny." Newt stated. "Spent 3 years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in."

     "Yeah. It's hilarious." Fry responded sarcastically. Skylar continued to walk to the edge of the cliff, her eyebrows furrowed as she glared down at the city.

     "Jorge, how do we get in?" Thomas asked. Jorge shook his head.

     "Don't look at me hermano." He replied. "Those walls are new." He shrugged his shoulders before continuing. "I guess that's WCKD's answer for everything."

     "Well we ain't gonna figure it out from up here." Brenda said. She turned around and headed back to the truck. "Let's go." Fry and Jorge also went back to the truck. Skylar still stood at the edge, her expression unreadable. Thomas and Newt slowly walked up to stand beside her, Thomas on the right, Newt on the left.

     "You really think he's in there?" Newt asked Thomas.

     "He's in there." Skylar answered, her expression never-changing. Newt noticed her right hand was rubbing the back of her left shoulder. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly in curiosity before looking back towards the city.

     "You know she's gonna be there too?" Newt informed Thomas. Skylar tensed at his words. She quickly turned around and headed back to the truck. Newt looked at Thomas. Thomas didn't say anything.

     They continued their drive down the hill. "Hey what happened to our deal?" Brenda broke the silence. She looked back at Skylar. Skylar lifted the corner of her mouth to show the slightest hint of a smile. Newt, Thomas, and Fry sat in confusion.

     "I woke up strapped to a bed." Skylar began. "Janson walked in. He told me they had a new test. They were going to use me." The guys' expressions changed from confusion to realization as they now understood what she was telling them. "Due to the tests, they barely gave me any food or water. I was more likely to give in to the tests if I was weaker." She looked down at her hands. Newt showed so much concern in his eyes as he stared at her.

     "Skylar, what did they do to you?" Thomas asked.

     "They made me relive the most painful memories of my life. Over, and over.....and over. It was all in my head, but the pain was as real as ever." Newt's eyes widened. He noticed her put her right hand back on her left shoulder and began rubbing it again. "At first it was physical pain. But then.....I guess it wasn't enough so.....they tried emotional pain insteadq. Physical and emotional started alternating. Guess it depended on WCKD's mood." She pulled up the left sleeve of her jacket. "To show their appreciation, they gave me this." She showed them the bracelet on her wrist. The string of the bracelet was black and had a symbol strung on it. The symbol was gold and had a bird with an arrow grasped in its claws inside a circle.

     "Why?" Fry asked.

     "It came from my home." Skylar answered as she continued to stare at the bracelet on her wrist. They were all silent for a minute. "One day, my brain had had enough." She continued as she put down her sleeve. "It couldn't feel anything anymore. I felt dead.....but in a peaceful way. My body would still function but my mind was totally shut down."

     "How did you wake up?" Thomas asked. Skylar slowly shrugged her shoulders and looked out the window.

     "Guess my brain had enough rest." She answered. Newt gave her a suspicious look. He knew she wasn't telling the whole truth but he also knew she didn't know him that well so he wasn't going to push it. The rest of the ride was pure silence.