𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 , thomas ¹

𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏, a knife through the heart

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑.
[ chapter eighteen ]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

THAT VOICE — Evelyn recognises it immediately, the pain in it causing her to whip around in surprise, her eyes meeting her best friend's void, lifeless ones. She wants nothing more than to run up to him and question him, just like he did with her when she was hurting - but a part of her knows that something isn't right. Why would he go all through the maze?

Her eyes slowly make their way Ava's revolver in his hand, his knuckles going white as he grips it tightly. 

"Gally?" Thomas stammers as he steps forward, causing Eve's hand to fly up to his chest, pushing back gently as she shakes her head.

"Don't." She sighs sadly, "Gally- uh, he's been stung." The words almost burn her tongue and it's something she never wanted to hear leaving her lips.

Gally's nose flares as he lets the key for the Griever hole fall to the ground and it rolls away, "We can't leave." He states, his hands trembling.

Evelyn lifts her top up, secretly slipping a knife out of her waist band and keeping it by her side. She knows how to easily disarm a man, without killing him.

"We did. Gally, we're out." Thomas tells him, his hands out in front of him in caution, "We're free."

"Free?" He almost laughs, his face screwing up into an even bigger grimace than before as he motions to the ramp behind the group, "You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place." Slowly, his arm raises, bringing the gun with it as he aims it directly at Thomas, the Gladers stepping back slightly in surprise.

"Gall, listen to me." Eve's lips quiver as she speaks with a soft tone and her fingers tighten around her knife, "You're not thinking straight, okay? You're not. We can help you." She licks her dry lips, "Just put down the gun. Yeah? Please."

His head shakes, his finger moving to rest on the trigger, "I b-belong to the maze."

Time stops, only for a split second while his finger swiftly presses against the trigger, causing Evelyn's instincts to kick in as she does the one thing she's been training to do for three years. Gally was always the one who encouraged her to be determined and keep up with self-defence - yet, here he was: Regretting his decision.

He gags as he drops to his knees, his hands clutching at the small hole in his chest until he's lifeless and on his side, his arms falling limp.

A loud yell passes Eve's lips and she skids to the ground beside his blackened body, the gun clanging against the tiled flooring. The knife lodged in his rib cage causes her to cry out louder as she realises what she's done, her shaky hands hovering over his form as she's unsure of what to do and how to help. Tears spill down her bloodied cheeks while she whispers his name in pain, her forehead lowering to rest on his shoulder.

For a few metres away, Thomas' heart shatters at the sight of the girl in so much pain - sobs racking her body as she squeezes her eyes shut in attempt to stop the waterworks. The Gladers behind him gasp, more at the fact that Evelyn seems so vulnerable over a boy who just threatened to shoot one of them, but Thomas sees past it all, just wanting to bring her into a warm embrace. Just as he steps forward to comfort her, a small whimper is heard from beside him, bringing him to a halt, "Thomas..."

His head snaps down to his side, noticing a circle of blood form on the youngest boy's t-shirt and it dawns on him - Chuck's been shot, "No. Chuck, Chuck." Quickly, he presses his hand against the wound, lowering him down onto the floor while he breathes heavily, "Shit. Shit." Thomas scrambles at the boy's jacket, trying to apply the firmest pressure, "Hey, look at me, look at me, look at me." He urges and Chuck tries his best to follow his commands, just like he's always done, "Oh, shit. No. Chuck, look at me, alright? I got you. I need you to just hang on."

The rest of the group crouch down slightly, tears now slipping past their eyelids and small gasps escaping their lips in realisation. Evelyn, on the other hand, has no clue of the commotion happening behind her while she continues to cry over her best friend - every other noise blocked out.

"Thomas, Thomas." The small boy lazily lifts his hand up, gripping the dark haired boy's shoulder while he opens his other palm, revealing the small wooden figure he'd been working on for a month.

Thomas shakes his head, pressing it back into the young boy's chest, "No, no, Chuck. You're gonna give it to them yourself. I told you that." Not only is he trying to convince Chuck, he's also trying to convince himself that he'll survive.

"Take it." He whispers, pushing it into Thomas' fist.

"No."

"Thank you." Chuck smiles as much as he can, "Thank you... a-and... tell... Eve.. I said... t-thank you." He coughs out quietly.

"No, Chuck, you're gonna-" The feel of his heartbeat stop brings Thomas' word to a halt as his eyes search the boy's face, in hope for some sign of life, "Chuck?" His lip quivers as he shakes his shoulder in attempts to awaken him, "Chuck? Hey! Hey, Chuck, come on!" Tears slip down his cheeks, soaking his shirt, "Come on, wake up." Gently, he presses his head against Chuck's chest, just like Evelyn with Gally a few metres away, "Damn it. We're out. We made it. Come on."

Eve's head shoots up, her lip still quivering as she turns around slightly, noticing the limp body of Chuck on the floor, Thomas sobbing loudly. Her face drops even more and she shakes her head, another painful shout leaving her lips. Two of her closest people... gone. Minho glances over to her, his face just as saddened as hers while he sends her a sympathetic look.

Her hands press over her mouth as she tries to silence her cries while Thomas continues to shoot at the pale boy below him. She spins around again, her fists still full of Gally's blood covered shirt, "Why? Why us?" She whispers into his chest while her mind blacks all her surroundings out.

A pair of strong arms wrap around her torso and attempt to pull her away from Gally but she refuses to be moved away, shouts of protest leaving her lips as her head whips around in search for help, noticing Thomas getting pulled up the exit ramp just like her - the rest of the Gladers jogging quickly in front of him across sand. The man holding her mutters quiet words to her, trying to calm her down and she eventually gives up struggling - allowing them to rip her away from the only place she's ever known as home. One last time, she screams for Gally and Chuck, throwing her head back in desperation.

Before she even has time to process everything, Minho is hauling her into a helicopter where she's thrown carelessly beside Thomas, her hands flying up to her cheeks to wipe away her continuous tears.

"You guys alright?" A man pants from in front of the group, earning a scared silence in response, "Don't worry. You're safe now. Everything is going to change."

Evelyn eyes stare gloomily at her dirty shoes while her friends manoeuvre around to see the view of the place they had managed to finally escape from. Everyone falls back into their original position, the size of the maze overwhelming them.

Thomas slowly lifts his eyes to look at Eve's emotionless face, each breath she lets out being shaky and broken. He slips his hand into hers, letting their fingers be interlocked on the floor, calming each of them down slightly. She opens her mouth to speak to him but no words leave, just another sob.

It was over, they were finally out and none of them were sure of what to think.

"Unfortunately, your trials have only just began."