Chapter 20

 "I knew I'd find you here." Merissa smiled, stepping closer towards Thomas but he copied her actions backward. "What's wrong?"

"How...?" Thomas was gobsmacked, wanting to run and hug her but at the same time he felt like this was the first time meeting her, his memories of her were vague, once he started properly helping WICKED he stopped going home as much as everyone else.

"I know it's been a while, but when I started developing the darkness like your father did... I knew I had to see you one last time." Thomas felt like such a wuss, crying, but it was in front of his mother and somehow that made him feel okay.

"Mum, I.. I thought you were.. You're not immune? Like me? Why not? Why am I immune are you're not!?"

"You were part of a test group, they injected children 6 years and under so you just got allowed, and it worked. It became compulsory but it wasn't perfect, kids were dying from it and others weren't getting the injection, but the other minority became immune like you. It was to stop children getting the darkness as they got older, or at that age. You had a younger brother, but.. he didn't wake up from the injection."

"Killing children!? That's sick!"

"It was WICKED's choice. When you were four years old you were showing signs of what they wanted in children, this was before the earth got hit, and I signed you up for their small trials, but when it finally came around to them doing anything the darkness was spreading and they suddenly changed their minds and we couldn't back out the contract. We moved to the complex across the country and when you were twelve you were taken from me for the trials."

Thomas wanted to be mad, it was WICKED's fault, and it made him wonder how everyone else came to be at the complex, was Newt's sister signed up? That didn't explain why his parents were killed, though. "So why are you here now?"

"Like I said, I wanted to see you one last time. I thought the trials might be over now, and if you were still here, I wanted to say goodbye." Now Thomas pitied her, approaching her and letting her pull him into a hug. "Oh Thomas.. I missed you so much, I love you so much."

"I-I don't know.. They took my memories when the trials started, I only got them back a little while ago; but.. I feel like I missed you too." His arms came around her waist and he had a flashback, to when he was little and stood on his tiptoes to hug his mother's waist. "Hey- we're only a week away from getting the cure! You should stay! We can heal you!"

She suddenly squeezed him tightly to the point of pain and Thomas squealed. "Don't you get me anywhere near that WICKED scum." She hissed in his ear, then rapidly pulled away and stood back. "I'm not going to make it a week, Thomas." She smiled now, a sad smile.

"We can still try! Please! Even if you're just here until the end, we still have to try. For me?"

She looked uncertain, like she didn't want to go any further into the building, the only thing keeping her indoors being Thomas. "For you."

Thomas' eyes lit up and he took one of her hands in both of his. "I can take you to one of the rooms, they're not the best but you can meet Newt!.. Again? He's got it too, but he's not as far, he can keep you company!" He was rambling now, half dragging her deep into WICKED's complex.

Quite a few people asked questions, but after Thomas explained, he was confused not to be met with any opposition. They entered Newt's room and he turned to look who it was, surprised to see Thomas holding some middle aged woman's blistered hand. "Who's that, Tommy?" He asked, indicating her with a flick of his head.

"It's my mum." Newt's eyes widened, though it was hard to tell now that his iris were gone from his eyes. "She's gonna keep you company until the cure gets here." She gave Newt a sad smile, and he instantly knew what Thomas didn't. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure. I could do with someone else around here before the walls make me go crazy. For all I know, I've met her before and I can hear stories about it." Thomas seemed happy with that answer.

"Great! I'll be back later, okay? I need to check on the others!" Thomas gave his mum a gentle nudge further into the room and he stepped back out, shutting the door with him.

~*~

He'd returned to the computer room to check on Minho. It was also a good way to tell what time of day it was, considering the rest of the where Thomas and the others spent their time was away from windows, and outside the bedroom window faced another wall and they couldn't see the sun. Currently, it was evening, the sun was setting, and the group of boys had sat down to eat in the sand and catch their breath.

His mum was still on his mind; she had sounded so sure that she was going to die before the cure came, and when Thomas brought her in Newt didn't say anything. Was she right? Was there something they knew about? Thomas couldn't possibly understand what it was like to have the darkness, and the pain from it was certainly one aspect, so did Newt know what his mum was going through? She had a blister on her cheek and her hands, were there more under her clothes? It kept him up at night, unable to fall asleep with the feeling that if he did go to sleep then he would wake up an orphan.

He had eaten dinner in the white room with her, asking what the outside world was like. Newt had already eaten, so he spent most of dinner eating slowly and staring at the ground to try and distract himself from itching his skin. It was a vicious cycle; his skin itched because of blisters, but if he itched them then they'd bleed, so the cuts would get irritated and turn into blisters. There was only five more days to go, he just had to keep going that much longer.

"Mummy, where are we going?" Thomas asked, sitting upright so he could look out the car window.

He can't have been older than three or four, sat in a car-seat. "We're going to a special school for you. You're a very special boy, Thomas, so dad and I thought it would be a good idea to let your talents be shown to the world."

Thomas was confused, slightly by the length of the sentences exceeding his attention span, but he didn't argue. His dad wasn't with them in the car though, but he worked a lot so Thomas assumed that's where he'd gone.

Now he was in a living room, a cream leather sofa against one wall, an oak floorboard, and wooden furniture against another wall which included a bookcase and TV stand, but the TV was just a flat piece of glass. Ah, technology.

He wasn't stood there to look at the room, he was hidden inside a cupboard, peering out the gap between the two doors. His dad was stood in front of the sofa, facing a man dressed in white. He was breathing heavily, hands in fists, but he wasn't doing anything. "David, the darkness is consuming you." The man in white said, "you're covered in blisters and your wife is not immune! Do you want her to catch it? Or you son? Come with me."

"My son is immune." David growled, raising one of his fists but the man in white clicked something that Thomas couldn't see and he lowered his fist. "Janson, promise me something."

"And what's that?"

"Protect my son, don't let him get in harms way.. he didn't ask for any of this."

"I'm afraid that isn't up to me." His dad looked upset and glanced at the cupboard. "Goodbye, David, thank you for all your hard work."

A loud bang woke Thomas up, screaming for his dad. There was another bang and Thomas' head shot round, seeing other boys had woken up from the noise. A third shot rang out and Thomas sprung out of bed, sprinting out the room.

He had to check. Maybe it was in his head. An experiment. Maybe it was outside! Maybe a goner got in through the hole his mum made in the glass door and WICKED were just taking care of things! It could be anything! Yes!

Thomas skidded to a halt outside the white room, door open, and Newt was stood in it, turning at the sound of Thomas' footsteps. "Tommy, don't come in!" He threw his arms out to try and block him but Thomas just pushed him to the side.

There stood Janson. Gun in hand, mother at his feet, blood pooling around her head and chest. "No..." Thomas whispered, the scene burning into his retinas.

"Tommy-"

"No!" He cried, turning to Janson but Newt grabbed him before he could try anything. "You monster! How dare you! How fucking dare you! First my dad! Now my mum! You killed her! You killed her!!"

"Tommy, he didn't have a choice!" Newt yelled over his shouting, but he was mostly drowned out. "She was a goner! She switched!"

"She was just fine yesterday! She was in control, she still had her right eye! She was fine!"

"She deteriorated overnight! She tried to kill me!" Thomas was in tears, slowly stopping his struggle but Newt kept hold of him. "She wouldn't calm down, she didn't know what she was doing. Her was shedding like a cat, the skin underneath was pink or bleeding, she was screaming in pain and her eye went too. She collapsed and I thought she died from the pain, or maybe passed out, but a few moments later she got up and tried to attack me."

"But...yesterday... She could have made it..." Newt let go and Thomas fell to his knees. "She could have lived with us. It didn't need to be the end, it's not fair..."

"Just like your father, Thomas, it was the only way. You should have learnt that by now." Janson put his gun back into his pocket and started to leave. "Newt will turn in his own time."

Thomas turned to Newt with desperation in his eyes, but Newt could only apologise. "What do you want to hear? Surprise, I'm not dying? These blisters have spread, I'm yelling at the walls for no reason. Tommy, the pain is getting worse and you know what we discussed. I want to beg you but I'm still tolerating it."

"You won't. You won't get that far. I won't let you!"

Newt's face suddenly darkened and he lunged to punch Thomas but he quickly dodged the attack. "Don't you snap at me! You have no idea what any of this feels like! What your mother felt like, or your dad too! I'm going to die and you're going to have to bloody accept that! You either help me, or I die in agony! It's your choice!" He lunged for him again but Thomas kept backing away.

Thomas tried to make it out the door but Newt slammed it shut and pressed Thomas up against it, one arm to his chest and the other at his throat. He only now noticed Newt's eyes were all black, there was no white left in them. Thomas tried to push Newt off him, but when he attacked he suddenly got so strong and wouldn't budge; when Newt came back to his senses, he quickly dropped his grip and scurried back. "See..? Tommy my hand was at your throat! I don't remember starting, I don't-" Newt whined. "I remember getting angry, but I don't know what I said, if I even said anything. I'm not going to make four days."

"You can damn well try..." He coughed, rubbing his neck. "I'm not going to lose the last person I love, you're all I have." Newt stepped forward again, putting his arms around his waist in a gentle hug. "I just can't allow you to."

Newt smiled sadly at him. "Then that group better hurry up." Newt kissed him, but it didn't feel genuine. "Go back to bed, Tommy.. it's late."

"B-but you're not healthy on your own, and my mother is still lying dead on your floor!" He peeked over Newt's shoulder at her, but Newt quickly moved to block her from view. "Please, I need to be with you. I want you to stay with me. T-tomorrow! You can be with me!"

"Then you better well restrain me. I don't think I need triggers anymore, if someone so much as breathes wrong I'll get agitated."

"Yeah...Okay...Right... It's a plan. I-I love you."

Newt squeezed him, then held his face in his hands. He looked into Thomas' eyes and Thomas copied his actions. "I love you too, Tommy."

He leaned in close and they kissed once more, and the more they lingered the more it felt like a goodbye to Thomas, but he pushed the thought away; even though, he was fully aware that was Newt's intention.

~*~

The following morning, as promised, Thomas brought Newt out and they spent time with the monitors. Newt surprisingly didn't get angry when Thomas revealed Minho was back in the scorch, he'd already guessed it from the start. To his surprise, they were returning earlier than expected, all three boys running back with a jar full of sand in their rucksacks.

Newt was stood nearby, but he was constantly nudging at Thomas' shoulder which made his skin flake so Thomas tried to make him stop, but Newt then just kept chanting his name until he listened. "What!?" Thomas eventually yelled, making a few heads turn and look their way.

"Listen to me when I'm shuck talking to you!" Newt was furious, but his wrists were tied behind his back and his waist to a nearby desk so that he couldn't attack anyone who kept their distance. "We have to go back to the place! Now!"

"Not until you calm down and think it through sober." Newt continued to yell at him anyway, black eyed and blistered, but he could still hold it together.

Eventually Newt stopped, and took in a deep breath. "We need to talk." Thomas' heart sank. "Tommy, please."

Thomas kept his wrists tied, but he freed him from the table and took Newt by the arm, silently walking back to the cupboard, turning the light on, and closing the door behind them. "Minho's going to be back by tomorrow."

"Tommy, I really can't. I'll be gone by tomorrow. Your mum warned me, I know how she felt because I'm feeling it right now. The pain makes me want to scream, by wrists are bleeding because I made the ties rub on my skin and it just flaked away." Newt winced as his tongue brushed a blister on the inside of his cheek. "It's too much, they're in my mouth now. I don't want to wait until tomorrow, I'm not going to be sane. I can't take it anymore!"

"Newt no, I told you I wouldn't."

"You said if I was begging and crying.. Well, I'm begging..." Newt took a shaky breath and scrunched up his face. "And I'm going to start crying real bloody soon, but I'm trying not to so that I can die with some dignity." Newt looked towards where they'd hidden the gun and Thomas followed his gaze, a shaking arm reaching out to grab it and he held it in his trembling hand.

"Newt... Don't make me do this."

"It hurts..." Newt whispered, eyes watery, a sob breaking out. "Please, Tommy, please."

Thomas lifted the gun and aimed it for Newt's head, but then he shut his eyes and turned his head away. He couldn't look.

He pulled the trigger.

Newt's body made a thump when it hit the floor. In a spur of the moment, eyes still closed, Thomas turned the gun round on himself, and pulled the trigger once more.