Subject B3 (newt x reader)

Chapter 49

I glide my hand along the railing as I walk down the steps of the boat towards the dining room, following behind the girls and Aris. My stomach rumbles happily at the thought of a nice, warm and proper meal. I can't even remember the last time I had that.

"Your friends are already down here." Renee says to me, and I laugh.

"Great. That probably means that all the food is probably gone."

"Wouldn't be surprised." Gzi replies, leading us through a dimly lit corridor. We walk along to the seventh door, and my jaw drops as Nat pushes open the door, revealing the massive dining room. Well, it's not massive, but it's certainly bigger than any sort of eating place I've ever seen.

Circle wooden tables are dotted around the room, and the walls are plastered with a very faded and slightly torn up wallpaper, but I can tell that it use to be a very beautiful pattern, and I can see faint streaks of gold ribbon still on the wallpaper.

"Oi! Over here!" Minho shouts from the middle table, grinning at us and waving frantically.

I laugh quietly to myself as we walk over to join Minho, Fry, Brenda and Gally at the table, who already have plates of steaming hot food in front of them.

It's a tight squeeze, but we all manage to sit around the circle table, and I don't think I can contain my hunger any longer.

"Do you know where the food happens to be?" I ask sheepishly to the group.

"I'll go grab you a plate." Brenda smiles at me, pushing out her chair and striding off to the kitchen.

"Are you not eating?" I ask Gzi next to me, who takes a sip of the glass of water in front of her.

"We already ate when you were in the City." She replies, glancing down at my knife wound. "So what exactly happened here?"

"Oh, it was nothing." I reply, suddenly finding a spot on the table really interesting to look at.

"Well it's obviously not nothing, but I'm not going to push it." Gzi says softly. I shift my eyes back to her and smile weakly.

"Thanks."

She smiles back and gently squeezes my hand under the table.

"Are the others alright?" I ask the boys, my smile slowing fading when I realise that not everyone is here.

"They're still sleeping in their cabins, and Jorge's keeping a watch on them." Gally reassures me just as Brenda returns from the kitchen with my plate of food.

"Here you go." She smiles, sliding the steaming plate of sausages and stewed vegetables in front of me.

"Thank you so much." I say to her, before picking up my knife and fork and digging in just as the boys resumes eating.

I shovel a mouthful of sausage and carrots into my mouth, and I'm instantly delighted by the warm sensation of the food in my mouth.

"Ugh, this is so good. Thank you Brenda." I say, covering my mouth so no food flies across the table.

"You're very welcome." She smirks at me, taking hold of her glass of water and raising it in the air.
"Well cheers to all of us to making it this far. It's been one hell of a journey, but thank god we made it."

I put down my knife and fork and raise my glass just as the others around the table do, and we all clink them together.

"Cheers."

*****
The sea wind whips at my jacket as I cling to the railing on top deck, staring out across the dark ocean in front of me. The moon creates a passage of light along the water, making it look like some sort of gateway to heaven.