Till The WICKED End | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

4. A decision

We stood up and made our way to our friends. Heath and Nico waved at us as we passed them and I smiled back. It felt good not to be looked at again because you were the one who had survived and eventually even destroyed WICKED, but just to be greeted by your friends.
Francesca pushed two kids aside and we reached the others. Brenda had also arrived with them by now and she, Jorge and Thomas were sitting on the floor talking. I dropped down next to him and as if automatically we touched each other briefly with the palms of our hands. Those few seconds were enough to see what he was thinking, as well as the other way around. I had to smile when he showed me a picture of Minho, who had apparently fallen down quite spectacularly during a race through the dunes with some kids. Then the moment was gone and I was back in reality, where Gally was just sitting down next to me.
"Hey," he smiled.
"Hey," I replied.
"How are you?"
"It's fresh, but otherwise I'm fine," I explained as I wrapped my arms around my legs. "And you?"
Immediately, he gently put an arm around me.
"I'm great. I'm just pretty hungry."
I had to laugh. Actually, Gally was always hungry, so this was nothing new. As if on cue, Fry Pan approached us and placed a tray of food in front of us. Everyone took a plate, Minho and Francesca sat down on the floor as well, and Fry Pan ate with us, too. It was good to sit together like this, a little like we used to before all that happened. I thought that every time we all ate together.
"This is really good, Fry," Gally mumbled between bites.
Again I had to laugh and this time I felt Francesca's gaze on me. We looked at each other for a moment and a smile spread across her face. Barely noticeably, she nodded before turning back to Minho.
We finished eating and soon everyone was engrossed in some conversation. People were talking about their day, the weather, the temperature. All topics that somehow didn't really grab me. I would have loved to get up and just go to sleep, but Jorge was in the middle of telling me about his past as a pilot. I listened to his story with half an ear, nodding every now and then to show that I was interested, because actually I was, but it was incredibly difficult for me to keep my mind on the Bergs he was describing. All the while, I couldn't help thinking about Gally, who still had his arm around me and was talking to Minho and Francesca. It was really time to stop keeping him at a distance, I realized that as never before.
When Jorge had ended with his story, I closed my eyes for a moment. It was the right thing to do, I knew that, yet I felt my hands begin to sweat as the feeling of betraying Newt came back to me. Still, I took one deep breath in and out, then turned to Gally and looked at him promptly.
"I'd like to walk a bit..."
That didn't sound very convincing.
Now pull yourself together, Anna.
He looked at me in confusion.
"I'd like to be alone for a bit... With you," I added.
His expression changed immediately. A smile spread on his face and he nodded. Then he stood up and helped me to my feet as well. As we left the fire, I felt a gaze on me and knew immediately who it belonged to, even before I turned around. Francesca grinned broadly at me and nodded, more obviously this time.
We made our way among the other people who were either sitting on the ground or a log, or standing around in small groups. Finally we reached the beach and walked parallel to the ocean without either of us saying anything.
At some point Gally carefully took my left hand in his and our fingers intertwined as if by themselves. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him looking at me. The light of the moon, which had risen in the meantime, was reflected in his eyes, just as it was in the sea, whose calm surge rushed softly on our left side. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, but I had no idea where to start. In fact, I had avoided being alone with him for the past few months, and I realized he must have noticed. I hadn't done this with any ill will at all, I had just been completely overwhelmed with the whole situation and still was.
We were a good distance from our quarters and the light from the fires did not penetrate to here. So we were really alone. I swallowed, then cleared my throat and stopped. Slowly I turned to him, still unable to form a clear thought. He looked me in the eyes and still held my hand.