The Girl, The Guy, and The Tests: A Newt Love Story

Chapter 51

IZZY

I woke up in a completely white room that was bare except for a chair, the cot I was on and the food tray sitting near the door. I rubbed my head from the grogginess of sleep. What happened last night?

Then everything came back to me. The Grievers, the Maze, the Gladers' expressions... Newt's tears. I pulled my knees to my chest and let out a sob. I should've waited for them. I should've told them my plans. They probably think I'm dead. That a Griever killed me like it did Cam.

I tried to brush through my tangled hair with my fingers, but stopped because of the pain. My arms and legs were still filthy with the goo from the awful slide. That thought made me queasy, but I looked at the food again, and my empty stomach grumbled for nourishment. I crawled over to the tray and sat in front of it. There was a piece of bread, an apple, and a glass of water on the small tray. It wasn't much, but I took it considering I hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday... When I was still in the Glade. That memory itself felt like years ago... As if I'd spent the last few years here at WICKED eating apples, bread, and water everyday in this small, white room.

I picked up the bread and nibbled on it trying to savor each little bite as if I was last thing I'll get in a while. My stomach was growling still when I finished what little I had. In the Glade, I could just sneak into Frypan's kitchen and steal some fruit or a sandwich, but here I was restrained to this small room with nothing to do. They could at least give me a notebook to write or doodle in. Jeez.. what was I supposed to do? Sit in the chair and wither to death?

I was about to fall asleep when a guy came into my room sat down in the chair before pulling out some files. I remembered him. His rat-like face was the thing that stood out the most. A.D Janson. The guy who talked to Newt and I when we were younger.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What are you doing here?"

He looked at me. "I'm here to inform you about stuff. I'm-"

I cut him off. "A.D Janson. Yeah, yeah I know. Get on with it."

He raised his ugly, bushy eyebrows at me before pulling on slip of paper out and putting it on top. Of the others. "Your brain patterns were very promising. Much more helpful than most of the others... Well, other than your brother's and Teresa's, but still very promising. You were a variable for the other boys, but a subject too. We didn't come up with it until we were about to send you up to the Maze. You Cam, and Teresa were all variables. Not only that, but you all were promising subjects. That's what makes you vital to this experiment. Chancellor Paige was pretty mad that you left early because one of the variables you were supposed to put up was during the fight. You were supposed to get injured to where the boys would have to help you." He continued, "But I saved your butt because what you did was also a promising variable that made Ava cherish your brain more. It would affect the boys' feelings because you left. They think you're dead, which will affect them in the fight. You're welcome."

I shook my head. "Wait- so I'm a variable... and a subject?"

He nodded, and that confused me even more. "Wait, so-" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Now, you need to go and shower for your visitor. I think you'll want to look better when you meet with them." He smirked, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

I was about to ask about a million questions when he opened the door and motioned for me to follow him. He led me down a bunch of hallways that all looked the same until we came to a door and he opened it. It was a room with a bunch of stalls for taking showers.

"Your new change of clothes will be in locker 19. Don't try the other ones... They're empty." Janson told me as I stepped into the room before he closed the door and left me to shower.

I went into a stall and locked it before dressing down and getting all of the grime off of me. It felt so good. I hadn't showered in a week. Gross. I know. I scrubbed the goo of me before getting out and putting my clothes on from the lockers on the other side of the room. As Janson said, a fresh change of clothes was in locker 19. They were clean and not smelly with the goo off of the awful slide. The shirt was a white long sleeved shirt along with some high-waisted jean shorts. It was pretty cute. The shoes were some black converse, which I didn't expect. I thought they would give me some ugly trainers like they did in the Glade.

I brushed out my wet hair and dried it before coming out to see Janson sitting in a chair a couple feet away from me reading over more files. He looked over and saw me before standing up and straightening his white blazer. 

He motioned for me to follow him, and I did. He led me down a bunch of halls again, but people passed me that all worked for WICKED without even sparing me a glance. I didn't mind. I was studied for months by these people, and I'm kind of tired of it.

Eventually, Janson stopped in front of a door, and slid his card through a slot. I looked in to see it was exactly like my room, but there was a person in it. She had her head in her hands, and was wearing a white tank top along with some khaki shorts. Her brown hair was put up in a ponytail. My body froze when I realized who it was. Tears welled up in my eyes for about the millionth time in the last two days. It was Cam. She's alive. 

"Cam, you have a visitor." Janson talked to her like she was a three year old that might go off at any minute.

She looked up and saw me. A smile spread across her face as she got up and we hugged. Janson left and closed the door, leaving us privacy to catch up with each other.

"I missed you so much." I cried into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I jumped to conclusions, and I shouldn't have. I should've kept my mouth shut-"

She cut me off. "I missed you too. Stop blaming yourself. It was my decision, not yours. I should've stayed and talked to you."

"You know what? It doesn't matter. It's water under the bridge now. I'm just glad you're alive."

"Same here, Iz." She mumbled into my shoulder. 

We pulled away and talked for hours. She confessed that she still loved Minho, and I told her about all the crap in the Glade. About Tommy, Minho... Newt. She comforted me about the whole Newt thing, and we eventually fell asleep. Her on her cot, me on the floor near her. For that moment, everything was perfect... But that was going to change very soon.