The Death Cure Rewrite

Part 13

I rounded the shelf, holding my arms around Thomas to help him walk out, though I felt like I could barely walk myself. "Teresa, come on!" I called over my shoulder as I went through the doors. Both cranks were satisfied with chomping down on one man at the moment, so we had ample time to get out. I tried to go left, but a light bulb burst, sending down sparks that made Thomas grunt in pain when his stomach muscles tensed.

I turned the other way and Teresa said, "This way."

Thomas was getting heavier and not because I was getting weaker, though I'm sure I was. He was losing too much blood, losing consciousness, and I couldn't stop the blood flow from mine since I had to carry him. It felt like every movement I made caused the bullet to burrow deeper into my flesh.

"Thomas, please help me. I can't carry you on my own. You have to walk," I pleaded Teresa burst into a stairwell, but we couldn't go down because a fire was starting below, so we had to go up. It was so hot in the enclosed space, I was sweating so much and it didn't help that Thomas was sweating even more. "You're doing great, Tommy, just a little more."

My thighs actually began to hurt with the weight I was carrying and the stairs, and I breathed in fresh relief once we burst through the door onto the roof. I wasn't completely sure how we were getting down, but for right now, it was fresh air. It was also burning to the ground this very moment.

I couldn't tell if it was just this building going up in flames or if it was the entire city. We were surrounded on all sides and the emergency stairs on the side of the building were nonexistent now. I readjusted Thomas, apologizing when he groaned, and turned back to the door. We could find a different set of stairs. The door burst open as another explosion went off inside, licks of fire shooting out towards us.

Teresa stared at it and Thomas fell to his knees, looking like he was close to death. I was crying before I even realized it as I pulled him into my arms. "No, Thomas, no, you can't leave me." He breathed heavily as I looked around, hoping to find something that we could use. It was fruitless because everywhere I looked, all I saw was red and orange flame licking up towards the sky.

I bowed my head, trying to steady my cries as I pressed a hand over Thomas' on his wound. My eyes were closed, but I could still feel him looking up at me, waiting for me to look at him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't get you out."

"It's not-." He grunted lightly. "Not your fault." His forehead nudged mine, his soft hint for me to look at him. I opened my eyes, my tears dropping into his cheeks. "It's not your fault. Hey. I love you. So much it hurts."

"It's because you got shot," I said through my tears, trying to make us not so sad in our final moments. It worked because he chuckled lightly, his breath hitting my face, but then he winced in pain. "If I'm gunna die, I'm glad that the last person I see is you."

His bottom lip trembled as he nodded. "Me, too." Seeing him cry was harder than burning myself, so I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to his.

For a moment, everything fell away. There was no fire, no Flare, no pain. It was peaceful like laying in a meadow. There was a world, it was beautiful. It had a sun but a cool breeze to counter the heat. The grass was greener, the trees were taller. And the best part about it was there were only two people in that world, and it was only accessible through our kiss.

We parted and he rested his head on my chest, getting weaker and weaker the more blood he lost. He hugged my arms around him, waiting for the fire to suck us in. I didn't know what Teresa was doing or where she was, but it was the least of my concerns. In this moment, it was just us.

The moment was broken by a plane that flew above the edge of the building, its lights on us. I stared at it, wondering if it was going to shoot a missile at us. When they didn't, I realized that was our group. I fervently began to stand on wobbly legs, forcing him up with me. "Come on, Thomas. We can make it. Get up!"