Tired of Running

86|| crashing

// did you see the sparks
filled with hope?
you are not alone;
someone's out there,
sending out flares \\

Teresa skidded into the room, the knife raised in her hand, Minho froze in time, Harper was fighting against her restraints even more now. The guards ran from the room, forgetting all about the plan with the Subjects. Jansen didn't hesitate, as soon as they rounded the corner, he lowered the syringe towards Harper's neck.  Minho was screaming.  Just before he pressed the plunger, his body collapsed on top of Harper, unconscious:  Harper looked up, eyes wide.  Teresa was holding a crowbar, her eyes just as wide as Harper's.  Minho started laughing, the relief just coming out as sheer joy.  Teresa unlatched Harper's ties, Harper rushed over to Minho, cutting through his restraints with the knife buried in her waistband. "How long have you had that?" Teresa's expression was a perfect mix of impressed and horrified. Harper just smirked, pulling her friend to his feet. "Let's go find them before Jansen does..." Jansen wouldn't hesitate to kill Thomas. Gun shots echoed off the walls in a distant hallway but the direction wasn't clear. "Get us there—" Harper raised her knife towards Teresa. She wasn't wasting anymore time here. Teresa's eyes widened, surprised by the sudden change of trust, "Now!" Minho shoved her, making her move her shucking feet. Teresa lead them through hallways and restricted rooms at a run. The red lights were still flashing, but Harper could only be amused by the fact that her brother was a top level security threat. That's my boy...

The trio skidded to a stop, mutually surprised to run into soldiers fleeing in a panic. Minho smirked, finally able to fight something, "Cowards," Harper helped Minho take out the two men, pocketing their guns. Teresa looked at her friends in horror, once again admiring their fight. They flew past a security room, but Harper stopped them. She rushed over to the giant computer screens, trying to locate her rescue party. "There!–" Minho pointed to a stairway, "Towards the hospital wing! We just came from there—" He was cut off by an explosion. The building shook, throwing Minho to the ground, sending Harper into Teresa. "We have to go- We have to go! We'll meet the others outside; come on!" Harper had tuned him out, staring at the cracked screen with a new focus. Thomas was there... But she only had eyes for the boy running along behind him. Newt.

Harper changed her course, blindly running back in the direction of the hospital wing. Minho was calling to her but she wasn't reachable. The building shuddered again, smoke rising from the vents. The windows cracked, the city outside burning. People were screaming in the building now, the gun fire growing louder and more manic. Teresa slid around the corner just as Minho slammed another guard against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Another window broke, this time as a body was thrown through it. Rounding another corner, the building creaked, one side starting to collapse. Harper fell forward, colliding into two more bodies. She raised her gun and struggled to find her footing. Arms wrapped around her before she could register faces or her surroundings. Panic bubbled up before she realized the embrace was friendly, and the arms were familiar.

"Newt-" Her voice failed her, along with her emotions. She began to sob against the boy, closing her eyes, more gunshots fired, guards, subjects and soldiers fell. "We gotta go!-" Minho looked at Newt and Harper impatiently. Not now. There isn't time. Smoke thickened, now flames rose. Newt just nodded, understanding the look. He scooped Harper into his arms. Thomas lead the group down several floors of stairs. The elevator collapsed, dropping along with the people inside it. Harper tried to push away the panic building inside her, but she had to fight on. They had to get out of here.

They cleared the stairs, almost getting trampled by the frantic crowd sprinting to safety away from the building. The building was dropping. People unable to clear it as it crashed down in pieces. Harper screamed, knocked forward by someone. A body was on top of her– bloody, dead. Thomas dragged the body off, Harper stood again, just as Newt was getting to his feet. The WCKD trucks were coming now; wrangling Subjects again, running people over. Newt grabbed Harper tightly, pulling her against him. He was crying. His cheeks were hot and wet, streaked with blood, smoke and ash. "Newt—" Harper was still sobbing, collapsing into the boy's shaking frame, unable to hold herself up any longer. People were screaming, cement chunks crashing down on them from the ceiling and walls, flaming boards falling on people. They would collapse as the fire bit at them, screaming until they came to a morbid end. Teresa yanked her jacket off as a stray flame went after her. Thomas pulled her away from the fire, trying to shield her from the fire's heat and the choking ashes. The roar of the fire, the screams of the people... Harper covered her ears, burying her face against Newt.

Just as the doorway started to collapse, another explosion shook the ground. The neighboring buildings were coming down too. The explosion damaged the remaining living eardrums. Harper cried out in pain, but all she heard was the loud, painful ringing in her ears. More gunshots fired, sending Harper to the ground in cover. Newt was bleeding, a hole ripped through his side. The boy collapsed, Harper screamed but couldn't hear it.
She was not going to lose him now. "NEWT-" Minho collapsed next to him, putting pressure on it. Newt moaned, blood trickling from his mouth. Minho exhaled, "There's an exit wound," Harper didn't hear him, stuck on the thought of losing him now... After everything. Newt wheezed, "I'm fine," Minho pulled him up, Newt paled from the pain, but they had to move.

From the rubble, a scorched, limping figure emerged. Jansen. Gun raised, hair gone, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. Thomas had been knocked to the ground by Teresa, who saw the Ratman coming first. Harper was stumbling around, still deaf, her vision blurred from the smoke. Jansen fired his gun twice, laughing manically as he cocked it to fire again. Teresa gasped, feeling the bullet rip through her chest.  Thomas dropped near Teresa, holding her up against him, "No, no no no no no," he pleaded, "You're going to be okay... You're going to be fine..." 
"Thomas!  We need to go!"  Minho was shaking him, "Come on!  Grab her!  Let's go!"  Teresa was gasping for air, a tear rolling down her cheek, staring up at Thomas, "Go- Go...  You have to get out of here..."  "No.  NO, I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO-"  Teresa pulled herself up enough to reach her lips to Thomas' one last time, "I'm sorry," As she pulled away, her head slummed against Thomas.  Thomas screamed, begged, pleaded with the world to just bring her back.  Minho grabbed Thomas, dragging him away by the shirt collar. 

Thomas continued to scream. 
As the world crashed down around him.