(Astrid informed Jorge of her power and why Jansen is after her)

Despite not have Thomas and Brenda not here, we had to get a move on and to some sort of safety from Jansen. Jorge assured us that Thomas and Brenda will return soon, but he was mentioning something about a guy named Marcus that could help us. He has a car named Bertha that could help us get to the Right Arm and also find Thomas and Brenda as well.

If I'm being honest, we're lost without Thomas. He was our fearless leader and even if he didn't know where we were going, we always got somewhere that helped us. Jorge is our leader right now, so thankfully we have him to help us out to get to the Right Arm.

We journeyed ahead when daylight to this mysterious location of where Marcus could be. My body was still hurting and all I wanted to do was sleep, which I haven't be able to fully accomplish a good night's rest for a few days now.

All of us were tired, but we couldn't stop for a break until the sun would set.

——

Eventually, night fell upon us and Jorge suggested we crash for the night. We found a small area behind some rocks and lit a fire to keep us warm for the night.

As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep because of all the rapid thoughts in my head. Everyone had fallen asleep within ten minutes of us getting here, but I was still up fearing the worst.

Jansen taking me away.

If Jansen succeeds in taking me away, I could potentially die and I do not want that. I sat on the other side of our little camp and leaned against the rocks, watching the desert moon peacefully light up the land. A sense of calmness entered my body as I watched the moon and I cherished this moment knowing I'll never have it again until all this was over.

My calmness washed away when I heard footsteps nearby and tensed up. A figure entered my vision and I jumped at the sight, but instantly calmed down when I recognized it as Newt.

"It's you," I said with relief and he grinned, leaning against the rocks.

"What you doing up, love?" He asked me and I shrugged, looking away from him.

"Can't sleep," I mumbled to him and I heard him get closer to me. I glanced at him, seeing he had sat down beside and I lifted my head up from my knees.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked and I softly smiled at him.

"There's not enough time in the world to talk about my worries and concerns," I remarked and he tilted his head, which only made him look cuter than he normally does.

"Just summarize it," he simply said. "I'm not asking for a lot, I just want to help you."

I sighed and adjusted my place against the rock, "okay. I'm worried Jansen's gonna take me away because when he does he'll kill me and I don't to be killed. I'm scared."

"It's normal to be scared, we all are," Newt explained. "But at the same time, I have hope that we'll get to the Right Arm and we'll all be safe."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked him.

"Because I haven't lost hope," he remarked. "And in time, your hope will be fixed, but right now I'll be your hope. No matter what happens, I'll be here to make sure you're safe. Haven't known you for that long, but when I met you I had this instant feeling that I needed to protect you and make sure you're okay."

I warmly smile at the blond, "thank you and I'll be here to make sure you're okay too. I had the same feeling as well."

"Do you think we knew each other before the maze?" He suddenly asked me and I shrugged with a grin.

"Wouldn't be surprised," I remarked. "We all probably knew each other, but that doesn't matter anymore. Our memories are gone and it's time to make new ones."

"There ya go, looking at the positive," he smiled, nudging my shoulder and I chuckled in response.

"I'm trying here," I respond. "I just hope everything doesn't come back to haunt us."

"Let's not worry about the future and worry about right now," he told me and I felt him take my hand, holding it tight. "Let's worry about getting to the Right Arm and finding Thomas and Brenda."

"Okay," I sighed quietly and let out a yawn.

"Get some sleep, love," he told me, scooting closer to me and I nodded.

My head instinctively fell on his shoulder and I felt another wave of calmness wash over me. A smile formed on my face as my eyes shut and I felt his head fall on top of mine, which increased the feeling of my calmness

I've never felt safer than this moment right here and I never wanted it to go away.

"Goodnight," I mumbled and I felt him squeeze my hand.

"Night, love."

——

~Flashback~

"How could you?"

A twelve-year-old Astrid stood almost frozen in her spot as she was being confronted by her best friend, Newt. The boy who became the most important person in her life.

"I-I didn't-"

"You lied to me," Newt muttered darkly and Astrid was speechless, feeling tears fall from her eyes.

"Newt, please-" She begged helplessly and Newt didn't even give her a glance in her direction.

"You betrayed me, you betrayed everyone," he continued and Astrid hung her head in regret.

"If you just let me explain-," Astrid continued to plead and he shoved her away, making her fall to the floor.

"I never want to see you again," he snarled at her and walked past her.

Astrid crawled toward him with desperation, but the door had closed on her and she was met with another pair of legs in her vision.

She saw Ava Paige, who had a sympathetic look in her eyes and all Astrid could do was cry.

"Don't blame yourself," Ava told her, kneeling to her level and rubbing her cheek softly.

"He hates me," Astrid weakly remarked and sniffled. "They all do."

Ava sighed to herself and gently pulled Astrid to her feet.

"Astrid," Ava began and wiped the young girl's tears. "You have a job to do and as much as you don't want to, you have to erase their memories."

"No," Astrid denied, shaking her head. "I can't erase anyone's memories, I can't erase Newt's."

"You have to," Ava ordered Astrid and began to pull her toward the room, but Astrid ripped her arm out of Ava's grip.

"No," she darkly snarled with her eyes turning orange and Ava stood there paralyzed. "You can't make me."

Ava was under Astrid's control and couldn't move until Astrid told her too.

Astrid's body began to shake and her vision became blurry with tears that formed. Her mind was going at a rapid pace and couldn't focus any longer. Astrid's hands clenched and she let Ava go, who gasped falling to the ground and glared at the girl.

Astrid grabbed her head, yelling and panicking, stumbling all over the place. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't focus, she was losing control.

Suddenly, a button was pressed and the room flashed red with alarm blaring which just worsened Astrid's condition. Four scientists burst through the door and immediately tried to subdue the girl, who used her out of control power to control all four of them. The four scientists became frozen and Ava Paige managed to escape before Astrid let out a yell and the scientists fell to the ground unconscious.

The four scientists suddenly had blood pouring from each of their heads and none of them were breathing. Astrid's shaky hands fell to her sides and her breathing became very hitched and uneven. She gripped her own head and fell to the floor before she passed out from lack of oxygen and increased heart rate.

That was the last memory Astrid had before getting thrown into the maze with zero memory of who she is or what she did.

——

"Asta, wake up, love."

Newt's thick accent rang through my ears and my eyes shot open to be met with the scorching sun in the sky. I lifted my head up from his shoulder as I rubbed my eyes and turned to the blond boy.

"Morning sleeping beauty," he grinned and I gave him a weary smile.

"Morning," I yawned which made him chuckle as he rose to his feet.

"Kids, we have to get a move on," Jorge's head popped out from behind the rocks and we gave him a nod before he left.

Newt offered his hand to me and I gladly took it, standing to my feet. I was a little out of it, due to the very odd and realistic dream I had last night. It didn't feel like a dream, it felt like a disoriented memory of mine.

"You okay?" Newt asked me and I looked up at him with a smile.

"Yes, I just don't do mornings," I remarked to him and he grinned.

"I don't either," Newt agreed and I giggled as we walked around the rocks to greet the others.

Soon, we were back on our journey to meet Marcus and get Thomas and Brenda back.

——

Little bit of a filler chapter before we get back into the main plot. Wanted to include some of Astrid's past in there and some Newt and Astrid moments. They have a special connection.

Excited for the next chapter:)

See ya in the next one