Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 40

They woke before the sun had fully risen.

They walked in silence through the desert. The wind wasn't nearly as bad, but that was where their luck ended. No food. No water. Nothing but sand and sunshine.

Every step hurt. Emma was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She wanted all of this to be over. When they escaped the Maze, they were supposed to go home. Now, home was gone, and they were on the run.

Thomas had yet to lose his optimism, but Emma could see it fading with every step. He no longer pushed them to keep going but refused to slow down.

They never stopped for breaks or to rest. The silence gave her a lot of time to think. She thought about her dead friends and the creatures that chased them. She thought about Gally the most. His smile. The way his cheeks would fill with color, making his freckles vanish momentarily. He was beautiful.

He was.

He would never be beautiful like that again. His body would rot, and then he would be nothing but bones. He would never blush again. Would never crack another horrible joke or laugh. Emma would never feel his touch, his warmth again.

Gally was gone. 

They walked until it became dark.

Finally, Thomas decided to stop. There was no shelter, just the hard ground. Emma found that she didn't care. She was too tired to care.

Emma fell asleep almost instantly. She was sprawled out on the floor, leg touching Minho's back, but he didn't mind. Back in the Glade, it was so hard to sleep. Her thoughts were always running wild. Now, sleep was easy. It was easy because she was so tired.

They slept close together. Newt's feet were by Thomas's head, while Teresa's head was above hers.

"Hey, hey," Thomas said as he woke up some time later. "Newt," he tapped his leg. The blond opened his eyes, blinking slowly. "Get up. Aris, Minho, Emma. Get up, now." Emma sat up, not understanding what was going on. It was still dark. Why was Thomas waking them up? "Come on, get up. I see something."

"What is it?" Minho's voice was deep. He sounded half asleep.

"See that." Thomas pointed forward. "Lights." Emma squinted, but she saw them. Lights. There were lights.

"We made it." Thunder echoed. It caught them by surprise, and they all flinched. A storm was approaching quickly. Lightning struck the ground. It wasn't close, not yet.

"Let's go. Go. We need to go." Emma grabbed her bag swiftly. "Let's go." Lightning struck the ground again, this time much closer. It was only a matter of time before it reached them. So far, they have survived a lot. Emma wasn't sure they could survive lightning if it hit them.

They took off in a sprint toward the building. Emma ran with energy she didn't previously have. They were all desperate to find shelter. To find the Right Arm and escape WICKED for good.

The sky brightened with every lightning strike. The thunder was loud, almost deafening. There was a lightning strike to her left, meaning the storm had caught up with them. "Go," Thomas screamed. There was more lightning. It was striking the ground all around them. Emma had never seen anything like it.

"Hurry," Teresa cried. The building was getting closer. They were nearly there. "Run!"

Emma's feet slammed against the ground. It felt as if the storm was surrounding them. Lightning struck the ground in front of Frypan. It caught Emma by surprise, and she accidentally stumbled into Newt. He helped her regain her balance. "Keep going," Thomas shouted over the thunder. They needed to get inside. It was the only place that would be safe. "Let's go! Come on!" There was a lightning strike near Aris, but he kept going.