Bad Dreams | Newt x Reader

Chapter 55-Are we too young for this?

Title is a reference to the song, 'Softcore,' by The Neighbourhood.

Warnings: fighting, killing, blood, death, pain, broken bones, guns.

Y/n POV

One month later (About two-three months after the Gladers escaped from the Wicked compound.)

I stared down at the building below us. People wandered around, carrying supplies from a Berg back inside the base. It, like most other Wicked compounds, was surrounded by nothing but the sandy desert. Probably because they were away from populated areas where the Cranks were. We were here because Minho might be being kept prisoner here. My brother came and stood next to me. We stood atop a cliff overlooking the building. We had been here several weeks ago.
“Remember the plan,” Nikolai told me as the others came up to us. I rolled my eyes and turned around. Nikolai grabbed me. “What is it?”
I groaned, “Under no circumstances am I to leave my group, especially if the Phoenix shows up.”
“Good,” Nikolai met Alex’s eyes and Alex shot him a quick wink.
They still hadn’t told anyone about their relationship but I believed that some people had already guessed. I was nearly certain that Harriet, Skylar and Felix knew, they were good friends with Alex and my brother now. I awkwardly hung around them because I refused to hang around my other friends. I felt like they had kicked me out of the group after Newt broke up with me. Pain flared at that thought. Less painful than it had been a month ago, but Newt’s breaking up with me still hurt me. It hurt even more to think that they only pretended to be friends with me because I was dating Newt.
Unfortunately, for this plan, I was to stay with Newt, Fry, Thomas, Brenda, Jorge and Ember. We weren’t actually going inside the buildings. We were being a distraction and causing chaos. Sure, I loved chaos but I wanted to be with my brother, not protecting these idiots.
“Come on, Y/n,” Brenda said and I turned back to my brother and Alex. I hugged my brother tightly first.
“Remember the system we came up with,” Nikolai whispered in my ear.
He was talking about what to do if I felt the Wraith taking control. I was to project the symbol of a number out of ten to represent how likely the Wraith was to take over me. I broke the hug and hugged Alex and Vince.
“Be careful,” Nikolai called after me.
“When am I not?” I called back over my shoulder.
I saw Nikolai roll his eyes. “Do you want a list?”
I turned back to the direction we were walking. The late evening breeze made me shiver. I pulled Élliots’ jacket closer. I decided to keep it because it was surprisingly very comfortable.
“Hurry up,” Ember snapped at me and I suppressed a sigh.
I shot a quick glance at the others. They all looked determined and Jorge and Brenda were talking quietly. Newt was listening in as we walked. He looked like he’d been sleeping better. I hadn’t slept a full night since he broke up with me. I got four to five hours at the most. I was almost always wanting a nap. The dreaming world, however, was far worse than the waking world. Frypan slowed down and walked next to me. I felt surprised but offered a smile.
“You got everything you need?” he asked.
“Yeah, I don't need much other than my hands,” I shrugged and looked down at them.
“Remember, Vince said minimal casualties,” Ember glared at me. “No murdering people for the fun of it.”
“I really have a problem with that don’t I?” I replied sarcastically. “For the record, I don’t find killing people fun.”
“You seemed to enjoy killing your uncle,” Ember retorted.
“Surprisingly, I didn’t actually enjoy it that much.”
“That’s a lie,” Ember scoffed.
“Actually, I sure enjoyed killing your brother,” I snapped back and she whirled around.
“Say that again, I dare you,” she said in a low voice. I rolled my eyes. The rest of the group stopped walking, looking anxiously between us.
“I said, I enjoyed killing your brother,” I repeated. “What are you going to do?”
Ember didn’t respond.
“Exactly,” I shoved past her and kept walking.
The rest of the walk was in silence.
Once we reached the position we were told to go to, Ember radioed Vince and we got ready to attack. With very few powerful Enhanced among us, we were spread thin between the groups.
“Ready?” Jorge asked the group. I took a deep breath and stretched a bit. “Alright Y/n, do what you do.”
I smirked and called a storm. Thunder rumbled uneasily above and the dark sky flashed brightly with lightning.
“Let’s go,” I said.
If I had it my way I would be the only person doing the distraction. The soldiers caught sight of us quickly and we sheltered behind a car. I quickly knocked the soldiers near us out. The Wraith screamed for blood but I ignored her. An Enhance threw a ball of energy at me and I shielded us all quickly. Razor sharp darts of energy came next and I blocked them, sending back lightning bolts. The storm picked up and sand swirled around the air. I grappled with the Wraith for a moment and regained control. I sent the Enhanced flying across the sand and they landed heavily.
Brenda swore and I turned around to see another person approaching us. He looked at us for a second and then his head rolled back. Scales grew their way up his neck and his body got longer. He sank to the ground, no longer human but a giant snake that was still growing in size. I swore and sent lightning at him. It didn’t do much.
“Run?” Brenda asked faintly as the snake raised its head to look at us.
“Yeah. Run!” I shouted and half dragged Thomas forward who was staring at the snake. I blocked the bullets that shot towards us. Where was the other group that was supposed to come help?
“Okay. I should probably start taking this seriously,” I said over the noise of the fight. They all looked like I was crazy. I probably was.
“You weren’t before?” Fry asked, exasperated.
I smirked and sent metal tearing off the Berg to impale the giant snake. This time, I managed to injure it. A bright flash of gold light caught my eye. The Enhanced from earlier was up. I let one hand send lightning their way and with the other I manipulated bullets and metal away from us and towards the snake.
Eventually, the Enhanced sent a constant stream of bright green light that I was forced to use lightning to ward off. I fought for more control and I overpowered the Enhanced. I didn’t spare her this time. The lightning obliterated her.
I heard someone—Newt—shout a warning and I went to turn but something slammed into me and sent me flying. I hit the ground hard and heard a loud crack. I forced myself to spring back up. I coughed up blood and wiped my mouth. My ribs were screaming in protest and I guessed at least one was broken because I couldn’t breathe without the fiery pain. The giant snake went for my friends but I slammed a massive gust of wind that blew sand up in its eyes. I hurried back over to them and guided them to cover under the remains of the Berg.
More vehicles were driving out of the building, carrying soldiers. I ignored them for the moment, only redirecting the bullets, I focused on the giant snake. My friends shot at the soldiers. The snake bled heavily, I sent another lightning bolt but it only knocked it back. The giant creature started to shift shape again, I groaned and regretted it as my ribs sent stabbing pain into my side. The snake shifted into a giant, almost lion looking creature. I let out a torrent of swear words and readied myself to fight the creature.
I heard a yell and looked to see Vince and some of the others arrive.
“What took you so long?” I yelled and sent a blinding flash of light in the lion's face.
“Cranks!” Vince replied.
“Oh!”

What felt like hours later, I saw my brother and Alex as well as some others guiding some kids out. Our side had gained control over a truck and the kids were funnelled into it.
Blue light hit the lion and I took the opportunity to summon a large enough lightning bolt to send it flying into the cliff. It collided with a loud crack and shrank back to a human. I barely had time to thank my brother before I had to deal with the soldiers who had come back. I got rid of them and stumbled as I felt the Wraith attack me again. The overwhelming despair seized me and my vision darkened around the edges. I managed to send up an illusion of the symbol for the number nine to alert my brother or Alex.
Someone shook me and I met a pair of honey brown eyes. Newt called my name and swore, pulling me out of the way and shooting at someone I could see. Newt shot at someone I couldn’t see. Brenda reached me as well and started saying something but I couldn’t tell what.
Someone pushed past her and pulled me into a hug. My brother. I relaxed slightly as his hand went to my temple. With his help, I pushed the Wraith back and felt my control over myself returning. Nikolai and Brenda helped me up and I quickly returned to helping fight. Nikolai’s hand clamped around my arm.
“You’re sticking with me, that was too close,” Nikolai started pulling me with him but I looked back at my friends.
“What about them?” I asked.
“You can still protect them from over here.”
We continued fighting until I saw a flash of red light and my sister appeared. Her eyes fixed on my friends, fire sparked in her hand.
“No!” I yelled and ran forward, I created a shield to protect us and turned away as the heat scorched my face. I sent lightning back at her and she vanished.
“Y/n? Come ba–” Nikolai called but was cut off by a gunshot.
I turned to look. Nikolai. Dread overwhelmed my shock. His shirt started to turn black with blood.

1750 words