Born Again

Chapter seventy seven

Lawrence ended up sitting right next to Thomas, making him squirm in discomfort.

   Even without knowing what happened in the dreams, he would've been scared of him.

   One side of the crank's face was completely scarred, but it wasn't from the Flare. It looked to have been burned one way or another.

   Thomas looked over at Newt to see he was staring at the crank in disgust. When he realized Thomas was looking at him, he moved his chair over and motioned for the brunet to do the same.

   Thomas felt a surge of gratitude for his friend as he inched away from the crank.

   "Listen," Gally started. "He doesn't see a lot of people very often, so let me do the talking, alright?"

   "Sure," Vince said, the confusion obvious in his voice.

   Thomas wasn't surprised. He had no idea why Gally brought a Lawrence here as opposed to with the other cranks.

   "Who is this person?" Vince asked. "Why is he here?"

   "He needs to get into The Right Arm," Gally explained. "I promised I could get him through."

   Thomas recalled the conversation, but he was having trouble paying attention. The crank next to him started muttering under his breath.

   "Rose took my nose, I suppose," Lawrence mumbled before choking on a cough. "Rose took my nose, I suppose. And it really blows."

   Nothing could've been creepier. Thomas subtly moved closer to Newt.

   Vince narrowed his eyes at Gally. "Well, you should know better than to make promises you can't keep. This support group is to help cranks, not invite them in."

   "He can just join the others," Newt scoffed. "Let him be with the other cranks, where he belongs."

   Lawrence whirled around to glare at Newt, looking like he wanted to murder the boy.

   Looking away from the crank, Thomas glanced at his friend to see him staring back just as hard.

   Thomas couldn't remember ever seeing such fire in his friend's eyes.

   "I can help," Lawrence said, finally looking away from Newt as he spoke up. "With the other cranks. I know them, so I can help them faster. I can get you time. Every last second of it."

   Vince nodded slowly, considering what Lawrence was saying. "Leading this group is only half my problem," he said. "But taking care of the cranks isn't impossible . . ."

   "Just let me help," Lawrence repeated.

   Vince rubbed his chin, clearly deep in thought. "Let me think for a moment."

   Thomas knew where this was going.

   Even though the situation was reversed—where they were considering accepting Lawrence as opposed to the crank accepting Thomas—he knew what would happen.

   Vince would let him join.

   But didn't have to rescue Minho anymore so he didn't know what Lawrence would be useful for after this.

   "Just get him out of here," Newt snapped, breaking the silence. "We don't want him."

   "Newt," Thomas warned gently. "Calm down."

   Vince shot a glare in Newt's direction before turning back to Lawrence. "You say you can help us with the cranks as well? Help us connect with them on a deeper level?"

   "He's one of the monsters," Newt muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Of course he knows how to connect."

   Lawrence glared at him again and Newt met his gaze, holding it until the crank looked down.

   Finally, Lawrence stood up. "Thank you for your time," he told Vince. "But I've changed my mind." He sneered at Newt. "As it seems, I'm not made for this."

   The crank turned and left, walking out the door.

   "Like hell he was," Newt scoffed and all eyes turned to him.

   "Newt," Vince said, his voice thick with frustration. "You had no right to-"

   "Sorry," Thomas interrupted, standing up. He grabbed Newt's wrist and pulled him to his feet as well. "We'll be right back."

   Without looked back at the others, he hurried outside, dragging Newt behind him.

   Once they were outside, Thomas stopped a few paces away from the door.

   "What were you thinking?" Thomas asked. "You messed it up! We need Lawrence, in case you forgot. Why on earth would you scare him away like that?"

   "Why did I do that?" Newt asked, anger flaring in his eyes. "I did it for you, Tommy. I know how much you hate him. I got him away for your sake." He crossed his arms.

   Thomas sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I appreciate it, okay? But we needed Lawrence to—"

   "It's all about that, isn't it?" Newt spat.

   "Newt, what are you talking about?" Thomas asked.

   "The dreams," he answered. "I mean, they're the reason all of the has even happened in the first place and now I try to help you out and you don't want to because of them?"

   Newt started walking towards Thomas, making him back up until he was pressed against the wall.

   "You only care about them, don't you?" Newt accused. "Just admit it."

   Thomas felt his heart pounding in his chest, looking into Newt's crazed eyes. "Newt, I-"

   "Don't lie to me!" Newt yelled, slamming him into the wall. "Don't lie to me!"

   Thomas didn't respond, breathing heavily.

   He was terrified.

   But not of Newt.

   He was scared what was happening to his friend, of what was making him act this way.

   Then Newt's eyes cleared and he backed up, realizing what he had done. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

   He turned away from Thomas and started walking away.

   Thomas tried to call out to him, to apologize and get him to come back, but he couldn't.

   Newt was right, he shouldn't keep following the dreams anymore. But every time he tried to talk, his throat closed up and he couldn't speak.

   All he could do was watch his friend leave.

   He felt tears forming in his eyes but refused to let them fall. Or maybe they wouldn't fall because he didn't cry in his dreams.

   Either way, it felt like everything was falling apart.

   Thomas couldn't change the dreams, no matter how hard he tried.

   In the end, that would lead to Newt's death.