It was so weird to see him with a bunch of boys. My sense of equilibrium had been completely thrown off. He stood next to Thomas, the boy we were supposed to kidnap, and the Asian boy I saw earlier. His eyes lighted up when he saw me and my heart jumped. I had to see him. I had to. As Teresa made demands about Thomas, I made eye contact with Newt and ever so slightly tilted my head to a gray building next to me. Ever so slightly, he nodded. A loud thud jarred me from my stupor as I realized Teresa had hit Thomas with her spear. "Alright. I'll go." He said wearily. He had a quickly whispered conversation with the Asian kid before walking cautiously over to Teresa. "Harriet." She snapped as Harriet grabbed Thomas's other arm and began to lead him away. They led the pack, with Jackie and Hannah and the former gardeners bringing up the rear with their spears out to ward off the boys from following. Seeing my chance, I sprinted to the gray building in search of Newt.
I pulled a small knife from my bag as I creeped around. So far I hadn't heard anything, but that could change. A flicker of movement in a corner caught my eye and I remained still. As the person came into the room, I jabbed out my knife, almost taking out their eye. Then I realized it was Newt. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" He exclaimed, dropping his weapon. I was so relieved to see him that I flew into his arms, throwing my knife to the ground. "Oh my god. I can't believe we found you." I said, elated. He hugged me but then drew back. "Yeah. What's up with that Teresa girl? You're the leader." At the mention of Teresa, I scowled angrily. "She just showed up and took over," I explained, not wanting to mention the fight. "I honestly think the only way to get rid of her is to kill her, and I don't want to do that or your group will have it out for me." I sighed, blowing a piece of hair out of my face. "So I guess I'm not in command anymore." Newt was silent for a second before he replied with, "Stay with me." It catches me off guard. "Newt, you know I can't leave them." I said truthfully. "Then I'll go with you." He pressed, but I knew this wouldn't work. "Newt, you can't do that. Teresa hates you guys, and I can't let her hurt you." I murmured, remembering my beating all too well. He sighed exasperatedly. "Sonya, I don't know if we'll ever see each other again if one doesn't go with the other." I knew he was right. There was a chance I'd never see him again, but because of that he would be safe, and so would the girls. Leaders have to sacrifice, and this one was mine to make. "I'm sorry, Newt." I whispered sadly. I quickly kissed him, then began to run back to the girls. Soon, the gray building and Newt were gone.
I sprinted back to my group as fast as I could. They'd climbed up between two mountains into a grassy area and taken shelter. I didn't know how long I was with Newt, but I sincerely hoped nobody noticed I was gone. Unfortunately, when I crept up to their hiding place, Teresa was looking right at me with a pleasant smile on her face. "Nice of you to join us, Sonya." She said in a voice laced with deadly calm. I tried to keep my breathing steady. Should I tell the truth? Did she somehow already know? "I know you were meeting one of the boys in there. Are you trying to betray us? Sell us out? Join them?" She hissed suddenly. "No!" I yelled angrily. "I'm not going to 'betray' you! I was talking to Newt. The boy from our experiment." I explained. "You were-" Teresa began, but Harriet interrupted her. "Is he okay?" She asked concernedly. "Shut up Harriet." Teresa said without emotion. Harriet looked up at her, and finally broke free of her control.
"No." Harriet replied just as calmly as Teresa. "Harriet, do not disobey me." Teresa ordered. "No! We aren't your pets! We can do whatever we want. You can't rule through fear!" Harriet shrieked, making that the first time I'd ever seen her lose control. Teresa glared at Harriet, and there was so much hatred in her eyes. Without warning, she swung the butt of her spear into Harriet's head, knocking her out. Yells of protest rose up, and Aimee furiously tackled Teresa. They engaged in a fistfight, the spear having been knocked out of Teresa's hand. Hannah quietly picked it up. Aimee relentlessly punched Teresa in the nose, and blood began to pour. I stood in shock. Teresa then flipped over, pinning Aimee down with a hand on her throat. I screamed, running over to push her off but I was too late. Aimee's body laid still. "What are you doing? You killed her!" I cried. "I most certainly did not. I just knocked her out. Tina, Kat, move Harriet and Aimee over there so they aren't in the way." She pointed. "And now to deal with you."
I looked at her, genuinely scared. I had dropped my staff when I ran over to Aimee and I couldn't go get it and turn my back to her. "You've been causing a lot of trouble Sonya. Do you even care about any of these girls?" Teresa snarled. It caught me off guard. "Of course! Why would you even ask that?" I said in dismay. "It's us or the boys! If you want us to live, you can't help them!" She shrieked. "I was just meeting him!" I cried. "Well, that's still treason!" She yelled as she swung her stick into my gut. I fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of me. "Here are your orders." She commanded, standing above me. The words barely registered in my throbbing head. "The next time we see the boys, either you kill Newt...or I'll kill you." She ordered with finality. "And since you're so loyal to your friends," she gestured to Harriet and Aimee's limp forms, "You can join them!" She hissed viciously as she smashed the side of the spear into my skull and everything went black again.