WCKD Love | A Newt Fan-Fiction

Chapter 11 - Transporting

~6 months later~

He's all I think about, and it's driving me absolutely mental.  Sometimes, I lie awake thinking about how I almost escaped with him and the others. But I failed. Twice. If there is ever a next time, which I hope there is, I will not fail again. I am going to make sure of it. I don't think I could survive losing Newt again.

I help my father and several guards load the entirety of WCKD's subjects onto the train, ensuring they are all securely locked into their seats. Leaving the carriage, I walk past a small group of subjects, and one of them suddenly grabs my hand. It's Aris, and Sonya is standing next to him. They look horrible. Sonya doesn't look like she has slept in days, and Aris has clearly been in a fight. His black eye and split lip make me think back to an altercation I heard about breaking out between a subject and a guard. Of course, it was Aris.

"Hey. How are you two?"

Aris and Sonya look at each other, a glint in their eyes that only they understand, before slowly turning back at me. "As good as can be expected, I guess," Aris says and points to his battered face.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. Both of you." I turn to see if Janson is searching for me, but he's busy talking to some guards. Aris and Sonya both attempt to muster a smile. "So, have either of you seen Minho?"

"Yeah, he was just put on the train," Sonya says and gestures ahead of her toward the carriage door.

"Oh, okay. Well, I have to get going. You two stay safe, okay? And Sonya, if you somehow see him, don't forget to tell him." They both smile at me again, and Sonya nods in understanding before some guards come to usher their group towards the train. If in some act of fate, they see Newt, Sonya will tell him that they're siblings. I told her about what I learned the day after I read her file, and she was ecstatic to know she still had a living relative. I question whether I should have told her at times, but she deserves to know that there is someone out there that she used to know.

I head towards Janson and stand next to him as the guards he was talking to march off. "You've come a long way, Kat. I'm proud of you," he says, smiling down at me. I look back at him and force myself to smile back.  He pats me on the shoulder and makes his way to the front of the train to ensure the driver knows what is required of him.  If anything goes wrong, that driver's neck is on the line.

It has been six long and tiresome months since the incident with The Right Arm, and everyone believes I've accepted my role in WCKD. As if! I hate them just as much as I ever have, but I can't do anything about it. I can't bring them crashing down on my own, and I don't know if The Right Arm still exists. After what happened with them, I doubt they're still functioning, and I'll never know unless they do something. Something like...Maybe, I don't know...Stealing some of our valuable subjects...From our soon-to-be departing train?

That would be a huge indication that they're still operational. And they're going to have a perfect opportunity in just a few hours. This train is heading through the scorch straight towards The Last City. No one will tell me why we're moving all of these kids. All they say is that I'll find out soon when I make my own way to the city tomorrow. I'm being kept in the dark about everything, especially The Right Arm and the subjects. I've talked to my dad about The Right Arm, and he claims they've been completely wiped out.

"Miss Katya? Chancellor Paige requests a meeting with you in her office. She says it is important." I nod at the staff member in thanks and head to Doctor Paige's office, where she's been asking me to see her twice a week. These 'meetings' are just her interrogating me if I still believe and agree with WCKD's beliefs and values. And I have to agree. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to see the subjects, my friends. They're the only people I can talk to, but even talking to them is dangerous. Many people around the complex would be more than willing to listen in on our conversations and report back to Ava.

I reach to knock on her door but falter. Looking down at my plain, white shoes, I take a deep breath. 'Life has to be this difficult, doesn't it?' I nod to myself and look back up to her door. Ignoring the anger bubbling inside me, I knock before grasping the cold metal handle. At least this life is better than being alone in a crank-infested desert.

- - -

The meeting with Chancellor Paige lasted ten minutes and was about the transportation of the subjects. Mainly the ones I know, like Aris, Minho, and Sonya. She is worried about how I feel about the situation. I wanted to say that I would fight every person in this headquarters to save them if I could, but I stopped and bit the inside of my cheek instead.

I suppose I can understand where she's coming from. The idea of saving everyone from this disease is good, but not how she's doing it. If Ava doesn't take a step back and look at what she's doing, she will kill these 'subjects'. These teenagers. The future of our civilisation.

I'm going back to my apartment now, hoping I don't see my dad. I know he'll start asking me how I feel and try to get in my head. And I don't need that right now.  I have too much to think about. And I need to pack for my trip.