The Defective Soldier || Newt

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟏

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕙

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"I don't want to do that ever again," said Rowan as most made it to the entrance of the next building. "Walking through a hallway with half its floor destroyed? Not pretty."

"Be thankful no one fell. That drop was at least a hundred metres." Leen pointed the torch, which she had previously stolen from Bea, towards the building they were about to enter. "Yey, more broken glass and caved-in roof."

Before anyone could take a single step, Jorge raised a hand in the air, stopping everyone in their tracks. His head turned in many directions as the mechanic sound from WICKED's helicopter got nearer.

"Here, come on," he said, rushing everyone to a room to their left. "Go, go, go. Stay low."

"This is giving me flashbacks, and I don't like it," muttered Henry as he ran inside.

Listening carefully to the helicopter, they all pressed their backs against the wall; logic telling them that there was no need to do that since there were no windows around. There was no way out from there except the door they had come through, and only Jorge and William had weapons to defend themselves, which the rest didn't even know about.

Jorge brought a finger to his lips, motioning everyone to keep quiet. They complied, trying to keep even their breathing low; though some couldn't quite manage to do it, like Chuck or William, though the two were for different reasons.

Chuck got closer to William, who left a space between him and Aris, so the boy could be protected. Newt moved closer as well, not letting go of William's hands for a second as their eyes locked for a second before going back to the door.

A helicopter — surely WICKED's — flew over the building they were in, flashing its lights directly into the hallways outside the room. They walked away from the door carefully, going towards the opposite wall, protected from being seen. Eventually, the helicopter left, allowing everyone to let out a relieved sigh.

"That was close," George breathed out.

"Way too shuckin' close," said Minho.

Frypan moved closer to the wall, where Henry and Rowan were making sure everyone was alright. "What do we do now?"

Jorge took his bag off and laid it on the ground. "Rest a couple of hours, and leave before sunrise, hermano."

The plan was accepted quickly. After that day's events, not many had any desire to keep risking their lives without at least resting their eyes for some time. There wasn't much space to lie down, so most leaned against the wall and did their best to fall asleep. Although, as if Thomas had surged out of nowhere, many questions were directed at Jorge in the span of a second, to which he replied a few.

"Alright, but you said that Marcus can get us to the Right Arm. Wouldn't he ask for a price if it's so difficult to get to them?" Rowan asked Jorge, who chuckled.

"Not if you know how to ask him, hermana," he answered.

Flor turned to look at Aris and William, whispering, "Is he going to shoot him?", to which they could only shrug their shoulders. "Great."

Without a further word, perhaps due to exhaustion or lack of curiosity, silence reigned in the room. Newt's head, which had at one point been resting on the wall, fell on William's shoulder, who had to force himself not to pat the boy's head.

He pressed the back of his head against the wall, mumbling to himself. "It's going to be a long night."

Time proved to pass on slowly, but it brought a fun surprise to William. Apparently, he had become a pillow of sorts, not only to Newt but to Chuck too. The boy barely managed to keep his head on William's shoulder, since it kept lowering, causing William to place a hand on Chuck's head to keep him from hurting himself.