Promises Remade ☆ Gally - TDC | ONGOING

Just Keep Running

I let out quick short breaths with each step that my feet pound against the concrete. 

Heart racing, lungs aching, feet sore.  

I have not run like this since... since in forever. And, it is weird. I have not run like this before. Usually, I am running from something; running from grievers, running from the fear of being trapped in the maze overnight, running from cranks, running from lightning, running from dropping bombs, running from W.C.K.D, running from my mom. However, never have I ever run for something, or more so for someone else rather than running for the mere fear and hope of survival. 

Sure, I keep running for Ben but even then I could care less if I stop running, if my legs give out, if my lungs stop breathing, if my heart stops pumping, or if I am caught because no matter how fast and how far I run, it will not bring Ben back. But this time? This time I am running for Newt. Because his life depends on it. I am not running from something rather I am running for someone, and that makes the feeling coursing through my veins different. It is surreal. And, if I stop running, if my legs give out, if my lungs stop breathing, if my heart stops pumping then so does Newt's. I cannot have that. I will not have that.

I will keep running if running is what I am doing when I take my last breath because today is not the day for Newt's last breath. He is my best friend and he has saved me countless times unknowingly, all of the glades have. I may not be able to repay them all for everything they have done for me through my months in the glade, but maybe by saving Newt, it will repay my debt to them all. Maybe they will finally be able to rest knowing we are all alive and safe, just like we had always wished, hoped, and dreamed for during those dark and lonely nights in the glade. 

I have to do this. I just have to. I just have to keep running.

An explosion merely passes me, a bullet grazes through the smoggy air a few feet in front of me,  a fire blazes in the building next to me but I just keep running. I must keep going. 

"FIN!" I hear Gally call as I narrowly miss the debris of an old car exploding past me. I cannot stop. I will not stop. I have to do this. I just have to. I just have to keep running. 

My arms pump with each stride I take, my legs moving faster than my brain. 

"WAIT UP!" I hear Minho shout from behind. Is he kidding? He does know we need to be running fast. That Newt's life depends on this, right? I must keep going.

"FIN!" Gally yells, once again. 

My heart pounds in my chest. One, two, three. Lungs expand with each sharp intake of breath. One, two, three. I must keep going. 

"Thomas?" The voice echoes across the sounds of the raging war on either side of me. I feel a chill run down my spine. My legs instantly decreased in speed, losing momentum. "Can you hear me?" Teresa's voice comes over the PA system of the city. I look over my shoulder and see the same look of confusion written across Minho and Gally's faces. 

"What the hell does she want now?" I faintly hear Gally bite out, his grip tightening on his gun. Nonetheless, we keep running. 

I must keep going. 

"I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me," she pauses. "But I need you to come back." Another pause. "Thomas, you can save Newt. There's still time for him. There's a reason Brenda isn't sick anymore... It's your blood. Do you understand?" 

"Holy shit," I mutter in between my panting and gasps for air. 

"She isn't sick because- because you cured her. You and-" She takes a breath. Her voice is steady but trembles at the same time. 

"Spit it out," I hear Minho behind me, having caught up as my pace slowed down drastically.  

"You and Finley are the cure..." I stop dead in my tracks. My eyes find the first PA system in sight, staring at it intently as if I am staring into the eyes of Teresa, the eyes of W.C.K.D. I take in her words but they do not fully register yet. All I manage to process is; Finley, cure. 

"What the fuck." My lips tremble, words coming out in a small sob. I could have saved Ben? Winston? Theo?-

"Finley, he is alive." Her voice breaks before repeating herself, "Theo is alive." My breath catches in my throat at his name coming from her lips. Her shaky breath echoes across the cold and chilly night. I shake my head, taking a step back, my back colliding into what I assumed was a wall at first, however, the wall then grows a pair of arms that wrap themselves around my waist in an embrace. Or maybe to stop me from falling, to hold me up as my knees shake from my body growing heavy. "But, he's not doing well. You and Thomas can save him."

"No," I tremble in Gally's arms. 

Theo's alive but now I am going to lose him again? 

"Brenda doesn't have to be the only one. All you guys have to do is come back and this will all finally be over. Please, just come back to me. I know you'll do the right thing-" Teresa's voice is cut off as the rest of the lights shut down through the city, only for a few moments before the back up lights come to life, brightening our path to the Berg that is in sight, barely a block away.

"Fin-" Gally's voice is quiet, barely audible with the sound of gunshots and explosions continuing around us but everything becomes silent. Sounding so far away. So, so far away. I do not hear what he or Minho have to say next, instead, I break from Gally's grasp and break out in a run. My tears become dry in the breeze, my nose continues to run though, and I cannot stop the sobs that rack through my body. 

I can save Theo and I will save Newt too. 

I hear the sound of the Berg's engine. It's close. So, so close. A set of stairs are in my vision when I turn around a corner. I run to the stairs, using all of the strength I can muster from my shaky legs and when I come to the top I see them. They are right there, a few steps ahead of me. Jorge, Brenda, Vince, and the kids- kids that I can save if I just...

The second they see me, they stand straight, taking steps towards me as I slow down from my sprinting to a jog, to a walk, and then to a complete stop. My body going numb.  

A/N- 

I love how every time I go M.I.A, I always come back with a new chapter and a new list of excuses as to why I have been lacking on the updates. But, I will not bother you all with those excuses this time... 

However, I was on a school trip for a week, it is exam seasons which also means I have a lot of final projects and final essays that are due and that I should probably be working on right now, and I have been working double the hours and shifts at work that I normally do because of a bunch of bullshit going on... Anyway, like I said, I will not bother you all with those excuses this time. 

I wrote this chapter fairly quickly 'cause I have been dying to write the end of the book for so long! I am just way too excited for what is to come!! 

And, like, this chapter... Finley and Thomas are the cure?? Haha, I've been planning this since day numero uno and I am so thrilled to finally being able to type it and share it!

I hope you all enjoyed the update! I will try for another tomorrow as well!

Much love, 

- Alex <3