Since We Were Kids // In the Scorch (Newt x Reader)

Chapter Twelve

"Ow!" I shout. I open my eyes from a deep sleep and see Jorge walking away from me, after kicking me in the ribs. "What the hell?!"

"No time to waste, hermana," he says after doing the same to Minho, then Aris. "Put your bags on, we're leaving right now."

"Oh god," I groan as I sit up.

~~~

I walk beside Newt as Jorge leads us down a dirt road with ruins of buildings on both sides. No one is talking, so I decide to ask a question that's been on my mind.

"How do you know me, Jorge?"

He sighs. "Oh, Teddy. We go way back."

"You didn't answer my question," I say sternly.

He takes a deep breath and continues. "When you were 7, your parents caught the Flare. They ran off, never came back. Too far past The Gone they were."

The Gone?

"But they took your sister with them."

My heart sinks. I really had a sister? Newt grabs my hand and squeezes.

"I had a sister?" I say sadly.

Jorge nods. "And a brother."

My eyes widen. "Where is he?!"

Jorge shakes his head. "Don't know. He went and worked for WICKED when your parents started showing signs."

After a few seconds he doesn't say anything. "Well...?" I ask.

"Oh— you want me to continue?"

"Yeah that'd be great," I respond in a sarcastic tone.

He rolls his eyes. "When they ran off, you knew they weren't coming back. You were always very smart. Anyway, then you ran off. Brenda and I found you on the streets one day, and we took you in. But 7 year old you had other plans."

"What happened next!?"

"Relax, hermana. I'm getting there. After a month or so of staying with us, you ran away in the night. Said earlier you wanted to "find your brother." Neither of us had the heart to tell you he wanted nothing to do with you. WICKED must've found you, and here we are now."

My mouth is open to talk, but I have no words. It's stuns me so much because it seems like another lifetime ago.

Newt squeezes my hand.

"I— I don't know what to say," I tell him.

"I didn't ask you to say anything, hermana."

I nod. It's all too much to take in.

~~~

The sun has just risen over the horizon, and Jorge says we have less than five minutes to go.

"Listen up," Jorge tells us. "Blend in."

We exchange confused looks, but no one says anything.

We approach a building which is vibrating he ground from the music inside. People crowd the outside. Two women walk brush past us, wearing skeptical pieces of clothing. I have a bad feeling about this place, that's for sure.

"I need some of you to sneak around the back with me," Jorge says quietly. Nobody seems to want to go in there alone, so I might as well volunteer. "Who wants to stay here?"

"I'll stay here," I say after no one answers him.

"Me too," Newt stands beside me.