Sanction -Minho-

Chapter 42

When Teresa shouted Thomas's name as she crumbled to the ground beside his unconscious body, Minho felt a surge of hope. 

When the building blew, he remembered the air being ripped from his lungs. It was blurry after that. The next thing he remembered was Frypan holding him back as he struggled against him. At that point, they were outside. Minho kept thinking that he had to get to her. That Grace was inside, but there wasn't a building anymore. Just a pile of rubble. 

Jorge stared into space for a while, but they had to keep moving. WICKED was nearby. They ran numbly in the dark, unable to process what had happened. Grace and Thomas were inside. Minho was angry. He was angry with her. He was angry with himself. He should have made her go down the zipline first. He blamed himself.

When they had a moment to rest, it finally settled in for the group. Grace and Thomas were dead. They were dead. Jorge couldn't accept it. Brenda was with him. He said that she would have gotten them out another way, most likely the elevator shaft. They would have used the tunnels. Minho, for some reason, doubted him. Jorge explained the tunnels and how Brenda knew his original plan. They had to stick to it and meet them there. Newt disagreed, wanting to wait at the building in case Thomas and Grace returned. Jorge refused to stay. It was too dangerous.

So, they went. They went looking for someone named Marcus. Newt muttered under his breath multiple times about how this seemed like a bad idea. Minho barely listened. He could only think about Grace and how he left her behind because he was scared. He was so afraid of WICKED that he refused to stay in the building a second longer than needed. Maybe if he had eased her fears faster or forced her down the zipline, she would still be here.

He tried to keep hope, but his doubts got in the way. That was why when they arrived at the place Marcus owned, and he vaguely mentioned people looking for the group, he felt hopeful. However, he failed to say who or how many. When they entered the building, they split up. Teresa found Thomas quickly. Frypan found Brenda right after, but she wasn't alone. "Grace," Frypan shouted happily. "Minho, I got her!" But his smile fell when he saw she was barely conscious, only being held up by Brenda, who was also starting to blackout.

Minho pushed through the bodies, not caring how harsh his actions were. All he wanted since the building blew was to find Grace, to be with her. He noticed the blonde girl in Frypan's arms. "Grace!" He had never been so happy to see her. Without missing a beat, he wrapped his arms around her, but she wasn't trying to support her weight.

"Minho?" She was confused. That was when he noticed the large gash on her forehead, dried blood in her hair, and a bruise forming on her cheek. It was a horrid sight. His eyes were filled with an equal amount of concern and questions. Minho wasn't used to the feeling. He was scared. He hated being scared.

In the Glade, he was the calm, cool, and collected Keeper of the Runners. He ran in the Maze every day. He faced danger without batting an eye. But he never knew real fear until he watched that building explode. Now, he was scared all over again. Grace was hurt badly, and he had no idea how she got that way. None of them knew what Thomas, Brenda, and Grace encountered.

"Hey, hey," he stared down at her. "What happened?" The gentleness in his voice shocked Frypan, but he remained silent.

Grace smiled at him, but she was tired. Her body was tired. Keeping her eyes open was a struggle. "Are you real?" She wasn't sure if this was another hallucination. After seeing Jeff and Chuck, she didn't trust her own mind.

His heart ached at her words. He couldn't begin to imagine what the three experienced. "Very real. I promise." She nodded, seemingly believing him. Minho noticed that her pupils were blown, and her eyes were clouded. "What happened to you?" He wanted to know everything.