Work Text:
Two years before Children
Jay, Awinita, Cara, and Natalia were hidden in the rafters of a Right Arm base. This was their very first mission. After a year of extensive training, WCKD had finally sent them out into the field. Thomas and Teressa had been nervous about sending the kids out so young, but Janson wouldn’t budge. Natalia was only five, the youngest of the group. A year was the only thing separating the four children in terms of age.
Awinita watched the people underneath her mull about, doing whatever it was WCKD said they needed to be terminated for. She saw children, just like her, her friends, and the group of kids Thomas and Teressa sometimes needed to be with. What did these kids do to deserve death?
They didn’t agree to be a part of the trials . Awi reminded herself. They refused to help keep the world safe .
With these reminders, she looked around her. Jay, Cara, and Natalia were scattered about the rafters, all waiting on her. It was Awinita’s job to drop the bombs. Natalia and she had been working nonstop for weeks with their combined skills in engineering and computers to get the devices right. Now, they got to test it out on real-life flesh and bone. Not the silicon fakes in the training rooms.
Taking a deep breath, Awinita reached into the duffle bag sitting beside her. Taking as many as would fit in her small hands, the child let them fall. After a moment’s deliberation, the feeling of cold feet and just wanting to get it over with as fast as possible, Awinita dumped the entire bag out onto the floor and people below her. As Jay, Cara, and Nat joined her, Awintia watched as some adults picked up the small devices to examine them, while others pulled the children away and looked up to where they fell from. Awinita froze when she locked eyes with a young mother, clutching a small infant to her chest. Although the young woman couldn’t see the 6-year-old above her, it felt like she was piercing Awinita’s soul.
Feeling someone pull on her arm, Awinita looked and saw Cara. Her brown eyes conveyed a message words weren’t needed to say.
I know it hurts. But we have to.
Looking behind her, Jay and Natalia were waiting by the vent they’d entered from, the same message in their eyes. With one last look at the ground below her, Awinita took a deep breath before joining her friends. Her family. As they jumped out of the went, Jay nodded to Natalia. The small girl pulled out a detonator and pressed the button. The building immediately became an inferno of flame, flying debris, and screams of agony. It took everything in Awinita to keep running and block out the sounds. The further they got, the easier it was. Until it wasn’t. Standing several feet in front of them, watching the fire in horror, stood a small girl and a middle-aged man. The young girl’s eyes met the group, and she pulled on the man's sleeve. He looked at the four, recognizing the label on their clothing.
“What are you WCKD kids doing out here?” he asked, pushing the young girl behind him.
Jay pulled out the pistol hanging from his belt and pointed it at the man's heart. Cara stepped up next to the boy, signaling for him not to fire. “You’re not Right Arm, so we have no orders pertaining to you. We’ll let you live-”
“3!” Jay said, ordering her to stop talking without saying her actual name and giving away more than was needed. No information needed to be given. This was a simple get-in-get-out. No witnesses. And there were two standing right in front of them. Awnita locked eyes with the girl hiding behind the man’s legs. Awinita wanted to show some emotion. But exposing emotion to people who aren’t your own is dangerous . Awnita once again reminded herself. They can use it against you. Stay cold, stay heartless.
“We’ll let you live,” Cara continued, with a harsh look at Jay before turning her attention to the man and child. “If you promise not to tell a single soul that you saw us. We’ve already taken a lot more lives than kids our age should have too.”
The man looked at each of them, then to the girl behind him, then to the group again. “Fine, you have my word.”
“Good.” It was as Jay spoke and he lowered the pistol that Awinita noticed his hand was shaking. He’d never wanted to fire, was just following an order. No witnesses. Jay was prepared to do his job, no matter how much Awinita knew it would scar him later. Awinita already knew she’d be scared for life.
***
Three Days After Revelations
Awinita shot up in bed. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she took deep, calming breaths. Natalia, Cara, and Jay lay sleeping peacefully on the floor of their cabin around her. She was at the Safe Haven, she was okay. Afraid to try and fall back asleep, Awi stood up and made her way to the beach. It was still dark outside, people were still gathered around the bonfire they’d lit only four hours earlier.
As she passed, Awnita paused and watched the flames dance. Within them, she could see the charred bodies, flaming corpses. She could still hear their screams echoing in her ears. With a shudder and shake of her head, Awinita continued on her path and sat herself down on the sand. She’d neglected to put her shoes on when leaving the cabin, so her toes were free to get buried by the sand, helping to ground her in a feeling of safety. After a couple of minutes, someone else joined her. Brenda didn’t look at Awinita, just watched the sea. “You okay?”
“Can’t sleep. Nightmare.” Awinita shrugged. She doesn’t remember why the nightmare started. One face, that of a young mother clutching an infant to her chest was vaguely familiar. Assuming it was from a mission that had gotten wiped from her mind, Awnita tried not the think about it much. It didn’t come that often anyway. Several moments of silence passed before Brenda spoke again.
“When you four came back with the boys that first time, me and Jorge both thought you two looked familiar. But then you left,” Branda said. “Now that you’re back, it’s taken me a couple of days. Especially with the change in hairstyles.” She added with a laugh.
“I don’t have any memories of you other than when we first came here with Newt,” Awinita confessed, watching the waves crash on the shore.
“When I was eight, me and Jorge were heading to a Right Arm base. We were hoping to steal some supplies. Once it was in our sight, it burst into flames. And out came running these four kids, my age or younger.” Brenda said. “They pulled a gun on Jorge, but decided to let us live as long as we didn’t tell anyone we saw them.”
“That was us.” Awintia finished the other girl’s thought. “That must be where my nightmare is from.”
“You could ask Thomas, he probably remembers something. If not, you can always check those files you brought back with you.” Brenda suggested. “There’s a lot of them, and it seems like we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”
“I’m glad we let you live. Even if I don’t remember it,” Awinita spoke after a moment of silence. “The boys rely on you a lot.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you’re one of the only girls in a group of boys.” Brenda laughed. “You have to be the sensible and reliable one.”
Awnita laughed as well. She might not remember anything, but that didn’t matter all that much right now. All that mattered was making new ones with her new friends and family.