FOREVER. newt

one. the glade

"Look, Mary." the sixteen year old doctor says, taking a piece of paper and handing it to woman. "I don't know how long I have until they find out that I've messed with the results I've given them. They may be cruel, but they're smart. Dr. Paige has kept an eye on me ever since that accident. You and Thomas are the only one's I trust in here, so..." she looks around frantically, checking to see if someone was listening.

"I'm gonna tell you what we founf, okay? It's not a cure, but it's promising. It can help. An enzyme produced by the brains of the immune needs to be separated from the bloodstream. It doesn't heal the virus, but it slows the spreading down. I was the one who managed to convinced them that the enzymes from the older generation works better." she says quickly. Mary was one of the best doctors in the building. Nini knew that she could easily retain all the information she's given her. "Pretty funny how they get outsmarted by a sixteen year old."

"Here are the coordinates for lab A1 to lab Z9. I told Thomas to go get you the coordinates for the compounds and the bases. You need to leave when he gives you everything, Mary. You need to leave. Rescue as many kids as you can. This is sick. They'll keep on killing more kids my age. I can't stand it anymore."

The woman nods shakily, and the young doctor heaves out a loud sigh as she places her hands in the pockets of her lab gown. "Promise me, Mary. Promise me that you're leaving as soon as Thomas gives you everything you need. Build an army. I don't know, just do something."

The woman nods shakily, while Nini shoves the paper in her hand. "They might kill me. Knowing WICKED, they wouldn't waste me and add me into the experiment. Dr. Paige is already on my ass. You might not see me anymore after this. When I'm gone, trust no one but Thomas, okay? Thomas."

Mary Cooper looked at the girl in shock. Nini Salazar was only sixteen, and she already had more guts than she's ever had. Everyone knew who she was— she was WICKED's prodigy. Youngest Doctor to ever exist. IQ of 266. Their knight in shining armor. Paraded around like some sort of prize, her face being a promise that they would find a cure for The Flare soon.

If only they saw her now. Betraying them. Sabotaging their progress to give herself and her friends more time.

"Why are you doing this, Nini?"

"You know me, Mary. You know that I'd do it eventually. After what they did to me and...." she trailed off, heaving out a sigh. Her eyes widen when she spots Ava Paige walking over to her direction with a couple of guards.

"Remember, Mary. Trust no one but Thomas."

-

I open my eyes.

The moment I do, I wish that I had just kept it shut. My brain struggles to register my surroundings, eyes darting around as they try to find anything— just anything, that may stop the confusion I am feeling right now.

I choke on the liquid in my mouth, pulling myself on my hands as I blink rapidly. I feel my breath come out in short, raspy gasps and I start to panic as I realize that I don't know my name. Not in the sense that I've lost myself or some bullshit like that; but in the literal sense that I don't know what my name is.

Then I hear something; a screech. A loud, deafening screech that makes me drop to the ground and frantically try to cover my ears so I won't hear the god-forbidden sound.

Once I was sure that the loud screeching was gone, I open my eyes the same time as I remove my fingers out of my ears. The lights had become red, which added more to the fright I felt when I first opened my eyes.

The elevator suddenly stops, it knocking my balance off as I feel myself falling to the side and into some rope. I try to ignore how much it hurt and instead look up; both scared and terrified. All I know is that I am a girl, I'm in an elevator, and that my right arm is burning in pain.