Wastelands → Newt [Movie Trilogy]

→ "ALTERNATIVE ENDING"

"Newt ..." The words come out hoarse as she realises that his eyes have cleared. Her body becomes weak and she begins to lose her own ability to stay upright. Her knees give and she careens to her right. Newt catches her, helping her onto her back, dropping to his knees. He hovers above the girl, who's breathing has started to falter in sharp and uneven breaths, her eyes flickering around until they land onto Newt's. She's searching for his hands in a rush, knowing too well that she now has little time left before she loses all ability to remain alive as the blood oozes from the wound on her abdomen.

"No ... no ... no!" He cries. "I'm sorry..."

She reaches up with the little strength she has and caresses his cheek. In that moment, she forgets that the boy is still infected, focusing on him as she feels all the life being drained from her. "It's OK ... I love you ..."

"N — No!" He cries, fighting against the itch in his brain threatening to eat his sanity again. He shakes his head. Hold on. Keep your bloody sanity, you coward. "No, don't say goodbye. Stay with me, please."

"I love you ... it's OK." She repeats. She moves her hand to his hand, squeezing it with the little strength she has. The itch gets worse in his head, pulling him away from his sanity once more. Fighting with the remaining sane ones in his head, Newt is sobbing. "I love y — you ..."

Her hand loosens and her breathing stops. Still fighting with his sanity, Newt is begging for her to wake up, which, in that moment, makes him think of Thomas with Chuck. He didn't think this would happen to him with Adeline. With the one who is the only reason why he keeps fighting, even when he's feeling like the virus is consuming him. It wasn't meant to be her who died. She was meant to survive! Get to that damn Safe Haven! Tears are streaming down his cheeks, but he's too busy fighting now with the grief and the virus to realise that, as he is pulling at his hair, cursing at the virus, the others have finally found them. They stand there, staring in dismay at the dead girl and the infected boy sobbing over her body. When Newt looks up, not understanding how he has kept himself sane in this moment as he grieves, his eyes lock on their faces. Thomas moves toward him in some sort of panic, getting to him and pulling him away from her.

"Newt! What did you do?" He screams at the boy, as if he thinks that Newt has fully gone full Crank in the time frame they'd be gone and killed her without remorse. Newt flails his legs, attempting to get out of Thomas' hold.

"Let me go, Tommy!" He screams. "Let me go!"

"Thomas!" Brenda exclaims, rushing toward them, realising that the boy was sane. "Stop! Look at his eyes! He's all there! But, we still gotta get the serum into him!"

Meanwhile, Minho has stopped to stare down at the girl, shock plastered on his face. Frypan stops beside him, too, trying to push away the tears pooling in his eyes. Newt gets free from Thomas and clambers toward the girl. Newt, somehow controlling the virus still, sobs as he holds the dead girl to his chest. Thomas nods at Brenda, dropping to his knees and inserting the serum into his arm. The boy tenses, and begins to fight with himself, cursing and screaming, like the virus is resisting against the serum inserted him. Then, Newt calms. He's more relaxed, but his cheeks are streaked with tear stains.

"We gotta go." Thomas states, staring at the dead girl, who, the last time he'd seen her, was alive. Giving a grimace, Thomas gets to his feet, helping Newt up, who is muttering under the calm effects of the serum about not leaving her, but they don't listen to him, walking away.

—

- two months later

He wandered through the huts of the Paradise from the hammock area at dawn. Seemingly to be the only one awake, Newt was headed to watch the sun fully rise, to pass the time due to his insomnia keeping him awake, when he caught sight of someone standing at the shoreline. Her hair was being swept around due to the breeze. He came to a stop as he noticed her, as if he was unsure as to why she was awake this early.

Limping down toward the girl, his feet sinking into the sand, he made his way toward her. She was seemingly in her own headspace as he neared her, and didn't move when he stopped beside her. Newt's eyebrows creased in concern to her lack of reaction, and he placed his hand to the girl's shoulder.

"Adeline?" The blonde touched her shoulder, and her head craned in his direction. As she turned, he noticed the faint veins and black, lifeless eyes. Newt froze as he noticed the features. "Adeline —"

"You killed her." The girl, who wasn't Adeline at all, spoke. Her voice started as a whisper, before it began to rise in volume. "You killed her. Adeline is dead. You killed her. Adeline is dead!"

The girl — the Crank — was swift on their feet, moving forward so suddenly, that Newt almost slipped. Backing away, Newt couldn't help but stare back into those lifeless eyes. The girl had the face of the girl he loved, but the mind of a monster that was created by a virus that had almost taken him.

"Adeline is dead. Dead!" The girl roared. "You killed her. You killed her!"

Newt jolted awake. His body had broken out in hot sweats and his hair stuck to his face. His hands gripped the blanket over his body, knuckles turning white as he did so. His breathing was sharp, ragged, and came out in pants. The words she'd said in his nightmare bounced around in his head as he came aware of where he was; Adeline is dead. You killed her. They were enough to trigger a breakdown. Tears began to stream down his face. Newt had been having similar nightmares for the last few months, each worse than the other.

Adeline had been dead for two months now. After saving Thomas — but unfortunately not Teresa — and after Newt'd been knocked out on the Berg, they went back and were able to retrieve her body so they could bury her peacefully. Then, Newt had been given a full cure, made from Thomas' blood, to cure him of the virus completely. Within hours, Newt was back to himself, but didn't show up to see them bury her. He couldn't do it. Because he knew it was his doing, no matter how many times Minho told him it wasn't his fault — it was the viruses fault. And he knew that, but he still remembered her dying in his arms as he tried to keep himself sane long enough. And he had. But, not for long after his friends found him. After Thomas dragged him away from her body.

"Another nightmare?" Newt peered up to find Minho. Newt nodded.

"How long have you been awake?" Newt quizzed.

"Not even five minutes." Minho stated. "Long enough to hear you mutter something about Adeline and see you cry. Ya OK, shank?"

Newt shrugged. "I ... I don't know."

"What about the nightmare?" Minho asked. "What was it this time?"

"It was my mind conjuring up Adeline as a Crank and her blaming ... blaming me for her death."

"And you're starting to believe it is?" Minho inquired.

"I already knew it was."

"No, it wasn't, Newt." Minho stated. "As I've told you, it was the virus that controlled you. There was no part of you that did that to her."

"But I —"

"No." Minho shook his head. "I can bet you, Adeline wouldn't think it was your fault. I bet if she was here, she'd tell you it wasn't."

Newt huffed. "It's been two months already. I miss her."

"I know." Minho reassured. "I know. So do I."