Book 2: Scorch of the Heart / Newt x OC

Chapter 8

Skylar's POV

We followed Gally while he explained what had happened to him. "After the maze, I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realized I was immune, they patched me up, and they brought me here to Lawrence. This group's been at war with WCKD ever since they took control of the city. But WCKD can't hide behind those walls forever. Day's gonna come, and they're gonna pay for what they've done." I took in my surroundings while he talked. Gally started to slow down and turned to look at us. "Listen, uh, he doesn't get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking. Alright? And try not to stare." He turned and continued to walk, leaving me curious about the last part of what he said. The group and I looked at each other for a moment before continuing to follow Gally.

Gally led us into a room with a small staircase that descended to the ground below us. The room was covered in plants. Only two men were in the room before we came in. Gally led us down the staircase closer to the two men. One of the men was bent over, picking flowers. "Gally." The man addressed as he continued to pick a flower. "Glad to see you made it back. Jasper told me what happened." He straightened up. I was close enough now to realise that the man had a small tube that connected him and a plastic bag that contained a blue liquid. The liquid was almost gone.

"It was a slaughter." Gally stated. "There's nothing we can do against those guns." Gally shrugged his shoulders.

"No, but they can only poke the hornet's nest so long before they get stung." The man responded." I watched the man as he lifted one of the flowers to his face to smell it.This was when I realized he had no nose. Only a little of the bridge of his nose was left. "Who are these people?" He asked, not looking up from the flowers in his hands. "Why are they here?"

"We need to get into WCKD." Thomas suddenly spoke up, walking forward to stand right beside Gally. I was slightly annoyed with Thomas. Surely there was a reason Gally wanted us to stay quiet. "Gally said you can get us through the walls." Thomas explained. The man finally looked up at us. He stared for a moment before responding.

"Gally should know better than to make promises he can't keep." I slowly crossed my arms and shifted my feet apart slightly as I tried getting a read on this guy. "Besides, the wall is only half your problem." He turned his body towards us."Getting inside WCKD is impossible."

"There might be a way now." Gally informed him. "But it doesn't work without Thomas." He explained as he nodded his head towards Thomas beside him. Both me and Thomas looked at Gally, slightly confused.

"Is that so?" The man questioned. The man started to walk towards Thomas. "You know what I am, Thomas?" Light shone across his face as he walked closer. I widened my eyes and my eyebrow twitched when I saw his face clearly. He had black veins stretching across the right side of his face, his right pupil was white. I squinted my eyes a bit, glaring at the man as he leaned over to Thomas to his right ear, lowering his voice to a whisper. Thomas didn't move as the man continued to talk. "I am a businessman." He straightened back up, looking Thomas dead in the eye. Thomas stared back. "Which means that I don't take.....unnecessary risks." My bracelet shined in the light, catching the man's attention. He broke his gaze from Thomas and stared at my bracelet. Thomas slowly looked where the man was staring. He continued to gaze at my bracelet for a moment before slowly lifting his gaze to my eyes. I held his gaze, making sure my face was unreadable. "What does a resident of Panem want with WCKD?" He suddenly asked. I furrowed my eyebrows and my lips parted slightly. Everyone now turned their gaze to me, confusion on each of their faces. I didn't answer his question. I continued to glare at him, showing that I wasn't inclined to answer. He got the message and turned back to Thomas. "Why should I trust you?"

"Cause I can help you." Thomas answered quietly. "See, if you can get me through those walls.......I can get you what you need." He explained.

"And what is it....that you think I need?" The man questioned.

"Time." Thomas answered, looking over at the bag of blue liquid attached to the man. He turned his gaze back to the man. "Every last drop."

"Hm........Is that what I need?"

"WCKD is something we both want." The man stared at Thomas for a moment.

"I'll tell you what." He finally began. "Two can go for now. The rest stay down here with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back." I looked over to Thomas, then the others. Thomas looked back at us before looking back to the man. "We have a deal?" The man held out his hand for Thomas to shake. Thomas finally shook his hand. The man gave Thomas a small smile. "Gally, show him the way."