Secrets I Keep (Book 2. of A Beautiful Distraction)

21) Never a Chance

Gally and Brenda had dragged Newt off as the others had to decide what they were going to do. I knew the answer, but I couldn't speak as Aris kept me on my side so I didn't choke on my own blood. Despite this he still has his arms around me. It was almost like being wrapped in soft blankets. That was the level of safety I felt. I may be close to a fate worse than death, but at least I have him. That's the most beautiful way to go. Because if I choke on the blood I will die. It would all be okay though. As long as everyone else was safe I would be okay with dying in his arms.

If only that would be the case.

"We have to bring her to them,"He stated.

"We don't know if she's lying,"Minho pointed out as if that would stop Aris from doing everything to save me.

"I don't care. Listen to me. I have already lost her so many times. I am not adding a permanent one to that list."

"What if this is a trick?"He asked.

"You don't have to go. Neither of you do, but I am. I'm going to do everything it takes to save her or die trying."

Well that was morbid. Wasting his life to save mine was the last thing I wanted, but this wasn't just about me. Thomas was the way to save Newt.

"He's right. This is our only option. Two lives are depending on this,"He reminded him.

Minho didn't say anything as he thought about it. After a moment he let out a deep, worried sigh before agreeing.

"If you want to go with Newt then you can,"Thomas repeated.

"No. If my friends need me then I'll be there,"He explained.

"Then, let's go. We don't have much time,"Aris pointed out as he held me to his chest. The only reaction my body could give was a pathetic twitch and more blood. I couldn't see anything but crimson. With each step he tried to wipe it away from my eyes and my lips and with each step more came.

"You're going to be fine, okay? Just hang on a little longer. I know you can do it,"He whispered as he was careful walking so he didn't accidently do anything to hurt me. Being so cautious at such a chaotic time would be wrong with anyone else but not him.

My breathing suddenly got raspy as more blood filled my lungs. He dropped to his knees and laid me on my side.

"It's okay. I promise you'll be fine,"He repeated. He never was any good at keeping those though. Knowing this I let my eyes flutter shut. The one good thing is that I seemed to be running out of blood to cough up. What a sick thing to be good, but at the end of the day I am sick too.

"Just keep holding on,"He uttered as he pulled my back into him. My body just repeatedly twitched.

The entire way to the building he kept telling me it would all be alright as he tried to prevent me from losing any more blood. It was a lost cause, but he was persistent. It was almost annoying, but I couldn't blame him. Our time was almost up. There isn't a right way to respond to that.

He set me on a cold floor and kept me on my side just in case. He kept running his hands through my hair as he tried to tell me he was going to make it all better. I couldn't tell him that dying next to him would make this better.

More blood dribbled past my lips as I was losing oxygen. Each time I thought I was going to die that way it stopped before continuing. At least, my eyes seemed okay right now. Maybe that doesn't mean much, but I get to truly look at him one last time. After all this time he still had this look that I swear he only gave me. Even if there was heartbreak in it it was lovely to see.

"What do you do when someone's drowning in their own blood? How do we save her?"He asked as he tried to keep his voice steady.

"We need to find Teresa. She'd know,"Thomas pointed out. Maybe in normal circumstances, but this was anything but that.

As I had to stare at the door I spotted the figure of a woman walk towards us. The familiar click of heels told me exactly who was standing in the same room as us.

"Let me see her. We can help her,"She said, giving more false hope. She always was good at that.

"If you think you're spending one minute alone with her you're delusional,"Minho scoffed.

"We can't let-"
"You already took her from me so many times. I'm not letting you do it again,"Aris interrupted, his tone already defensive and sounding ready to fight.

"Come on. If you're sure you can handle-"
"Of course I can so let's go,"He demanded, scooping me back up. He's so stubborn sometimes or maybe just when it comes to me. Not that it matters. The point is I have a strange feeling that it may be his downfall, but I couldn't tell him. Even if I could talk I would use it to tell him I love him. While some may see that as a waste of energy it was one last memory of who I am. I can't though.

As we moved forward a gunshot was heard. Ava looked at her stomach as red stained her white shirt. It was almost an instant death as she slumped to the floor. Even though I had wanted her dead seeing it somehow didn't bring the relief I thought it would. Whether it's the disease or genuinely me is unclear.

As she fell over I regained emotions as Janson stood there with a gun in his hand. He has just killed who I had thought was his friend. Everyone is killing everyone and turning on each other.

"You seriously thought you all stood a chance?"He asked as he lowered his weapon. Despite his clear, deadly intentions not one of them ran.

"I would have expected rebellion from Thomas, but you Aris? You always were so loyal."

"Yeah? Well I was also a great liar,"He scowled.

"I was disappointed when we had to get rid of your work. After realizing you had been messing with the results for so long we had to start all over,"He stated, walking closer. All I could do was stare. Then, I saw the dart in his hand. I used all my energy to try and warn them, but all I could do was repeatedly twitch.

"Good. You'll get nothing from me. Not then and not now,"He promised. I had a feeling part of that involved me, and as sweet as that is I couldn't focus on it. There was something in that dart, and all I could do was nothing.

"She was just a bad influence. If only she hadn't crawled through the vents and corrupted your mind. You could have been great,"He sighed as he kept walking towards us. Finally, they stepped back as they silently tried to figure out our next move.

"I suppose we do stupid things for love though,"He added.

Just as they started running he plunged the needle into his arm. Despite doing everything to hold himself up and keep running his arms were the first to go limp. I hit the ground and felt a pain in my head. This time it wasn't a headache. I was able to feel things again, and I hated it. I just want this mess to be over. Not just for me but for them.

I heard him fall to the ground. Our friends rushed over in a panic to try and save us, but Janson anticipated them doing so as he did the same to both of them. How many people I love would die tonight? Not just Newt, but now Thomas, Minho, and even my Aris? Because he was mine, and even if I left he couldn't be leaving me. That was my job. Not his.

It was happening though, and I couldn't show the way it was killing me more than death itself.

Janson grabbed the wrist he knew was injured. Even though the pain of that alone would be enough to make me scream in agony I couldn't. If I had the ability to I don't think I would ever stop. Not when Aris is so close to me, but I couldn't hold his hand for comfort. WICKED always was two steps ahead, and I think they ended this once and for all. They had beaten us. We were just teenagers trying to save the people we love and ourselves. They were manipulaters with power who knew all of our weaknesses. There wasn't ever a chance.

He dragged me to an elevator and tossed me in like I as nothing. He made sure to do so with my hurt wrist to. Killing us wasn't enough for him. He wanted it to be agonizing, and it was. Psychologically and physically, it was tearing me apart. Even worse is they are still unconscious while I'm wide awake and watching this horrific scene go down. I can't even close my eyes to pretend it's not real.

He threw Minho in the corner first. Then, Thomas went in a different one. When it got to Aris he made sure he fell right next to me. I stared at the way it almost seemed like he was in a peaceful sleep.

I guess this is the end of our story. It had once been so beautiful and my only hope of living. Now it would kill us, and we couldn't even say goodbye.