Eighteen : Broken

Tommy POV

After a couple hours of sitting with dread and anxiety that Boss' goons would track us down, I realized that the forest was actually rather peaceful. The temperature, although chilly, was tolerable with our coats. I had grown accustomed to seeing my breath, shivering in direct sunlight, and needing to be wedged up against someone just to fall asleep. Birds chirped overhead, doves cooed in the distance, and a light breeze gently rustled the tree branches. The Underground, or whatever the prison was a mile away, stood silently. It was still visible this far into the woods, but only just the faint, gray edge of the walls.

Minho was still trapped somewhere inside it. We'd have to go back, avoid getting caught, and somehow escape all over again. I glanced over at Newt next to me. He lay out in the dirt on his back, head propped up on one of the many thick roots surrounding us, and his arms crossed over his chest. He was asleep, his breathing shallow from his broken ribs. Dark circles under his eyes were a testament to just how tired and run down we were.

Deep, strong hunger pangs plagued me. They always came on suddenly and took their time torturing me, slowly ebbing away after an hour or so, only to return with vengeance half an hour later. The short span in between was bliss. Perhaps we should have waited until after Boss brought food to break out? We hadn't eaten since the night Michael found us and brought us to his cabin. I could hear Newt's stomach growling just as frequently, sometimes louder. He ignored them, feigning sleep, but I could see his face tighten ever so slightly with each one. Eventually we would have to do something about it, but now wasn't the time.

When the sun finally began to dip in the sky, I nudged Newt. His eyes slowly opened, looking at me with annoyance.

"We should probably make a plan for tonight." I said and he blinked, frowning.

"We get inside, find Minho, and get out. What more do you want to do?"

"It won't be that simple."

Newt grimaced as he slowly pushed himself upright, keeping his right arm carefully tucked across his chest, and leaned against the dirt wall. He looked out at the trees and blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Bloody hell, I can't think straight, Tommy…"

"That woman could still be there, Boss' goons are still there."

"The woman left, Boss said so. Said 'hope you enjoyed Miss Sega's hospitality',"

"Boss is dead. So is one of his men. That leaves at least three more." I pushed, looking at him hopefully. "We can take three."

"At least three? There's probably more." Newt winced, his arms folding over his stomach. "Don't we have anything?" My gaze fell to the ground. The desperation in Newt's voice wrenched my heart.

"No, they took our bags, everything."

"Shuck it…" Newt sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the dirt wall, swallowing hard. "We can't keep going like this."

"We just need to find Minho."

Newt looked over at me. He couldn't hide the sheer exhaustion anymore. "I can't keep going like this."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. He sounded totally defeated, like he had already given up. Newt looked away as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Newt, I need you, Minho needs you."

"I can't keep going, Tommy…" Newt blinked and a couple tears ran down his cheeks. "I just can't…"

"We've faced so much worse. Grievers, the maze, we can face this too. It's only a little further."

"And we're going to have to face them all over again! When we find Minho, WICKED will come for us. And then it all starts over again! Years of torture, all over again!" Newt yelled. He grabbed a large rock sitting next to him and hurled it out into the air. It tumbled through the dirt and scattered leaves. "I wish I didn't get tangled up in the ivy…"

"Don't say that-"

"I do! Then it would all be over. No more pain, no more running, falling through frozen ponds… I wouldn't have nightmares of Lizzy. Not starving to death in the woods, barely able to breathe, let alone move."

"They will come for us if we don't fight." I said after a long pause. He looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. "Things are rough now because we're tired and hungry. But we can find a place to recover, we can hide out for as long as we need to."

"Yeah, like Michael's? You saw how that ended."

"Flat trans technology works in other ways. We can find a different location once we have Minho and transport somewhere safe."

"Anyone who has a flat trans works for WICKED." Newt glared at me.

"Please, Newt. I can't do this without you." I pleaded, holding his stare. I was at a loss, there wasn't anything else I could say. He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes flicking between mine. And then his gaze softened and he let out a sigh, breaking away to look at the ground.

"For you, Tommy. Only for you."