EPIPHANY ? newt

24 , only so far

"Suit yourself," Gally started, making us both look up at him once again, "but I know how to get you through those walls." As he spoke, I felt myself sway on my feet, the lack of blood on my body making my head fuzzy. Everything around me darkened as I heard Newt calling my name once again, worry clear in his voice. Why was he worried? I didn't want to stress the boy out any more than I already had.

I opened my eyes to see Thomas, Brenda and Newts facing in front of me. "Hey? Seph, can you hear me?" I was on the floor, someone was holding me off being flat on the ground, but I couldn't tell who it was. I tried saying I was alright but I didn't really feel it. At all. It felt like my whole body was on fire, and I was probably bleeding to my death in that moment.

"Besides, it doesn't seem like your friend here has much time left without basic treatment. But... you know, if you want to stay out here on your own and let her die - be my guest." I heard Gally's voice say from some where that felt far away.

"Seph, you're going to be alright, okay? Don't worry. We'll get you to safety." I had never realised how much I liked Newt's accent. Sure, mine was kind of similar, but hearing the boy speak was different. It felt like I could just sit and listen to him go on forever and never get tired of it. Or maybe that was just the blood loss talking. I wasn't sure. I tried to sit up only to be immediately pushed back down with cries of defiance. "Hey, no. You gotta take it easy. You can't walk right now, Seph. It's okay, you'll be up and about in no time. I promise."

And with those last words of Newt's still ringing in my head, I felt my body fall back into the darkness before I could stop myself from slipping.

I didn't know how long it had been when I next woke up. I was lying on some sort of bed, in a room that was lit with warm coloured lamps. "Hey," I turned my hard to my right, seeing Newt sitting beside me. "Don't try and get up right away. Do you feel any better?" he asked softly.

I nodded as best as I could while being on a bed. "I think so. What happened? Where are we?" I replied, hating how crackly and hoarse my voice sounded.

Newt sighed. "What happened? Well you bloody passed out, Seph! We tied up the wound again, it should be alright for now. You should have told me that it had gotten so bad - I-" the blonde cut himself off, running a hand through his hair, frustrated, "I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. I just... we're at some guy called Lawrence's place. Apparently this guy has a bunch of men trying to get into the city as well and when they found Gally and realised he was immune they patched him up and recruited him. If you're feeling better now, they're talking outside if you want to- Woah!"

Newt suddenly jumped up as I had already started moved. "Woah, slow down! We can go out, just... take it easy. And don't stare." Not really understanding what he meant by that last bit, I let Newt help me off the bed and out of the small room and into one filled with a lot of rose plants in pots. A man stood in front of them, with a drip and stand attached to his hand as he spoke to the others who were also there animatedly.

I understood what Newt had meant by not to stare. Half the guys face was bloody missing - and I was almost sure of that fact that he was a crank, as I tried to catch what they were saying. "...it doesn't work without Thomas." Gally was saying. I wasn't exactly sure the context of the conversation, but I knew I'd catch on if I just listened.

"Is that so?" The man holding his I.V stand asked softly, taking a few steps closer to the others as he spoke, "Do you know what I am, Thomas?" As he stepped into the light I saw even his nose was gone, along with his eyes being strange milky gray colour. "I am a business man." he said, almost whispering into Thomas's ear. I had no clue how the boy didn't flinch with the man so close, but he didn't move an inch. "Which means that I don't take... unnecessary risks." he went on. "Why should I trust you?"

"So I can help you." I had to give it to Thomas - the boy was brave standing his ground the way he was. "You see, if you can get me through those walls... I can get you what you need."

"And what is it you think I need?" The man whispered, almost as if challenging Thomas, but he didn't move, not breaking eye contact with the man even once.

"Time." he said simply. "Every last drop of it."

The cranks eyes moved to his I.V stand next to him, as if thinking over Thomas's reply, then turned to face Gally, who was standing behind Thomas, Brenda and Jorge. "Is that what I need?" I could tell the guy was only trying to play mind games with our group, but thankfully Thomas seemed to have caught on to the exact same thing, not seeming bothered by the cranks intense seemingly pointless questions.

"WICKED has something we both want." Thomas said in a low voice, his eyes flickering over to Newt and I as if silently beckoning us over to where the others were. Newt led me over quickly, and we settled behind where Brenda stood, wanting to stay out of the cranks vision.

"I'll tell you what, two can go for now. The rest will stay down here with me." The mans murky gray eyes didn't leave Thomas's face as he spoke. "Just a little insurance to make sure that you guys find your way back down here."

Glances were exchanged all across our little group, and I could tell by the looks on my friends faces that no one was sure about this. But it didn't seem like we were going to get a better deal in that moment. "Do we have a deal, then?" Lawrence the crank asked, holding his mangled hand out to Thomas. After a few seconds, the boy grabbed hold of it, giving one firm shake before letting go.

"Gally, show him the way." the man said, a nightmarish smile on his face.