To Breathe Again (Chapter One)

AN: Please make sure to read the prologue. The link is in the description. Takes place a year after The Death Cure.

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It was dusk, if what Newt could tell from the windows was any indication. The fiery light shone in through a few sparse windows that were high up on the wall, near the ceiling, and the room was an off white color, the same color as the soft pajamas he was wearing.

After the man and woman had helped him out of the glass tub, they had dried him and dressed him before giving him a physical. It was very simple; they listened to his heart and lungs, checked his hearing, sight, throat, reflexes, and temperature, among other things. They were exceptionally gentle with him, being careful as they touched him and making sure to keep him informed about their procedures, not wanting to unnerve him.

Newt tried to ask them questions; where he was, what was going on, but they tenderly shushed him, telling him that his questions would be answered soon.

Once they were finished, the man escorted Newt down the hall to an unoccupied room. It was an average sized room consisting of off white walls and was furnished with a simple twin bed against the wall, a small end-table and a chair that faced towards the bed. The bed was soft, the room had a gentle warmness to it and as Newt sat on the bed, he felt somewhat at ease.

He still didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there; when he thought about it it was just a slab of darkness. He tried to remember who the people in his memories were, but they were just faces. A young man with sandy brown hair, an Asian man with a snarky smile, a dark skinned man... just faces. He could feel no emotional connection to them and that worried him. Was there something wrong with his brain, that his memories had no emotions attached to them?

As he sat there musing over the problem, a plate of food was delivered; crackers and cheese, chicken pieces coated with honey, apple slices and a cup of milk, all in small portions. According to the man, Newt's stomach wasn't ready for a big meal quite yet. They needed to take it slow at first and that didn't bother Newt to much, he wasn't that hungry anyway, although the food did look good.

Then the man had left, leaving Newt to nibble quietly on his meal. He sighed softly and focused on the tastes running over his tongue as he ate, the sweet honeyed meat, the fresh, juicy apple, the crunch of the crackers. He ate until the plate held nothing but scraps and as he was finishing the last of the cool, smooth milk, the door opened and a woman walked in.

She was older then him but still young, in her mid twenties and refined. Her face was narrow, vulpine like with high cheekbones and she had black hair, the wavy strands almost brushing the tops of her shoulders. Her high heeled shoes clicked quietly as she entered the room and she was wearing a dress shirt, a dark gray formal coat and a pencil skirt. She sat in the chair across from the bed, crossed her long legs, flipped open the binder she was carrying and looked up at Newt, pinning him with her hot yet penetrating gaze.

Newt felt his face grow warm, suddenly self conscious under her regard. She had green eyes; eyes that made him feel that she could see through his painfully thin, white pajamas; see inside his body. He shifted, a bit embarrassed, and looked back into her eyes, deciding not to be overcome.

Slowly, she smiled at him and his heart did a funny little flip in his chest. He tried his best to ignore it.

“Good evening, Mr. Newton,” she said calmly, “My name is B. Ross. I am the Head Coordinator of the Blueprint Regeneration Experimental Department and your personal overseer. I'm sure you have plenty of questions so please, ask me anything you wish.”

Feeling a boost of empowering confidence at her words, Newt smiled a bit and sat up straighter, resting his hands on his knees, legs spread slightly apart to get comfortable. Good, now he'd get his answers and make plans, decide if he wanted to stay here. The people here had been nice to him so far but he didn't know them, not anymore then the faces in his memory. He needed to sort things out first.

“Thank you,” he said, trying to be polite, “I know you said that this is the Blueprint Regeneration Experimental Department but what is that and where am I exactly?”

The woman, Ross, didn't hesitant.

“The Blueprint Regeneration Experimental Department, or BRED, is a section of a greater organization that focuses on repairing the damage done to the human race due to the sun flares and corresponding Flare epidemic,” she said, “Our main goal here is to apply the blueprint we have managed to create to alter the genetic make up of those not immune to the disease. Essentially, we are reconstructing human beings from DNA to be immune to the Flare. As for where you are...”

She smiled, slyly.

“You are in WICKED, dear Newt.”