honour above all.

there was one good thing about getting stuck with getting stuck with grass maintenance -- and that was that maverick was stationed not far away from him in the whole leave raking department.  so it was nice whenever newt got bored, he could always mosey over and mess with the nice piles that maverick had made.  despite the first look at newt -- the boy could be quite mischievous when prompted. he still was a nineteen year old boy after all.  now, happened to be one of the times that he had grown bored with his job. and instead of sprinkling the leaves over the other as he had been doing, newt had now just plopped full force into a pile of the leaves, beginning to make a fall version of a snow angel. “oh, did i make your job harder?” newt asked sarcastically, a grin on his face.

   it was easy to let your mind slip away from you  ,  to run ahead of the crowd  , to jump and leap to accusations  .  it’s why the second one of them cried wolf  ,  they all sharpened their knives and pitchforks  .  dylan’s gaze is focused on the boy  ,  he furrowed his brows  ,  trying to understand him  .  and he did  ,  for the most part  .  above most things  ,  newt was good and he was kind  ,  and like most people he knew  ,  dylan was drawn to them  .  maybe it far lacked from his own kindness  ,  maybe he hopes in the ability to be near them  ,  some of it may rub off on him  .  so he shakes his head  ,  turning back to the empty tree  .  “do you think we’re dead?” they could feel pain  ,  he still ached  ,  he still spent his days sleeping  .  maybe he was in hell  ,  maybe none of this was real and he’s in a coma  .  it all seemed far more possible than any of this  .  “where..” the word is repeated  ,  and chills are crept up to surprise him  ,  he shudders  ,  nearly  . lips pursed  ,  and he’s walking back  .  “are you religious  ,  newt  ?”  he certainly wasn’t  ,  but maybe some insight might have helped  .  how many days and weeks  ?  where did the buses go  ?  where were the cars  ,  and the people  ,  where did they begin  ,  if they had to start all over  ? another question  ,  with little give from his end  —–    he can’t help it  . 

newt read lord of the flies. he’s sure everybody had, it had been required reading for him growing up, he was sure everyone had shared the sentiment. he wasn’t sure if everybody remembered the story -- but they would at least remember one thing: the chaos. the devil, beelzebub, taking over the minds of the young boys.  anyone from the outside looking in could see the parallels.  because as lord of the flies went -- there was quiet before the chaos.  newt didn’t return the other’s gaze, his eyes surveyed the buildings around them -- glancing back to the light post every now and again where the other swear the bird was.  it was almost like he was waiting for it to just appear again -- as if their eyes and brain were only playing tricks on them.  the question made newt freeze involuntarily.  a battle happened in his brain debating between the two options, “i know the words of the bible.” is what he decided on. cryptic-- but the message still got across.  “why? you think beelzebub is having his way with us now?” the words were a bit funny in retrospect, a small grin appearing on newt’s face before it disappeared as quickly as it came.  “i don’t think we’re dead.  if Ben is truly gone, then how can you die twice?” 

   he’s been staring at it  ,  not bothering to look over his shoulder  .  even when newt speaks  ,  even when the obvious is thrown back in his face  ,  and surprise is filtered in agitation from the usually calm persona  .   but he can’t imagine  ——    how something like this was possible  .  did anyone really stop to think  ,  how  ?  how did all the birds vanish  ,  the animals  .  how did ben just disappear from the lot of them  ,  how long would it be until chaos finally reigned it’s ugly head  ?   he wants answers  ,  his brain practically demands them  .  there’s a difference  ,  though  .  going back to the world they came from  ,  he could do without  . he do without the butterflies  ,  the owls  ,  he could do without his father   —–  even if the guilt from his sister wrecked his subconscious in anxious waves  .  he could do without   ——   because anything is better than there  .  “where do you think they went?” it’s a loaded question  ,  one not meant for sobriety  . glancing over his shoulder  ,  the distance between them is kept with a puzzling furrow  .  “what happened to the roads  ,  and the bridge  ?  what happened to upstate  ?” silly boy  ,  he couldn’t answer your questions  . 

there was a storm. that’s it.  was it a false alarm, a bamboozle to get the college kids out of their home and into whatever this was. but for what?  who had anything to gain from doing this to them? newt couldn’t tell you the answers to the questions running through his own head as he joined the other in looking at the lamp post for couple seconds.  “i don’t know if it’s a matter of where they went.” he pondered, “i think it’s more a question of where did we go.”  he answered blankly -- the emotion that was portrayed in his voice only a few seconds ago had disappeared. nobody knew whether it was newt covering his emotions or the fact that the emotion had truly faded away. "we still don't even know if there's anything out there. it took centuries-- millions of centuries, for everything to be discovered. we just started back in the river civilizations. and i don't even think we have bronze as a starting point." well, at least everything was still built, and there was a lack of real need for armour or weapons. that was until they needed to start hunting -- but mostly everything they needed was here for them. what was the point of them being here? the question arose again. "we need to figure out why we're here -- and what happened. there has to be something in this town that can tell us that." but where do you even start?

a new roommate.  newt was grateful he was able to stay in the dorms.  there was a sense of comfort that came with that knowledge.  but layton -- he was not a man that newt knew well. although the boy never really had a problem making friends, there was something about the whole new situation that felt scary to him.  it was all new.  and they had to face it alone.  there was no more opportunity to call your parents when you were stuck in an issue and didn’t know how to face it.  no more little fights with your siblings ( unless you were fortunate enough for them to be here with you. ) there was nothing.  only them.  newt forced the thoughts out of his brain, there was no point in agonizing over it.  what is done is done.  he opened the door on the stranger -- no, his roommate. it was obvious that newt was startled to see him there. “uh, hi -- I’m newt.” he introduced himself.  was there even a need for introductions?  no. they had seen the names on the list, probably even saw one another around campus.  but talked? no. maybe introductions were a good starting point.

   he’s not wrong  —  ari will give him that  .  she’s found herself wondering around  ,  risking it all for the sake of company  .  brows are light  ,  her shoulders are soft  ,  and she kicks the red solo back to him in a almost playful pit of soccer  .  “it’s practically like the witch trials around here  .” ariana adds  ,  does she think tripp murdered someone  ?  no  .  had she thought sylvia was capable of it  ?  maybe  ——    but she didn’t  .  and sophie  ,  well she really didn’t know her at all  .  but that hadn’t meant you went around  ,  killing people  .  “either way  ,  he’s missing  .  which means he wondered out in the woods  ,  and got himself hurt  , or he disappeared with the rest of them  .  i don’t know which is worse  ..” 

he stopped the solo cup with his foot, shuffling it back and forth before kicking it back.  a skill he still obtained from playing soccer with his friends growing up.  but only casually, newt had never been competitive enough to be on a real sports team.  he was usually just happy the way things were -- not something teammates very much appreciated.  “they always say history finds a way to repeat itself.  i thought we were going to be done after the whole communist outbreak too.” he spoke as if he lived through the event. “i hope selene and tripp are checking for shrooms in the bread.” he joked.  after a brief moment of thought, newt shrugged, “or he found a way back.” he mused -- almost woefully.