The Girl In The Safe Haven

Part Nine: Gage

You continued to get back as quickly as you could, but the Jeep could only go so fast. All you could think about was Gage and if he was okay. But there wasn't much he could do on his own, you weren't too worried about him.
Even so, you continued to drive as fast as the car could go, ready to use these radios to contact the Safe Haven and get there to reunite with everyone. To reunite with Newt. You were ready and you were so close.
You saw the road up ahead, it lead to the docks. You were almost back. Almost, but not yet.

Gage watched as the guards came around the corner of one of the buildings. They were checking inside and around as if someone was hiding from them. Well, there was in fact someone hiding from them and he could feel his body tremble.
He saw the light beams of their flashlights going right over his head. He ducked down quickly before the beam hit him and he thought for sure they had seen him. Gage had never been so scared in his entire life. It only amplified when he heard the sound of footsteps getting louder as they continued.
Gage held his breath as the large shadow of the man loomed over him. He could feel his body tremble and it took everything in him not to cry or scream. He was basically hugging the wall when the guard was almost close enough for Gage to see him. That was, until a voice boomed through the camp.
"Hey, Jon, come check this out!" It was the other guard, and the one inside the building with Gage walked away and the boy finally felt like he could breath again.
Once Gage found it safe, he exited the building and followed after the beam of light that was the guard. He got very nervous because they were going in the direction of the berg. The one thing you told him to do was protect the berg, and he knew he had to follow them, even though he was terrified.
Staying in the shadows, he watched as they did exactly as he thought they were going to do. They found the berg.
"How long you think it's been here?" The guard, Jon, asked, but the other guy shrugged.
"Donno, but I think it's from the train incident." The other guard informed. "So that means the Right Arm was here."
"We have to report this back to base." Jon said and Gage felt fear radiate through his body. They couldn't do that. Not only would that effect him and you but it would effect the Right Arm. He had to do something now.
He watched as the guards fumbled to grab their radios. Gage felt his foot brush against an object and he bent down to feel for it. It was a rock that brushed against his fingers and he didn't hesitate to pick it up.
It wasn't big but it would grab attention. Without taking a second thought, Gage jumped out from behind his cover and threw the rock at the guards before they could grab their radios. They both swore under their breath, completely forgetting about the radios when they turned to see Gage standing there.
He knew he had their attention, but he felt like making it more obvious in case they still couldn't see him in the dark.
"HEY!" Gage screamed with his young voice, "IM OVER HERE!"
"Is that a kid?" One of them asked but the other one loaded his launcher.
"I don't care, he threw a rock at us. Come on!" The guard said and Gage took that as a sign to run. So that's what he did.

You could see the buildings in the distance and you couldn't help but smile. Everything was working out, except for the fact that WICKED knew you were alive. But they didn't really know you were dead and soon the whole organisation was going down so you weren't worried.
You continued down the road to the point where you could hear the crashing waves from your opened window. Then, something caught your eye.
Another car.
Your smile went away and the nerves built up inside of you again. The car was fairly new, or at least it was kept up to date. But it couldn't be WICKED, right?
You hit the brakes so hard that the car skidded on the dusty road. You slammed the door open and ran down the hill to get to the camp. You felt your heart racing as your feet pounded against the sand only to find the fire was completely out and Gage wasn't there. You were beginning to panic.
"We've got him cornered!" You heard a deep voice, not Gage, announce, and you didn't hesitate to run in its direction.
The color drained from your skin when you saw the launchers pointed at the little boy who was hugging the wall. He was cornered and afraid. All instincts took over and you bolted after them.
When you were close enough you could see that the guards had heard you running as they turned their attention to you. However, you didn't give them time to react before you tackled one of them to the floor. You two rolled against the floor and launcher bullets shot out from their guns. Careful not to get shot, you slammed your elbow into the gut of the man you tackled. You then got to your feet to be face to face with the other guard. He looked scared, and so he should be.
You heard the other guard begin to get up so you punched the one you were facing and used his own gun against his friends. You listened as the electricity pulsed through the man as he tumbled to the floor again. As for the other guard, he was passed out on the floor. You must have punched harder than you thought.
Eventually, the man stopped twitching and his body went limp after going unconscious. You got up to your feet and wiped the sand off your legs.
"You okay Gage?" You asked but when you got no reply, you looked over in his direction, expecting to see him standing. He wasn't though. Instead, Gage lay motionless on the floor with two of the clamps stuck to his tiny chest.

"GAGE?!" You screamed as you shook the boy, hoping he would wake but he didn't. "Come on buddy! WAKE UP!"
The clamps in the launchers held electricity that could put a full grown person through an immense amount of pain. But Gage wasn't fully grown and his body wasn't strong enough to hold that electricity. It could be lethal.
"No, no, no, NO!" You screamed as you pulled the boy away from the unconscious guards. Once you were a good distance from them, you laid Gage across the floor and shook him again, trying to awaken him. You ripped the clamps from his chest and there were huge bruises and some blood. You then checked his pulse.
Nothing.
There was only one thing left to do now. You closed your hands over his chest and began chest compressions. You pushed down hard on his chest, so hard that his ribs cracked from the pressure. The sickening sound was blocked out by your heartbeat echoing in your ears.
He had to wake up. He had to.
After three minutes of chest compressions, there was still nothing. You couldn't give up, you couldn't. This kid had to get to the Safe Haven, you promised you'd get him there safely.
"Come on Gage!" You screamed in frustration and tears ran down your cheeks as your aching body continued. Your blood smeared across his small little shirt and you felt your body shake.
"Wake up!" You shouted, "please!"
Gage was the only thing that gave you hope when you lost it all. His way of looking at things the way a child would, but also being mature enough to understand, always helped you through. His curiosity only began to skim the surface, there was so much he hadn't seen yet, so much of the world he had yet to explore. He was so young, but you wanted him to grow old in a world that wasn't destroying itself. No flare, no absent parents, no WICKED.
You were about to stop, about to give up. There was no signs of him coming back and you couldn't help but blame yourself. He was your responsibility, you were supposed to take care of him, but you failed-
The boy jolted up with a gasp and he clawed at the air. You didn't hesitate to grab him and hold him tightly in your arms. You pulled the boy into your lap and he cried in the crease of your neck. You sobbed hard as well, holding the boy close.
You almost lost Gage. You almost lost him. It made you think of what it was like when you almost lost Newt. It was a horrible feeling, one that you never wanted to experience again.
"I'm sorry." Gage said hoarsely, stuttering against his sobs and you pulled him away from you and held him by the shoulders. You looked at him seriously as the two of you both had wet cheeks.
"You listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry about, you hear?" You asked and he nodded and you pulled him in again. This time you two didn't sob, just hugged.

You and Gage were sitting in the cockpit of the berg, the boy sleeping with his head on your lap. You couldn't sleep, you just leant against the wall and thought about all that had happened.
You got rid of the guards, driving them far away from the camp and taking away their radios so they couldn't communicate back to WICKED. You had the radios set up but seen as it was night, you found that it would be smarter to try and contact them tomorrow morning.
You couldn't stop thinking about how you almost lost Gage. It was one of the scariest moments of your life when his limp body laid in your arms. You tried not to think about it, but the crank Newt memory came back to bother you again. You thought about how unsettling it was for you to watch him deteriorate in front of you and almost die, not being able to do anything. Feeling useless.
You realised that this feeling is what all your friends at the Safe Haven were feeling, and if you hated it then they did too. You had to get back to them. If this incident wasn't proof of that then you didn't know what was.