The Death Cure Trials (TMR Love Triangle)

Prologue

"I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you. Take me back to the night we met, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you."

Third person perspective

GALLY WAS DEAD the last time Penelope had seen him. His heart was barely beating, his face devoid of any emotions, the same way in which Chuck had been in his last moments. 

He had suffered near-fatal injuries after being controlled by W.I.C.K.E.D. and a spear to the chest, but Vince assured me he would be tended to by medical staff from The Right Arm. Penelope had twitched in her chair constantly, aching to go and see him from just opposite herself, but stayed planted in the uncomfortable seat.

There is always a choice in life, and those who argue that there isn't are those who are afraid to take the jump. The choice isn't always necessarily obvious, of course, sometimes it's as simple as choosing left or right, or what to eat, but sometimes the choice is life or death, Chuck or Gally, staying and leaving.

With that being said, Penelope doesn't think she regrets much in my life, and if she could go back to the start, to come up in that box with her memories all erased once again, she wouldn't change a thing. Of course, she'd like to think that it'd give her more time to sort things out if she could go back.

Warning Ben not to go into the maze, telling Alby to stay in the homestead that morning, protecting Chuck when she wasn't able to, telling Newt and Thomas how she really felt about them.

Penelope may still wonder how she truly do feel about the two, and sitting there in the back of a military berg, swinging her feet against the floor which barely scrapes against the sole's of her feet due to her height, she can't help but wonder where they are. If they're still alive it'd be a miracle after what Vince has told her about W.I.C.K.E.D, though she supposed they wouldn't be able to kill Thomas off, he's too valuable, which sounds like bullcrap to her.

Asshole or not, she still found myself missing him at various points in the day, like when Vince offered her food and she knew Thomas wouldn't be there to steal it from her, or when she was combing her hair with her hands in the way he used to do, and she'd hit knots and simply ignore the pain.

There was Newt too, and how she didn't have him by my side anymore, his loving arm wrapped around me in support for no reason, or giving me surprises throughout the day. Maybe it's selfish of her to say that she wished she was back in their room in the homestead, Tommy and Chuck working outside, but she'd never really been a people pleaser; she supposed it was far too late now to ponder over it.

Penelope didn't know what to expect when Vince took Gally and herself out of the maze, in fact she didn't know anything at all after going into a state of shock after what she had witnessed, knowing she was too late, but he had tried to talk to her about how the world is nowadays.

Vince says that sun flares scorched the world long before she was born, and that most of the tropics were in a state of complete scorch, desert wasteland for miles upon miles, and there are few cities such as Denver where people live normally, as normal as they can. He says the children W.I.C.K.E.D. take are immunes, but he called those like Penelope munies, said people on the street don't like them very much. 

Reputation wasn't necessarily her biggest priority after he had explained the flare, though, and she barely understood the origin of it, but he told her it worked in stages. Infected, dead, beyond the dead, at least she thought that's what they were.

Apparently you should stay away from those who are infected or dead, and never ever approach someone beyond the dead due to violent habits and high infection rates. It made her sick just thinking about it after he had explained black veins and a complete detachment from human emotions.

Penelope's leg bounces up and down in anticipation while the berg shakes and sputters in shaking lurches, presumably coming to an unstable landing as her thoughts ran wild across her brain.

Perhaps one day, Penelope had thought, granted they break free from W.I.C.K.E.D.'s hold on them, she'll be able to see them all again, words can't describe how much she misses Jeff and the others.

Jeff had died the night they escaped the maze, of course, it was an inevitable, controlled variable thrown in by W.I.C.K.E.D. after he had thrown himself in the line of attack of a griever in order to save Minho.

Minho hadn't been able to forgive himself for it, constantly biting at his nails as he tried to take on the role of leader after Thomas had stepped down from the role when they had entered the scorch after narrowly escaping W.I.C.K.E.D. with their faces planted on every single poster in the cities.

Thomas hadn't been able to function after his argument with Penelope, knowing his last words to her were out of toxic jealousy and refusal to let her make her own decisions. In a sick, twisted way, he sort of wished he had pulled her into the maze with them, just so that she would still be with them.

Newt hadn't spoken a word to anyone except Thomas and Aris since leaving the maze, since realizing the reality of the situation. He only complained about sickness and the scorch, never once mentioning Penelope's name around others.

He cried a lot; in the nights in the scorch, sleep was scarce and often replaced by the emptiness in Newt's hollowed out heart, no longer fulfilled with Penelope sleeping in his arms as she once had, substituted only by soft tears which escaped only when he was alone.

Perhaps the same could be said for all of them, believing Gally and Penelope were dead, and the pair believing that all of the gladers were gone as they all collectively continued on their journey to the mountains.