Evelyn came around, she was being propped up by Newt. Her head felt like it was going to split open with the pounding. Her body was sore, and her arm was shooting pain... actually her entire one side was shooting pain. She whimpered and she felt Newt tighten his grip, she felt his warm breath on her, knowing he had placed his forehead on hers.

"I can't escape him!" She whimpered. Tears leaked down her temples. Her none infected hand clenched his shirt. "I can't go back! I can't! Newt...you gotta end it before he gets me back! I can't....I can't do it again!"

"Shhh." He shushed her gently, "I know...I know Love, I won't let that happen. I promise...I promise he won't get you."

Her grin slowly loosened.

"Who the hell is this He?" Keisha asked again. "He sounds like some kinda creep!"

Evelyn slowly rolled her head towards her, a scowl on her face.

"You think we're monsters? He's worse." Evelyn hissed.

"Okay...shhh. Love, shh...he's not here right now...you're okay." He gently turned her face towards him and then gently kissed her forehead.

"Come on Lee, up you get." His voice was slightly edgy, she heard him trying hard to keep himself calm. He helped her up and held her steady until she could stand herself. He slipped his hand into hers and then turned slowly towards the wide street.

Evelyn finally looked around their new home. It was a dry, dusty place, although the trees provided enough shade and fallen leaves to dampen the effect. Almost everywhere she looked, signs of habitation filled the spaces and gaps. Small hastily built cabins, some without windows, some with broken windows. Tens of all sizes that appeared to have been erected weeks or months ago, with old couches or couches or chairs by the entrances, clothing lines with towels or clothing left to dry- all hanging from lines tied between trees. Old shoes and bags or trash and small tables scattered.

"Almost reminds me of the early days of the Glade..." Evelyn said quietly. Newt looked back down at her with a sad smile and nodded.

"If I close my eyes, I can almost bloody see the walls just out of sight...or hear Fry ringing his lunch bell."

Evelyn choked back a sob that came up. Keisha was frowning at them now. But she didn't say anything she just started walking down the dusty road. Dante had fallen asleep, that truck ride wore him out. Evelyn felt a stab of sorrow for the child. What if he was immune? His mama would turn and a baby would be left motherless in this place.

Newt had offered to carry him at one point. Keisha looked almost as exhausted as Evelyn felt. They eventually found a small one room cabin nestled between two large oak trees. They all stood shoulder to shoulder and glanced around. There was nothing special. Four wood walls, a window that had no more glass and the door. Dry hard packed earth, and that was it. No kitchen or bathroom no furniture...but it had walls.

"It's perfect!" Keisha announced, her fists on her hips, nodding in approval, but Evelyn heard her voice drop with sarcasm, it made her snort.

She looked around at Keisha with a twisted smile. "It's everything I wanted in a good family neighborhood. Right Newt? Perfect place to raise-"

She stopped abruptly, her voice caught in her throat, her words died in her mouth. Newt was still holding little Dante, and now he was gently bouncing and patting his little back like he was a baby. Her eyes went wide and then filled with tears. She clamped them shut and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and she shrunk down to the ground.

Newt would have been a wonderful father, he had such gentle tendencies, and a caring patient nature...he was automatically shushing a child he hardly knew...it was like it was just automatic, a natural instinct. Evelyn's heart felt like it was ripped out of her chest and then smashed under someone's heel. She wanted more than anything to have a quiet home with Newt, with a garden, dance under the moon, have a family. But reality was brutal and harsh. She would get none of those things. She had...at most a week left. The creepy crawling feeling was constant, the crank was always prowling in the shadows, she felt it constantly. The pain in her chest was now starting again, the sharp claws around her lungs.

"We're going to go check things out." Newt said.

He had bent down in front of Evelyn, he pried her hands from her face. His eyes were hard, his jaw was clamped, but when she met his eyes they softened. And he took a slow breath like he was trying to keep himself calm.

Evelyn looked at him. He pulled her into his chest, holding her like he was also trying to hold onto reality.

"I...I can't stand this much longer...these people...we don't know them!" He whispered into her hair. "No matter how nice this seems, they ain't our family, do we throw our lot completely on with them?"

"We can go explore..." She whispered back.

"Don't you dare!" Keisha growled. Both Evelyn and Newt looked up at her, she was giving them both a hard look.

"What?" Newt snapped.

"Abandoning us! You...you're the only friends we've got in this world. A z I think you need us as badly as we need you two. We literally have crazy people for neighbors.  You saw all the lived in places before we found this shack. I dunno know if they'll be back after their wild party...and they're probably all carrying torches and pitchforks."

Her words hit Evelyn hard in her sore and aching heart. She still felt uneasy and fidgety, like something wasn't quite right. She felt like getting up and yelling at this woman who just latched onto them, just picked them up and went "I'm going to keep you." It made her frustrated, she wanted to rage and tell like a child. Thankfully when she took a breath, like she was going to start, he spoke quietly, his voice had an edge and his normally calm eyes had a sharp look.

"We just want to know what's out there. Sums almost down, but we'll be buggen' quick." He looked from Evelyn to Keisha to the still sleeping ba y in her arms, "for one thing we need to eat...when was the last time he bloody ate?"

Keisha let out a wild sigh, a sigh full of frustration and exhaustion. She stormed over to the wall and slid down the cheap wood. She shifted Donte so he was leaning against her chest, his little head on his mother's shoulder. She turned her dark eyes to Evelyn who was still kneeling on the dark packed earth, and Newt who was holding her close, his hands buried and tangled in her hair, trying to keep himself tethered to reality.

"Just please wait until morning." Her voice was quiet, for the first time showing any kind of fear or unease. "I can't...life hard enough, Newt...Evelyn. I can't bear the thought of being here alone after dark. Terrified outta my wits at what might walk by, knock on the door, peek through the broken window...break down the flimsy door-"

"What are we a security service to you?" Evelyn snapped.

"No. Not at all child. Sheesh! But we hardly know each other...but we need you...and you need us. Look how calm an' sweet your boy has been with little Dante here...keep him sane a wee bit longer. I don't need all that other worry on top of wondering if something happened to you two or what you got yourselves into. Don't do that to me. Please."

Evelyn was shaking...Newt was shaking too. She could see the confusion on his face. She felt all kinds of emotions mix together in her. Her crank whispered in her head while her heart cried to stay. She had a wild flash of anger.

She just wants to use you... she'll hide behind you and Newt when trouble finds you. She's just using you! You could just get ride of them. You don't need them, my murderous little witch...my feral little kitten has sharp claws. Who needs them.

"You're right." Newt said. "Walking around the bloody Crank Palace without a map with the sun about to buggen' set sounds like something crazy people would do."

There was a brief moment of silence. Keisha looked back and forth between them. Newt looked down at Evelyn. Evelyn blinked and then snorted. It turned into a full long loud belly laugh, she had thrown her head back and howled with wild laughter.

"Minho...Minho and Chuck would have been so proud!" Evelyn managed to wheeze out, between her giggled and snorts.

The irony of it, all the different layers weren't even worth thinking about. Crazy people. They were crazy people. Slowly slipping further and further into the dark abyss of insanity.

"Who needs food anyways?" Newt said through his wild hysterics, waving a hand around. "You can't feed crazy."

"Right?" Keisha managed to respond. She was laughing so hard little Donte slipped off her lap and was laying sprawled on the floor still sound asleep, snoring like a tiny little bear. It set Evelyn off again, which made Newt break out in a fresh wave of giggles.

"Maybe going insane isn't gonna be so bad!" Evelyn snorted, she had fallen backwards, tears from laughing slid down her temples into her still damp hair.

"True." Newt responded.

The tears of laughter, quickly turned into tears of sorrow. She was going crazy....she was going to forget...forget Keisha and her kind harsh motherly ways and little Donte. She was going to forget how they laughed and formed their own little weird sadistic crazy family.

A sob got stuck in her chest. She was going to forget Newt and all their memories. Newt had crawled over to her and layed down right beside her and pulled her closer, right into his chest. He rubbed her bony back, petting her hair he held her tightly while she cried herself to sleep.

_______________________

Evelyn's senses kicked in before her eyes were open. She knew right away Newt wasn't beside her anymore. Sudden fear ripped through her body so fast it hurt. She sat bolt up right, her eyes wide, her knife from Goose, clutched tight in her hand. She let out a gasp of pain and dropped the knife. Freezing cold pain shot through her arm, her fingers hurt, they felt swollen and stiff. The pain was sending waves if pain up her arm into her shoulder, up her neck and down her back.

Looking around, she saw Keisha and Dante sound asleep. Their deep breathing was eerily similar despite how little Dante was. Evelyn sat for a second watching the mother and child. A deep sadness took over her for a moment.

Poor little witch...poor little kitty....she won't have any little kittens of her own. It will be alright little witch. I will take care of you.

Evelyn's head twitched.  As it did she saw Newt's note book sitting open beside her. That little small object made her pause, the crank retreated back into the shadows of her mind. Evelyn cocked her head. It was only then that she heard voices.

Her head whipped in the direction of the door. She recognized Newt's British accent. He was talking to someone outside. Frowning she got to her feet. Without hesitation of her safety, she yanked the door open. Her sudden appearance in the door surprised whoever was here. She saw a shadow jump. Newt's tall athletic form was visible in the moonlight. He turned his head and held his arm open for her. She stepped into it, into his side.

He placed a kiss on her temple.

"Evy, we have some buggen' company."

"Clearly. Dose all company come in the middle of the night?"

"I appolagise....I just...I just had to see if it was true." The shadow of a man whispered, it was deep and harsh like her had chunks of rock in his throat.

Evelyn blinked a few times trying to understand what he had said. She looked up to Newt, to see if this made sense to him. She could see in his eyes it did not.

Nothing makes sense silly little witch...your all going off  your rockers, losing your marbles, see ya later to sanity...and the only thing that makes sense is that nothing makes scene.

Newt and Evelyn looked back at their shadowy visitor.

"Well, is it?" He demanded, apparently introductions or and pleasantries weren't very important to this man.

"Is what true?" Newt finally asked, she could hear the patience in his voice growing thin.

"Are you...ya know. One of them?"

"One of who? Either ask us whatever it is you're wanting to ask or were going back to bed." Evelyn snapped. Her stomach was grumbling and her head was pounding. Her arm was throbbing and her patience was as thin as Rat Man's hair line- which was just about none excistant.

"I'm sorry! Sorry."

She wasn't expecting an apology. She frowned, and cocked her head. Newt looked down at her with his eyebrows pulled together. The gravelly voice from the shadow visitor spoke again.

"It's just a rumor that's running wild all over the Palace. I...I had to know. I...have reasons. Are you two...or one of you one of the kids that WICKED has been testing? You wanna talk about rumors- there's all kinds of rumors swirling around about that, now."

Evelyn shuddered. First they were dumped here and told it was because of who they were and He, Janson, wanted to keep an eye on them...and now rumors about who they were, were floating around.

"I didn't know people knew about the trials." She whispered, looking up at Newt.

He had such a sad look of sorrow and hopelessness Evelyn's heart hurt. She sniffed, feeling the burning sting of tears.

The Gladers. Her boys. Group B...Her family. Evelyn just about turned around and went back inside to huddle in the corner and wallow in the overwhelming feelings of lose and loneliness. The man cleared his gravely throat.

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it." He said it quickly, like he was trying to cover the awkward moment. "It's just...I had a nephew taken by those bastards almost twenty years ago. Never heard from him or about him ever again. I...I don't know what I was hoping for. I'm sorry." His voice had grown quiet and whistful.

Evelyn felt even sader.

"No...it's... it's okay. Just a bit bloody shocked is all. For one thing we were just dumped here today!" Newt said.

"Think the higher ups leaked the information so that you two would have perfection. Most people here are in the early stages, so their smart enough to know not to mess with someone like you guys."

"What?" Newt asked

"Why?" Evelyn frowned, "and what was your nephews name?"

"Does it buggen' matter, Lee? We found out we don't even have real names." Newt whispered bitterly.

"Mine is." She said quietly, "and maybe...maybe not all of you? I don't know Newt...I'm...I'm trying to be nice."

He huffed.

"His name was Jack." The stranger said eagerly, "did you know him?"

Evelyn froze, her eyes wide and mouth open. Newt's hand squeezed her shoulder, rather painfully. She started to tremble.

"Name name is familiar. Jack is a bloody popular name...."

"Aye. That it is lad."

"They took our memories, so we can't say for sure...but," he glanced at Evelyn, "but yes. We think we knew him."

The shadow collapsed to the ground in front of them, sobs made his body shiver and shake, he was as loud and he sobbed and cried as loud as a grown man possibly could.

"Uhh...listen, we can tell you what it was like? Maybe...maybe that'll help."

"We...we have friends out there trying to make good things happen..."

"Yes! Yes please, I would. I would like to hear your stories."

"Umm...sure, ya...but do you happen to have anything to eat..?" Evelyn asked as her stomach made the loudest rumble yet.