𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒 - 𝘚𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘊𝘏 𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘚

6 ~ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙭

Newt

"Get up. Get up!"

I felt three thumps in my side, and peeled my eyes open to see that Brenda had kicked me.

"What?" I snapped.

"Just get up!" She repeated urgently, and moved on to kick Minho. I groaned and sat up to see Lottie frantically run to join Thomas at the window.

"What are you looking at?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. A second later, I got my answer.

"Good afternoon," Came a voice from outside of the Berg. "This is World In Catastrophe; Killzone Experiment Department." My heart dropped, and I looked around the Berg in horror. I just barely heard Jorge curse from the cockpit. "We are under the assumption that you have our property inside your aircraft."

"Their property?" Julian spat angrily, clenching his fists.

"So if you would land the Berg, we will be taking our Subjects back. If you refuse, then we will have no choice to shoot you down."

"Shoot us down?" Frypan squeaked.

"Listen up!" Jorge called forcefully, and we all shut up to listen to him. "I'm opening the hatch!" He continued. "I'll get the Berg as low as I can, and you kids are going to jump out!" I felt the blood rush from my face. "Run and take cover in the ruined city below – Brenda and I will find you. Go!"

He pulled a lever, and the hatch began to open. The nose of the Berg tilted towards the ground, and I knew that we were going to skim against the sand. The Gladers looked down the hatch, watching the sand fly by below.

"Go!" urged Brenda, racing around the Berg to gather items to stuff in a backpack.

"Are we really doing this?" I asked, not even noticing my cracking voice.

"We have no choice," Lottie replied. "Newt, you go first."

"What? No way-"

"Just go!" Minho urged, shoving me lightly. It was enough for me to lose my balance and topple out of the Berg. Luckily, I landed on my feet in the sand below, but my knees immediately buckled. I shakily got up, spitting sand out of my mouth. Shuck you Minho.

I sat in the sand for a minute, panting. Our Berg was still skimming the sand. As I watched, some of the other Gladers leaped from it. WICKED's Berg was circling us a couple hundred feet above. My friends had taken off towards the ruined city the minute their feet hit the ground.

"Get up!" Minho screamed at me, seizing the front of my shirt and hauling me to my feet, nearly dragging me with him.

"Wh-where's Lottie?" I asked.

"She stayed behind to help Brenda and Jorge pack up some stuff," Minho replied, as if it were no big deal.

"She what?" I stared at our Berg. Three more figures jumped from it; Thomas. Jorge. Brenda. No Lottie. "Then where is she?"

"This is your last warning," the voice from WICKED's Berg sounded again. "We will shoot." Our Berg kept its pace, with still no figures jumping from it. "Currently shooting," the WICKED Berg said, and opened fire. My jaw dropped open in horror as I watched the bullets rocket towards our Berg, and hit the right wing. It exploded. The Berg began to spin uncontrollably until it finally came to a crash landing. It burst into flame.

"Lottie!"

This time my knees buckled from shock. No one tried to pick me up; everyone else had stopped running to gaze at the inferno. Lottie. Lottie. Lottie.

Lottie

My arms were practically blurs as I packed the backpack.

"We need to go!" Brenda yelled to me. She, Thomas, and Jorge were already standing by the hatch.

"Go without me!" I shouted back. I couldn't find the piece of my sweater from the Glade. I'd only taken it off to take a shower this morning; how had I lost it? I couldn't leave it behind. That would be like dropping everything that had happened to me and flushing it down the drain.

What a horrible time to be a sentimental person.

"We will, if you're going to be an idiot about it!" Brenda yelled, and without looking, put pressure on Thomas' back. He lost his balance and fell out of the Berg onto the sand below. Jorge followed, and finally Brenda, with one final desperate look at me, who was still rummaging for my keepsake.

"This is your last warning. We will shoot." The voice from outside of the Berg said, right as I exclaimed,

"I've got it!" I lifted the piece of maroon fabric in the air, showing it off to the empty Berg.

"Currently shooting," said the voice, and almost immediately I felt the Berg begin to shake with the force of the bullets hitting the right wing. I was surprisingly calm now, even when the wing blew up, creating a gaping, flaming hole in the side of the Berg. The aircraft began to spin. I fell to my knees, clutching at the carpet. Slowly, I made my way over to the hatch. Right before the Berg crashed, I tilted my body and fell onto the sand below with a thump.

The Berg crashed and exploded. I curled myself up into a ball, wincing at the wave of heat that washed over me. I heard the roar of flames. I squinted and coughed, shakily getting to my feet. I could see nothing but fire. It burned my eyes, and the ash settled on my skin. I turned in a circle, finally focusing on a distant figure who was on his knees.

I had to get to him. I had to live for him. I took a step forward. And another, and another, becoming more confident with every footfall. WICKED tried to kill me. And I survived. Multiple times. I could do this. I could survive. I could win. 

A/N

Ch 6. A short one, but I hope the action makes up for it...? Also, two POVs in one chapter? Who is she? Vote if you liked it.

- 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭