~Sara~

She groaned before snapping her eyes open, completely forgetting where she was for a moment.

She sat up and looked around as the memories came rushing back instantly, and she lay back down with a thud and a grunt.

Newt, Minho, Thomas, Chuck, Brenda, and Rachel instantly rushed to her bedside.

And then she saw an additional face; a familiar one at that.

She was watching Sara with regretful eyes, probably anticipating her reject. 

Sara huffed at first, relieved to see she had come with them, but still a bit upset about the rest. Once again, she sat up on the bed.

She wanted to call her name, but her throat was so sore that she remained silent as she was still staring at the woman.

"Sarita," said the woman, smiling sadly. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible," Sara chuckled, her voice hoarse. "How long was I out for?"

Newt smiled and replied to her. "Not too long. We practically just took off." He gave everyone a quick glance, and they all looked back at him briefly.

Chuck giggled. "I'd never seen one of these before. This is so freaking cool!" He gestured to his surroundings, and Sara scanned around the interior of the berg.

So... this was Jorge's 'baby.'

Nice.

She was glad they finally took off on a berg, but she had no idea where they were going. There wasn't really a place for them at the moment, and they still didn't know where the rest of their friends were.

She and the others were definitely leaving Alaska; that much she knew. Sara hoped so, at least. She couldn't stand it there anymore. Anywhere in Alaska only brought bad memories.

When she actually tried to stand up and stretch, her back and shoulders cracked so nicely. That grenade did some crazy things to her body, making it all numb. It was one of the most painful experiences of her life—physically at least, because she could have a whole chat about her emotional pain, but that was just going to be a drag. They had more important things to do.

"Alright," said Sara, facing everyone. "Brenda, fill me up. Where're we going?"

Brenda clapped her hands together once and took a seat. "Denver. We're trying to look for Hans. He used to work for WICKED like us. We have to remove that implant in your brains if we really want WICKED to stop tracking you around."

Thomas joined the conversation. "Okay, wait. How do you know where to find this guy after all this time?"

Brenda looked uncertain, and it was Rebecca who replied instead.

"He used to be friends with the first chancellor, Anderson. Hans was an honest man, and good-hearted," Rebecca said as she took a seat on the bed Sara was previously lying on. Sara couldn't help but notice the switch in her tone as she mentioned whoever Anderson was. "When I was little, Hans would be the only person I could really talk to. He was different. And he was close to my mother and Anderson. Hans offered to take care of me after... my mother had me. We were still in contact a few years ago."

"I'm curious," Chuck began, and scrunched his eyebrows. "What happened to that Anderson guy? I've heard several people talk about him now."

Rebecca shifted uncomfortably, and it was more than obvious that the conversation had been taken to a whole other level. She hadn't opened up too widely about her past. All she gave Sara while she still lived in HQ, were a few highlights of when she got the job with WICKED. There was something dark hidden in all that background. That pretty face of hers held a plethora of emotions that needed healing. Sara even started to feel guilty for getting so angry at her, when there was still more of her that she didn't even know of; the things she'd had to go through besides the nightmare she lived with Janson.

"He's dead," said Rachel with a grim look on her face, and when they all gave her a hard stare, she added, "that's all you should know."

Sara was confused until she remembered Rebecca had given Rachel all of her memories back so she could help Sara. Rachel refused to get the procedure done with Rat Man for that reason, and a second procedure could've killed her otherwise.

"Chuck," said Sara, giving him a knowing look for Rebecca's sake. "That's for her to tell whenever she's ready. Don't push it." Sara understood the boy; she wanted to know about Rebecca's past as much as he did, but it wasn't worth forcing it out of her. All Sara knew was that WICKED's four puppets had to do with a part of it.

One tear escaped Rebecca's eye as she shot Sara a grateful smile.

She could tell Thomas was the most likely to lose his mind from curiosity. It intensified once they all realized that the past Rebecca was referring to had to do with him, just based on the occasional worried glances she threw at him.

"Rebecca." Thomas crouched in front of her and spoke to her softy. "Don't be scared. If it has to do with me, I'm not idealistic like those shucking slintheads, Aris and Teresa."

Rebecca bit her bottom lip. For a split second, she looked like she wanted to let some of it out, but she quickly retracted herself. Now Sara was the one itching with intense curiosity.

"The past is irrelevant," Rebecca said. "We need to get those implants out of your heads. No more control." She looked solemn, and she locked eyes with Sara as if she were silently begging her for forgiveness.

"Becca," said Sara, comfortingly. "I understand. You're always looking out for me. I'm the one who's sorry... for treating you like that when I owe you my life."

Sara threw her arms around her, and Rebecca started sobbing while clutching her tightly.

When Sara let go of her, the others tried to find different ways to avoid staring. For as much as they shared a bond, it was always awkward for everybody else to watch an emotional reunion when it didn't have to do with them. Except Chuck. He was smiling at Rebecca and sat next to her to comfort her. Poor kid. He shouldn't have been put in this situation.

"Wait," said Newt, all of a sudden. "You've done surgeries before. Why do we have to go all the way to Denver to get our implants removed when you can do it yourself?" he asked Rebecca. And he had a point; Sara hadn't thought about that.

Rebecca smiled, and she wiped the remaining tears on her cheeks. "I can, you're right. But I won't." They all looked at her with confusion. "I'm tired of working like a WICKED employee. Besides, there are some people you guys have to meet, and they need a good reason to help. What more than showing up with you kids in need of eliminating WICKED's control over you?"

Minho raised his finger with a solid thought in mind. "Hold it. Didn't you say that the Swipe was linked to the implant?" he asked Sara. "If we're getting that removed, then why did we fight so hard against Rat Man over it? I don't want to remember anything. If that's what's gonna happen, I'm out."

Rebecca nodded in response. "There's a way to remove the implant without touching the Swipe. The implant is only a channel for it, but there are two separate things in your brain right now. Tell Hans when you get there, he'll know what to do."

Suddenly, Jorge showed up to where they were all gathered. He gave out a long sigh and stretched his arms out. "Bertha's on autopilot. Have you told them what's happening, Brenda?"

"Seriously? Bertha?" Rachel snickered, and the rest of them laughed.

Chuck snorted. "If I had a pet, I'd take name suggestions from everyone except you." This caused another chorus of laughter.

"Yeah. Told them," Brenda replied to Jorge's question, smirking at him for the mockery he was receiving.

Little did Sara know that her next inquiry would completely eradicate the light mood in the berg in the next couple of minutes. Catastrophically.

"Wait, Jorge," she blurted out. "Why did you get so nervous back there? You know, with those guns?" she asked, referring to the mysterious weapons he destroyed before they left.

Jorge took a sharp breath, and by the look on everyone else's faces, she could tell they were just as anxious to know as she was. "They look like they've been shipped from the future, I know, but they have a lot to do with WICKED's past, actually."

Chatter broke out, and they started whispering to each other in confusion—wondering what he meant by that.

"How so?" asked Thomas.

"Years ago, before WICKED, there was the PFC. Post-Flares Coalition. They were in charge of managing the issues of the world after the flares hit..." He paused, sharing an embarrassed look with Brenda, "...And that included population control."

Brenda rolled her eyes, but her face held a guilty expression. "They imposed the virus, okay? Made it and spread it. Be straight to the point," she snapped at Jorge.

Hold the shuck up.

"What?!" Minho slammed his hands against the bed. Rachel had a horrified look on her face, and Thomas's mouth was agape. Rebecca bowed her head, and Chuck frowned, a worried expression took place on his face. Sara couldn't even seem to think straight. That was by far the most devious thing she'd heard, and she thought she'd topped her list of those things already.

Newt was facing the other way, but Sara could see him tense up at Brenda's disturbing words. She then heard his breathing. She shouldn't have, since he was standing at a fair distance away from Sara. He turned around, and slowly walked over to Brenda with a furious expression.

"You're telling me... that people like me are losing their bloody mind... because WICKED's ancestors decided to create and spread the virus?!" he muttered the last part with so much spite and venom, making them all cringe in fear. Newt's eyes were wide and wild.

"Well... sort of—but they're gone," Brenda added quickly, trying to revert the upcoming tension. "The PFC's gone. WICKED came to be to fix the PFC's mistakes."

"Yeah, and I could tell WICKED did an amazing job." Newt shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh. "Don't start defending them now, 'cause I know bloody well what their ridiculous excuse was. Of course! Put a bunch of kids in a Maze, ruin their lives, and hey! They're the new buggin' heroes now." He threw his hands in the air with hysteria.

Sara's mouth was agape. It was a shock to hear Brenda's words, but more to witness Newt falling apart because of those words.

Brenda stood up to talk to him more closely. "Newt, that's not what—"

"What about those guns?!" He suddenly went off. "Are you gonna tell me they were used to shoot the virus into people?!" His face was contorted into a fierce grimace. His breathing was so heavy, and he was screaming in Brenda's face, inflicting terror upon her.

"No! Heck no," Brenda huffed out with horror, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes, full of fright, swelled with tears. She tried to blink them away, but it only caused more to cascade down her cheeks.

Sara got up to pull Newt back, but Thomas beat her to it, trying to ease Newt's temper himself. "It's not her fault—"

Jorge slammed his hand on the wall, then turned around to stand up to Newt. "You wanna be angry? Sure! I get it," he said, standing next to Brenda to defend her. "But you're not gonna blame either of us when we're the ones who helped save your butt from WICKED in the first place. We're risking our lives! Brenda, Rebecca, and I can lose our lives for this—do you even understand that?!" Jorge's voice was harsh, but Sara believed he felt sorry for Newt deep down.

Chuck stared at them back and forth, staring at Newt with newfound fear. A million things must've been going through his mind. All the moments when Newt had been the kindest person to him and everybody else in the Glade. It was hard to see very little of it anymore.

Sara was trying to contain herself, but this was so painful for her. Rachel wrapped her arm around Sara's shoulders with sympathy while Sara pondered over the situation, which seemed too surreal to be true. She took a seat once again.

"Look, muchacho." Jorge's tone was more earnest this time. "I know you're scared. We all are. But we're trying our best. We're trying to tear you completely away from WICKED's—"

"All three of you come from WICKED!" Newt hollered. He then started pacing back and forth around the room while everyone stayed put, awaiting his next outburst or whatever was to occur. "Why did you destroy the guns and why did WICKED still have them if they're that terrible?" Newt lowered his voice, asking out of the blue as he walked towards Jorge.

Jorge blinked back in surprise, obviously not expecting that question to pop out at the moment. "They... they disintegrate living organisms," he replied, looking away.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Sara stood up a second time. What kind of weapon was that? The launchers already caused so much pain, so she didn't even want to imagine what that new gun did to a person's body. It killed them—that was for sure.

"So, they make your body rot, basically?" Minho asked, cringing at the thought.

"No." Jorge sounded irritated. "If someone gets hit, they disappear—literally. Right in front of your eyes." His expression was fierce as he raised a warning finger. "Now look. When I tell you that you'd regret using one of those, I mean it. It's painless, unlike the launchers. But you get rid of a human being in the blink of an eye. That's a lot of weight to carry, and it takes a huge toll on your humanity. The PFC were the ones who handled those guns. Why WICKED had them in the room still—I have no idea. But I did what I had to do and got rid of them."

Everyone was speechless... except for one person.

"And how do you know all that? Did you ever use one?" Newt asked with an accusatory tone.

Sara couldn't imagine a person like Jorge using such a horrible weapon; at least not from what she'd learned from him. She would be greatly disappointed too, if that were the case.

Jorge shook his head. "I was around to see a child... barely on the first stages of the Flare, vanish into thin air after a PFC official shot him... That's the reason I joined WICKED. They promised to fix everything. Brenda joined years later, and when we discovered what they were gonna do with you kids... we had to do something. And I'd also crossed paths with Rebecca a few times before too." He faced her, giving her a smile. "She was a huge part of this, and none of it would've been possible without her help, so don't blame her either." Sara thought she'd caught Rebecca's cheeks flushing for a second.

"His point is..." Brenda stepped forward, giving Jorge a knowing look, "...That we know the horrible things that were done in the past, and even now. We're aware of it. But we can't be held responsible for something we can't control. We'll still work to try to help you, Newt."

Newt clearly didn't want to accept that. He shook his head, denying it, and ran shaky fingers through his hair.

"There's no cure—bloody heck! And I said it before, and I'll repeat it: I don't care about myself!" he shouted, and Sara's eyes watered. She couldn't bear to hear him repeat that over and over. "I have friends who're gonna die—more than half the entire population is gonna die from this buggin' virus. Do you have any idea how that feels for someone like me?"

"No, I—"

"No, that's right. You lied about being a Crank. You have no idea how much this hurts," Newt added, harshly placing a hand over his chest. "I have a girlfriend I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and now we can't!"

Minho shot up from his seat this time. "And you think we wanna watch you turn into one of those psycho freaks?!" Minho shouted back, and Newt retreated with a pained face at his words. "You're a priority here. My best bud. But you can't just give up on us like that. We're trying really hard. Sara's trying hard, and look at how you're scaring her!" Minho pointed at her, and she was infuriated that he was trying to calm Newt down by guilt tripping him.

Newt only looked at her for a split second before giving Minho a furious glare as he walked up to him. "You're gonna talk to me about giving up? You know how I've always felt about that!"

"Okay, but—"

"You remember the time before Sara showed up?!" Newt raised his voice even louder, cutting him off. "I saw you crying behind the homestead, Minho. Happened every other night after everyone was asleep. I heard you hating on the world, so don't you ever come up to me with that garbage about not giving up!" He pushed Minho back by the chest again, taking scary steps toward him.

Minho huffed out in shock, glanced at the rest of them, and quickly looked away with embarrassment. He scoffed, shaking his head, and Sara was horrified to see his lip quiver like a child who just got his feelings hurt. Usually, it was the other way around, and the one to act so stricken would be whoever got sassed by Minho.

Sara had no words for that. Everyone was silent, and probably wishing to jump out of the berg instead of witnessing this. Sara had never seen this side of Minho, or Newt's. She didn't know...

Newt must've really hit a sore spot; Minho turned around and stomped out into the back of the berg, kicking a box out of his way. Rachel called after him, but he waved her off so she retreated, giving Sara a confused look, full of hurt.

Sara tried to reach Newt to stop him from saying anything else, but Thomas didn't let her. He went up to Newt himself and placed a cautious hand on his shoulder. "Hey, buddy. Relax. It's okay."

"Relax?" Newt turned on him. "You don't even remember half the bloody things you did for WICKED with Teresa. You know what I saw during Phase Three? You and Teresa were the ones who killed Anderson! The only other person who regretted working for WICKED. You've got a lot on your hands, Tommy. Still want me to relax?!" He pushed Thomas against the wall.

Sara didn't reconsider a second longer, and she reached out to grab his arm before he thought of beating Thomas up.

"Newt, enough!" she cried out, choking back more tears for his sake. Despite everything, she didn't want to make him feel worse about himself. She placed her hand on his shoulder to get him to look at her.

But Newt shook her hand off his shoulder with force. As her other hand still tightly clasped his arm, he used that same arm to push her back harshly, and Sara stumbled backwards until she fell, hitting the back of her head with the edge of the table in the middle.

She yelped out of surprise rather than pain and held her head with one hand. The impact wasn't hard enough to make her bleed, however.

The others gasped. Brenda and Rebecca looked mortified, and Chuck's eyes teared up.

They all rushed to her, and Thomas helped her up, all of them asking if she was okay. She became angry at them for it and pushed them away. It wasn't that hard of a hit, and she didn't need them to add up to Newt's shame. He didn't need to see everyone immediately rushing to help her out of something he put her into.

This isn't him. This isn't Newt. Not my Newt, Sara kept repeating to herself. He didn't mean to.

But she couldn't resist the massive wave of hurt. 

She looked back at Newt with uneasiness, trying to smile at him but failing. And she could see the slight switch in his eyes as he stared back at her. It was as though the sanity had returned to those fearful eyes. He staggered back a little bit as realization hit him, his face morphing into a mortified expression.

And there was her Newt. He was back... For who knew how much longer.

"I'm s... I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking at Sara with pleading eyes. His rapid breathing took a moment to subside, and the accelerated rising of his chest was still evident. And then he scanned around, only to see the baffled faces of the others. "I'm sorry."

"I'm gonna..." Jorge awkwardly pointed back to the front of the berg and walked out to pilot it himself again. Brenda followed him without a word.

Newt tried to walk up to Sara, but she took a quick step back. It was mere impulse—she didn't mean to flinch away from him. But she could still see the moment his heart broke—the look in his eyes once he realized what he'd caused. And Sara hated herself like she'd never before.

He took a sharp, quivering breath and broke down in tears as he rushed out of the room. Sara opened her mouth to call after him, but nothing came out.

Walking backwards until her back hit the wall, she sank to the floor, and finally let her emotions break free.

Choking sobs escaped her mouth, rattling her body until she felt that her heart would literally crumble.

Thomas finally left the room, unable to do anything else other than offer her a sympathetic look. He asked Chuck to follow him, and the boy did so after giving Sara a sad smile. If it was hard on her, she couldn't imagine how much it was for Chuck, Thomas, and Minho. Newt was their best friend. They'd known each other the longest.

After a few more minutes, Rachel and Rebecca sat beside her on the floor, offering a shoulder and their hands for comfort. They spent a few silent minutes hugging each other until Sara was able to calm down a bit. Their comfort was soothing, but the emptiness inside of her was too large.

And the silence was thick in the air.

It was suffocating—like every second that ticked by, made Sara more aware of death. That everything around her was constantly, progressively dying.

Death. When everything was fine, people didn't think about such things. They weren't aware that things aged, things changed, and things died every second. And if their reason to live vanished, everything just seemed to accelerate the process of decay.